insurance company hell with 4kq

[Kneale Brownson]

My father's 88-year-old widow recently ran her '96 taurus into someone who
drove out a driveway in front of her.  The car's a total
mostly because both airbags deployed.  Auto Owners said $3900.  But I
pointed out the car had  only 21K miles and every option except SHO heads
because my dad needed leather seats in order to get out of the car, and
Ford in '96 would only provide leather if you got the highest trim package.
 Anyway, we got another grand out of them.  The thing that sold the
increase was I suggested the insurance company find her a comparable car.
In other words, a low-mileage Taurus with leather.  According to Ford's
on-line used car finder, there is no low-mileage Taurus with leather on any
of its  dealer used car lots in a three-state area.


At 03:26 PM 6/18/2005 -0400, Kent McLean wrote:
>Nathan Ray wrote:
> > So when I take it to the body shop for an estimate they tell
> > me that the car is a total loss because it has $2700+ in
> > damages and there is no way it's worth that much.
>
>I haven't had the misfortune, but the value the insurance
>company places on the car is based on "average" condition.
>
>Show them the stack of repair bills, go to Autotrader and
>Audifans Marketplace and provide them a list of cars and
>prices of above average cars -- ones in the same condition
>as yours.
>
>Don't accept their first offer. Say, "No." If they don't
>come back with a better offer, let them know you are willing
>to take their client to court (it may help if you know a
>lawyer who will put it in writing). Let them find you a
>car in comparable condition, to make you whole.
>
>Be ready a) with a figure that you consider acceptable and
>that is also reasonable, b) to buy back the car to have it
>repaired, c) to buy a similar car to which you can transfer
>your good parts, and/or d) take the money and upgrade to an
>80/90/200/S car.