Anyone with experience with keeping a car that the insurance company has totaled?

[sehaare]

My Daughter was T-boned by a driver sneaking through two lanes of stopped traffic from a parking lot trying to turn left. The good news is that no one was hurt and that his insurance company admits that he is 100% at fault. Bad news is that the repairs are going to be more than the car is worth. Damage is to where the rear passenger door meets the rear quarter panel. We've been driving the car in that condition for a week now and the damage is just superficial to the door, quarter panel, running board, wheel and tire.

So I intend on keep the car since I have owned it since day one, doing all the maintenance and it is mechanically perfect (and also has $700 worth of tires that are less than a year old on it)

Anyone have any experience with keep their car after the insurance has totaled it? Any advice?

Thanks

 

[Mitchs07explorer]

It's gonna have a salvaged tittle which means it will be hard to sell is all. If you know the car and know the damage is only superficial you can buy it back from the insurance company for next to nothing. I would call your auto insurance agent and make sure there aren't any extra fees or bs that goes a long with owning a salvaged title car. Shouldn't be a big deal otherwise.

 

[sehaare]

It's gonna have a salvaged tittle which means it will be hard to sell is all. If you know the car and know the damage is only superficial you can buy it back from the insurance company for next to nothing. I would call your auto insurance agent and make sure there aren't any extra fees or bs that goes a long with owning a salvaged title car. Shouldn't be a big deal otherwise.

I think the next owner will be a junkyard when I'm done with it. I thought that during one of the times that I was discussing my options when this first happened that I was told that it would not be a salvage title if I kept it as opposed to someone else buying it from the junkyard. I could be wrong though and again if I never plane on reselling it, then it doesn't really matter.

 

[XLTrunner]

Claims may be handled differently in other states but, here in MN, my older, high mileage daily driver was hit by a hailstorm and was "totaled". Insurance company gave me two options...1) settle for current market value and forfeit the car...or, 2) take a lesser amount and keep the car. I chose the latter as it was a well maintained and reliable car and, like you, knew the next owner after me would be the JY so I didn't care if it was branded as a salvage titled car. I feel it was a good decision on my part as I've driven it another 5 yrs and 80K miles with nothing more than normal maintenance expenses. One thing though...I could only carry liability on it from that point forward (insurance company wasn't going to pay twice if it got damaged again).

 

[sehaare]

Claims may be handled differently in other states but, here in MN, my older, high mileage daily driver was hit by a hailstorm and was "totaled". Insurance company gave me two options...1) settle for current market value and forfeit the car...or, 2) take a lesser amount and keep the car. I chose the latter as it was a well maintained and reliable car and, like you, knew the next owner after me would be the JY so I didn't care if it was branded as a salvage titled car. I feel it was a good decision on my part as I've driven it another 5 yrs and 80K miles with nothing more than normal maintenance expenses. One thing though...I could only carry liability on it from that point forward (insurance company wasn't going to pay twice if it got damaged again).

I heard the same thing about liability only. So I guess my insurance rate will go down. If it got into another wreck it would probably be time to go anyway.

 

[RangerX]

I totaled my current truck in 1999. I wanted to keep it, so I asked how much they would get from the scrapper, then asked how much they would give me if I let it go to the scrapper.
I then went home and did research on similar Rangers for sale in my area, then went back and bargained with the adjuster on how my truck was worth much more than they were first offering. They raised the amount to my researched market value, I took the offer and the check, then bought it back for the scrap value.
Still driving it today.

My advice: do homework and go in with 5-7 examples of similarly equipped and similar condition models as yours to get max dollar. I went in with several pages ripped out of the local edition autotrader magazine, this was kind of pre computer. Don't settle for their first offer, it's always a lowball.

 

[German Engineer]

Now what a car is worth in your own eyes and worth to you is naturally something different that market value.
And when it comes to market value a totaled car is practically worthless aside from the scrap value you can get at a junkyard.
Even if you repair the car yourself and get it operational and useable, then the market value of the care will get nowhere close to the Kelly Bluebook Value of an Explorer in excellent condition. And for our 2nd Generation
Explorers that is below $2000.

So no matter how much money you put into the car, the maximum amount you could officially lose and be reimbursed for in a future accident is basically just $2000. Now even though $2000 can of course be a major loss to someone living on a budget, but it is still not that excessive a financial risk generally speaking. So why would you want to consider paying monthly for additional insurance coverage beyond liability coverage for a vehicle that "worthless".

Unless losing such a low valued car has other major effects and risks regarding your financial wellbeing, such as loss of personal income the loss of a job for example, why would you not much rather want to just take the very limited financial risk yourself, save the money for the hardly helpful additional insurance and eventually spend it on a different car or a lot of chips and beer or whatever else?

With newer high value cars for tenth of thousands of dollars, that is of course something different, but what's the point of insuring a "cheap" old car like a 2nd gen. Explorer for more than just liability and maybe damage by an uninsured driver?

 

[allmyEXes]

In my state if the vehicle is totaled (financially) you have to repair the vehicle to the condition before the accident. Then you can get a one time rebuilder's license for $75-. Then the state revenue dept inspects it and if it passes inspection then they issue a rebuilt title. Then you can register it and get liability insurance and keep driving it.

 

[BKennedy]

My Explorer was "totaled" by insurance company after an interior electrical fire last year. The difference in me keeping it or letting the insurance company take it was $132.00. The welding wire I have in that rig cost more than that. I bought a donor same year rust bucket with excellent interior for $500.00. The donor has parts in four other board members Explorers now. I kept a lot of parts as spares.

In California, I had to go through the salvage vehicle program to bring it back to life. Brake and light inspection, then VIN check by DMV. The claims department of my insurance company (AAA) said they would not be able to cover it after it received a salvage title. I went to the local AAA office and they said the claims department has nothing to do with insuring vehicles, and since the car was insured by AAA for 23 years they had to keep it on my policy if I did not remove it myself.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Now what a car is worth in your own eyes and worth to you is naturally something different that market value.
And when it comes to market value a totaled car is practically worthless aside from the scrap value you can get at a junkyard.
Even if you repair the car yourself and get it operational and useable, then the market value of the care will get nowhere close to the Kelly Bluebook Value of an Explorer in excellent condition. And for our 2nd Generation
Explorers that is below $2000.

So no matter how much money you put into the car, the maximum amount you could officially lose and be reimbursed for in a future accident is basically just $2000. Now even though $2000 can of course be a major loss to someone living on a budget, but it is still not that excessive a financial risk generally speaking. So why would you want to consider paying monthly for additional insurance coverage beyond liability coverage for a vehicle that "worthless".

Unless losing such a low valued car has other major effects and risks regarding your financial wellbeing, such as loss of personal income the loss of a job for example, why would you not much rather want to just take the very limited financial risk yourself, save the money for the hardly helpful additional insurance and eventually spend it on a different car or a lot of chips and beer or whatever else?

With newer high value cars for tenth of thousands of dollars, that is of course something different, but what's the point of insuring a "cheap" old car like a 2nd gen. Explorer for more than just liability and maybe damage by an uninsured driver?

Why would you get rid of a known reliable and cared for car because of cosmetic damage, to only have to turn around and spend money on a more expensive car with unknown history?

To me it’s a no brainer. Buy it back, wait for a color matched truck to pop up at the salvage yard, and restore it with that. As for the salvage title, who cares?

 

[Cowboytrukr]

Ditto everyone’s vote to keep and fix. My wife got rear ended on a freeway on ramp in her Mazda 3. We took it and the settlement less ~$400 home with us. I found a perfect trunk lid and trunk opening. Sawzall got me a nice piece of new steel that I cut in where the damage was. I bought a new bumper cover for $200. Rattle can of metallic black and she loved it.

I already knew everything else about the car so it was an easy choice.

 

[sehaare]

Thanks to everyone, you have all reinforced what I had been thinking myself.

I've been talking to the repair shop about fixing just the big stuff after I buy it back.
we've already found a color matching door. Unfortunately I don't weld (or paint), so that limits what I can do myself to the rear quarter panel.

This has also backed up what I had been thinking for a while, that I've been foolish for having more than just liability coverage on my two older cars (along with my 4WD Explorer winter toy, I've also got an 81 rabbit convertible for a summer toy).

So in the end, I might end up with a reliable salvaged titled Explore that is still looks OK for a 20 year old car, a little money in my pocket from the insurance company settlement and lower insurance rates as I drop some coverage on my two old cars while keeping everything on my daily driver.

 

[toypaseo]

My insurance company totaled my 96 due to hail. The claim adjuster valued it at a bit over $3000. It was a garage queen for most of the time before I got it, and the only thing he could reduce value on was the K&N FIPK intake. Even he suggested that I buy it back, which I did for around $600.

 

[lobo411]

If you have new tires, you should point that out to the adjuster so they can increase the vehicle's estimated value. Ditto for any other new parts or mods you've installed.

 

[toypaseo]

If you have new tires, you should point that out to the adjuster so they can increase the vehicle's estimated value. Ditto for any other new parts or mods you've installed.

In my case, modifications reduced value...

 

[lobo411]

In my case, modifications reduced value...

Any reason? Legally, they're supposed to be compensating you for the actual market value of the vehicle, so I would think there would have to be a market-based reason for the reduction.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Any reason? Legally, they're supposed to be compensating you for the actual market value of the vehicle, so I would think there would have to be a market-based reason for the reduction.

You never get any return on mods, and the average person buying a car wants it factory, except for things like remote start.

 

[German Engineer]

Why would you get rid of a known reliable and cared for car because of cosmetic damage, to only have to turn around and spend money on a more expensive car with unknown history?

To me it’s a no brainer. Buy it back, wait for a color matched truck to pop up at the salvage yard, and restore it with that. As for the salvage title, who cares?

I completely agree with you, I wasn't arguing for him to get rid of the car.
I was only just explaining why it doesn't make any sense to me to spend extra money on additional insurance on a car with such a small market value. Any insurance company is only going to cover the market value of less than $2000.
And especially a car with a salvaged title is always going to have a market value considerably lower and you are never going to be reimbursed for what it will likely be worth to you personally, and clearly not with an amount that will enable you to replace it with a half what reliable similar car.

 

[BKennedy]

The majority of my vehicle's value was the modifications, the car itself was worth about $700.00, with $3500 added for $15000+ worth of parts.

I had an Explorer stolen over 20 years ago and the lift and tires/wheel price was added to the total value. I got more from the insurance company than I paid for the car and the modifications.

 

[Mbrooks420]

When I insured my dirt bike it was $75 a month. My bike hasall The aftermarket goodies available. I added 1500 of aftermarket parts value to it and it became $75 a year. If your vehicle isn’t stock, I’d add to it’s value. It’s usually peanuts. Since the expensive part of an accident is the ambulatory, and emergency health care fees, not the value of a used car.