by Guest » Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:01 pm
Hi, I was basically in an accident not my fault (no ticket to me, just to the other driver for failure to control). She lost control, crossed 3-4 lanes of traffic and hit me on a snowy road. She has a horrible driving record and criminal record.
Come to find out, even though she put down insurance information, no one with the name of her insurance company is finding her as an insured. To complicate matters worse, the vehicle belongs to someone that she was driving.
I had a 2007 Chrysler T&C Touring mini van, the van had 47,890 miles on it, was in good condition inside and out (inside just needed a vacuuming as I had floor mats - the big black rubber ones - running the entire back area where the kids are) and the outside was in really good condition as well - not scratched up or dinged up, paint was shiny and clear.
We do not agree with the value they are giving, as vans are really expensive in my area, even vans with 100,000 miles in the T&C range are going for about about $11,000-$12,000. Vans, used ones, are also hard to come by, unless they are relatively new and high mileage or older and extremely high mileage.
1) It had a floor center console between the seats (not standard, it was an added option at time of manufacture). They are not giving us credit for this.
2) Even though I have found a couple of vans in my local market that are similar (one an almost identical match, just about 61 miles away), it is not listed on their report. It is missing the center floor console, different color and has almost twice as many miles as mine, but it is going for what they are offering us.
3) One of the vehicles listed on their direct comparison (3 compared to ours) is incorrectly priced on their report. I have talked with their contact person listed on the report as well as pulled it up on-line (place is apx. 58 miles away)...they have it listed as $1,000 lower than what it is selling for per website and their contact person. This is off their list price, and then the asking price is another $500 below the list price.
4) I have pulled comps (excluded vehicles with a higher or lower trim level - ie base, lx, and limited; excluded vehicles with sun roofs). Unfortunately I have had to use vehicles with entertainment systems and/or leather seats, as that is mostly what is available. Most of these vehicles have at least 20,000 more miles than mine, and are going for almost $16,000-$17,000. But, when you look at some of the comp vehicles they used that had similar features..it diminishes the value about $1,000.
5) This is against my insurance, not hers, since we cannot locate her or her insurance information (most everything she has given on the police exchange of information form is false).
6) We have talked to local dealers (including the one who originally sold us this van in 0ct. 10) and they have all said that a vehicle like ours would sell for way more than is being offered, and they cannot even pull in a vehicle like ours for that much.
What is our next step. Time is running out.
Vehicle specs..07 T&C Touring. No entertainment system, no leather seats or sun roof; 4 captain chairs; split rear bench seat; tri-zone HVAC (dual front plus back); add floor center console; add inferno red pearl 3 stage paint; home link; power lift gate; dual power sliding doors; power driver seat...trying to think what else..but having problems..
Come to find out, even though she put down insurance information, no one with the name of her insurance company is finding her as an insured. To complicate matters worse, the vehicle belongs to someone that she was driving.
I had a 2007 Chrysler T&C Touring mini van, the van had 47,890 miles on it, was in good condition inside and out (inside just needed a vacuuming as I had floor mats - the big black rubber ones - running the entire back area where the kids are) and the outside was in really good condition as well - not scratched up or dinged up, paint was shiny and clear.
We do not agree with the value they are giving, as vans are really expensive in my area, even vans with 100,000 miles in the T&C range are going for about about $11,000-$12,000. Vans, used ones, are also hard to come by, unless they are relatively new and high mileage or older and extremely high mileage.
1) It had a floor center console between the seats (not standard, it was an added option at time of manufacture). They are not giving us credit for this.
2) Even though I have found a couple of vans in my local market that are similar (one an almost identical match, just about 61 miles away), it is not listed on their report. It is missing the center floor console, different color and has almost twice as many miles as mine, but it is going for what they are offering us.
3) One of the vehicles listed on their direct comparison (3 compared to ours) is incorrectly priced on their report. I have talked with their contact person listed on the report as well as pulled it up on-line (place is apx. 58 miles away)...they have it listed as $1,000 lower than what it is selling for per website and their contact person. This is off their list price, and then the asking price is another $500 below the list price.
4) I have pulled comps (excluded vehicles with a higher or lower trim level - ie base, lx, and limited; excluded vehicles with sun roofs). Unfortunately I have had to use vehicles with entertainment systems and/or leather seats, as that is mostly what is available. Most of these vehicles have at least 20,000 more miles than mine, and are going for almost $16,000-$17,000. But, when you look at some of the comp vehicles they used that had similar features..it diminishes the value about $1,000.
5) This is against my insurance, not hers, since we cannot locate her or her insurance information (most everything she has given on the police exchange of information form is false).
6) We have talked to local dealers (including the one who originally sold us this van in 0ct. 10) and they have all said that a vehicle like ours would sell for way more than is being offered, and they cannot even pull in a vehicle like ours for that much.
What is our next step. Time is running out.
Vehicle specs..07 T&C Touring. No entertainment system, no leather seats or sun roof; 4 captain chairs; split rear bench seat; tri-zone HVAC (dual front plus back); add floor center console; add inferno red pearl 3 stage paint; home link; power lift gate; dual power sliding doors; power driver seat...trying to think what else..but having problems..
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 11:25 pm Post Subject:
If you believe you have reached an impasse with the insurance company, then it's time to give up 30%-40% of whatever you might get on your own and hire an attorney, who may not do any better.
Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 12:33 am Post Subject:
We have not done anything with the insurance company yet, except get their reports, look for a new car (which is hard to find), and also to pull comps on vehicles.
We have also had about $2,000-$3,000 worth of work done on the vehicle since the end of July (both power doors fixed - chains replace on both and hinges on drivers door; oxygen sensor replaced; new brakes; and new tires). The last two repairs were done 18 days before the accident.
With all the Holidays, USAA has been closed for alot, so it was difficult to even get with them on things (like they are closed today).
Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 04:18 pm Post Subject:
You don’t have to agree with anything your insurance company has to say about the cost of replacing the vehicle. As Max says, you can get an attorney to help you out with the matter and he will charge you 40% of the settlement value plus his fees. As for the additional upgrades you had put into your vehicle, gather all the bills and present them to the insurance company, they will pay out a little extra. If I’m not mistaken, you’ll only get that extra bit of cash for the tires and brakes. The rest will be counted as maintenance and not upgrades which add value.
Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 07:48 pm Post Subject:
Look at your insurance policy as it is a contract between you and your insurer. In that contract there may be a policy requirement that you invoke your right of appraisal if you and your insurer disagree on a total loss settlement.
Just google invoking your appraisal clause in the search feature here or online and you will find the method in which this applies. Sometimes just invoking the appraisal clause moves the total loss adjuster into a more cooperative effort to settle the matter as it did for one person here. Some state insurance web sites or codes of insurance regulations in various states indicate that the inusurer must consider your actual comps in the settlement rather than using a program such as these total loss value calculators sold to insurers to settle losses to maximize their profits and limit their losses.
Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 11:43 pm Post Subject:
Here is the content of a private message sent to me from a poster regarding the same dilemma you are having. Document! Document! Document in writing!
I don't know if you remember me Mike but you had gave me some advice on my total loss back in July of this year. I did what you advised me to. I wrote them a 5 page long letter and faxed it to their total loss dept. I copied and pasted your written form for an Appraisal Clause and I had told them that I would be hiring a lawyer to pursue this bad faith and unfair claim practice. My initial offer was $23,550. I settled with $28,196 after they ran a second valuation for my Tundra. Thank you so much!
Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 04:25 am Post Subject:
Thanks. I sent in the papers today, and because USAA sends e-mails, we have a paper trail of what they have said. I have also kept copies of the faxes along with cover sheets.
I am not asking them to come all the way up to the average cost of the vehicles, but I would like them to come somewhat closer.
The strange thing is that one of the vehicles we found, except for color is identical to the condition of the car when we originally purchased it, and it is now selling for more than we originally purchased ours for. So, it is like the value of the vehicle has not gone down, it is has remained high, if not increased.
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 06:28 am Post Subject:
They owe you what the actual cash value of the vehicle was at the time of the loss. Sometimes but not often, the value increases depending on demand of some cars. Take the Geo Metro for example. In times of high gas prices, you couldn't by one of these cars to save your life or even find one. But if you did, the going price was high at the time they were in demand about 5 to 10 years ago, simply because they were a gas stingy car.
If you only gave 5000 dollars for a car that was worth 10,000 dollars at the time of the loss, they would owe you 10,000 less your deductible on a first party claim and not what you gave for the car. However if you gave 10,000 for a 5000 car, they would only owe you 5000, if that was the value at the time of the loss, unless you purchased a gap policy.
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