Insuranace is a joke
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My wifes car was $20,000 used back in 2019. Now after basically 10 years it gets hit. The insurance declares it totalled. So the car can't be legally driven. The insurance will only pay us $9000. But now we're trying to buy a replacement and for the same model year they are asking 16000!
WTF! What's insurance for? Its just a tax. I much rather save to pay for my own car and have some sort of insurance that really actually covers the other driver.
Farmer this and state farm that and whatever General lizard, all are total bullshit regardless if you caused the accident or if you're are the victim.
They should call it "pay slightly less than full price if you fucked up your car"
Did you talk to the insurance adjuster to increase their payout?
What they first offer you is just that, an offer. You can absolutely come back and say fuck off the car is worth more you just need to be able to provide proof.
They try and pay as little as possible. Never take their first offer.
My car was totaled recently. Fucking loved that car. They first offered me 19k for it. I found similar cars for sale for 24k. Same year. Same trim, close miles. They argued that what I see is the listing price not what they actually sold for.
I told them to fuck off 19k will not buy me a replacement and if they can find me a similar car that a dealer will actually sell for 19k locally I will take the 19k. Took them a week to come back to me and they offered me 22k. I told them I just put new tires on the car and gave receipts from a month ago. They upped it to 23k. +Tax and title.
Point is, it's a nagitiation. They will try and screw you if they can. Don't let them
Also. They owe you for taxes. That's IN ADDITION to the value of the car. So if they say the car is 20k according to them. Make sure you are getting roughly 21.5k from them.
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Gap insurance is just you gambling on a tiny down payment. The house always wins.
Yeah... gap insurance is for when you pay more than the car is worth. So, the dealership. If you get a car from the dealership, you will pay more than Kelly blue book value. Example: car is 10k kbb, dealership will sell it to you for 14k because of BS. If you wreck the car the next day, insurance will pay you what the car is worth -the kbb-, so 10k. But now you are still on the hook and making payments on the 4k. This exactly what gap insurance is for and will cover the 4k gap. This exactly happened to me. They kinda snuck in the gap insurance but im glad they did.
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My wifes car was $20,000 used back in 2019. Now after basically 10 years it gets hit. The insurance declares it totalled. So the car can't be legally driven. The insurance will only pay us $9000. But now we're trying to buy a replacement and for the same model year they are asking 16000!
WTF! What's insurance for? Its just a tax. I much rather save to pay for my own car and have some sort of insurance that really actually covers the other driver.
Farmer this and state farm that and whatever General lizard, all are total bullshit regardless if you caused the accident or if you're are the victim.
They should call it "pay slightly less than full price if you fucked up your car"
The hopefully only car I'll ever total was about 20 years ago. I bought it for 7k and drove it for 5 years. They initially lowballed me at like 3k. I was able to show them Kelly blue book values and current used market it was closer to 6. Ended up getting a little over 5k.
Of course in the 5 years since I got the car the used market was nothing like it previously was. A comparable purchase would have been 12k not 7k.
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My wifes car was $20,000 used back in 2019. Now after basically 10 years it gets hit. The insurance declares it totalled. So the car can't be legally driven. The insurance will only pay us $9000. But now we're trying to buy a replacement and for the same model year they are asking 16000!
WTF! What's insurance for? Its just a tax. I much rather save to pay for my own car and have some sort of insurance that really actually covers the other driver.
Farmer this and state farm that and whatever General lizard, all are total bullshit regardless if you caused the accident or if you're are the victim.
They should call it "pay slightly less than full price if you fucked up your car"
You are probably too late as you have likely signed an agreement to take the money, but you could have sent those comparison vehicles to the insurance company as proof of value. Insurance companies hire appraisers (like Mitchell) to put a value on your car when it is a total loss ... they work for the insurance company.
Also, you can (could have) attempt to dispute the total loss or having your car "totalled" and force a repair instead. The insurance company looks at a cost benefit analysis when it determines that it is cheaper to total your car. So they look at their own appraisal of your vehicle to determine if they should repair it or total it.
Every state in the US gas laws regarding this cost benefit analysis, you DO NOT legally have to take a "low ball" offer ... but the whole system is rigged on the "neutral" total loss appraiser keeping the numbers low and also making sure appraisal numbers fall in line with KBB and the like.
Solution: Get your own local comparison vehicles and ask to see theirs. Request a specialty appraisal if they didn't pull comp vehicles. Make sure the comps are LOCAL, if the use comps from other states they can find abberant vehicle prices.
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Its OK to be salty. I like my beans salty, lemony and spicy. I'm not saying you're a bean and I want to eat you in a burrito. I'm just saying you're alright.
Idk why people jump to defend these policies. They are 100% correct, but being correct doesn’t negate how scummy the insurance companies are. Based on how much we pay on a monthly basis, you would think we should be appropriately compensated when we do need to use the insurance. The simple fact is that the devil is in the details.
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Yeah... gap insurance is for when you pay more than the car is worth. So, the dealership. If you get a car from the dealership, you will pay more than Kelly blue book value. Example: car is 10k kbb, dealership will sell it to you for 14k because of BS. If you wreck the car the next day, insurance will pay you what the car is worth -the kbb-, so 10k. But now you are still on the hook and making payments on the 4k. This exactly what gap insurance is for and will cover the 4k gap. This exactly happened to me. They kinda snuck in the gap insurance but im glad they did.
Your example assumes zero down payment, so yes.
But if your down payment had been 4k, gap would not have paid out. It's only what you owe, not what you paid. -
Okay let me find a negative value property around my neighborhood... None! Could it be a get rich quick loophole? Nope.
Negative value property? Easy. It's called a timeshare!
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My wifes car was $20,000 used back in 2019. Now after basically 10 years it gets hit. The insurance declares it totalled. So the car can't be legally driven. The insurance will only pay us $9000. But now we're trying to buy a replacement and for the same model year they are asking 16000!
WTF! What's insurance for? Its just a tax. I much rather save to pay for my own car and have some sort of insurance that really actually covers the other driver.
Farmer this and state farm that and whatever General lizard, all are total bullshit regardless if you caused the accident or if you're are the victim.
They should call it "pay slightly less than full price if you fucked up your car"
Just here to commiserate. I am currently dealing with a total loss settlement myself.
I hope you, your wife, and any other involved parties are well.
Lastly, if you are an American, do NOT settle medical claims. You have a long time to figure that all out and the insurance company wants to give you as little as they can possibly get away with and what ever you sign is the final amount they will help with. In Texas, you have 2 years to settle bodily injury claims. Take the time you need before you settle.
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Just here to commiserate. I am currently dealing with a total loss settlement myself.
I hope you, your wife, and any other involved parties are well.
Lastly, if you are an American, do NOT settle medical claims. You have a long time to figure that all out and the insurance company wants to give you as little as they can possibly get away with and what ever you sign is the final amount they will help with. In Texas, you have 2 years to settle bodily injury claims. Take the time you need before you settle.
She's doing okay. But at work she's noticing that she gets more headaches and that her body hurts when she needs to pick up something heavy or kneeling or bending down.
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What sort of engineering standards are these cars built to?
Oh, very rigorous automotive engineering standards.
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1000% in our neighborhood during winter you cannot go get food at all without a car. There's no walk to market or bus station. Very poor choice of location but it's what I can afford.
We don't blame you, we blame the system as a whole and the politics and lobbyists that keep us here.
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That thing was a Ford fluke. I drove mine 20k miles after I got it without charging the oil, and it never complained. The fucker actually got more fuel efficient the longer I drove it. Ended up somewhere like 32 city.
I miss it
One you got rid of that pesky oil viscosity, it got more efficient. Same thing is going on in modern cars.
