Ins Co. wants to declare my car salvageable....
11-26-2017, 12:52 PM
#1
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 37
Ins Co. wants to declare my car salvageable....
Long story short: got into a fender bender (not my fault) the other guys ins company says heres the deal. The blue book on your 1998 maxima with body damage is 1000...the cost of repairs for the side lights and paint scraped on the driver side is 2000...we'll buy the car off you for 2000 but we take it and scrap it (it runs fine) or you can take 976 bucks but declare the car salvageable in paperwork for the state. I can keep the car BUT there's a real possibility that if I get into another accident (not my fault) that future ins co may decline paying for any repairs since the car is "salvageable" in the paperwork.
Is that true anyone have any experience with this?
Oh I got into an accident about 6 year earlier (dent on the passenger side...not my fault either) that persons ins paid 1500 for the repairs but I had major bills and figured I could live with the dent and used that money for other bills. Other than that body damage (before this one) the car runs and performs fine).
Is that true anyone have any experience with this?
Oh I got into an accident about 6 year earlier (dent on the passenger side...not my fault either) that persons ins paid 1500 for the repairs but I had major bills and figured I could live with the dent and used that money for other bills. Other than that body damage (before this one) the car runs and performs fine).
11-26-2017, 01:23 PM
#2
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 2,979
So it sounds like your concern is what another insurance company MIGHT do IF you get into another accident, and the amount of money in question is about 1000 bucks. You seem to be a good driver, and keep yourself out of trouble.
If it were me, I would consider the condition of the car before the accident, and what it will be like after the repair. I would also consider the likely quality or problems you might find in an unknown 2000 dollar Maxima you might find out there.
If your car was very nice, straight, fairly low miles, abd you trusted the car, it might be worthwhile to have it fixed. The devil you know vs the devil you dont.
on the other hand, if the car was previously straight, but with a lot of mechanical issues, the car you have will still have them after the repair as well.
In that case, it might be better to take the 2000 check, then shop carefully.
If it were me, I would consider the condition of the car before the accident, and what it will be like after the repair. I would also consider the likely quality or problems you might find in an unknown 2000 dollar Maxima you might find out there.
If your car was very nice, straight, fairly low miles, abd you trusted the car, it might be worthwhile to have it fixed. The devil you know vs the devil you dont.
on the other hand, if the car was previously straight, but with a lot of mechanical issues, the car you have will still have them after the repair as well.
In that case, it might be better to take the 2000 check, then shop carefully.
11-26-2017, 01:30 PM
#3
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 37
So it sounds like your concern is what another insurance company MIGHT do IF you get into another accident, and the amount of money in question is about 1000 bucks. You seem to be a good driver, and keep yourself out of trouble.
If it were me, I would consider the condition of the car before the accident, and what it will be like after the repair. I would also consider the likely quality or problems you might find in an unknown 2000 dollar Maxima you might find out there.
If your car was very nice, straight, fairly low miles, abd you trusted the car, it might be worthwhile to have it fixed. The devil you know vs the devil you dont.
on the other hand, if the car was previously straight, but with a lot of mechanical issues, the car you have will still have them after the repair as well.
In that case, it might be better to take the 2000 check, then shop carefully.
If it were me, I would consider the condition of the car before the accident, and what it will be like after the repair. I would also consider the likely quality or problems you might find in an unknown 2000 dollar Maxima you might find out there.
If your car was very nice, straight, fairly low miles, abd you trusted the car, it might be worthwhile to have it fixed. The devil you know vs the devil you dont.
on the other hand, if the car was previously straight, but with a lot of mechanical issues, the car you have will still have them after the repair as well.
In that case, it might be better to take the 2000 check, then shop carefully.
my car has almost 200k on it...I get the low calculation but it sticks in my kraw that another accident thats not my fault would result in them not even bothering to make it right somehow...
11-26-2017, 02:13 PM
#4
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Central AR
Posts: 3,041
Roughly 5 years ago, my 1st 4th gen was hit by a texting driver and declared a total loss. IIRC, the insurance company offered me some price like $1,900. They also said I could keep the car for $300 less. So I took $1,600. Since the title was not transferred (it stayed in my ownership) there was no blemish on the title. I ended up selling the car for $700. The guy that bought the car from me drove it for 5 years with the damage.
11-26-2017, 05:41 PM
#7
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 2,979
OP, please post photos of the damage.
Some people care a lot about how a car looks. They see it as part of their own persona. A straight Maxima still looks good.
Other people might consider a car as old as ours to be just a transportation device. These can have bent metal, crappy paint or both. If they are still dependable and run well, the car might serve for another five years.
In the past I have grafted doors and fenders from junk cars on to my vehicle, then paint the newer parts to match. Either at Maaco or Earl Sheib , or with rattle cans.
I used the rest of the insurance money towards a newer car. I was able to save money on a monthly basis as well, until I could afford a car I liked.
Last edited by JvG; 11-26-2017 at 05:43 PM. Reason: Spell check
11-26-2017, 07:41 PM
#9
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 37
I have done the same thing.
OP, please post photos of the damage.
Some people care a lot about how a car looks. They see it as part of their own persona. A straight Maxima still looks good.
Other people might consider a car as old as ours to be just a transportation device. These can have bent metal, crappy paint or both. If they are still dependable and run well, the car might serve for another five years.
In the past I have grafted doors and fenders from junk cars on to my vehicle, then paint the newer parts to match. Either at Maaco or Earl Sheib , or with rattle cans.
I used the rest of the insurance money towards a newer car. I was able to save money on a monthly basis as well, until I could afford a car I liked.
OP, please post photos of the damage.
Some people care a lot about how a car looks. They see it as part of their own persona. A straight Maxima still looks good.
Other people might consider a car as old as ours to be just a transportation device. These can have bent metal, crappy paint or both. If they are still dependable and run well, the car might serve for another five years.
In the past I have grafted doors and fenders from junk cars on to my vehicle, then paint the newer parts to match. Either at Maaco or Earl Sheib , or with rattle cans.
I used the rest of the insurance money towards a newer car. I was able to save money on a monthly basis as well, until I could afford a car I liked.
the side lights still work actually I'm looking at tutorials to replace them myself if I can. otherwise my mechanic says its 273 to do it.
Last edited by hellified; 11-26-2017 at 07:45 PM.
11-26-2017, 10:25 PM
#10
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 2,979
The side light can be found at junkyards for cheap.
If you go to a you-pull-it, ( remove your own parts)
it would cost less. Then figure out how to remove it. Installation would be easy then.
The rest of the car looks perfectly drivable as is.
Whether you can accept the car as it is comes down to your own opinion.
I would not bother to fix that if it were mine.
My current Maxima is a 96. It has a near mint body.
The car has 210k on it. I figure that the clutch will go out some year soon. Do you anticipate that costly mechanical work will be in store soon?
If no, then the car is worth keeping. If yes, then it might make sense to accept the 2k, then move on.
On the other hand, you might want a car with a nice body. Then either fix yours, or get another car.
It might be difficult to get a nice body in a road salt area.
If you go to a you-pull-it, ( remove your own parts)
it would cost less. Then figure out how to remove it. Installation would be easy then.
The rest of the car looks perfectly drivable as is.
Whether you can accept the car as it is comes down to your own opinion.
I would not bother to fix that if it were mine.
My current Maxima is a 96. It has a near mint body.
The car has 210k on it. I figure that the clutch will go out some year soon. Do you anticipate that costly mechanical work will be in store soon?
If no, then the car is worth keeping. If yes, then it might make sense to accept the 2k, then move on.
On the other hand, you might want a car with a nice body. Then either fix yours, or get another car.
It might be difficult to get a nice body in a road salt area.
11-26-2017, 10:44 PM
#11
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Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 303
That sounds like a bad insurance company on the other guys end!
I have experience with accidents twice. Both totaled. Both of the same car years ago. Had a Camry with $2,000 in damage and it was much worse than that. It was T boned and the rear wheel had a negative camber. Car was ****ed up, door sticking out. Had to embarrassingly drive it around for almost 2 years. Got the struts fixed for $500 and the body damage for $600+ junkyard parts. Then it got totaled for real shortly after. That second time, I got an attorney and got paid $2.300 for the car and then later settled on my injuries.
That's why it's always good to have 1) uninsured/underinsured and 2) an attorney for accidents. They shouldn't be offering you $975 on $2,000 in damage. Plus, that doesn't even look like $2,000 in damage anyway. They should have got an estimate at the body shop (or let you choose whichever place you want to go to e.g. Macao) and paid for those repairs. With underinsured motorist protection, your insurance company would make them pay up more.
And then calling it salvaged? That's stupid. I had $1,200 in deer damage to my 97 Max a couple years ago...only a fender bent and front bumper/taillight lose. It was not a salvage. My insurance paid it less the comprehensive deductible. I would not accept their offer. They need to do better.
But that's the problem with at fault insurance companies. Or no fault. Whatever that means lol. Fact is, other people's insurance who are at fault are always going to try to either defend or cheap out. Commercial insurance companies do a lot better. Unfortunently it's the dirty little secret out there.
Your insurance company would rather you be sued for causing an accident, than to properly cover the costs of damage. Your insurance company will be good for you, but bad for whoever you cause an accident to. And vice versa. And definitely stay away from cheap local insurance companies....they are the worst! They didn't pay the claim on the guy who T-boned me, even after wasting my time going in for an estimate. Listened to his bull**** story that he wasn't driving!
That's why when people do dumb **** on the road, I will press on my horn until they are a mile away from me. I hate stupid drivers. They hit you, and then their insurance company don't want to pay.
I have experience with accidents twice. Both totaled. Both of the same car years ago. Had a Camry with $2,000 in damage and it was much worse than that. It was T boned and the rear wheel had a negative camber. Car was ****ed up, door sticking out. Had to embarrassingly drive it around for almost 2 years. Got the struts fixed for $500 and the body damage for $600+ junkyard parts. Then it got totaled for real shortly after. That second time, I got an attorney and got paid $2.300 for the car and then later settled on my injuries.
That's why it's always good to have 1) uninsured/underinsured and 2) an attorney for accidents. They shouldn't be offering you $975 on $2,000 in damage. Plus, that doesn't even look like $2,000 in damage anyway. They should have got an estimate at the body shop (or let you choose whichever place you want to go to e.g. Macao) and paid for those repairs. With underinsured motorist protection, your insurance company would make them pay up more.
And then calling it salvaged? That's stupid. I had $1,200 in deer damage to my 97 Max a couple years ago...only a fender bent and front bumper/taillight lose. It was not a salvage. My insurance paid it less the comprehensive deductible. I would not accept their offer. They need to do better.
But that's the problem with at fault insurance companies. Or no fault. Whatever that means lol. Fact is, other people's insurance who are at fault are always going to try to either defend or cheap out. Commercial insurance companies do a lot better. Unfortunently it's the dirty little secret out there.
Your insurance company would rather you be sued for causing an accident, than to properly cover the costs of damage. Your insurance company will be good for you, but bad for whoever you cause an accident to. And vice versa. And definitely stay away from cheap local insurance companies....they are the worst! They didn't pay the claim on the guy who T-boned me, even after wasting my time going in for an estimate. Listened to his bull**** story that he wasn't driving!
That's why when people do dumb **** on the road, I will press on my horn until they are a mile away from me. I hate stupid drivers. They hit you, and then their insurance company don't want to pay.
Last edited by 97_GXE; 11-26-2017 at 10:56 PM.
11-27-2017, 12:11 AM
#12
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 37
I only have liability on the car for my ins. So i have to go after the other guys ins. In any case theyre saying the damages exceed the worth of the car....which is around 1000 and the paint and repairs to the lights would cost more than that.
11-27-2017, 12:13 AM
#13
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 37
The side light can be found at junkyards for cheap.
If you go to a you-pull-it, ( remove your own parts)
it would cost less. Then figure out how to remove it. Installation would be easy then.
The rest of the car looks perfectly drivable as is.
Whether you can accept the car as it is comes down to your own opinion.
I would not bother to fix that if it were mine.
My current Maxima is a 96. It has a near mint body.
The car has 210k on it. I figure that the clutch will go out some year soon. Do you anticipate that costly mechanical work will be in store soon?
If no, then the car is worth keeping. If yes, then it might make sense to accept the 2k, then move on.
On the other hand, you might want a car with a nice body. Then either fix yours, or get another car.
It might be difficult to get a nice body in a road salt area.
If you go to a you-pull-it, ( remove your own parts)
it would cost less. Then figure out how to remove it. Installation would be easy then.
The rest of the car looks perfectly drivable as is.
Whether you can accept the car as it is comes down to your own opinion.
I would not bother to fix that if it were mine.
My current Maxima is a 96. It has a near mint body.
The car has 210k on it. I figure that the clutch will go out some year soon. Do you anticipate that costly mechanical work will be in store soon?
If no, then the car is worth keeping. If yes, then it might make sense to accept the 2k, then move on.
On the other hand, you might want a car with a nice body. Then either fix yours, or get another car.
It might be difficult to get a nice body in a road salt area.
11-27-2017, 06:06 AM
#14
The bottom-line is ... if you don’t accept a settlement from an insurance company, an insurance company has nothing to say about if/how/where the car is repaired and how the car is titled after a repair is completed.
The photos provided above are not of damage that should earn a vehicle a “salvage” or “rebuilt” title.
If you have a mind to and if you have the funds, I’d urge you to eliminate the insurance company from the equation, repair the car as you want and as you can and retain an unblemished title.
The photos provided above are not of damage that should earn a vehicle a “salvage” or “rebuilt” title.
If you have a mind to and if you have the funds, I’d urge you to eliminate the insurance company from the equation, repair the car as you want and as you can and retain an unblemished title.
11-27-2017, 09:41 AM
#15
That damage doesn't look bad at all. Do not pay someone to replace lamps and small body work. That is just silly. You can get a set of those (parking lamps I believe they're called) on ebay for like $12 w/ bulbs. As for installation you simply lift up the hood, unscrew it with a phillips screw driver, then fit a flat head wrapped around a cloth between the head lamp and parking lamp and pop it off. Disconnect the lamp and install a new one.
11-27-2017, 09:46 AM
#16
Also keep in mind that your car is beige and is widely found in junkyards (at least in my experience) so you should have no problem replacing those fenders. I replaced the fenders on my old 97 because why spend $500+ on paint & labor when you could get fenders for $60 at a JY. My color was deep evergreen though which I found to be quite rare so It took a while to find them.
11-27-2017, 11:07 AM
#17
The photos provided above are not of damage that should earn a vehicle a “salvage” or “rebuilt” title.
If you have a mind to and if you have the funds, I’d urge you to eliminate the insurance company from the equation, repair the car as you want and as you can and retain an unblemished title.
11-27-2017, 04:59 PM
#18
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Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 1,560
Lmao, they're calling that salvageable.. OK. If I were you, I'd just replace the lights, which should not cost more than $50 to do. $273 to replace them is HIGHWAY ROBBERY... wtf?? Take the insurance money, then just continue on driving it. Also that IS NOT $2000 worth(looks way less that it is) of damage, they made that bullsht up so you can feel frustrated and get rid of it so you can spend more on another car.. that's there dirty secret.
If you really wanted to fix it, I'd just pay with cash if you deeply care about the car for its looks. But if you don't care about the body, then just repair whats needed as cheaply as possible.
If you really wanted to fix it, I'd just pay with cash if you deeply care about the car for its looks. But if you don't care about the body, then just repair whats needed as cheaply as possible.
Last edited by JoshG; 11-27-2017 at 05:03 PM.
11-27-2017, 11:26 PM
#19
bring it over to my place and i'll put the lights on for free. 2 minute job, plus, i could probably buff out a good portion of the scratches except for the deeper ones in an hour or 2 by hand. don't know where in pa you are but that's nothing, you should see my 07 sonata after a truck hit it. then you be upset. seriously, i'm in collegeville and i could help you with that for a lot less. insurance company's.....
Last edited by max ride 41; 11-27-2017 at 11:33 PM.
12-02-2017, 12:23 PM
#20
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 37
I agree with you to some extent. The car may live on for many more years which is great, but as far as re-sale is concerned, it's re-sale life/value is over. The smart thing to do is to take the money and run and keep on driving it for many more years. Given the value of the car today, I wouldn't care about a salvage title. That damage is very minor, and considering the other damage he lived with, why not live with this new damage too?
A. the car still runs very well its just got body damage
B. my car as been damaged in this future accident and I feel that should be compensated for regardless of past damages.
example: lets say sometime in 2020 someone swipes my car and takes off the side mirror..theyre ins my say "well the car isn't worth anything anyway so we're not going to pay for the damages"
is that a possibility?
12-02-2017, 12:25 PM
#21
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 37
bring it over to my place and i'll put the lights on for free. 2 minute job, plus, i could probably buff out a good portion of the scratches except for the deeper ones in an hour or 2 by hand. don't know where in pa you are but that's nothing, you should see my 07 sonata after a truck hit it. then you be upset. seriously, i'm in collegeville and i could help you with that for a lot less. insurance company's.....
makes me feel like i'm really mechanically inclined
12-02-2017, 04:29 PM
#22
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 2,979
its not about the damage done my concern is for future damage. If the car is designated totaled/salvage then FUTURE accidents may mean that that persons ins will decline covering it as any damage from this point on will cost more than the car is worth even tho...
A. the car still runs very well its just got body damage
B. my car as been damaged in this future accident and I feel that should be compensated for regardless of past damages.
example: lets say sometime in 2020 someone swipes my car and takes off the side mirror..theyre ins my say "well the car isn't worth anything anyway so we're not going to pay for the damages"
is that a possibility?
A. the car still runs very well its just got body damage
B. my car as been damaged in this future accident and I feel that should be compensated for regardless of past damages.
example: lets say sometime in 2020 someone swipes my car and takes off the side mirror..theyre ins my say "well the car isn't worth anything anyway so we're not going to pay for the damages"
is that a possibility?
The next accident may or may not be covered through another insurace company. It probably will be, because it was worth more before the other party wrecks yours than it did before .
But then again, only 1000 dollars is at risk , minus what you could sell it for.
You might consider finding something else to worry about.
Meanwhile, you might think about what 1000 dollars from the insurance company in December might make your Christmas more merry.
12-04-2017, 12:30 PM
#23
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Oakland, CA
Posts: 704
its not about the damage done my concern is for future damage. If the car is designated totaled/salvage then FUTURE accidents may mean that that persons ins will decline covering it as any damage from this point on will cost more than the car is worth even tho...
A. the car still runs very well its just got body damage
B. my car as been damaged in this future accident and I feel that should be compensated for regardless of past damages.
example: lets say sometime in 2020 someone swipes my car and takes off the side mirror..theyre ins my say "well the car isn't worth anything anyway so we're not going to pay for the damages"
is that a possibility?
A. the car still runs very well its just got body damage
B. my car as been damaged in this future accident and I feel that should be compensated for regardless of past damages.
example: lets say sometime in 2020 someone swipes my car and takes off the side mirror..theyre ins my say "well the car isn't worth anything anyway so we're not going to pay for the damages"
is that a possibility?