My wrecked vert Q's, dealing with insurance (state farm)

[I<3MyVert]

5/19/2008 I wrecked my vert...
The insurace got back to me today and they want to give my 3k for it... the bf was pissed. He thinks I should get more out of it. This is my first accident I have had so I am very clueless about everything... is there any way to get more out of it? I want to keep it, and am buying it back from them for 200. I was just more less wanting opinions from people who have gone through this kind of experience.

Thanks!

[silpena]

3 grand is not that bad. I would take it back for 200. Doesn't look that bad of a wreck. How much did u pay for this car originally? I'm sorry but insurance companys do not care about drift tax on these cars. Just buy it back and fix it and then use the rest for savings. Sometimes ppl get less for these cars.

[I<3MyVert]

I originally bought it for 2600.00

I would need a new front end, core support, rad, no damage to the strut tower, doesnt even look like any of the suspension was touched. Im hoping its an easy fix! Plus the bf has all the parts.

[flip3d]

Now you have a reason to get the silvia front end.

[LS14]

Originally Posted by flip3d

Now you have a reason to get the silvia front end.

+1.

brick headlights and aero front bumper = pure sex!

[seesquared]

$3000 is pretty good for the car. The generally give the optimal price on cars wrecked

I have used state farm for a long time now and i have never had a single problem with them. i had an old accord that got broken into, they replaced all my stereo equipment no questions asked,

I also have my s13 insured. im not sure if this policy is the same everywhere, but as long as i provide a receipt and proof of installation on the car, they cover all aftermarket parts without making the monthly payment going up

i couldnt be happier with state farm,

[projekt_s13]

3k is right, looks like the bf wants to hustle the insurance company.

[BBSilvia]

Originally Posted by flip3d

Now you have a reason to get the silvia front end.

agreed +1
i also live next to a state farm use to drift in the parking lot when i just got the 240...now its just track though

[chibo]

Originally Posted by projekt_s13

looks like the bf wants to hustle the insurance company.

And he is right to do so.

[Pank]

3k is more than enough for a s13
be happy they're not trying to give you 1,500 like everyone else would

[xplicit240]

that should be fairly easy to fix. it doesnt look too bad. and 3k is good. buy it back for 200 spend 1500 to fix another 900 for the front end.then you actually have money left over. =) GL with the fix.

[projekt_s13]

Originally Posted by chibo

And he is right to do so.

Yea, true. But if the insurance offered me 3k for my completely stock s13 that had that damage i would take it then buy it back.

I've seen them always try to give 1,000-1,500 for S13s.

But if he wants to make it more difficult just to get 200-300 more then so be it.

[Sidewayzzz]

Pretty sure you can get appraisals of 240's in the same condition/year/etc and if the appraisal of the cars come out to be greater than 3g, the insurance should give you around what they are appraised at. For instance, find similar 240's on craigslist and KBB the car and if it comes out more, take that information to your insurance company and see if they will give you more.

But 3 grand does sound pretty fair, imho.

[I<3MyVert]

My mom told me to call her friend who just so happend to work for them a few years ago. She said to go on autotrader, ebay, craigslist, etc.. print off "local" (if I can even find them) verts that are comparable and a little bit higher priced, take them in and show them the prices... and they will "work" with me on a price, cause I guess they are giving me their "low-ball" offer.

I guess its worth a shot...

I <3 state farm too... my insurance is only 65 bucks a mo for full coverage and its not going up... they said this one is on them. he he he. hopefully no more accidents for me.

[Pank]

oh yeah, you can def work with them, you dont HAVE to take their first offer.
anything regarding cars = haggle the price

[aluminody]

Originally Posted by flip3d

Now you have a reason to get the silvia front end.

HAHA foreal... Silvia front end on a convertible coupe looks so clean.

[I<3MyVert]

Originally Posted by Pank

oh yeah, you can def work with them, you dont HAVE to take their first offer.
anything regarding cars = haggle the price

More $$$ = More Parts!

Ha Ha Ha Ha

[Farzam]

KBB for my vert last time I checked was around 4k

[LA_phantom_240]

Originally Posted by projekt_s13

3k is right, looks like the bf wants to hustle the insurance company.

Really? Cause my friend totalled his s13 a while back and got $3200 for it. 91 fastback base model, no options, 180k miles, autotradgic. $3k is lowballing for a vert especially in that condition. I would take no less than $3500 for it.

[burnsauto]

thats actually not that bad of a wreck.. just as long as the frame rails are still straight, you're good to go.

[FaLKoN240]

Get comparable vehicles in your areas (the higher priced ones) modded, not modded, whatever, same mileage etc.

Then get receipts of whatever you've bought for the car in the past year together and submit those to the insurance company...

All that stuff helps.

I got $4200 for my car after it got totalled, it still wasn't enough, but it got me what I needed to get back on my feet.

[Bushido]

how the fuck can you be 22 and have such cheap insurance?

i'm paying 75 bucks a month for the BARE MINIMUM insurance, just enough to keep the tag on the car... full coverage is more than 200 per month, and my record is clean. fucked up.

as for your car 3,000 is pretty good, but it dosnt hurt to try for more. They are an insurance company so I feel that you should have no guilt in trying to get whatever you can get from the greedy insurance companies.

worst case senario, after fighting with them a bit they dont cave on the 3k price point. buy the car back, part it out, and buy another clean chassis and have some loot left over.

[I<3MyVert]

Originally Posted by FaLKoN240

Get comparable vehicles in your areas (the higher priced ones) modded, not modded, whatever, same mileage etc.

Then get receipts of whatever you've bought for the car in the past year together and submit those to the insurance company...

All that stuff helps.

I got $4200 for my car after it got totalled, it still wasn't enough, but it got me what I needed to get back on my feet.

Thats the sad part, I havent done SHIT to it. lol. BONE-STOCK! the only thing it has aftermarket is the K&N air filter, lol.

This blows... just last week I saw a crap load of stock verts with high miles for 4k+... and now i cannot find one... ugh. Ohs wells... something is better than nothing, maybe I can find something to take in there, I just want to get this done and over with!

Originally Posted by Bushido

how the fuck can you be 22 and have such cheap insurance?

Beats me... My parents have had insurance with them for almost 20yrs now so im sure that plays a part... I do know we get discounts!

[projectRDM]

Shit, the buy back for $200 is stupid low. You're basically keeping your car and getting a check for $2800, I wouldn't complain at all. Sure you want more, but you can fix it for a third of that and keep driving it. Hell, you can drive it now, it just looks rough. If you can get them to go for more based on other cars selling then do it, but you're already in a good position.

[wickedS14]

Dang, payed $2600 and got back $3000, not a bad deal. That's more then what you payed for the car when it wasn't wrecked. Was the accident your fault? I remember when I crashed my s14, payed $2800 for it, got back $4300 and I was f'n stoked. The insurance company said it was a total lost and gave me the total value of the car that they came up with. To tell you the truth, I would of been happy with $2500! Got a hood, fender, and door for $250, prepped & primed it (came out killa) and walked away with $4050. Not a bad turn around!

[an_orange_s2k]

your in a good position, course you always want more but 2.8k is more than enough to fix the damage and drop in a few goodies after buying it back.

[DohcKA]

3k is good... whats your bf smokin cause i think i need some of that... nontheless buy it back... my homie got about the same for his fastback and bout it back got a frontend and bam... sexyness well his car was way less damaged

[g6civcx]

I used to be a claim adjustor for a major auto insurance carrier.

Originally Posted by I<3MyVert

is there any way to get more out of it?

Yes, get in touch with the adjustor responsible for your case and make your case. Why do you think it's worth more? Be prepared to give evidentiary support.

I don't want to get too much into this topic, but is this a collision claim or a liability claim, i.e. who caused the accident?

If it's not your fault then you have much more room to play.

With a collision claim, i.e. it was your fault, remember that when a policy is written, the premium is based on year, make, model, and mileage. You're basically insuring a stock car unless you bought additional coverage.

So when you have a total loss claim, the carrier will pay you the replacement value for an average car.


Keeping that in mind, be prepared to make your case either way. Do you have receipts? Can you get an independent appraisal? How much more money do you want?

If the accident wasn't your fault then you can make a case with the person who is at fault. Generally liablity pays for other people that a driver hits, and by definition you never know how expensive other people's cars are.


I would try that first. When you feel like you've exhausted all of your options, request to escalate your claim to State Farm's special vehicle team. They handle exotics, motorbikes, classics, etc. They will have more discretion in adjusting the value of rare cars. Just be sure you're ready to make your case on why your car is worth more than book.


Personally, if I were handling your case I would always go with the number that the computer spits out first. Most people would just accept it and take the money, but for people who want more money, I would first check with the pit boss (State Farm has agents sitting in a horseshoe with a team manager sitting in the middle so that every agent can signal the manager).

Most of the time the requested increase is so small that the manager would approve it, but if my manager says no, your next option is to escalate. I don't normally tell people this, but try the Special Vehicle Team like I said above.

If it's still no go, you need to get a lawyer and have them negotiate for you.


If you have any specific questions, lemme know. I got you.

[95Kouki]

shit any aftermarket parts,custom work? can you legitimately express the rarity and value of your vehicle? never take the first offer...EVER! when my s14 got wrecked 1st offer was approx 4850 or some stupid shit like that...it took me 6 months,2 appraisials, and 6 offers later to get to almost $20k...got to keep the car and sold 6k of parts off of it...if you can do your homework and don't feel rushed to accept. They purposely play that game to get you to accept the lower offer. Best of luck and glad to hear that you're ok!

[g6civcx]

Originally Posted by Bushido

how the fuck can you be 22 and have such cheap insurance?

i'm paying 75 bucks a month for the BARE MINIMUM insurance, just enough to keep the tag on the car... full coverage is more than 200 per month, and my record is clean. fucked up.

Did you know that insurance premiums are calculated based on millions of factors? And the algorithns used to determine the premiums are trade secrets.

How then can you compare one person's premium with another? Each person has their own profile and each profile is different. Therefore what's cheap for one person may be expensive for another person, and it varies from company to company as well.