Auto insurance guru's, step in..PLEASE - Drinks on me tonight

I can call mine right now.






















Maybe that smiley should be this one....

 

x2

 

Sometimes personal injuries take a month and a week to show up.................. Especially stress related things ......................

 

Around here you get the sales tax as well as the car's book value. So if your car is worth 10k$ you also get $800 for the sales tax you'll pay on your next car.

 

I'm not in insurance, nor an attorney - can only go by my experience:

When a lady ran into me in January (at a stop light, in the middle of a line of traffic, well on my side of the road, she ran into me coming from the opposite direction), I was told by my agent my insurance would pay, minus the $500 deductible - but it could take 3-4 months to get the $500 back. I had to pressure the other party's insurance to speed things along so my insurance didn't get involved (actually they weren't slow, just the other party wasn't contacting them so they couldn't even get involved at that point).

I was praying the whole time that they wouldn't total the truck. I paid more than book value (emergency buy other car died suddenly) and knew that I would still be on the hook for paying part of the loan. I got lucky - doesn't look like lady luck was on your side this time.

Now, if the vehicle was in perfect shape (and you could prove it), and they paid off as if it was in fair shape, you would have a case for the difference. If you had expensive add-ons that raised the value (not just in your mind, but actually raised value to the average buyer), then you would have a case - but it would have to come from the other party's insurance. Unfortunately we tend to think of our insurance company as our advocate - they ARE NOT! They are only in it to make money while keeping enough of a respectable name to stay in business and keep market share. Even your insurance agent is not on your side - I've had my small-town agent for over 20 years, this was my first accident, and she couldn't even be bothered to get the police report for me when I asked.

So, to get back to your issue - someone only owes you money if the pay off was below what the vehicle was worth on the fair market. I'm sorry you are going thru this and it sux, but that is the way it is.

 

When my wife totaled our Camry the insurance company cut her a check for 10,700.00 plus sales tax, plus license plate transfer fee (20.00).
I had reserched the value of the car and figured it was worth 8700.00!

Gary

 

also depends on the state laws. In Michigan there is No-fault: so it does not matter who is at fault during a moving violation. Insurance covers mostly the medical costs and that is the expensive part of the monthly payment. The collision is the cheaper part, but insurance SUCKS when this type of thing happens. If someone hits your parked car (in Michigan) you could sue them for damages. Sorry to hear what happened and I am glad Rachel is ok.

 

you have been made "whole" insurance is done. we had a similar situation a few years ago, wife was rear ended, car is worth X that is what you get. hers was paid off and in great condition so the adjuster gave us a little extra.

 

Like others have said, Insurance Co's are NOT your friend. (Also, if you have watched those Liberty Insurance Company ads, do not believe a word of it, check the facts first.)
Here is how it worked for me in Maryland. about 15 or so years ago, someone hit me coming out of the parking lot at work. Other driver was at fault, said to give me the estimate, they would pay. After estimate, they decided it was too much, and got their insurance guy involved; he came out and looked at damage, then paid up. No pain.
Then in 2004, I got rear-ended in the Harbor Tunnel. I had just had surgery, was shaken, car was totaled. The cop let me use his mobile to call my insurance. They said I would have to be towed to the nearest place that THEY wanted, I talked them into towing to a place closer to my home, then had to hitch a ride with the towtruck driver (do you know that tow truck cabs don't have seatbelts? And they are very bumpy rides?).
Next thing, I had to get the Transportation Police to hustle up sending the accident report to my insurance agent so that they could give me a check, so I could get another car, and stop bothering other people for rides. (They didn't tell me about a rental car, and it wouldn't have mattered, as rental companies demanded a credit card, which I didn't have at the time.)
After they gave me my money, I had to dig into my savings in order to be able to buy a new car.
At least I could afford it. My friend Elaine had a Honda that she loved and it never gave her any trouble. After someone T-boned her, she couldn't even buy a used honda, she had to settle for a Nissan that was even older then the one that was totaled.
Bottom line, if you think you are entitled to more (and you certainly are!) You will have to get a lawyer (sometimes spelled liar) and sue the driver at fault. This is a long, complicated process, that will probably cost you a lot more than you will recoup, unless you sue for some outlandish pain-and-suffering or such.
Unfortunately, once it became a law to carry insurance, we are stuck with this sort of "service". If we had the option on taking our chances and not paying up, I bet they would be a little more accommodating.
That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.

 

So the person at fault, cant legally be held responsible for the loss of my personal property?


I had a car, everything was fine until she RAN THE RED LIGHT.

 

Yes, but as I said, you will have to hire a lawyer.

 

Which is what i have mentioned in the very first post within this thread...

 

Sucks.
You would think that is what you have insurance for.

 

Problem is your personal property is only worth the 10K at the time of the accident, so as IP said in the eyes of the insurance co, they made you whole. You should be able to payoff her car and replace in kind (take another loan) with the money you received and keep a similar payment.

 

Most people don't understand the "upside down" "underwater" aspect of insurance or mortgages. That is/was part of the recession problem the last 10 years.
Sorry to say but it is what it is. Lawyer will more than likely cost you more than the outcome will benefit.
I have heard some refusing to accept the ins settlement and negotiated a little more. If you already cashed their check though you're screwed.
I wasn't allowed to buy a car in high school but when I graduated high school my dad said he would co sign but only for a new vehicle. I objected as I didn't want to fork out the $ for new and back then interest rates were 8-12%.
I caved in or else I wouldn't have had a vehicle. Spent 20 years underwater in new vehicles and pizzed off the whole time over high payments. 15 years ago I said enough is enough and bought a cheap beater to drive also and kept the mileage down on the banks truck. Haven't bought a new one since. I plan ahead and always look for screaming deals on vehicles. Ive bought several the last 15 years that conservatively Kelly BB 50% more than what I paid . The last one BB'd over double what I paid.
Upside down just sucks. Sorry man.

 

Car was worth ~10K at the time of the accident, you got a check for about 10K. You were paid what you were due. Don't expect anything more unless you don't agree with the value of the car based on current market prices (NOT what you have into it).

Yes, it does suck that you have more money than that into the car than 10K, but that would have been the case whether or not an accident happened.

I'm not sure you have a leg to stand on, legally speaking, to go after the other party to recover damages above what your car was worth.

You should, however, be able to go out and buy another identical car for 10K and be in the same place you were before the accident.

 

^ I agree with that. No matter how much interest $ you paid the bank the past 5 years, no matter what you have into the car, no matter if you rolled a previous loan amount into this loan, your car is worth what it is worth on the given day it's estimated. You got paid for exactly that, minus deductible. You are paid in full in the insurance world's eyes. Hiring a lawyer would be a waste of $ IMO, unless you end up with more medical bills down the road, and even then, I'm sure there is a statute of limitations.
Take your $9500, buy a car, and be glad the wife wasn't hurt or worse. If it was me, I'd buy a $2000 beater WITH CASH, and pay off the extra $7k on the loan. This is where paying extra $ per month towards principal pays off folks.

 

This is not directed at anybody here...
This is one of the problems with us all today, myself included. I think everything should be fair(or at least fair to me) in life and it just isn't. I work for a school district and things that used to be about the kids, and fun for them, is now about their mommas and about makin everything easy, fair, and fun for everybody. Then these poor kids get outa high school and maybe college, all to find out they weren't living in reality. Life ain't fair. Most of us don't have an inheritance. Business's aren't in business to keep everything fair.
Rant over.

Very sorry for your accident. I'm glad it sounds as though your wife was unharmed and things will work out. Dealt with insurance on a truck and fifth wheel last winter. Wasn't fun nor fair but we moved on. Gotta enjoy life.