[Vwdiesel] Car totaled

Thu Jan 9 09:52:43 PST 2014

When our 1985 MB 190D was hit by another driver, their insurance company
tried to offer us $1500 for a car we had paid $3000 for just a year
earlier.  The 190D is a hard one to find, and we run biodiesel, so it was
essential to us that we find another diesel 190.  My wife is a hard seller,
and I had her deal with the company, she really wanted them to replace the
190D with another 190D.  After a few weeks of her standing firm on this, we
were offered $3500 after showing the only cars in the country like it for
sale (ended up going to N. Virginia to purchase one).
Take your time if you can, they tend to want to close the case.

Chris

On Wed, Jan 8, 2014 at 10:09 PM, Bud <budski at gmail.com> wrote:

> I don't think you want to tell them you want to buy it back, they'll
> definitely low ball you.  The reason why they won't give a price is, it's
> based on a percentage of what they'll pay you on the claim.  The higher the
> claim payout the higher the buyback price.
>
> If you have your car in one of their storage yards or one they pointed you
> to take it, like the collision place they contract with, the insurance
> company doesn't pay them a per day storage fee.  In this way, they can keep
> stalling you on your claim.
>
> In California, you're allowed to pick your own place to have the car stored
> and repaired, the insurance company has to pay the storage rate for that
> yard or collision center.  In this way it forces the insurance company to
> stop dickering around.  I found out a lot about the insurance companies
> when an underage girl rear ended me in my wife's BMW and I wound up in the
> back seat.
>
> I didn't like the repair the collision center was going to perform
> (straighten the uni-body and weld the cracks and then do the body work).
> So I went to a local German collision joint.  He basically told me to
> lawyer up (which I didn't do) because they'll treat you like you're a
> criminal and he gave me the tidbit on storage and a load of other things.
>
> I was able to drive the car from the collision place(boy they were pissed,
> I wanted my car and for them not to hold it) to the Germans.  He looked at
> it and told me he'd total the car it was useless fixing it.  I asked him if
> he wanted to make some bucks for storage fees and he told me sure, so I
> left it there.  I called the insurance company and the secretary told me
> the agent  handling my claim was out but would pass the info that I changed
> collision places.
>
> To make an even longer story short, after several weeks of the insurance
> company stalling, the agent looked at the note in the folder and he started
> screaming into the phone when he realized the clock was ticking on the
> storage fees  :)
>
> I finally had to deal with his boss because he kept telling me what they
> weren't paying for.  When I told the boss what I was owed like rental car
> fees, fuel in the tank, prorated registration the boss finally gave me my
> price.  Went in, got the check and had to sign an affidavit saying I wasn't
> drunk or on drugs at the time of their underage clients fault of the
> collision.  Can you imagine!
>
> I wound up taking the money and buying my 1985 1.6L Golf.  The German told
> me to take the money at the time and told me to buy an early year VW and
> pocket the rest.
>
> That's my 2-1/2 cents.
>
> As a PS, while the car was in the German yard, he told me to take
> everything out of the car that I wanted that shouldn't go to the insurance
> company.  They're only negotiating the stock vehicle, not anything custom
> or personal.
>
> Bud
>
>
> On Wed, Jan 8, 2014 at 3:06 PM, Travis . <tgott at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I went to start the car Monday morning. It was just as cold as the
> > previous Monday morning. I work night shift so it was cold (-25, I have
> > started as cold as -35 in montana). I tried it twice. It turned over but
> > not fast enough to start. I went back inside to call my wife. Then
> someone
> > offered to help jump me. Then my boss came in and said my car was
> running.
> > This all took around 10 minutes. I ran outside and saw what appeared as
> > white smoke or steam. Opened the hood and flames came out. Ran back
> inside
> > and came back out (which took around a minute) with a Hologen
> extinguisher,
> > opened the hood and put it out.
> >
> > Thinking the fuze block on top of the battery heated and started up.
> > Pictures here
> > http://s1203.photobucket.com/user/coalminer16/library/?sort=3&page=3
> >
> > I have $500 deductible through Statefarm. They said car is worth $8298.50
> > minus my $500 is what I would get paid. I told them some of the things I
> > did to the car (tinted windows, hitch - which they only gave $50 for, new
> > tires - which need to be less then 1 month old I found out, etc). So
> > basically they aren't giving me anything extra for adds on there  so I
> may
> > be ripping things out. They said if I wanted I could find comparable
> > vehicles but they had to be an 04 Golf within 500 miles and comparable
> > miles. Well-there is only one that fits the bill that I can find, one
> more
> > if you go outside the milage range at $9000 for a car with about 100K
> miles
> > and $12000 for the other that is closer but has less options (and
> honestly
> > I think is pretty high) both through craigslist. I can't find any others
> > out there that match.
> >
> > My car is a 2004 Golf GLS with cold weather package. Never mind my own
> > adds.
> >
> > They won't give me a price of buy back until I agree on a price of what
> it
> > is worth. Only people telling my not to buy the car back is my extended
> > family as they worry about working on electrical items. I do to but I
> know
> > with a clean rust free body, working engine and tranny someone would have
> > to buy it if I didn't mess with it even.
> >
> > What would it be worth in it's current state if I did buy it back to
> > resell. I likely will attempt fixing though but I want to make sure I can
> > justify buying it and having it sit there while fixing as I am out a car
> > that can drive well now until the rabbits can come back out when the salt
> > comes off the roads.
> >
> > Any other tips/thoughts. I really can't complain about the price they are
> > offering for the car. I do know they took car of my father on his
> > motorcycle accident pretty good. but when he asked to buy it back
> (rebuild
> > engine and added 6th gear in the tranny) the price was so high it wasn't
> > worth it-the rest of the bike was junk.
> >
> > Travis
> >
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> >
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