bullseye

My insurance company just contacted me this week to talk turkey on my accident claim, which resulted from a wreck on 5/3/02. It wasn't my fault, and I was struck by an uninsured driver. Metropolitan totaled my car, and wishes to offer me $5,400 for it. They are completely ignoring the value of my mods, all of which I listed for them. The value of my aftermarket parts alone (no freight nor installation) exceeds $12,500.

I have politely requested to speak with a higher authority. I have been a policyholder with Met for nearly 20 years. I have both renters and auto insurance with Met, and the 401-k program where I work is administered by Met as well. I thought I could end up holding "the dirty end of the stick" on this deal, but... CR@P!

By the way, it's probably NOT worth hiring an attorney for this. By the time I pay attorney fees, I won't clear enough money to make it all worthwhile. And that assumes we win! If we sue and lose, that would result in a worse fate for me than I seem to be nearing now.

Any words of wisdom? And please, no flames! I've been beaten up bad enough already. First by the wreck, and now Met. Thanks...

mzmtg

iTrader: (11)

Doesnt your policy cover any parts permanently attached to the car?

If so, I think that would be the end of that.

But, I'm guessing it's not that simple...

DAREN

iTrader: (3)

let them know the car was customized and that it has more value then the striaght book #'s.

you may have to sue. dont go after Met. get after the owner of the other vehicle, the driver of the vehicle or in case it was a minor his parents/guardian.

put the shoe on the other foot. if you were a insured driver that owned a home valued at $150K and your auto policy carried $150k in liability and you hit him and caused damages he would sue you. what if he goes for $300k? guess what, you just lost your house.

yes i know it is easier said than done but you asked and that is what i would do.

first off: if the other guy had insurance, your insurance (Met) would probably be cutting you a bigger check. but since they are paying, the less they pay the better, in their eyes.

second: the guy that hit you is getting off completely. what's a ticket and a few pts on his liscense when compaired to paying you $6g's in mod value.

MaximumOvadrive

Well, I am sure you are aware of this now, but for the benefit of those who are not, any modifications (legal ones) should be listed with your insurer and specifically covered in your policy, which of course means insurance premiums will be more (normally requiring a third party appraisal of the vehicle to be done at your costs.)

If you did not do this, you should immediately compile all the reciepts to back your claims. You should definitely fight for the difference (being sure to produce an appraisal for what your car would have been worth prior to its untimely demise or several print/net ads for like equipped make/model maxes that include price), and may just consider hiring an attorney to write one letter (will run ya around $200) setting forth your demands, attaching copies of the reciepts, and setting an anticipated date for response.

Also, when it comes time to scrap the car, and if you feel that your still not being fully compensated, pull off the salvagable hi-pro parts and sell them!

Sorry for your unfortunate quandry. Good luck!

bullseye

The first person at Met to contact me mentioned I should have arranged to have all my mods put on a special policy rider to have them covered at fair market value. I argued a few things: even if the add-ons don't add value to the car, they, in and of themselves, have value. Why should I suffer a loss when I've been paying premiums to Met for nearly two decades? It is Met's responsibility to pay-up. THEY can go after the uninsured motorist to recover their money. If Met takes care of me, I'll be getting a new car, for which I will pay Met insurance premiums. The better settlement I get, the better car I will get. The better car I get, the higher the premiums. I have been a loyal policyholder for a long time. Many of my friends request bids for their insurance every year, going with the lowest bidder every year. Met should reward me for my loyalty. Otherwise, why stay with one company as I have?

Today was only round 1. We tested each other's resolve. Tomorrow: Round 2.

MaximumOvadrive

You can ALSO get a judgment against the unisured idiot who hit you, and then have the Sheriff sieze his personal property (stereo system, TV whatever) for Sheriff's auction wherein you will realize the proceeds (less a small commission for their services.)

Will run you the cost of the small claims filing (some places this is handled on the municipal level v. the county level), and the Sheriff's service (total being under $100 in most vicinages, but call your local Sheriff's office for quotation on service and your local County Superior Court Clerk for filing fee.) You again, WILL need reciepts of your upgrades, and an evaluation/appraisal of what the vehicle was worth for the judge to determine the amount to award you in compensation for the difference from what you recouped from your own insurance company (which you will also have to show proofs of...that is, the check/s they give you in settlement of your claim.)

Did this to a guy who backed up into hubby's car while pulling out of his driveway, and refused to pay for the damages. Whole process took less than 6 weeks if I recall correctly (going back MANY years.) Funny how they come up with the money when faced with loosing their entire home entertainment system and furnishings.

tifosiv122

iTrader: (2)

He is 100% right. I have been saying this on the org for a while now. My car is worth $6,000-8,000 if I am lucky, and I have over $20,000 in aftermarket parts. I pay $125 a year in a full coverage rider. For $10 a month I don't have to worry about my car. I am not saying this to upset you, but others should realize that if you have over $2,000 in mods, its worth the extra protection because if you had it you would not have this hassle.

I wish you luck, but the law is not on your side. I would suggest asking for market value on your car and the ability to remove aftermarket parts and hand them over your stock parts (hopefully you kept them).

Erik

bullseye

The rational side of my head understands that completely. I should have discussed my policy with an agent a long time ago. I have no one to blame but myself.

The other side of my head still can't quite grasp why me, an *insured* motorist, takes a $12,500 hit as a result of a dumb#ss mistake by an uninsured driver who incurred less than $400 worth of damage to his vehicle! I don't know why I must become an insomniac court-rat, marathon negotiator, mechanic, and/or a used car-parts salesman to come out anywhere near "OK" on this deal. You would think *I* was the one who caused the accident and who had no insurance! Meanwhile, Truck-boy gets off with extremely minor damage that he will probably not even [have to] repair. WTF.

I may have to cheer myself up with a new car. Hmmm, that G35 drives real nice...

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

Sorry to hear about the loss of your vehicle. Mods, are never covered by your insurance company unless you spicifically add them to your policy. The basic policy for your car covers the car, period. Anything you add to the car is never covered under your general policy. Your fighting a losing battel with them.

Think of it this way. You can't take out a policy for a VW bug, turn it into a Mercedes, smash it up and expect to be paid for the value of the Mercedes . It doesn't work that way. Insurance companies would go broke if that was the case.

Your policy and premium are based on the market value of your car as the policy was written. Your mods aren't on that policy so they don't exist as far as the insurance company knows. If you wanted your mods covered, your premimun would need to be much higher to cover the liability.

Sorry to say, but your never going to get a penny from your insurance company for aftermarket items that aren't spicifically listed on your policy.

ejj

iTrader: (5)

Is that the case with all insurance companies? When I was in my second accident 2 aftermarket rims were beat up and there was a chance that my suspension (struts) was damaged.

Progressive refinished all the rims and didn't have to replace the suspension, as it was fine. However, they (with my help) had new rims ready if they were bent and researched the aftermarket suspension parts (Koni's) that would be needed as replacements if needed.

Seems that they were ready to replace the aftermarket parts. The owner of the body shop said that "the insurance company has to return the car to the state that it was in before the accident". Is this only when repairing a vehicle, and not when totaling it?

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

I believe that certain items will be covered. Necessary parts such as rims, tires and suspension components - even a muffler or custom bumper cover would most likely be replaced if the car is fixed. The cost of these items are very similar to OEM parts anyway. The key here is these items will be REPLACED if the car was involved in an accedent. These items are not considered value enhancements so the value of your car stays the same as far as the insurance company sees it.

In other words, if you replace your syspension with aftermarket hi performance struts and springs, then your car gets totalled, your only going to get the value of your car. The fact that you put 600 bucks into your upgraded syspension means nothing to your insurance company.

Things like aftermarket audio equipment, add on super chargers, turbos, intercoolers, strut bars and other "accessory" items such as PIAA fog light kits (not the bulbs, the whole system) will not be covered. If your supercharger gets trashed in an accident, your going to get your car repaired without a supercharger. It's going to be up to you to replace that item. The insurance company isn't insuring a supercharged maxima, there only insuring a N/A maxima. Think "OEM" not aftermarket.

ejj

iTrader: (5)

I suppose that makes sense. Thanks.

caz41

tifosiv122, you are absolutely right. I am sorry for this members loss, but anyone else who does not have their car insured properly should do so now. I use "agreed value" insurance on collector cars. My max has no mods, so I don't worry about it.

rmb

I work for an insurance company. There is no coverage for aftermarket parts of any kind unless you elect to (and are permitted to) add them to your policy. Then you'd also be paying higher premiums. You'll get book value only or whatever value is described in your policy.

Sue the idiot who hit you. Take him to small claims and get what you can. This will probably take at least a year.

Your other option is to beat it out of him. It worked for me.,.,,,

-RMB

ejj

iTrader: (5)

Then if the insurance company is only insuring the car, and not the aftermarket parts, can you go and strip the aftermarket stuff off the car?

rmb

You sure should but they'll probably tell you not to. The only time this gets tricky is if the parts are upgrade/replacements for engine/suspension parts. Any part that was there before that you elected to upgrade (i.e. wheels, tires, struts, springs) you would not be able to legally take without putting the original parts back.

When they total most cars there is still quite a bit of value most of the time with the parts that are left for salvage. The insurance company is planning on getting some of that value when they sell the title to a junkyard.

Parts like stereo equipment, additional lights, rear swar bar, fstb, etc, I'd certainly strip off if I were you. Just don't drop it to the weeds, that'll **** everyone off. Wherever the car is sitting now is probably being watched by someone making about $9/hour. $50 or $100 goes a long way and noone sees anything. It's always worked for me.....

-RMB

bullseye

Suppose I have all the mods stripped off the car, replacing them with the OEMs where possible. I end up with a garage full of dirty, oily, and/or rusting parts with no car to put them on. If I had the tools, facilities, knowledge, and inclination to remove all those parts, I might. But I don't. And it seems ludicrous to pay a mechanic to do it for me. I'd still have to sell/ship parts all over God's green Earth to regain only a small fraction of what they cost me originally. And there's always that "special somebody" who is going to not pay me for a part I ship for some bullsh!t reason. That would only add insult to injury, wouldn't it?

I think it's time to buy an industrial-size tub of Vaseline...

I saw the wreck today. It looked much worse than I remembered. The windshield was shattered and the A-pillar was bent. If I had been going any faster, that flatbed tow truck would have ripped off the top, with my head wrapped up inside it. I was blessed.

Thanks for all your kind words. My wounds are healed. My dog's OK. I still drive my "other" car, a 2000 Infiniti I30t. I'm just going to do the best I can do with the insurance company without an attorney, and get on down the road. I think that is the best thing I can do. I will let y'all know how I come out. Take care, all.

MaximumOvadrive

Just to let you know, it seems that when they do total you out, the insurance company will often leave you the car. When you get to that point, ask what their policy is on taking or leaving you the car, as there may be NO need to go through replacing parts with OEM if they intend to leave you the car to salvage/do with as you please.

When my 90 was totalled, they paid me the NADA value, and advised that I could do with it as I liked. I then in turn called several salvage co's (in your Yellow pages) and played the top 3 against one another (made about 15 phone calls in total, and took the scrap value from $250 up to $650 in under 30 minutes.)

Ended up that they guy buying her worked for a local Infinity dealership, and told me he was going to fix her all up afterhours at work as a second car for his wife to dirve about town. So, I was happy to hear that she would at least get a second breath of life after 250K miles and a REALLY bad accident (4K in damage).

Good luck, and don't backdown!

carnal_c30

iTrader: (38)

time to call my insuranec company 15k on top of the car is alot to lose

sorry about what happened man... but thank you in another way... let us know how it turns out

how much would the insurance companies rasie the premiums by for a car with mods?

jiaxima96

1) I parked it on the street where an Infiniti dealer is;
2) A guy fell asleep and hit my trunk. 90% trunk was crumpled, gone.
3) The other party's State Farm let me keep free rental for two weeks
and totaled my car. I received $11,050.50 for the loss.
4) I only have little "MODs", all are inexpensive: FSTB, 6-CD Nissan changer ($119), low-windshield fluid sensor, and some home-made mods such as auto-on/off headlights with auto turn-off (battery saver).
5) bought a 02 QX4
6) said bye to my Maxima but not to this forum as I'll visit here from time to time, less frequently.