Need help with Accident

[FreeJack]

Everyone ready to cry? I about did.....

Today... There I was... Driving down the road in my 87 T-Type... I put my turn signal on and started to turn into a parking lot. Then I heard tires squelling and then me and my car being thrown into the parking lot and spun about 180. The rear of my car is totaled. This STUPID B****! Not paying attention and slammed into me doing I guess 50 to 60.

Here's where I need help... What is the insurance company going to value my car? Are they going to rip me off??? Is there information I can gather to show the true value???

Any suggestions???

Thanks.......

 

[Brer Rabbit]

Dont look good.

Im sorry to hear about this, just be prepared to buy the car back from the insurance company. U might be able to break real close to even if u part out ur car on top of what u get from the insurance company. I saw a post a while ago about companies like Haggerty who will insure the car for an appraised value. Obviously its too late for that now but maybe ur bad deal might help others from making the same mistake.

 

[FreeJack]

The really sicking news is I have a lot of new parts (Fuel injectors, chip, fuel pump, etc..) I was going to put in it this weekend....

 

[benoitthegr8]

Just be glad your alright, and that is was not the beautiful GN in your username link......

 

[FreeJack]

You are so right.....

I got the car home. Looks bad. Just body, bumper, and bumper mount damage. A good body guy can fix it up nice!!!

 

[tommynos]

Everyone ready to cry? I about did.....

Today... There I was... Driving down the road in my 87 T-Type... I put my turn signal on and started to turn into a parking lot. Then I heard tires squelling and then me and my car being thrown into the parking lot and spun about 180. The rear of my car is totaled. This STUPID B****! Not paying attention and slammed into me doing I guess 50 to 60.

Here's where I need help... What is the insurance company going to value my car? Are they going to rip me off??? Is there information I can gather to show the true value???

Any suggestions???

Thanks.......

i totaled my 86 t-type in 1998,i got a lawyer because i was speeding and the other guy died and they handed me a ticket for speeding..well then to top it off my insurance company said my car valued at around $2300..i told them they are nuts and to look at the classic/collector value on the car..i told them the least i would take is $5500 and i keep the car(i had a new unbroken in motor in it),well finally they returned with $5500 and i buy the car back for $700,i accepted and parted out the car in the local news paper and made around$12,000 in total..not bad when i bought it for $800,it needed a turbo,tires,and a transmission,all were wasted(when i got it)..i thought thats why they called them a t-type :biggrin:get a lawyer,you may not hurt now,but could later...good luck

 

[The Blob]

Any suggestions???

Based on my recent experience the ladies insurance company will probably try to screw you. It would be a good idea to start protecting yourself now.

Go to the doctor complaining of back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, etc.. and get checked out. That's the prudent thing to do anyway.

Then, if they try to screw you... and I hate to tell you to do this... start going back to the doctor. The more you go the better. The only way you will be made whole is through "pain and suffering" and your pain and suffering claim is directly proportional to how much treatment you require.

If you are not really hurt it is sleazy as hell, but the insurance companies practically beg you to do it with the way they treat you otherwise. In my case it was like they purposely tried to piss me off.

I did not do any of that doctor stuff because, like most people, I am not a fan of lawsuits. The insurance companies actually use that to their advantage and I didn't figure it out until it was too late

On the other hand, if they offer you a fair settlement take it and be on your way.

 

[suicide six]

Insurance companys dont like paying lot storage either while dispute is underway.They will try to low ball first,stand your ground,show them what going prices are for these cars to replace it.They will try to find every fault car has and use that against lowest valve.Be willing to stand your ground even it drags out.They want to settle and fast,the word of seeing a doctor or body damage will speed them up to settle. Good luck get price you feel is fair.

 

[we4turbo]

They will come in low to start with. Do your research, look up cars like yours. Have all reciepts for work you have had done. Mine was totaled in 01 their first offer was $7500.00, I did my homework and ended up with $15,500.00 Get a laywer. You will hurt later. I did settle too early on my pain. Good luck.

David

 

[rtviper]

Get as many examples as you can from Auto trader etc in like condition. Have an appraiser look at your car now and have him give a value based on not being wrecked of course. I had my car vandalized and my insurance started out at 4800 and ended up giving me 21k just 1 year ago and bought the car back for 1700. It was a 87 gn with 149k miles. Be sure and clean the car up and wax the parts of the body you can and have the car standing tall. Clean the interiour and do the wheels and tires.

 

[Blue87T]

I work as a claims manager for a major insurance company so you can take my advice for what its worth.

You need to be careful in taking the advice on how injured you should act. First you need to know what your state lawas allow you to collect for in regards to pain and suffering. I am not sure specifically on FL how the "tort laws" as they are called work. Some states limit what you can collect for and you may not have the " bargining card " that others here seem to think you will. Lying about an injury can get you in trouble.

Second- give the appraiser a chance. Everyone is assuming that they will low ball you . What you need to understand is that the average appraiser follows guidelines set out by their states insurance department on how to value cars. Its not their choice. And they also are not going to know that a GN or T is anything special. I would let them value you car and then show them ,like others have suggested , the market research you have done on their value. In many states the insurance department dictates how the " average " car should be valued. GN's and T's do not come up in the " average " market place often : ie : your local used car dealer selling Honda Accords and Neons. Its easy to say what their worth because they are readily traded in the market. Anyone with a GN or T knows the value can vary from car to car greatly.

You will also have to know if you are going through her insurance or yours. Your policy may well limit how much they have to pay you and you would probrably be better off trying to collect through hers. Leaving your car in storage is not a good idea also. I just send out storage cutoff letters to the parties involved offering to tow it to a storage free location or the bill becomes yours.

I think the average person can do a good job negotiating their cars value to get a fair price. But you need to be realistic in what your cars value actually is though . If you need any help I would be glad to offer any more advice if you want it. I would hate to see someone go to jail ( which I have seen/been a part of ) for faking injuries .

 

[vintageracer]

The responsibilty of the insurance company is to make you "whole" in financial terms as you were prior to the accident. That means they must pay you the fair market value of the vehicle as the time of the accident. So what's the fair market value of your car prior to the accident? This will be the question that's on everyone's mind!

If the true market value of your car is $10K and you have spent $20K on the car, all they are required to pay is $10K actual market value. Consequently if you only have $3K invested in the car and the market value is $10K, they must pay you $10K. Given the fact that the insurance company that will utlimately pay in the person who caused the accident, they will try to low ball you.

If "you" carry/have collision insurance on your car, file a claim with your insurance company on this accident that you did NOT cause. I know that sound nuts however this may significantly speed up the process and your insurance company can/may/will pay more for the car/claim which will establish a better/higher value for your car. Your insurance company will "subrogate" the claim to the insurance company of the person who caused the accident to pay them. Remember, you buy collision insurance to fix "your" car in the event of an accident. It the car is totalled, your insurance company will pay you off and subrogate the claim to the other insurance company.

Some of the insurance companies now have their own claims services. If the insurance company of the person who cause the accident does, have several independent claims adjusters or other body shops estimate the damage to repair the vehicle to give you a better idea of the damage estimate and vehicle value. The insurers that direct you to "their" claim services do so because it saves "them" money!

Ultimately it will be up to you to push/establish a true market value of your car on the day of the accident. Use the Autotrader, sites such as this, Black Books, Blue Books, exotic dancers etc to document the value of your car. You will have to negotiate so add some fluff. It is the insurers responsibility to make you whole so do not give in easy. If there is a lot of damage, push to have the car totaled and get a market value settlement. If you make a threat to the insurance company, make sure you are prepared to follow through with that threat!

If you want to buy the salvage insurers will generally want 25% of the value they paid out for the owner to buy back the car. DO NOT give them the title so they can mark it salvage if you have any intention to buy the car back. In most cases the car will not bring 25% of the payout at the salvage auction so negotiate lower percentage by telling them they do not have to move the car, pay storage or sale fees. You can also settle for market value AND say I want the car or some variation of that theme. I did that when my mothers Caddy got hit.

The 2 times that has happened in our extended family over the years we have come out with a settlement that was more money than the car was worth. Maybe this will work for you!

 

[SouthernCal GN]

When I got T-boned in April 2004, I had the same worries as you- especially since I was working in the auto industry at the time. I got online, and started documenting anything I could in regards to the sales of GNs in my local area, as well as valuation guides and collector information.

When the insurance company came back with a stupidly low figure, I sent them copies of all the information I had compiled, including source information so they could validate my information. I had no problems after that, and received a fair settlement.

HTH

 

[salvageV6]

The very FIRST thing you should do is to read your Policy COVER to COVER.

That will tell you a lot more than you will learn here.

Look for how they settle disagreements and what you would have to do for suing and arbitration type settlements and if there's anything in there as to how they or you should go after the other peoples insurance company.

See if you need to get your own appraisal in any of those cases and begin to check on favorable ones for yourself, no need to get one unless you can do it cheaply or your body man can get you a realistic one cheap or free.

The insurance company(s) will probably total it too, be aware of all that entails, back to the policy again, and find out what the procedure would be for buying back the car and at what price.

You need to find out, since it's most likely the other persons fault, if they are settling the claim or will your insurance company have to go after them.

Basically that comes down to if they return your phone calls.

Be prepared for a couple of appraisers to be looking at it, checks possibly arriving in the mail without you knowing the settlement values in advance etc.

They won't be right of course but you can always do what I ended up doing when both my company and the hittee sent me checks. Deposit them both and let them try and tell me the car wasn't worth that amount.

It's illegal allegedly but I never did hear from either company again after I got my title back, with the buyback amount deducted from the settlement check from my company.

I would have been glad to let them sue me for any "overpayment" so I could show the pile of data for the cars value in Court.

It never happened and I never heard from either company again. Kept using my company about 5 years past that date also, but they did move offices and all for billing etc.

Insurance companies suck bigtime even when you try to play by their "rules" they dragged and kicked their feet when I mentioned arbitration.

Even my company started to not take my phone calls.

 

[rtviper]

Depends on the insurance company also and how long you have been with them. I had 1 car stolen and 1 vandalized. Both times I recieved more then I expected but again I did my homework and documented the value. If you have Farmers they will try to say the guy rammed you on purpose and therefor it wasnt an accident. They tried that in our state a few months ago and received a lot of bad publicity. Like you were told dont try to fake an injury leave that to the professionals. JUst do your own evaluation using the information on the internet and you will be made whole again.

 

[Blue87T]

How is the claim going?

 

[FreeJack]

My claim is surprising going very well... The lady has GEICO. The adjuster came to my house a looked over the car. The adjuster knew the car! I got the report and she stated that my car is ... "RARE CLEAN TURBO BUICK" "IN EXCELLENT CONDITION". They're going to put a new quarter panel, fix my seat, new rear bumper, bumper shocks, fillers and paint the car. The car is now at the body shop. One of the best in my area. He said the frame was slightly tweaked. He put it on the frame straightener. The frame popped back into place with no cinks and perfectly straight.... The guy could not find an acceptable quarter panel so I went looking. Found a perfect one with no rust! A bumper with no rust and almost perfect chrome! I've seen the work this guy has done. He's anal! It is perfection all the way.... I'll post some photos on the car on my site in a few days.

 

[Blue87T]

Unfortunately the way a claim goes can really rely on the adjuster you get as you found out in this case. Just like any other job there are good ones and bad ones, some that care and some that don't. Glad its going ok for you.

 

[Bescurred]

Glad to see it went well for ya freejack....I thought FL was a no fault state and that your own insurance company pays for your damages?

 

[FreeJack]

Florida is a no fault state. But the other driver was issued a citation. Most of the time people are screwed.