Pickin' Brains

[Marcarl]

My wife, Marca, got herself into a slight car accident yesterday. A young fellow, a customer of ours who feels really sorry now,,, made a left hand turn in front of her, but didn't push the gas quite hard enough and got caught in the act at the last milli-second. As the pictures show, really little damage was done, but it totals to $3200.00, mostly because it's a Saab and a 95 at that,, so,,, few used parts around.

Question is,,, how does one deal with the adjuster when he comes around to make a FINAL offer,,,, I think they'll want to write it off,,, so how do I maximize my end????

[kwisor]

hello

when you get the offer have them breake it down say if it is 4000.00 ask how much is the offer with out tax and all that then it may only be 3500.00 i am just using #s so if the car is worth 4000.00 the get 4000.00 plus the tax and any extra don't settle for first offer make them go higher

bumble bee

[bongobobny]

Tell them you want full book value or the car replaced with the same make and model. And, you are entitled to a per diem towards rental plus storage of your vehicle.

 

Remember Insurance adjusters are the scum of the earth right up there with lawyers and politicians. They are NOT in business to give money away, but rather to save their company money, of which they get a percentage of. NEVER NEVER NEVER agree to their first offer, instead laugh at it!! The longer you hold off the more money you will get.

[KarlS]

According to a friend that owns a body shop, the adjusters around here try to get you to accept the LOAN value using the N.A.D.A. book.

http://www.nadaguides.com/

[Gary N.]

Carl,

If they write it off you can probably buy it back real cheap if you want to repair it yourself. When my '95 Grand Prix got stolen (about 2002) they wrote it off at $5000.00 and I bought it back for $1000.00 and fixed it myself for $600.00. Just to give you an idea. If there is no structural damage they shouldn't brand the title. If they do it's real hard to get it back on the road. Not impossible just hard.

[dunvilsteev]

..... and if you are NOT at fault, you do NOT pay your deductable.

[Zfrebird4]

... I bought my 86 VR back too for $2,800. Spent ca $1,400 and my wrench put parts on and I pocketed the difference. I did not accept their first offer either, and sent them to 3 Yamaha Dealers to ask them what this bike is worth on the market! They were surprised and moved from their first offer of $1,300 to the $2,800. Good luck.

 

And I 'm glad all are safe and the accident wa:thumbsup::Venture:s this minor.

 

JackZ

[Guest seuadr]

do some researchto current values and sales amounts around the country, get some quotesfor the repairs, retail blue book value (not trade in, not loan value) arm yourself with information.. this will intimidate the ajuster and make your claimed amount seem more credable. information scares people who are trying to screw you, they don't want you to figure out you are being screwed!

[Poledar]

Find a body shop who uses a computerized estimate program. That will include every little piece of hardware, so that there is nothing that you won't be reimbursed for. A friend who owned a body shop installed that software and said his business went up 20% in volume with the same number of customers--the main difference being he was getting paid for everything he would have to use.

 

Best of luck! Keep that Saab running. They are a great car!

 

Poledar:mo money:

[BradT]

Find someone who can fix it cheaper, and when they want to write it off suggest they fix it at the place you found.

 

GaryN's idea is another good option, but you will still have to find someone to fix it unless you do it yourself. They won't brand that one.

 

Brad

[Evan]

While I don't have anything useful to add Carl, good luck with your research and negotiations. Whatever the outcome, I hope you are happy with it.

[Yammer Dan]

I don't have extra parts for that one Carl. Got all kinds of the early ones.