I went into a ditch yesterday and hit a utility pole at maybe 10~15mph. It's most likely a total loss. Both front air bags were deployed. Most damages were in the front passenger side. It's a stock 2006 GPW w/almost 60K miles. Great condition before the wreck. The car still runs. Motor and tranny are fine supposedly until further inspection. Front bumper, right fender, right headlight, right crash sensor, right radiator support, slight frame damage, passenger doors, right side bottom, front wheel, rear bumper and etc were damaged in the accident. If the insurance decides to total it, how much would I get out of the car? If not, how much is the repair and how much is the retention cost if I decide to buy it back from the insurance? Any tips regarding how to deal with this type of situation would be helpful. Thanks

 

You need to talk to your insurance company, not the internet. That said -

Assuming it's paid off, you had full coverage, and it's totaled, the insurance company will probably offer you a settlement probably between 12-16k (I guesstimated with KBB values) depending on how they value it. You can argue this price if it's too low and you can't find comparable car within a reasonable distance. You don't have to immediately accept their first offer.

No one is going to know the repair cost without seeing it - and even then there's unseen damage.

 

I was recently in a similar situation, as I hit an elk while it crossed the freeway right in front of me. It took my insurance company over a month to decide whether the car was totaled or not, including several phone calls and being told one thing, then the opposite..

First thing, make sure to get the car to the best possible body shop you can have it towed to. That way if the insurance somehow doesn't total the car, it gets repaired properly. Based on the description above, however, I'm going to guess that the car is totaled without having seen any pictures, especially since the airbags deployed. Hopefully the shop estimate will be the full value of the car or more like $20,000, so that the insurance company doesn't stall with its decision making process like they did for me. My AP1 ended up being repaired with a bill of ~$11,300, but the insurance company didn't authorize the repairs until the car had sat at the shop for five weeks.





My car would have been worth about $4,000 after the accident (it has 47,000 miles on the odometer), and so I will assume yours may be worth about $4,000-$5,000 (while yours is an AP2, the damage sounds worse than it did with my car).

Assuming the car is totaled:
How much money should they give you?
They should give you enough to cover a similar car, including all taxes and fees to cover the purchase.
How much is the buy back cost? ~$4,000-$5,000
How much is the repair cost? I don't know, let's say $15,000

How much was the car worth before the accident? You should know best

P.S. if your car has a ht (no reason to assume it does), but just in case, get it off asap and get it in the garage

 

EricJT7,

That looks almost like the damage on the exact same spot except mine is a little worse. The vertical radiator support in your picture is pushed backwards. Didnt your airbags deploy? My front crash sensor is completely crushed. Im hoping to get at least $18k for the car cause that's what I paid several months ago. I removed the hardtop, greddy exhaust, test pipe and unlocked the flashpro already. Everything is back to stock with the exception of aftermarket head unit and viper alarm. I have the receipts for those so hopefully the insurance will reimburse me for the upgrades. Im really not a fan of dealing with them from past experience. If anyone else has idea how to deal with them I would be greatly appreciated.

 

My airbags actually did not deploy, as I guess the sensor wasn't tripped, otherwise I am sure it would have been. If you still have the bill of sale handy, you could show it to the insurance company should they initially offer you a lower amount and that should help you get the $18,000. Another option is to show them ads of similar cars in your area to show how much they go for. And yet another possibility is to get the car independently appraised, in which case I am sure it will be considered worthy of $18,000 or more.

 

Depending on your insurance company rules, they may total the car if the damage exceeds 70% of the blue book value. If you are not attached to the car, it would be easier and cheaper to find a car comparable to yours (condition and mileage wise) and push to have your insurance company pay you that amount. To buy the car back from the insurance company is kind of a messy deal. They will give you the low blue book price of the car prior to the accident, then subtract the "scrap value" of the vehicle (in the area of 5ish give or take). Then depending on the laws where you live, you probably have to deal with the DMV with silly brake and light inspections, re-registering the vehicle, SALVAGED TITLE, etc etc. Sorry to hear about the accident... sucks!

 

they should also pay you sales tax and other fees as if you were buying a new car. i got $17.6K on my '05 with 68K miles after sales tax so you should expect more than that...but that depends on fair market value in your area. people in dallas are pricing these cars high.

 

I had an 06 nfr with 79xxx on the clock, front end collision,didn't damage anything past the fenders. She was totalled. The car was immaculate before the accident and spotlessly clean, insurance paid me 19.9k (I paid 15.5 nine months earlier) depends on the market but mine was only front bumper, headlights, radiator, ac condenser, hood, drivers fender, and whatever pieces are in that general area.... and airbag (only driver) damage was 14k before they got to the point where totalling was a better option.

 

So the the Preliminary repair estimate to be at $10500 without the aftermarket Volk Racing Wheel (1 is significantly bent). Adjuster is not sure the value of the car at this moment and not sure if they are totaling it, although I wish they do. Is it possible to convince the insurance to total the car? It does have some frame damages and both air bags were deployed.

 

You can't really convince them, you could ask to have it evaluated at another shop to see if they give a higher estimate for repairs.