by gsdolphinmom » Tue Mar 24, 2009 09:59 pm
My teenage daughter hit a car in the Walmart parking lot, put a small dent (about 1.5" long) in the door. The estimate is for $820.
I know that determining whether the estimate is reasonable or not can not be determined here. Personally I don't think it is reasonable, but what do I know. :)
I was willing to pay the costs out of pocket to avoid putting in against my insurance, but the owner would not get two quotes and I thought that to protect myself I should have two. Her daughter was here on vacation and lives in another state so I have no clue as to the legitimacy of their body shop.
So she has filed against my insurance company and there is nothing I can do according to Allstate. Now they will pay and I will be charged. All I wanted was another estimate. This just happened a week ago so it's not like I'm dragging it out.
My question is I'm wondering how they determine the value of the car. The car is a 96 Oldsmobile 88 with 101,000 miles on it, along with other dents. I'm curious as to at what point they will consider it totalled.
Thanks.
I know that determining whether the estimate is reasonable or not can not be determined here. Personally I don't think it is reasonable, but what do I know. :)
I was willing to pay the costs out of pocket to avoid putting in against my insurance, but the owner would not get two quotes and I thought that to protect myself I should have two. Her daughter was here on vacation and lives in another state so I have no clue as to the legitimacy of their body shop.
So she has filed against my insurance company and there is nothing I can do according to Allstate. Now they will pay and I will be charged. All I wanted was another estimate. This just happened a week ago so it's not like I'm dragging it out.
My question is I'm wondering how they determine the value of the car. The car is a 96 Oldsmobile 88 with 101,000 miles on it, along with other dents. I'm curious as to at what point they will consider it totalled.
Thanks.
Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 10:42 pm Post Subject:
Different insurance companies use different ways of determining the value of a vehicle. Some use 3rd party vendors such as CCC or AutoSource. Some use book values such as NADA. Different states have different laws on when an insurance needs to handle a vehicle as a total loss but it's usually when the cost to repair is 80% of it's value. The value of this vehicle would need to be less then $1600 to be considered a total loss.
Insurance companies also usually either prepare their own appraisal on the damages or have estimates reviewed. You may not realize what needs to be done, even on a small dent. The dent needs to be corrected and.or filled. This would usually at least take 1 hour. It then needs to be painted. But in addition, if the dent is close to another body panel, that other panel needs to be painted (blended) so that it will match. Every thing on the door needs to be removed (door handle, moldings, etc). Most moldings are plastic or glued on so they need to be replaced. Moldings might cost $100 in all. Labor rates are around $50/hour for body work and $30 for paint work. So add in another $100 for body and another $100 for paint time. I'd say a typical door might cost around $400-$500. Yes, $820 seems a little high but it's possible.
Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 11:05 am Post Subject:
I'm curious as to at what point they will consider it totalled.
Which state are you from? Every state would deal with this issue differently. And, as tcope has mentioned also the insurance companies would apply their own method in this regard.
Add your comment