So a few weeks ago my wife was driving through an intersection and some kid decides to take a left turn right into her. He hits the driver side fender and door. It was a low velocity accident so no one was hurt thankfully. So my car is damaged and the insurance company estimated the repairs to cost about $3500. The market value for the car is around $4000-6000 (2002 elantra with 90k miles). The insurance company has considered calling it totaled but they came back to me with two offers: $3589.12 to fix the car, or $4129.15 to essentially sell them the car. Its a shame because it was only 2 months ago that I payed $800 to replace some parts and $600 for new tires. What should I do?
Some ding-dong T-boned my car and now I'm dealing with the Insurance
- Thread starter **Bingo_Bob**
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i suppose this should be moved to the Barber Shop... sorry for posting under the wrong forum
if the car is mechanically sound, get them to pay the repairs.
if you know of any problems or are looking for a new car, go online, pull up similar cars in the higher price range (closer to 6000) and try and get 5k for it.
if you know of any problems or are looking for a new car, go online, pull up similar cars in the higher price range (closer to 6000) and try and get 5k for it.
I actually was in this cituation before.
I took the check (2700$) from them for the car but offered to buy it back from them. I think they charged me 97$ to keep the car. I fixed it and had it go through a more extensive inspection to reactivare the title. I think I ended up making over 1000$ on the deal.
Just an option they may provide if you ask.
I took the check (2700$) from them for the car but offered to buy it back from them. I think they charged me 97$ to keep the car. I fixed it and had it go through a more extensive inspection to reactivare the title. I think I ended up making over 1000$ on the deal.
Just an option they may provide if you ask.
Same thing happened to my car actually ('01) integra. So turd backed right up into my drivers side fender (layed on horn for literally 30 seconds and he kept coming.
I'm taking the money and just buying a new primered black fender (lucky ny car is black. Got lucky enough to get an offer to buy a 2001 BMW 540i M-sport wagon for 5.5k so I'm selling my car for it. My advice is of you can find a cheaper car with less miles go ahead and get it then with the money left if any repairs are needed fix it up.
I'm taking the money and just buying a new primered black fender (lucky ny car is black. Got lucky enough to get an offer to buy a 2001 BMW 540i M-sport wagon for 5.5k so I'm selling my car for it. My advice is of you can find a cheaper car with less miles go ahead and get it then with the money left if any repairs are needed fix it up.
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What you owe on it, if anything, dictates what you do, doesn't it?
They're offering you above Private Party value for a car that, based on Hyundai's reliability history from that era, is going to keep costing you money for repairs from here on out (plus you're about out of their 100k powertrain warranty). I'd think pretty seriously about taking the cash so long as I thought I could put it into something more reliable.
Above all else, though, sorry to hear about the accident. Glad no one was injured.
Above all else, though, sorry to hear about the accident. Glad no one was injured.
Gruder said it best. I agree with him 100%.
I agree with Gruder. Take the money (though I'd try to negotiate for more) and put it into a newer, more reliable vehicle. If I were in your shoes and I wanted a pretty comparable car that was more reliable I'd be looking at a used Toyota Corolla with less than 100k miles on it. You can get one only a couple of years old in good shape with pretty low mileage for less than $10k.
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I owe nothing on it.
Yes, I see your point. After I made this post I checked out what cars like mine are going for on craigslist and I was surprised to see that they actually are offering a generous sum. There must be a catch though right?
Thank you for everyone's replies... now i just need to figure out what new (used) car to get.
Sorry to hear about the headaches. I'm glad no one was hurt. Not sure what to do in this situation. I would say take the option that makes you the most money.
in the kids defense, he's still learning to drive and was probably pretty shooken up himself..... sorry i got my car totaled, but i was the stupid kid.....
I would take the money. That is essentially how I've gotten all of my newer cars. I think that if you are not at fault, then the insurance company pays high and takes it out of the other driver's company.
It's a pretty effective way of trading up, but that doesn't make it suck any less.
I'm glad that nobody was hurt. Driver's side T-bone can be a nasty accident.
It's a pretty effective way of trading up, but that doesn't make it suck any less.
I'm glad that nobody was hurt. Driver's side T-bone can be a nasty accident.
Wait...wait, are you saying that our member count is now high enough that we run the risk of having traffic encounters with each other?
no no sorry, i meant i was a stupid kid, not that stupid kid, hopefully my accident prone driving days are far behind me, i mean that remember when you guys were first learning to drive? it's stressful, espcially accidents, the kid coulda just made a rookie mistake
Didn't all those vanish off the used car lots during the recent oil crisis? Perhaps some have come back on the market, but those were in high demand a year ago.
How the heck is making a lefthand turn into another vehicle a 'rookie mistake'? He could have gotten himself or someone else killed driving like that! I'm hoping you're right about him learning from it, but inexperience is no excuse for driving like a complete moron.
