Last weekend, I got hit in the driver's side by a lady who wasn't paying attention. Everyone turned out to be just fine physically and her insurance company is paying for everything.

My question comes down to totalling the S2000. The damage is going to be right on the line of being totalled or not (75% of total NADA value). I would much rather have the car totalled out and get a new one instead of running the risk of having something in the suspension tweaked for the rest of the car's life.

So is there anything I can do to push to have it totalled? It looks like the cost to repair will be about 7000 and the amount to meet to total loss requirement is ~7500.

I don't want to do anything dishonest. I simply do not want to be stuck with a car that is not performing as it was before the accident.

Any help is appreciated.

 

I suppose if it gets fixed and it isn't to your liking you could sell it and get a differant one.

 

Yep, looks like my options are limited. Of course, insurance companies want to spend as little as possible so there isn't really any "massaging" the cost aside from shopping around body shops.

 

Don't push your luck by looking to get to the total amount. The appraisals you get from shops will only go so far. The company will still send out their own appraiser. Although, if they do decide to total it for you they will NOT offer you blue book or NADA at the start. I went through a similar issue with a Prelude I had awhile back. The company will make it sound like what they are "offering" to pay out is as much as they can. It's not true, they are trying to get out of it as cheap as possible especially since you're not the one who is their client and customer. If they jerk you around talk to your agent. It's what I ended up doing, my agent ended up paying me NADA for my car and they went after the other company for reimbursment.

 

chances are, it's not going to happen. I was in an accident a few years ago. I was rear ended and I swear the damaged looked like they were going to total my car. Turns out, the damage wasn't even close to 75%. Like you, I also wanted them to total my car out. But it never happened and insurance companies are often a pain to deal with when it comes to situations like this. what's the status on your title?

 

You should make sure that their adjuster is not quoting you lkq or used parts.

When my father in law backed into my then year old Wrangler Rubicon, it took out the drivers side fender and flare. His insurance companies adjuster (mine was not involved as the vehicle was parked) tried to say that lkq parts were as good as factory. I kindly informed him that he was misinformed and that I wanted only MOPAR parts used as those were the brand that was damaged. He balked at the $1600 fender cost. I told him I didn't care, I was 0% at fault for the accident and that I wanted my nearly new vehicle back exactly as it was, it was bad enough that I knew that the parts would not be those it left the factory with.

It ended up getting repaired at a dealer collision shop and they did a flawless job, even blending into the hood and door to ensure no evidence was left. They completely understood my wanting OEM parts.

I now work as a supplier quality engineer, and I can tell you, parts go through a rigorous testing and quality process that aftermarket does not.

Demanding Honda OEM parts and having it done at a dealer collision shop may push the price into totaling range. My brother in law wants a salvage S2000, so I may be interested in what your insurance company offers as a "buy back" price...