Salvaged Tilte and Insurance Help!!

[anothergoatherd]

First of all my X is a 97’ Sport with 97000 miles on it.

Here is the situation. My sixteen year old daughter rolled my X a couple of weeks ago. It doesn’t look to bad, just some dents in the right front fender, the door needs to be replaced and I need to buy new windows for the right side. All in all its not to bad, I just put some plexi glass in and taped it up. I still drive it around and if you see it from the driver’s side it looks like new still. I do plan on fixing it back up. I have full coverage insurance with a $500.00 deductible and my daughter is on my insurance policy.

But here's the problem.

I got the estimate for repairs and its $9387.00. I still owe $8139.10 on the car loan. Geico told me that if the cost of repair is 75% or more of the total value of the vehicle it is considered totaled. I am not sure how they come up with that value but I checked the Kelly Bluebook and it is $9615.00. Out of that price they will pay the bank first and give me what ever is left over. After that if I want to keep the car with a salvaged title I have to put in a bid and other people in the area can bid on it as well. If someone else bids higher then me, then Geico will sell it to them. So when all is said and done I might only get a couple of hundred dollars and no car? This sucks! Does anyone have any insight on car insurance that might help me keep my car? It just doesn’t seem fare that if I want to keep my own car I have to pay them.

Any comments or insight into the situation would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Soundguy01tx]

Well I dont have any answers to your insurance/title questions, but I do want to say we are glad your daughter was ok. I assume this bc you didnt mention anything bad. That of course is the most important part of the situation.
--Bryan

 

[AlaskanJack]

Hmmm well everyone I know that has had a vehicle totalled they were given the option of buying it with salvage title back from insurace company. Course none of them owed money on them so maybe that's the difference.

 

[Siekyre]

When my mustang got totalled, I had the option to buy it back salvaged. They said it was worth $4500 and my buy back option was $800. So in the end I got a check for $3700 and some change and the car delivered to my doorstep.

Two things to point out tho.
1) I am with State Farm Insurance
2) I owned the vehicle.

So your options might be different because of either of those 2 things, I am not sure.

 

[AlaskanJack]

Originally posted by Siekyre
When my mustang got totalled, I had the option to buy it back salvaged. They said it was worth $4500 and my buy back option was $800. So in the end I got a check for $3700 and some change and the car delivered to my doorstep.

Two things to point out tho.
1) I am with State Farm Insurance
2) I owned the vehicle.

So your options might be different because of either of those 2 things, I am not sure.

Well maybe its a State Farm thing since both the guys I know were also with State Farm. Hmmm my brother-in-law has a State Farm agency I should ask him.

 

[Robb]

How do you still owe over $8K on a '97 Sport? At KBB, a '97 Sport (in my area) in Excellent condition with everything and 97K miles, the private seller value is only about $7K. I wouldn't too surprised if you owe the bank money even after Geico pays them off for they feel the vehicle is worth.

First off, I am very glad your daughter is okay!!!!

But, when the money situation is done, you are going to be at zero or even owe money. Somehow, you still owe WAY too much money on that truck. The debt on the truck is more than the truck is worth.

Good Luck with getting it settled out!!!!

 

[anothergoatherd]

First and for most, yes my daughter was fine (she was wearing her seat belt like a good kid should). Sorry I forgot to mention that.

Secound I bought the car from a dealer. Kelly Bluebook was $10 thousand something Retail. I forget but I paid $10200 for it. With the intrest for the loan I have $8139.00 left to pay.

Third Yes having to pay doesn't seem to add up to me either and I thought maybe I was missing something here and one of you might have expirence in this and could point me in the right direction.

 

[AlaskanJack]

Oh heck I just noticed another Alaskan. First of all the cost of transportation is added into the cars up here even if was a used car. But heck my friend totaled his vehicle years ago about 6 months after buying it. He had to pay 1,000 and then he was out a vehicle. That really sucked for him.

 

[anothergoatherd]

Yup another Alaskan. I was in Anchorage about a month ago and saw a lifted first gen. Explorer. Thought to myself "I wonder if thats AlaskaJack?" I have seen you posted on here alot.

Anyway I will have to wait and see how this plays out. I hope I don't have to pay any money.

If the cost of shipping is calculated into the total that will help. I live in Dillingham and there is no way to drive here so I had to either fly my X in($4300.00) or have it barged in, it takes 2 weeks by barge but it was only $2000. So that might help.

 

[AlaskanJack]

Well what color was the lifted Ex? There are only a few here and I know most of them. If it was a Red Sport that's Chris(NAK4AF) if it was Silver that's Chad(Xploder). The other ones dont frequent this message board. But there is a white Sport with Solid axle and a two tone brown one that was recently sold and I don't know the owner. If it was something else I don't know of them and I will have to find them. hehehe

 

[anothergoatherd]

It was brown and had a bunch of stickers on it. I saw it by the NAPA near Merril Field.

 

[MEXEXP]

Insurance Question...

Well a friend of mine bought a new 2001 ranger, and it was stolen, about 6 months ago, the insurance paid ford for the truck and when they found it all stripped and with a small hit on the bed, no airbags, no radio, no rims, he asked the Insurance what they were going to do with the truck and they said he could buy it for $800.00. So he has his truck, low miles, he don't has to pay anything and hes buying the parts that there missing little by little.

 

[AlaskanJack]

Originally posted by anothergoatherd
It was brown and had a bunch of stickers on it. I saw it by the NAPA near Merril Field.

And you're are sure it was an Explorer? That sounds like a guy that drives an old Cherokee. Well then again it could be that one I call brown two tone. Last time I saw it a woman was driving it, but I don't remember any stickers. Heck I could be wrong. I'll check with my sources.

 

[etc]

Last I heard about insurance and the values of cars, is that they dont use kelly blue book or any of those. Supposedly they have their own lists for values of cars. I'm not entirely sure though, I recall reading an article on MSN about it.

 

[AlaskanJack]

Yep thats what my brother in law said. They will do a search around your local area and see what cars similar to yours are selling for at the time and say well here's what we will pay cause we can buy you a new car with similar qualities for this amount. But if the blue book is lower than current market values for your car then they will use the KBB. Basically which ever is the cheapest.

 

[anothergoatherd]

I put in a carbon fiber dash kit. 5 blacklights. 16 sound activated lights 36 flasking led's. A carbon fiber Ford emblem on the front. Black out headlight and taillight covers. A bug deflector. Rear air damn above the back window. Costum painted wiper arm to match the color of my X. Snake eye led washer sprayers on the hood. Matching break pedal, gas pedal and steering wheel cover.I just put BFG M/T on they were $960 landed in town and mounted. I put new Monroe Sense A Trac shocks. A four door leaf pack. $3800 in stereo equipment. And afew other thing that im probably missing. I have done stuff to my X every since I bought it. Alot of the ideas came from this site.

Now im sure there not going to pay me for what I think the car is worth. And what they think the car is worth will be way less then what its real value is.

I guess im just SOL. (Sh*# Out of Luck)

 

[AlaskanJack]

Well get all those add-ons taken off the truck before they do anything.....let them know that you want those items back.

 

[anothergoatherd]

Its not just the money or the parts. I put alot of time, love and money into my X. I love my car. And now there saying its a totaled peice of crap and want to give me a little bit of money, and take my car. Or if I want to keep it I have to pay them for it.

I thought I was paying my insurance all this time so that if I got in an accident they would fix my car. And thats not whats happening

 

[etc]

Yeah it sucks, insurance is garbage. In 2000 my sister had a 96 countour, she got in and accident and they declared a total loss. gave her about 3,500(blue book about 3,000 or something like that), paid off about 2,900 and had 600 left. Reason it was a total loss was because the air bags were activated, cost about 1,200 or so to replace i think. Then the rest was body work . The car still ran fine, all it need was to put the bumpers back on. Damn scam artists... i mean insurance companies.

 

[anothergoatherd]

You know how I said it wasn't just about the money. Well I sat down and added up the cost of everything I have bought for the X since I got it a year and a half ago. It comes to $6320 not including installation, because I did everything myself. (Well not all by myself. My brother inlaw is an electrician and help with everything)

And now the insurance company is going to try and tell me my car is only worth $9000. Yeah right!!