Happy everyone's OK. So, the red light runner; was she distracted, or deliberately running the light? Either way, doesn't matter in the end, just a point of reference. If I had my way, it would be an instant 1 year suspension, a 4-figure fine to get it back at the end of that year, and 10 points on the DMV report. For the first red-light accident offence. (if no-accident I could live with a standard moving violation ticket.)
dyintorace said:Klayfish said:Sorry about the accident.
So why is it worth more than book? Does it have mods, upgrades? As hard as it is, you'll need to remove yourself from any emotional attachment to the car and look at it as a piece of machinery. What's it really worth? I can tell you right now that comps will be hard to find...both for you and the insurance company, because a sport manual transmission E46 station wagon is just slightly less common than the Honda Accord. Truthfully what they will likely have to do in the absence of a lot of easily locatable comps is find something as close as they can...auto trans wagons, manual sedans, etc... They won't search forums, CL, etc... so you may have to. Don't bring one that has an asking price that's ridiculous, be reasonable.
There is no real reason not to talk to the other insurance company...in fact you may make it more difficult on yourself.
I'm actually not emotionally attached to the car, though I did enjoy it. My concern is that the open market has always valued these cars differently than the "book". Manual transmission, sport package e46 BMWs are incredibly rare so the few out there tend to trade at inflated values. Comps are going to be super hard to find. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if there are zero comps out there, forums, CL, or otherwise. I bought the car ~1 year ago and paid $8500, knowing it had issues I would have to correct (which I did). Meanwhile, KBB estimated $5700 in good condition for a private party sale.
I'm not looking for a lottery win here, but don't relish the thought of ending up pretty far in the hole either.
I completely understand. I really hate it when I see cars like this come up. Being a car guy, I understand the situation...they're rare so any valuation service the insurance company uses will have a hard time finding comps. Therefore, the valuation may not be accurate at all. I think maybe the first step is to make sure the adjuster immediately understands that this car isn't a standard run of the mill car. Make sure the adjuster knows you're not saying that in a "snob" way, but the simple fact that very few of these cars were built, so you have concerned with the how the car will be valued, and the lack of comps that are likely to be found. Then do what you can to find anything, anywhere. Like I said, if you find one that the owner is asking some stupid number for, then that may not be a good one, but come up with anything you can. Let me know if I can help as you go along.
From the pictures, I'd be shocked if the car isn't declared a total loss.
The process is that an adjuster will determine the cost of repair. It is more than the value of the car it is totaled. If the air bags went off it probably will be totaled. There will be an offer, which you can accept or refuse. Then the fun begins.
I was surprised by the offer they made for my '10 Fiesta. I took it without question.
Klayfish said:There is no real reason not to talk to the other insurance company...in fact you may make it more difficult on yourself.
Can you expand on that? I was told the opposite by my agent when I was hit by someone. My agent told me they would use what I say to try and put fault on me. I just assumed it was another reason you have insurance. It puts a buffer between you and the various parties.
dean1484 said:Klayfish said:There is no real reason not to talk to the other insurance company...in fact you may make it more difficult on yourself.
Can you expand on that? I was told the opposite by my agent when I was hit by someone. My agent told me they would use what I say to try and put fault on me. I just assumed it was another reason you have insurance. It puts a buffer between you and the various parties.
Sure. It's a common misconception that the "opposing" insurance company is just looking to find any way out of a claim no matter what. An adjusters job is to investigate a claim fairly and make a liability decision. If their insured is liable, then it "is what it is" and they are to pay the claim and indemnify their insured. Part of that investigation involves speaking to both parties (we're just assuming a two car accident, for simplicity sake). Well, if you refuse to talk to them, the only thing they may have to work with is their own drivers' statement. If it's a disputed liability claim and they only hear one side of the story, that can skew the liability decision and make things much more complicated. It can get complicated...for instance if it's truly a word vs word claim. Both drivers swear they had a green light, there are no witnesses, no dash cam, and the cars crashed right in the middle of the intersection. In those cases, sure, the insurance company may side with their driver. But most claims aren't that simple, and the statement from the other driver often goes a long way to helping make a good decision...and yes, often times that means paying the claim to the other party. Of course, if you tell the other insurance "Well, I was texting while opening my beer, so I have no damn idea what color the traffic light was", that's not a good thing. But short of that, you're just giving them info they need to do a full investigation into the claim.
Sorry to hear about this.
I went through it with a 85 Toyota PU. Yes its also an odd duck, 85 was the last year of solid axle, first year of EFI. Insuracne comapny was trying to be nice and use 86/87 as comps, well an 86 or 87 may be worth ~600-1k, a 85 is 4k. I sat down with the adjuster, explained all this, brought some CL comps, and she understood after a bit of talking. Their original offer was ~800 is (i dont remember exactly it was years ago) ended up settling for $3600.
Its do able, but work on your part to find comps and help them understand its a weird vehicle.
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