[Vwdiesel] Keeping a totaled vehicle in IL - appeal to list wisdom

[Karl H. Nitz]

Under the topic of insurance recovery of a total loss
vehicle, I submit the following (it's longish)...

The short of it: my sister was in an accident (not her
fault) and her car is likely to be totaled.  It is a
96 model year vehicle.  IL law (for "chop shop" crime
prevention) says that a totaled car must be taken by
the insurance company - i.e. can't keep it, even with
a salvage title - if it's 8 or less model years old.

Any thoughts on how to circumvent this (or at least
delay it)?  It's a '96 Golf, and I have a '94 and my
other sister a '96 Jetta - there are a lot of
interchangeable parts I want before the car would go
to a junkyard.  My dad was in the same situation 2
yrs. ago when his 97 Jetta was declared a total loss
in IL.  There were parts I wanted then, too, but I ran
into this wonderful "chop shop" law again.

At least we're friendly with the owner of the shop
where the 96 Golf is sitting now.  I'm thinking of
towing it to my house in the meantime while my sister
negotiates with the other guy's insurance.  Also,
she's driving one of my spare cars, so there's no rush
to get her a replacement.  From what I've seen on the
list, it's always better to be in a position where
you're not in a rush for a settlement in order to
properly recover your losses from an insurance
company.

I just want to get the useful parts I need from the
car before they scrap it.  We'll likely buy another
(same vintage) Golf/Jetta for my sister, and it would
be good to have a stash of parts to bring it up to
snuff, too.

Do these seem like plausible strategis for when the
ins. co. declares the car worth $4500, repairs would
be $7k - so they want to total it:
1)  Demand that we will fix the car, give us the max
to repair it they allow (typ. 80% of the value of the
car)
2) Take the $4500, but only if they allow us to remove
the parts we want.  They can deduct from the salvage
value of the car as appropriate (i.e. take a few
hundred $$ off the settlement).  My sister winds up
with $4200 or something.

In the end, the "chop shop" crime is not an issue. 
The VIN/chassis will be scrapped.  This car won't be
used to bring a valid title to a stolen car.

Another thing that bugs me, what if someone running
liability ins. only totals their <=8yr. old car?  The
ins. co doesn't total it, because there was no
comprehensive coverage.  The driver must dispose of
the car on their own, too.  There is still the
penchant for the chop-shop crime in this case.  This
law smells like it's only purpose is to keep IL
junkyards full of newer cars.

Pardon my rant.  Maybe there's a useful forwarning in
all of this for some on the list.  Seems like the same
thing would apply to any titled vehicle in IL =<8yrs.
old (motorcycle, motorhome, etc.).

Regards,
Karl in Johnsburg, IL
'94 VW Golf, 148k miles
'89 Volvo 240DL, 149k miles
'84 Honda VF1100S, 22k miles


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