Car accident - damage might be > value of car...what's my play?

[PokerAce]

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Is it possible to take someone to small claims court for the difference in value? (I assume not)

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It would be if you had called the cops and they had found the asian kid at fault. The kid's insurance would then be responsible for all of damage to your car, not just the difference. Since I gather you didn't, you'll have a hell of a time proving your case in court and you'll probably lose.

That said, I can't imagine spending more to fix a car than its worth unless it has sentimental value. The value of a car takes into account its mechanical condition and mileage.

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Using your own money to repair your car if it's totaled would be pretty dumb

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Not to mention illegal. But totaled doesn't mean costs more to fix than its worth, it means that the car is so badly damaged that it is no longer safe to drive regardless of resonable repairs.

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If you don't know something, don't state it as fact, because you are wrong here.

When an insurance company totals a car, it means the amount it takes to repair the car would cost more than 80% of the value of the car pre-accident. It has nothing to do with "the car is so badly damaged that it is no longer safe to drive regardless of resonable repairs". In fact, it is perfectly legal for you to purchase the totaled vehicle from the insurance company and fix it up yourself.

I was in a major accident two years or so ago and this comes from direct experience. You get enough to cover your repairs and no more unless your insurance covers depreciation due to the accident. You *might* luck out and get the other person's insurance to cover that, but it's unlikely.

[JP OSU]

I just don't understand this... Doesn't an estimation of the car's value take into account the mileage?

[PokerAce]

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I just don't understand this... Doesn't an estimation of the car's value take into account the mileage?

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Yes, it does, but in my experience, mileage doesn't really make too much of a difference.

[jaydub]

PA,

Say what? The mileage is the best approximation of remaining life on a vehicle. A given model with 25K vs 50K has a major (but non linear) difference in value.

J

[PokerAce]

Perhaps it depends on the model. I've done comparisons (for curiousity's sake) and big mileage difference like your 25k vs 50k only made a small difference, maybe a few hundred dollars on an $10k car.

As an example, in early 2003, I bought a 1998 vehicle with around 30k miles on it, about half what the normal mileage on a 5 year old car would be. The cost of the vehicle was around $13k. With the normal mileage of 60k, the vehicle would've cost maybe $700 less.

[spider]

Probably the main reason mileage doesn't matter as much as many people think is b/c relatively higher mileage often means more highway miles which are not that hard on the car.

Relatively recent vintage used cars w/ high mileage are often great values for the money.

[PokerintheI]

Based upon the admittedly generic description of the damage, and your estimate of value, the insurance company is going to total out the car. There is no way you are going to get a reputable company to repair all of that damage for less than 3-4K. However, as a prior poster stated, you should be insured for "replacement value"

That means the amount you get back should be the retail value less your deductable. NOT TRADE IN or PRIVATE PARTY value.

Keep in mind, the insurance adjusters will often try to lowball these values, and you can use the online valuation sites to dispute the value they try to give you. IE if they say $3500, but Edmunds says $4200 and KBB says $4500, you can make the case and get them to change it. I've seen this done succesfully.

At that point, if you want to buy it back from them, it usually costs 400-600$ and then you can try and piece it back together at a minimal cost just to drive it around.

[JCool]

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Example, $4000 in repairs, they offer me $3500.

For $500, I could basically keep the car, and still drive it forever (only 75k miles!).


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I don't understand why you are not grasping the basic economics of your situation. It never makes rational economic sense to spend $4,000.00 on something that is worth only $3,500.00. You lose $500 bucks by doing this. It is -EV. Period.

[z28dreams]

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Example, $4000 in repairs, they offer me $3500.

For $500, I could basically keep the car, and still drive it forever (only 75k miles!).


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I don't understand why you are not grasping the basic economics of your situation. It never makes rational economic sense to spend $4,000.00 on something that is worth only $3,500.00. You lose $500 bucks by doing this. It is -EV. Period.

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I think what you're missing out on is the fact that it's going to be -very- difficult to find a car for $4000 with similar mileage to mine, though I do see your point.

In addition, purchasing a car is VERY -EV. Buy purchasing anything worth more than $4k, I immediately have to absorb more depreciation over the next few years than I would have with my current car.

The only exception is if I actually find a car for 4k that's decent.

That said, with $4k, what would you buy?

[PokerintheI]

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In addition, purchasing a car is VERY -EV. Buy purchasing anything worth more than $4k, I immediately have to absorb more depreciation over the next few years than I would have with my current car.

The only exception is if I actually find a car for 4k that's decent.

That said, with $4k, what would you buy?


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Hands down, I would buy a Chevy Prism. Its not sexy, but it is reliable and gets 40mpg on the Highway.

I've had 3 Prisms and 1 Corolla over the past 15 years. The Prism is the same exact car as the Toyota Corolla, but usually less bells & whistles and much cheaper. I bought a 2002 2 years ago for $6000 with 69,000 miles on it. The only money outside of oil changes I've put into it was for new tires. I'm now at 118,000 miles. (yeah, I drive a lot)