Insurance woes

[benswann at comcast.net]

Chander,

I have posted on my recent experience several times, but I'll reiterate a
little.

My '87 5ktqa was totalled recently.  As I had documentation showing far more
than the insurance co. would even come close too, but they compromised some and
I got close to 2x any book value.

You should also put the onus on them to locate you a car in as god of
condition.  Show them what you are/are not able to locate within a reasonable
distance.

Most of the book values I have seen are based on the average sale price
reported for the car of that age and mileage.  Generally these are cars with
thousands of dollars in latent cost of repairs that need to be performed to get
them up to snuff.  That is why they are being sold.

Have the insurance locate comparables and make them pay for the immediate cost
of needed repairs - HVAC, Timing belt, injectors, Suspension, Brakes, etc.
Also factor in a loaner and any transporation costs to get the replacement
vehicle including time off work.

I can go on, but get creative and push for all you can.  I can never recoup the
value I had in my avant, but I did get a newer avant, worth more according to
book, except I then proceed to dump time and money into that one, but I digress.

Ben
[From: "Chander Balakrishnan" <balakrishnan3 at comcast.net>
To: "Quattro List" <quattro at audifans.com>
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 15:04:29 -0500
Subject:  (no subject)
About 4 weeks ago, my 1989 200 quattro sedan was rear ended by a big bad SUV
at a traffic light.  The rear left fender is badly damaged, as is the tail
gate, etc etc.  The other guy did not have insurance (he had a certificate
that he showed to the police officer who wrote the report, but we later
learned that the certificate was phony).  So my insurance company is going
to pay and recover from the other party.

My insurance  company has estimated the value of the car at $ 3150 excluding
the upgrades.  They used the Kelley blue book as the basis, and estimated
the value as a private party, and described the condition of the car as
excellent.

While this seems like a reasonable basis for estimating the value, should
they be using the retail values for estimating instead of private party ?
After all, if I wanted to buy a car, would I not be looking at retail ?  The
Kelley retail values are higher than the private party estimates by quite a
bit - $ 4550.

I would appreciate if listers could share their experience with me as to how
their insurance companies have dealt with them.  I have 4 cars insured thru
my company plus home, plus life insurance plus college savings fund.  I do
quite a bit of business with my company and right now I feel very upset,
that they would use the private party database instead of retail.

I had purchased the car from Scott Mockry, with several upgrades and new
items.  Just about everything that could have worn out was replaced by
Scott, and in addition he had upgraded the rear brakes to V8, installed
Eibach springs and Koni shocks, plus of course his ecu upgrade.

The repair estimate using used parts is $ 4500.  I am trying my best to save
this car.  I do not believe I can buy a replacement for $ 3150 that is
anywhere close to the car I got from Scott.

TIA

Chander]