by Guest » Wed Mar 31, 2010 08:43 pm
Hi,
My car was rear-ended yesterday. The driver and insurance company (AllState) have accepted fault. The adjuster has not yet checked out my car, but I am pretty sure it is on the bubble for being totaled. I have (unfortunately) been rear-ended two other times in the past few years and the damage this time is similar, if not worse. Those two incidents produced repair bills of $2500 and $3600 respectively.
My car is a 1999 Acura 3.2TL with 205,000 miles on it. The estimates of its worth on KBB, edmunds and nada vary a bit but I know it isn't worth much. It is, however, reliable and I wasn't really interested in purchasing another car this year. :(
Are my instincts correct in that they will probably total this one out? Also, if they total this out can I expect some compensation for the new transmission I had put in just 7 months ago at a cost of $3K.
Forgive me for being impatient, but I am really sweating the idea that I might have to buy a new car very soon!
Thanks for any insight!
My car was rear-ended yesterday. The driver and insurance company (AllState) have accepted fault. The adjuster has not yet checked out my car, but I am pretty sure it is on the bubble for being totaled. I have (unfortunately) been rear-ended two other times in the past few years and the damage this time is similar, if not worse. Those two incidents produced repair bills of $2500 and $3600 respectively.
My car is a 1999 Acura 3.2TL with 205,000 miles on it. The estimates of its worth on KBB, edmunds and nada vary a bit but I know it isn't worth much. It is, however, reliable and I wasn't really interested in purchasing another car this year. :(
Are my instincts correct in that they will probably total this one out? Also, if they total this out can I expect some compensation for the new transmission I had put in just 7 months ago at a cost of $3K.
Forgive me for being impatient, but I am really sweating the idea that I might have to buy a new car very soon!
Thanks for any insight!
Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 09:38 am Post Subject: totalled car
Well, based on what you just said, yes i think that they will replace your car but you will not be compensated for the new transmission that you have put in 7 months ago. But you can try asking them if you can just take it out and replace it with the old one again.
link removed by moderator lori--keith I wish you'd knock this off! :x
Goodluck!
Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 10:43 am Post Subject:
rebounder111, I don't know what your other vehicles were, but these Acura's hold their value very well...I'm getting around 6-6300 for yours, that of course assumes your doesn't have ANY condition issues....if that holds up and the cost of repair is oh 4500 or less they will likely repair it..also there should be some quality used rearend parts out there (bumper/t/lamps/deck lids)...I just had two of these vehicles in the past month...and my daughter has a 98..assuming you don't have any significant structure damage, you should be fine...as to your tranny...doubtful...vehicles are valued with the assumption they have a working transmission...you can always ask, and supply receipts for it...but don't be disappointed if they don't add any value.
Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 11:07 am Post Subject:
Thanks for the responses.
Lori: The other rear-ended vehicle WAS the same Acura that is now damaged. I've had my paid for car for 11 years. I had it professionally repaired with quality parts after the other accidents. Both of those accidents were in early 2007. I would say it is in average condition for an 11 year old car. Not perfect but no major issues.
It is unfortunate that a new tranny would add no value. If I were looking to purchase an older car with 200,000 miles and one had a new transmission and the other didn't - I would definitely pay more money for the tranny as those sorts of things break down eventually and are so expensive to replace.
It was a very big decision for me to decide to replace it when it went out this summer. With a baby on the way though, I felt it was the better option than taking on a monthly car payment. I would be really pissed if they gave me oh $3K for my car when I just paid that much to fix it such a short time ago!
I hope your $6K estimate holds up as you know more about this than I do! I live in Atlanta and I don't see any on the market with my kind of mileage that are offered for that much by dealers. The KBB, Nada and Edmunds numbers are all around $3K or much less. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong number though!
Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 11:45 am Post Subject:
It is unfortunate that a new tranny would add no value. If I were looking to purchase an older car with 200,000 miles and one had a new transmission and the other didn't - I would definitely pay more money for the tranny as those sorts of things break down eventually and are so expensive to replace.
This varies from company to company. Some will consider it, others will not. I do work for a few that always want any upgrades added to the value of the vehicle and others will not consider it. The only thing you can do, is press them on the issue. I have seen a few that would not normally consider it, but then caved because of the pressure from the owner.
I hope your $6K estimate holds up as you know more about this than I do! I live in Atlanta and I don't see any on the market with my kind of mileage that are offered for that much by dealers.
I will go with Lori. I guess I need to re subscribe to NADA, because I can't access my account :oops: (I've been busy).
I did a basic search of the Atlanta area and found a few TL's with similar mileage ranging from $4k-5k, there are not that many out there.
Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 12:17 pm Post Subject:
yeah, you must be looking it up wrong...my numbers come from NADA retail...
Wait a second though...are you saying that THIS vehicle was already totaled before? if so and it carries a branded title, then the value will be substantially lowered by this sal. title.
Re: the tranny.....again, I'd tell them about it, and see...but the two carriers I've worked for this would not add value...doesn't mean another one won't though, and sure doesn't cost you anything to ask :wink:
Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 12:38 pm Post Subject:
I will definitely press them on the tranny if it comes to that. I have nothing to lose after all! I am still hoping that they just fix my car. That would be the best outcome for me at this point.
Lori, no this car hasn't been totaled before. It has just been in two other fairly significant rear-end accidents. They both required repairs in the $2.5-$3.5K range back in 2007. I have an idea of how much this repair would cost because it is the same type of accident and in about the same condition - rear side panels damaged, trunk damaged and won't close, tail lights destroyed, rear bumper messed up.
I don't know why but people love to crash into me for some reason! I'm always just minding my business stuck in traffic and some jackal who isn't paying attention causes a wreck behind me. Sigh.
Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 01:33 pm Post Subject:
I don't know why but people love to crash into me for some reason! I'm always just minding my business stuck in traffic and some jackal who isn't paying attention causes a wreck behind me. Sigh.
This happened to me 2 years ago within a 3 month period. I am like a magnet.
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