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Re: 1999 Viggen Totally Destroyed in accident  1 Saabers Like This Post!
Posted by TPLS SWD [Email]  (#2637) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from TPLS SWD) on Mon, 27 Apr 2020 06:33:51
In Reply to: Re: 1999 Viggen Totally Destroyed in accident, JimBlake   [Profile/Gallery]
, Fri, 24 Apr 2020 14:48:24
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I did a couple years ago. I parked the front half of my Viggen in the rear of a Saturn Vue. I like to say one less Vue on the road now - yes, you all are welcome. No one was hurt fortunately so I feel a tad better about the jokes. The following is a VERY short version of events
Insurance decided to total out both cars. My Viggen had 234k, black on black convertible, was actually in pretty clean shape, engine had 100k on it, and it had some Saab significance (company test car, NY Auto Show car, some 2002 prototype trim, etc) but basically a 200k Viggen.
Insurance companies often use databases like CCC, Audatex, etc. They first came back and said $3400. They had compared to three Saab 9-3 SE's. I asked for an expanded search, they came back with $3500, using 34 cars ... all SE's again. I specified they use Viggens. They then came back with $3800 using 1 Viggen as a comp - a car with no brakes from TN (I am in WI), it was a very convenient choice for them. Finally, they came back with a 4th report, 3 Viggens, and an offer of $4800. One Viggen had its engine swapped for a (no mod) 2.0, one had been a theft recovery, and one looked pretty close to mine and was selling for $8000. I told insurance I wanted $7500.
Long story short, it took a year after all that, and I sued them, went to court, brought an expert witness (who later told the judge the reason he got the job was because the three most respected Viggen experts in the region of the country were him, my mechanic who chose to stay neutral as he does a lot of insurance work, and me - the defendant, who currently owned 5). All that paired with the fact the insurance company hired probably the worst attorney on the planet for the case, and I got a check - a year later, for $7500 + $1000 attorney fees + interest + documentation fees + a few other misc items for a total of $9800. I cut $1500 over to my attorney who was a buddy and did it for cheap thrills and I walked away with what I wanted and a tad extra.
The biggest keys were to be realistic on what I wanted - don't pretend your car is something its not and be prepared to prove condition, service etc. There were $12,000 Viggens out there when I crashed mine but mine reasonably wasn't close to those. Also, whatever "evidence" they bring forward, be prepared to bring 2-3x as much, and make sure it is objectively better. At the time of my accident, 15 Viggens were currently for sale nation wide with clean titles (recall how many VIGGENS they used above to get a value). I got info on EVERY one and created a spreadsheet with analysis to show how color, miles, body type, condition, etc played into value. My model said my car was worth $7400 and change at the time. I stuck to the number and didn't budge. Final key is be ready to walk away. I had extra cars so I didn't need to make a deal fast, my attorney and I were buddies from college so he was working cheap, etc. I would never have taken $4800 for my car, and they never offered a dime more in arbitration. But had they offered me $6500 or $6800 or something, I might very well have taken it - but it never came up. I also now have guaranteed value policies on all 5 Viggens FYI.
Side note, they never got possession of the title, and after it all, I paid the $153 salvage cost to buy it back. I rebuilt it over another year using a base 9-3 front end, and I now have a clean title, 245k mile, two "accident" car that drives perfect and is still probably my favorite one of the fleet. YMMV, but good luck!
1
, Thu, 14 May 2020 17:28:41, Mon, 27 Apr 2020 17:25:42, Tue, 28 Apr 2020 08:44:54, Thu, 14 May 2020 17:26:27, Thu, 14 May 2020 18:38:29, Thu, 14 May 2020 20:11:101, Fri, 15 May 2020 06:53:04, Sat, 16 May 2020 03:44:33, Sun, 17 May 2020 19:03:14, Sun, 17 May 2020 19:47:011, Fri, 22 May 2020 11:49:20, Fri, 12 Jun 2020 17:35:56, Thu, 14 May 2020 17:20:26, Tue, 28 Apr 2020 10:17:02
, Mon, 7 Jun 2021 00:17:501, Fri, 24 Apr 2020 14:48:24, Mon, 27 Apr 2020 06:33:51 <-- Viewing This Message1, Mon, 27 Apr 2020 06:37:47, Thu, 14 May 2020 17:34:14, Mon, 27 Apr 2020 12:04:33
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