My brother in law's little brother recently got t-boned and the other driver's insurance is trying to give him less than what we feel the car is worth.

It's a 95 Geo Metro with like 128k on the clock. KBB values it at 1350 in excellent condition (which it isn't, but it runs fine and is in decent condition) and good at $1200, however they're going on Craigslist and Autotrader for like $2500+, probably due to the great mileage and gas prices. Any experience trying to get insurance companies to pay more based on what they're selling for online? Is this just a waste of time?

Any advice would be appreciated. Insurance is currently offering him $1100 for it, or $850 and he keeps the car (its still drivable, just banged up.) He's in school so we're probably looking to keep the car and just fix the window that was busted out since he doesn't have a job currently and is trying to save for tuition.

 

You can negotiate with the insurance, but you'd be hard pressed to get them to pay more than KBB.

However, the idea is that they would have to pay you out for what it would cost to REPLACE the car. If you couldn't pick one up for less than $2000+, you'd have a case to argue, but I doubt you'd get anywhere.

Same deal happened to my mom with her own insurance when she hit a deer.
They tried to offer her $3500 for a car (she only has a 250 deductible) she just bought 6 months ago for $5000. She gathered a lot of dealer price listings for her same car as well as autotrader and CL postings with prices closer to 5-6k and the insurance ended up giving her $4800 or something like that.

 

this is it. they need to get you in a comperable car with no out of pocket to you.
If you can't find one for under 2K online bring them the quotes and tell them you would be happy to settle differently if they can find you the same model, with the same features for less

 

Take the $850 and run with it!

 

no way. insurance companies have 100's of billions in surplus. take it to them and make them feel it. after all what else is insurance good for but the eventual pay out.

 

Im surprised the INS is even going with KBB value to begin with and not NADA. FTR Nada is almost always less than KBB so be happy your getting what your getting.

 

Rearranged. Now look at what you just said. It's a freaking Geo Metro. How exactly are you going to "take it to them and make them feel it"?

Take their offer and be happy with it. He's lucky he survived.

 

Take the cash if he needs the money, if not don't even file a claim; live with the damage in either case, it's not a show car.

My S is insured with a high deductible - I'm on the fence about whether or not I'd file a claim if the car was damaged; I'd have to make a decision at the time and look at the cost of the damage vs the insurance pay out combined with future premium adjustments. Since I own my car free and clear I'm prepared to write off the car if it gets wrecked and recover my funds with out involving the insurance company at all.

Ooops: I confused your friend with being at fault in the case - still, don't fix the car, a metro just gets you from point A to B. I think you'll have to push to get a replacement vehicle which is their responsibility to provide - I'd guess that any kind of cash payment is negotiated in lieu of a replacement vehicle.

 

If he truly was "t-boned" and it wasn't his fault, there is alot more to be had if he wants to go after it.
I have a friend that was "t-boned" by a trucker when she was 18. she'll never have to work a day in her life.

I am assuming its not his particular insurance company that he is dealing with. depending on the situation you may have a nice sized lawsuit at hand. I am not a big fan of the lawsuit lottery mentality but in some situations get what you can.

 

I agree but its a different scenario when you dump 15k plus into the motor alone.