Question for those who have totaled cars...
11-15-2005, 03:49 PM
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Question for those who have totaled cars... Particularly financed cars...
Did your insurance company give you an outright figure to buyback the car, or did they send it to auction where you have to bid to get your car back????
I'd swear I've seen people on here before get an outright number to buyback the car from their insurance company, but they're telling me I have to get someone licensed to go to these salvage auctions and bid on the car for me
This has me REALLY pissed as I wanted the drivetrain, yank converter, torque arm, nitrous solenoids, etc from the car. There are also a few good parts I could sell, like a door, T-top, rim, two tires, hatch, as well as interior stuff.
Did your insurance company give you an outright figure to buyback the car, or did they send it to auction where you have to bid to get your car back????
I'd swear I've seen people on here before get an outright number to buyback the car from their insurance company, but they're telling me I have to get someone licensed to go to these salvage auctions and bid on the car for me
This has me REALLY pissed as I wanted the drivetrain, yank converter, torque arm, nitrous solenoids, etc from the car. There are also a few good parts I could sell, like a door, T-top, rim, two tires, hatch, as well as interior stuff.
11-15-2005, 04:09 PM
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I had a car totalled once, but it wasn't financed. It was an '89 audi, my dad just backed into it with his pick-up. Just banged up the rear fender and smashed out the tail light, but because it was an audi it would actually cost so much to fix it that the ins company totalled it. They said the car was worth $4900. So they gave me a choice, they would take the car and give me $4,900 or I could keep the car and they would give me 90% of the value. So I got a check for $4,410 and got to keep the car. I went to a junk yard, paid $100 for the parts to fix it and continued driving it for 3 more years 
I almost felt bad for accepting their check...
I almost felt bad for accepting their check...
11-15-2005, 05:52 PM
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the insurance company should give you the option of buying it back IF you do not owe more then what it is worth. Heres a simple way it works
If you Owe $10,000
And your car that was just totalled is worth $5,000 to insurance
then you are left with the extra $5,000 in payments to total the vehicle and get it paid off. BTW: did you have GAP insuranec?
If you Owe $10,000
And your car that was just totalled is worth $5,000 to insurance
then you are left with the extra $5,000 in payments to total the vehicle and get it paid off. BTW: did you have GAP insuranec?
11-15-2005, 10:36 PM
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No, no GAP insurance. I'm sure it's worth more than I owe, that's the part that pisses me off. True I'll get the difference, so if it's worth $10,000 and I owe $8,000 I'll get $2,000 back, just for an easy example.
But I've never heard of someone having to go to an AUCTION, in fact, having to pay someone licensed to go FOR them, to buy a car back. Every case I've heard of, the insurance company just gave them a buyback price, take it or leave it, and it's usually very reasonable if you consider the value of and LS1 drivetrain.....
But I've never heard of someone having to go to an AUCTION, in fact, having to pay someone licensed to go FOR them, to buy a car back. Every case I've heard of, the insurance company just gave them a buyback price, take it or leave it, and it's usually very reasonable if you consider the value of and LS1 drivetrain.....
11-16-2005, 12:13 AM
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My buddy totaled his 97 cobra and he bought it back from the insurance company for real short money....and he owed money on it too. I think he sold a lot of the stuff to try and make up for what he owed on it but he bought it back with no auction.
11-16-2005, 07:44 AM
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Well if you can find out what auction and when I might be able to help you out. I have a couple friends that go to these auctions all the time allover the northeast, if you could find out when and where, if he's going to that one you could prob go with him and bid on it, it wouldn't cost you anything and you would just need to find transportation for it home.... Only thing that sucks is not knowing how much it will go for...
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11-16-2005, 08:46 AM
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I'm not sure what happened to your car but if it was me I'd consider it mine and able to be in my possession until they paid me for the claim. I had a Camaro that burned in '98. I had it towed to my yard. No way was it going to sit anywhere else until I got paid. Plus I was able to salvage mods 
If you have been paid then I would say that you have to play ball with them and they make the rules. Some insurance companys might say "this is what we will give if you want to keep the car" while others pay your claim and send the car to the auction for you to find later. Either way, you should still be able to get stuff out of the car if needed. Probably can't have them know that you are taking major things off through.
If you have been paid then I would say that you have to play ball with them and they make the rules. Some insurance companys might say "this is what we will give if you want to keep the car" while others pay your claim and send the car to the auction for you to find later. Either way, you should still be able to get stuff out of the car if needed. Probably can't have them know that you are taking major things off through.
11-16-2005, 07:15 PM
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It's at CarTech (no, not Cartek), although they are around the corner from each other ironicly enough.
Basicly what I found out today was if I pay the car off and I give them the title, I can buy it back for $1550. If THEY pay the car off then it goes to auction. It's all just a big mess, left hand doesn't know what the right hand's doing, etc. Finally I got the chance to talk to my adjuster today after he appraised the car, and at least he knew what the hell he was talking about.
Thanks for the replies everyone!
Basicly what I found out today was if I pay the car off and I give them the title, I can buy it back for $1550. If THEY pay the car off then it goes to auction. It's all just a big mess, left hand doesn't know what the right hand's doing, etc. Finally I got the chance to talk to my adjuster today after he appraised the car, and at least he knew what the hell he was talking about.
Thanks for the replies everyone!
11-16-2005, 09:03 PM
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buy that thing back no matter how much of a pain inthe *** it is. Is the nitrous system still on the car? What did the Adjuster say about the bottle? One time, the insurance company tried to say it was my fault because my car was modified. Too bad I was at a stop light and got backed into hmm....
11-17-2005, 07:24 AM
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Bottle and heater I took the night I totaled it, the tow driver wouldn't let me leave without it (didn't want the day guys to steal it). The hose is destroyed, and the purge solenoid is on the side of the parkway, somewhere 
There are still two solenoids mounted on the core support though, not a huge deal, they're fairly inexpensive.
What I'm after is the drivetrain, especially since I have a $900 Yank converter in there and about $400 or so in upgraded parts in the trans.
I figure if I parted out the pass door, DS T-top, 1 good rim, two good tires, hatch, radio, then peiced out the interior etc. I could probably almost break even on buying the car back. I also have an extra DS door and DS fender laying around that I can part if I decided to do so.
The good news is the insurance company gave me a LOT more than I had expected, so now I'm contemplating finding a rolling 98-02 chassis and just doing a heart transplant. I could pay the car off, own the title, buy a rolling chassis, and be almost completely out of debt, and STILL have an LS1 F-body to romp around in But I'm still not sure if I'm going that route, we'll see what time brings. I really don't want to pay full coverage insurance anymore, but I also don't want to have just liability on something as nice as an LS1 F-body. I'm still thinking AWD DSM, keep the drivetrain for a future project, and have a few grand left over.
There are still two solenoids mounted on the core support though, not a huge deal, they're fairly inexpensive. What I'm after is the drivetrain, especially since I have a $900 Yank converter in there and about $400 or so in upgraded parts in the trans.
I figure if I parted out the pass door, DS T-top, 1 good rim, two good tires, hatch, radio, then peiced out the interior etc. I could probably almost break even on buying the car back. I also have an extra DS door and DS fender laying around that I can part if I decided to do so.
The good news is the insurance company gave me a LOT more than I had expected, so now I'm contemplating finding a rolling 98-02 chassis and just doing a heart transplant. I could pay the car off, own the title, buy a rolling chassis, and be almost completely out of debt, and STILL have an LS1 F-body to romp around in
But I'm still not sure if I'm going that route, we'll see what time brings. I really don't want to pay full coverage insurance anymore, but I also don't want to have just liability on something as nice as an LS1 F-body. I'm still thinking AWD DSM, keep the drivetrain for a future project, and have a few grand left over.