98hc4mula

iTrader: (5)

Well I finally got in an accident, Never been in one my whole life, anyway:
The car has damage to the left rear quarter panel, needs to be replaced, also the door,left front fender and the bumper cover need to be replaced.
The Insurance adjuster came and did his estimate and told me that so far there is about $5100 worth or damage to the car. not counting what ever else he could not see.
the thing is that he said he was going to employ used parts to replace them, I have 105750 miles in the car. he said that the car is worth around $8500. so I have some questions I want to ask you guys and gals

1- how much of a difference there has to be for the insurance company to total the car?
2- is it in my best interest for them to total and then fix it later after buying it back? what would you do?
3- can I demand new parts to be used for my car?
4- insurance guy said that they probably will only paint half the car, front to wise back...do you think I can get them to paint the whole car b/c I think it will not match?
5- anyone know of a f-body frinedly shop that can look at the car in detail in arlington texas? maybe they can find things the insurance adjuster missed.

thanks for all your help in advance
David

98hc4mula

iTrader: (5)

anyone have anything to say

Sneakyws6

I have dealt with several insurance co in my 15 years of driving. you will have a long uphill battle to get them to put new parts on the car. I have heard of them even putting used parts on a new car. The part just has to be in new condition from what I was told a couple of months ago when a semi decieded to take the passanger side off of my wifes car. We fought with the insurance co (it was his fault) and they flat out told me that all they would pay for is what they had to, nothing extra at all. I was like an act of congress to get the rental car and everything else set up. I had my 89 formula totaled several years ago and had to get someone out to appraise the car to keep from having the insurance co. totaling it. they only wanted to give me like 2000 for it and it was one of the nicest ones around here where i live. I had reciepts for over $10000 in paint and hp parts on it. If you are even remotely in doubt of how thing will turn out (and it was someone elses fualt) get an attorney and take them to court. We are having problems with my wifes car now and they will not even do anything for us. Just be cautious and when in doubt ask around. and DO NOT sign anything until you are completely satisfied with the repairs that they have done on the car.

98hc4mula

iTrader: (5)

damn,
thanks for the insight, I will keep vigilant on all that ****
hope everything turns out good for your wife's car

natronathon

i dont know much dealing with insurance companies. As far as the painting is concerned, any decent body shop will paint blend. That means that even if they are technically using the same color (no two seperately mixed batches of paint are exactly the same) they will blend it somehow with the origional areas so that any color transition is incredibly gradual and not noticable. Usaully the only reason they wouldnt paint blend is because they are told not to.
My condolences on ur car. I just recently put my front end in a ditch, so it dosent look as pretty as the pic below. Still working with it. I FEEL ur pain, I really do.

It literally brought me to tears when I realized what I had done. Just shows how much we LS1 F-body owners love our cars. I didnt even cry when I was diagnosed with cancer, but my Camaro wrecked, thats reason for a tear or two.

DANSLS1GTO

I don't know what the exact rules are - but when my '95 saturn was wrecked they used a front clip from a '96 car, so if anybody really knows and looks it's now a hybrid year vehicle. I was kinda pissed about it and sent a letter to the insurance company but didn't hear anything back.
Dan

SSZSLP

Was it your fault?,or was another vehicle involved?,need more details before going into explanation

floman

iTrader: (54)

I work at a paint & Body shop here in Orange,Tx "THE SHOP" and from our experiences with the insurance companies they want to put used parts on anything 3yrs old or older. At that amount of damage I'm surprised that they are not totaling your car out! Usually if the damage is around 50-60% of the value of the car they consider it a total loss. Theres really nothing wrong with used parts if the shop doing the repairs gets good "insurance grade" parts. But if I were you I would bust their chops and insist that you want your car put back to its condition before the accident, meaning no parts full of body filler. They are going to give you a hard time but it also helps if your repair guy is on good terms with the adjuster who he is dealing with. With that kind of damage see If they will total it out and then buy it back and find excellent used parts and fix it your self. Sorry to hear about your car and GOOD LUCK! Just be firm and stand your ground without being crazy and rude about it! Floyd

SSZSLP

Yes, restored back to pre-accident condition,not used parts with repairs.

4mula1

Which ins. companies are these that you guys are talking about?

JDPZ28

iTrader: (3)

In NC if the damages reach 75% of the value of the vehicle($6375?) it is considered a total loss.As far as used parts, you'll probably have to deal with that (you actually have used parts on your car) especially with over 100k miles. Usually if your vehicle is current year model or less than 12k miles, they will put new parts on it. If the only person that has looked at it is the Insurance adjuster, he probably missed a good bit of hidden damage. I know this because I have had to deal with them for the past 8-10 years while working at my father's body shop. If I were you I would take the car to a reputable shop and have them do a teardown(take off damage parts to access possible hidden damage) and then get their opinion on what else is damaged and if they think the car is a total loss. Usually the shop will deal directly with the Insurance adjuster when it comes to additional damages found. Good luck with your car and keep us posted.

98hc4mula

iTrader: (5)

the insurance agency is GEICO, so far I have had a good experience with the adjuster and the insurance itself, I am still looking for a reputable shop in the area, also planning on taking it so they can tear it down.
I was hit in the back and make me spin in the freeway and so while I was spinning I hit a vehicle, the car that hit me ran away. Hit and run.....pisses me off. but I had witnesses that told the insurance that i was not at fault.
David

ICEBOX

First off, sorry to hear about your car!

I think that auto companies are not required to put new parts on a car that has over 10,000 miles on it - not 100% sure on that one.