My Poor Beautiful Yellow Car!

[minihorse927]

I found out today it is TOTALED!
The story behind this was on last friday I left for work, dusting of snow and ice on the road. Made it about 2 miles up the road from my house, decided the car was sliding to bad to drive it, turned around to go home and get the trailblazer and drive it to work. Coming down the hill about 1/4 mile from the driveway I was going extremely slow because my cavalier was wanting to slide down it. I looked up as I reached the bottom and all I see is a license plate sliding towards me. Next thing I know I get hit and shoved about 50 feet further down the road and almost slide off into the ditch myself cause of the ice. I got out and inspected the car and the guy apologized and gave me his information. Did not look that bad from the outside but when I took it to the body shop they cringed when they seen it.
Was driving to work yesterday and they called me from the body shop told me I might want to come in and hear what they had to say. Stopped in and all I got was here is your estimate, here is what it is worth. It will cost what it is worth to fix it. I am sure they will total my car out. I almost cried when I heard this, I only bought this thing at the end of June! Yeah, I bought it used but I loved that car! It was running beautifully too, just got all the bugs worked out of it just before winter hit. Really dissappointed as I hate looking for another car!
On the good note is the guys at the body shop told me that I was extremely lucky I was not hurt anymore than being sore because that accident shoved the frame under that car 3 inches forward and moved the rear axle.

 

[maple]

ouch... it is a good thing you are ok.

 

[justbugged]

I am grateful also that you were not injured.

I hate car shopping too.

 

[theoldchick]

Nowadays cars are designed to give upon impact to prevent the human body from being crumbled from the energy released by the force of impact. Doesn't take much to make that metal bend. Most insurance companies are interested in profit, and will find the best money making strategy for them is to pay you off (hopefully you don't owe too much on the car), and sell the car as salvage. Cars lose their value very quickly but their parts bring a good price. How sad you had to lose her this way.

Be glad you walked away!

 

[Redcatcher]

Quote:
Just think....She gave her life for you

 

[Dunkopf]

Quote:
All insurance companies are interested in doing whatever is the most cost efficient means of handling a total loss. They are responsible for paying the actual value of the car plus local sales tax and a title transfer fee. All car insurance companies use evaluation companies or NADA value to determine what the car is worth. If you want to keep the car for some reason they will pay the value of the car minus what they would've reasonably sold it for as salvage. Usually about 10% of what it is worth. The trick to getting the best value from the insurance company is to be sure they get all the options correct and the conditioning is correct. Try to get value for mechanical work that was done within 60 days of the accident and be realistic about actual condition.

Good luck settling your claim.l

 

[thewarriorchild]

Good advice sorry you lost your car

But glad you are ok.

"All insurance companies are interested in doing whatever is the most cost efficient means of handling a total loss. They are responsible for paying the actual value of the car plus local sales tax and a title transfer fee. All car insurance companies use evaluation companies or NADA value to determine what the car is worth. If you want to keep the car for some reason they will pay the value of the car minus what they would've reasonably sold it for as salvage. Usually about 10% of what it is worth. The trick to getting the best value from the insurance company is to be sure they get all the options correct and the conditioning is correct. Try to get value for mechanical work that was done within 60 days of the accident and be realistic about actual condition."

 

[Frosty]

If it will cost what it's worth, you can still opt to have it fixed. I totaled my S10 and paid a little out of pocket to get it fixed because I refused to give her up. Apart from the fact that I love that vehicle, DH and I had also just spent a week in an unheated garage with temps well below zero putting in a new clutch pack. The whole job was a pain every step of the way and I figured after that I am going to get some miles out of the work. That was in 2001, in 2008 at 275,000 miles she got a new engine. I still love that vehicle.

 

[minihorse927]

Luckily I paid cash for this car so I do not owe on it. I do have a bad feeling I am going to take a hit on the car though from what I paid to what they are going to offer. It was in excellent running condition, no problems whatsoever and the only body blemish was a little clearcoat missing on the roof from the previous owner. No rust, no dents, no paint scratches. I got to put a total of 7,000 miles on it from the time I bought it to the time it was rearended. I put new tires on it at 108,000 and it now has 112,000. I didn't even wear the nubs off the tires! It books on nada.com for a clean car for sale for what I paid for it. I have been given the price of $500 to buy it back and I have a guy who wants the car for $1,000 right now so I am not gonna let it go to the junk yard. I told the guy cash before I buy it back so I do not get stuck with it. KBB.com books it higher but no insurance companies use them anymore really. I have not even heard from the insurance adjuster since they got the estimate and pictures. Called them and no returned calls yet. I am going to get a rental tomorrow morning so if my trailblazer decides to quit on me I will not be stuck without a car. I have a feeling once they start paying the rental bill they will want to get that car taken care of a little quicker so they do not lose anymore money than they have to.
Secretly, I want them to junk it. I loved that car but after the frame is bent and broke, I do not want it back. Even the body shop said no matter what they do to that car as far as the frames go, it will never be the same as far as safety if it was ever rearended again. I guess I will have to see how things go when they make thier mind up as to what they are going to do and when.
Already was looking at cars today anyway, I think I want a new chevy cruze. Never had a brand new car, think I might waste the extra money and buy one. There is a dealership having a awesome deal on them towards Cincinnati. Advertised them at $9,000 and said if you come in with cash they will go a lot lower. Going to check into that tomorrow and see what ones they want to sell that cheap. I looked at a Cruze locally and they want 18,000 for it but it is a LS model and I do not need or want anything fancy. I may just look for one someone else has bought recently and does not want or can not afford, maybe I can get one cheaper that way.

 

[Dunkopf]

If the clear coat is coming off the roof it will put it below average on paint job. Dig out your receipt for your tires. Without a receipt they can't rate them any better than new which adds about 50.00 per axle. The car has to have between 5/32nds and 10/32nds to be avg wear on tires. Mileage will be the biggest factor. It depends on the average mileage for that car. The insurance company will make an offer on your car and then they will tell you how long you can keep the rental. Usually 3 days after the offer is made. Depends on how hard core they are about it. They don't have a legal obligation to let you stay in a rental until you settle.

You can ask for a copy of their evaluation and the standards used for condition. Just about any car can be returned to it's original condition. There are a few factors that will make a car a structural total loss that can't be fixed. Pretty rare though. The determining factor is cost. Insurance companies will not pay more to fix a car than the actual cash value minus the salvage value. I have paid to have many frames replaced as well as unibody frame rails. A reputable body shop with up to date equipment can fix just about anything.

Frame rails will total a Cavalier though. Buying a 1 to 2 year old car is the best bet for sure. Just try to be sure it wasn't involved in a bad accident. Car Fax won't tell you quite often. Car fax is just a gimmick for car dealers just like Kelly Blue Book.

Good luck and watch out for prior damage on those used cars. Look for overspray on components under the car and paint masking lines along moldings and windows and such. Dealerships like to fix small dents and scrapes and use the cheapest methods they can. In other words the paint will be peeling within a year or two on any repairs they have done.