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Re: OT - Basic Car Insurance Questions Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Mon, 16 Jun 2003 10:38:58
In Reply to: OT - Basic Car Insurance Questions, Mr. Science, Fri, 13 Jun 2003 20:10:57 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
As others have said, the company pays you the value before the crash. And that value varies from company to company, claims agent to claims agent, with State to State variation wrapped in.
Last time this happened to me, my insurance company used a combination of Kelly Blue book and one other, and did something half-way between resale and wholesale. And in my state (Connecticut), they also have to add in the sales tax. So if they think the car was worth $5K, they give you $5,300 (6% sales tax in CT). The idea is that you'd go out and buy another $5K car, but to be 'whole', you need to pay sales tax.
Of course, the value they give is subjective, and you can sometimes successfuly bargain. If the car was in great shape and you can document it - pictures, receipts for recent maintenance, etc., then sometimes you can get more money. And some agents could care less and you'll get nowhere.
In general, the newer the car, the more likely to get more money. Once cars are over about 8 years old, the Book values plummet. A couple of thou is all you can expect. Of course, you can't get the same car back.
If your older car is in very nice shape, then do yourself a favor and document its condition. Take pictures with dates and keep them around.
As an example, I've got a '92 9000 that we bought new. The car is totally clean, and has only 60K miles. Looks brand new. My guess is that in a total I'd only get around $3K. Now, there is absolutely no way I could replace this car for $3K - to replace it would be twice/three times the price - that's because it would be near impossible to find such a clean car that old - you'd need to find something 5 or 7 years newer, and it'd cost more. So my only hope in case it gets totalled is to have complete documentation, and pray for a nice claims adjuster in a good mood that day.
And yes, you can keep the wreck. Some companies will charge you against what they'd get for scrap, some will just give it back. Just remember, after you've stripped it, you'll need to get rid of it, and that can cost.
posted by 192.249....
, Mon, 16 Jun 2003 10:38:58 <-- Viewing This Message
, Sat, 14 Jun 2003 13:46:05
, Fri, 13 Jun 2003 20:53:05
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