My buddy’s sister just totaled his 2002 35th Anniversary Camaro Z28. The vehicle was originally purchased in Florida and was brought to New York around two years ago. The vehicle was in immaculate condition and only had 19k miles on it. To his and my surprise the insurance company (State Farm) only offered him $12,000. I was even more surprised to find out that the car’s KBB private party value is only $11,800. Is he pretty much shit out of luck or can he appeal the claim? If so what would be the best approach? I believe that finding comparable vehicles for sale would be a good start but that may be difficult especially around this time of year.
not much hope, most insurance co’s use cars in the area fs with current miles/condition, what they dont take into effect is that usually when someone wants to sell a car they will sell for less than what its worth most the time just to get rid of it (and the people who end up with their car generally dont want to get rid of it so if it gets totalled out they want maximum value)
see if he can hire an independent appraiser for the value, if not you can keep appealing but insurance companies rarely give in
When an insurance company makes an offer, it is the amount that they feel the vehicle is worth. They’re not willing to negotiate on a settlement price because they aren’t out to screw anybody. They don’t make any money on a claim.
The only way that you can get more is if she had called the insurance company and insured any extras or modifications on the car.
Unless it was appraised for more, the insurance company will only pay market value. It’s kinda hard to prove it’s worth more. Talk to badnewsmini, I think he went though something like this.
How much are they supposed to be worth?
I understand how insurance claims work but this is a case where a mint collector car can not be accurately appraised by KBB. I wouldn’t have posted a thread if a 2002 Honda Civic or Ford Escort was totaled because there a dime a dozen. Very slim chance that you can find a comparable vehicle especially in WNY for $12k or less.
When i totaled my car we fought with the insurance company and showed them comparable cars.It took a couple months of back and forth but they came up on the price.
Well, if it was truly a mint collector car he should have asked the insurance company to appraise it when it bought it. They’d come out, look at it, then value it for more. But if he didn’t do that in the first place good luck proving it now.
Most Comparable Vehicles within 200 Miles:
2002 Z28 Coupe Stock 28k $18,900
2002 Z28 Coupe Stock 28k $14,995
2002 Z28 Coupe Stock 33k $15,998
All these cars are for sale at dealerships.
Sure, but all dealerships mark up their prices so they can make money, recoup maintenance & service costs and pay their overhead costs.
He might as well try, but its going to be an uphill battle.
We both know we’re not talking about a vintage or exotic vehicle here, but nonetheless too many this is not a run of the mill see every day on your daily commute vehicle. I believe $15k would have been a more appropriate value to find a comparable replacement.
Well you know that dealerships raise the prices of vehicles. They also don’t base their claim payouts on KBB values. They have field damage adjuster that come out and determine the value of the vehicle. The insurance company will pay out the amount that they believe will return you to the state you were in just before the loss, nothing more and nothing less. Its called Indemnity.
Exactly! If the insurance company wants to use KBB/NADA to value the vehicle than the suggested retail value should be used for assessment ($14k).
Everyone thanks for the helpful insight!
State Farm is a bunch of cunts. I was with them for 9 years, but not anymore…
Call GEICO to get a quote… 1-800-342-9070… and put in the refernce number 131664
I was pretty happy when they gave me $4k more than what I paid for the bimmer when it was totaled.
If you drive a mint collector car you shouldn’t have off the shelf insurance on it. They have agreed value policies specifically for cases like this.
http://www.grundy.com/default2.asp
I would suggest appealing their estimate and use the examples you found for sale. Be prepared for them to counter with their own list of vehicles for sale close to their estimated value though.
I have to make the Geico pitch here as well. My mom totaled her Rav4 about a year ago and I was preparing to help her through an insurance appeal expecting them to fuck her on the value. Geico ended up coming in with a value that was only a couple hundred off KBB suggested dealer retail. Then they added on X dollars to cover the tax on that value. We were very impressed. I was a Geico customer before this but they definitely secured my future business with how they handled it.
Update:
State Farm has already bumped their offer up to $14,500. My friend approached the agent with 3 comparable vehicles for sale within a 200 mile radius.
That’s a good update.
When I had a car totaled with state farm I just spoke with the agent for an hour and he kept bumping up the price… I think he went up about $2000 over the hour long phone call.
Is this the REAL 35th(red w/ stripes)?If so Just go on ebay and do a completed sales list for them.Is he going to try and buy it back?
Best you can do is find comparable vehicles. State Farms values are usually very fair, but if you can find documentation for what the vehicles are selling for, that will help in brining up the offer.
Ill check this thread again on Monday and run it through my companies database and see what i come with. We go off of NADA, but not the values that any consumer can see online.