Last week she barely clipped a pole while in a gas station. She hit it just right with the right front fender. She probably was not going faster the 10 mph if that much. She did twist her thumb in the wheel and bruise it, luckly thats all. The damage is localised with the hood, left front fender, facia and grill. The problem is, the rightside curtains popped and the drivers foot and steering wheel bags popped. I had problems with the tow company (another Story) so I just tucked the freaking air bags and drove the thing home. It drive like the car was still new. It's a 16 with 32k on it. I thought about 6k in damage, I had it towed to the dealership and they said 9k. This was last week. This evening we get a call from the USAA adjuster who said he looked at it and called it totaled with 13k in damage. They valued the car at 15 and a half. She owes 24 on the car. I knew she'd be racking up mileage so I talked her into purchasing gap when she bought it. Ford has zero percent financing, I get a military discount, and incentives, I also get X plan through Mustang Club Of America and since her car was still under the factory warranty and her extended was intact it looks like we can walk to a new one and transfer the warranty. We found a 17 that was similar to her 16 except it's blue instead of black. Id like to buy her old car for the interior and put it in my 93 Fox body Mustang somehow, but they probably want too much. I could part the rest of it out.

That's insane.

I think about this and wonder...I guess the insurance companies save so much money not paying hospital bills thanks to the improved safety, that totalling out a car for $24,000 is no issue at all.

A wreck with real injuries probably starts out at $100,000, and quickly goes up to the policy maximums.
My theory make sense?

I was thinking that since they know we have gap, they could set the value of the car as low as they could and the other company would eat the difference. Their payout would be less and snickering would do us no good in this situation. At least I won't have to deal with dimiished value on top of my premium going up.

quote:

Originally posted by Tommydogg:
I was thinking that since they know we have gap, they could set the value of the car as low as they could and the other company would eat the difference. Their payout would be less and snickering would do us no good in this situation. At least I won't have to deal with dimiished value on top of my premium going up.

If they are totaling it, an almost new vehicle, I'd expect the value would be more concrete, no?

One of our cars has a 'salvage' title, 2009 Vibe. It was 'totaled' early in life, at 3000 miles, rear ended.

We bought it with 9k miles, it's been a most excellent vehicle, 87,000 miles.

Sounds like a pain in the butt.

I sure am glad we don't have poles that move around here.

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
That's insane.

I think about this and wonder...I guess the insurance companies save so much money not paying hospital bills thanks to the improved safety, that totalling out a car for $24,000 is no issue at all.

A wreck with real injuries probably starts out at $100,000, and quickly goes up to the policy maximums.
My theory make sense?

My buddy's wife hit a Tesla a few weeks back. The insurance company has called and said they are at policy limits. He's still waiting for call on how much he's personally going to owe. He will likely have to sell his house or go into bankruptcy. He has since raised his coverage, to late for this one though.

DO NOT CARRY STATE MINIUMS FOR CAR INSURANCE! I carry 100/300/100k, I'm thinking about upping it.

Always buy gap insurance for first 2-3 years. It's cheap. Thank God Tommydogg your wife had it.

It's getting crazy. I've seen similar things happen up here probably due the cost of OEM replacements parts and labor. The bags deploying at a 10 mph crash didn't help.

Glad the wife is OK.

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
A wreck with real injuries probably starts out at $100,000, and quickly goes up to the policy maximums.
My theory make sense?

Kinda sorta. The two aren't necessarily mutually inclusive. Regardless of how safe the car is, if it looks like it is going to cost more to repair the car than it's worth, it's easier and cheaper to just total it out.

And to get $100k you have to have had some sort of surgery or more.

And the insurance company won't care about the GAP coverage. The value of the vehicle is the value of the vehicle, they're not going to play games with the numbers to save a few bucks. It's unethical and a bad faith violation.

What is "GAP?"

Gap insurance is an optional insurance coverage for newer cars that can be added to your collision insurance policy. It may pay the difference between the balance of a lease or loan due on a vehicle and what your insurance company pays if the car is considered a covered total loss.

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
What is "GAP?"

quote:

What is "GAP?"

Something that people who pay cash for cars have never heard of.

quote:

Originally posted by Bassamatic:
It's getting crazy. I've seen similar things happen up here probably due the cost of OEM replacements parts and labor. The bags deploying at a 10 mph crash didn't help.
Glad the wife is OK.

It is crazy. I'm all for safety, but unnecessary airbag deployment is a huge problem. Cars are almost always totaled, even when the engine if fine and body damage is minimal. It's hugely expensive, and we all pay, even though we don't immediately realize it, through higher insurance premiums.

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
That's insane.

I think about this and wonder...I guess the insurance companies save so much money not paying hospital bills thanks to the improved safety, that totalling out a car for $24,000 is no issue at all.

A wreck with real injuries probably starts out at $100,000, and quickly goes up to the policy maximums.
My theory make sense?

It's very much an issue for insurance companies. A mirror that you used to be able to buy at autozone for $30 now costs $3000 due to all the sensors, etc.. So the severity of injury due to accidents is down, the total cost of accidents is up due to every car on the road being an overpriced disposable dixie cup.

Edit to add: incidents are also up for the first time in decades because texting.

quote:

Id like to buy her old car for the interior and put it in my 93 Fox body Mustang somehow, but they probably want too much.

Go here: https://www.copart.com/locationsList/

Visit the locations in Florida and search the results of vehicles similar to yours. Watch what they sell for. Your insurance company knows what it will really sell for due to past auction results, so you can use that information to negotiate with them.

quote:

Originally posted by tha1000:

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
That's insane.

I think about this and wonder...I guess the insurance companies save so much money not paying hospital bills thanks to the improved safety, that totalling out a car for $24,000 is no issue at all.

A wreck with real injuries probably starts out at $100,000, and quickly goes up to the policy maximums.
My theory make sense?

It's very much an issue for insurance companies. A mirror that you used to be able to buy at autozone for $30 now costs $3000 due to all the sensors, etc.. So the severity of injury due to accidents is down, the total cost of accidents is up due to every car on the road being an overpriced disposable dixie cup.

Edit to add: incidents are also up for the first time in decades because texting.

This! Vehicle insurance rates are going to start sky rocketing. Mine got raised 10% a few months back for no reason given by us.
I have had insurance for almost 20 years now and NEVER have my rates increased outside of an upgraded vehicle.
So I went and spoke with my agent. Total losses are at an all time high because of all these crazy expensive parts and sensors.
He said he has been in vehicle insurance for 30 years and prior to this last year he saw on average 2 total losses a month for his customers.
Over the past year and a half he is averaging 4 total losses a WEEK.

Wife got in a very minor collision. Only damage to the headlight on her car nothing to the other car. $3200 to replace 1 headlight.

Bumper covers that used to cost a couple hundred bucks now cost $1000 plus due to all of the backup sensors in them. $50 tail lights are now multiple hundreds of dollars due to integrated leds. Auto dimming/aiming headlights. Mirrors with heat, turn signals and blind spot sensors. All this stuff causes fender benders to turn into multiple thousand dollar claims.

Repair costs are crazy.

Our cat sitter scraped the right side of the LS430 on the garage. It's a 2004. The repair estimate was close to $3k. Scheduling the repair was a problem, 6 weeks wait. A friend of mine who is a long time used car impresario said he could handle it. It took a couple of hours and $125.

That same car was involved in a very slight ding situation to the right headlight area when a dingbat changed lanes in the middle of a left turn in Coronado years ago. Her insurance estimated, and sent a check for $1,100. Body Medics in San Diego made it good as new for less than $200.

wonder what that turbo motor would look/sound like in a street rod??

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:

quote:

Id like to buy her old car for the interior and put it in my 93 Fox body Mustang somehow, but they probably want too much.

Go here: https://www.copart.com/locationsList/

Visit the locations in Florida and search the results of vehicles similar to yours. Watch what they sell for. Your insurance company knows what it will really sell for due to past auction results, so you can use that information to negotiate with them.

I talked to the body shop manager about the salvage and he said the same thing. The whole picture is clearer now. With what they would pay to repair it vs what they pay in settlement on factored in with what they make off the salvage, it's a win win for the insurance company and they get a rate increase on top of that! In the good ole days, you got first dibs and you could purchase the carcass for next to nothing!