Will insurance company will total my car???

by mikeysgirl » Sun Dec 30, 2007 09:44 am

I have a '99 Pontiac Grand Am GT, approx 115,000 miles on it, power windows/locks, cruise control, am/fm/single cd, a/c, bra, rear spoiler, brand new tires bought about 3 months before the accident, alloy wheels, abs etc. (my dream car!!) I was involved in an at-fault accident & have been given an estimate for repairs of $3674.16 (all front end damage) We are waiting to hear from the insuarance company right now. I am concerned that the insurance company might total my car. This car had absolutely no body damage before the accident & my husband & I had just put $600 in tires on it and have spent almost $1000 over the last year in repairs (to the engine etc). I live in Oregon & am having a hard time finding out where I stand with this. If they total my car I understand that I can get a salvaged title but will I still be able to get full coverage insurance (I have quite a bit of insurance coverage on it right now) or will I only be able to get liability??

Total Comments: 7

Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 10:24 am Post Subject:

good morning mikeysgirl, and welcome to the community...

Well first I need to let you know that....

my husband & I had just put $600 in tires on it and have spent almost $1000 over the last year in repairs (to the engine etc).

unfortunately these things don't add value to a vehicle....they are considered maintence.

If they total my car I understand that I can get a salvaged title but will I still be able to get full coverage insurance (I have quite a bit of insurance coverage on it right now) or will I only be able to get liability??

This is only if you retain (or keep) the totaled vehicle....with the amount of damage you have suggested unless you or your husband are 'qualified' body repair people wouldn't be a good idea for you to keep it...

Now on to your vehicle...I have ran the value and come up with 5-5200.00, you don't say if it is a 2 or 4 door...also would add the following if it has leather seats, 175.00, power seat, 75.00 power sunroof, 225.00, without cruise control subtract 50.00....so you can figure your value from there.

I'm not sure what Oregons total loss percentage laws are, if they have one...All states however, will total a vehicle if the cost of repair is more than the ACV (actual cash value) minus the salvage value (in your case/vehicle I doubt it would be more than 1k)...so in your case probably around 4k can be spent to repair your vehicle...so it's gonna be close! Rental is usually calculated. Also where did this estimate come from? Has the insurance adjuster either looked at the vehicle and written an estimate or have they approved this one? Was the vehicle completely torn down to get an acurate, complete estimate? If not then with a front end hit it may be more, thus pushing it over the limit to a total loss...Also if this estimate is from a body shop they may not have looked or included alternative parts thus increasing the cost of the estimate of repair. The adjuster will look for these parts lowering the cost of repair, and maybe 'keeping you in the ballgame'' repair wise.

Find out first if it's going to repair or if it's a total then we can discuss what you want to do after that....Have you not made contact with the adjuster?

Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 11:09 am Post Subject: Re: Will insurance company total my car?

My car does not have a sunroof, or power seats, or leather, it does have cruise control though...so the value you came up with was $5,000-$5,200?
The insurance company is Geico. They do not have a local adjuster here so they had me take it to the body shop I want to do the work so they could take pictures and write up and estimate to submit to the estimater in another city and then they will let us know if I can have it repaired or if they will total it. The body shop did do a tear down for the estimate & my car actually still runs fine (It was even still running after the accident). I drove up 1 block where I could park it on the side of the road & also the tow guy that towed it to the body shop backed it out onto the street with no problem to hook it up to the tow truck. I just couldn't drive it the 5 miles to the body shop because the front end was just hanging from the broken fiberglass etc. My main concern right now was the value of the car.

Also, I have personalized plates on my car and the front plate was almost torn in 2. Is that something that the body shop takes care of or do I need to order a replacement when the time comes??

Thanks for you help....

Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 11:25 am Post Subject:

Also, do you know if a vehicle with salvaged title can have full coverage insurance on it??

Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 01:18 pm Post Subject:

If the actual license plate it's self is damaged you will need to have it replaced tell your vehicle insurance adjuster about it (immediately) and they should reimburse you the cost of the replacement...

you understand if they repair your vehicle then it isn't totaled, and the salvage title business is moot right?

ok, IF it totals AND you decided to keep the car then yes, it will more than likely have a salvage title after you have the repairs completed (on a technically totled vehicle) you can do whatever your state requires, most just an inspection by some authority in my state it is the highway patrol...you can then submit papers to the state to have the title changed to ''former salvage title'' or some such wording...most carrier will still allow you to carry collision and comp, but let me warn you that although full repairs are done, and vehicle looks great the fact that the title is 'branded' (prior sal) will make it worth anywhere from 20-40% less...I tell you this should it 'total again' it will be worth substanitally less and something you should consider when making the decision to keep coll/comp coverage...

yes somewhere between 5-5500.00 is what I'd say the vehicle is worth..

If a full tear down were preformed and they feel they have all the damage discovered then more than likely your vehicle is not a total loss....from your information...

Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 01:28 pm Post Subject:

My sister hadan older grand that she loves, she put money in it all the time, she put the sun roof in it, the nice seat covers, the fancy thing (spoiler) I think its called on it, somebody T-boned her and put her right in the lobby of her insurance company, they happen to have their office right on the corner where the other lady pushed her right up over the sidewalk and took out the part of the front of the building. Guess you could not say that she did not have a local adjuster, they ended up totalling her car. She was very upset about it, she has since moved on, I know you are attached to the car, but is there something else similar that you can buy with the insurance money?

Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 01:30 pm Post Subject:

With it being that year, can you find parts at a salvage yard, or sometimes you can purchase an entire car for parts, that may have a bad transmission or some other major problem, but the body is good, just throwing out some suggestions.

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 07:32 pm Post Subject: my car

my car is a 2007 kia rio i have full coverage on it i was hit as i was turning in the right rear passenger side and geico is saying it is totaled i still owe on the car but the mileage is about 50,000 miles i do not know how full coverage insurance work will it pay off my vehicle a let me get another one or a check to get another one or am i stuck with trying to get another one email smorris172[at]yahoo.com

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