by flynnl » Fri Mar 28, 2008 03:38 pm
My mom was recently rearended by a woman, who may have been drinking as she was slurring her words however the cops did not do a field sobriety test? Her car was in great condition although a 1997 model with only 45,000 miles on it as she only used it for local driving as she is a widow and on a fixed icome she cannot afford a new car. The other drivers insurance claim adjuster said the rear fender damage exceeds the Kelly BB value of the car and they only want to pay her the book value which is probably 2500.00 dollars. As she was at no fault for this accident why should she lose her car for that amt of money as a new car will cost thousands of dollars which she does not have does anyone know of any recourse she can take
Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 05:22 pm Post Subject:
I hear you and this happens often. It's not a good situation.
Your mothers car is worth more to her, as good reliable transportation then it's plain book value. I understand that. But it does not change the book value and the book value is not wrong.
First, make sure the valuation the carrier is doing is correct! Make sure they have the correct miles and options on the vehicle. If they are doing this using a book value, most of those companies don't have a good interface for considering everything. So it's very possible the adjuster did not choose all/the correct options or perhaps some do not even show up as choices. Many errors can occur in this process.
My recommendation is that your mother may want to accept a "total loss" payment, less the current salvage value of the vehicle. Perhaps most of the repairs can be done with this money so that she can continue to use the vehicle. There is a good possibility that perhaps nothing needs to be done and she can pocket the money as a off set to the hit she will take if she ever sells it. Speak to the adjuster about this and see what options are available.
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