Help!! Insurance company trying to screw me!!
 

If anyone can help me out here, that would be most appreciated. My brother's 1996 Subaru Impreza LX was hit by a deer a week or so ago. Now the insurance company has totaled it and will only give him $4600 for it. It only had 74K on it and all the options. We found a similar one on cars.com that sold for around $8500, but the insurance company won't honor that price because "it has to be in the for sale state when the insurance company calls about the vehicle". Does anyone have a similar impreza for sale or know of someone that does that would be willing to help me out here? Trying to get my bro more money for his totaled car so that he can afford a replacement vehicle. Any help would me most appreciated!!

~Steve :(

Hmmmmmm, how about opinions on taking the car to a shop and insisting that it be fixed untill the insurance compant coughes up more $$$???

Hate to say it, but it looks like in your area, Imprezas of a similar year and mileage (looked at 95-97's on autotrader) are selling for between 3-6k, so I don't think the insurance company is going to pay out much more.
I would also suggest checking out NASIOC's for sale section and look for similar vehicles to see what they are going for.

Yeah, they are a little low (you didn't say how much of a deductable they have) but they aren't more than a grand low. It is up to you to prove the vehicle was worth more (i.e. receipts, one owner, etc). Personally I'd hold out and then try to settle for about 5k which is the right money for the car. When I totalled my Impreza back in 99 (it was a 94 L Wagon AWD with 94k on it) I got $9000 after my $100 deductable. That car was 5 years old, not 9. That's whats killing ya!!! Personally, I would've dropped comprehensive coverage 2 years ago on the thing.

Oh yeah, and just because it is listed for $8500 doesn't mean it'll sell for that. I now have my SVX forsale for a meare $10k. ;)

I'm sorry, but, I just had to pop into to this thread and point out the redundancy of using "Insurance Company" and "Screw Me" in the same sentence. :rolleyes:

No, I'm not bitter that it's costing me 115.00 more per month to add my 16 year old son to my policy. :mad:

That's pretty good Randy! Try moving to Philly or the NJ area and see what they'd charge. My cousin was paying $2600 a year for minimum insurance on a Dodge Omni when he turned 16 in Philly.

I was at $2400/year, liability only 10 years ago when I started :(

Yeah, it'd be more if he were on his own, BUT, since I'm taking the risk . . . :(

I was about 1200 per 6months liability on a v-6 s-10 blazer 4x4 about 5 years ago

Did you try your local subie dealer? They have a tendancy to over price everything :D

impreza
 

how bad is the damage on the impreza? i'm looking for a impreza to mess with. maybe you'll be interested in selling it. i'm in s. jesey too. thanks

subarueast@yahoo.com

Mm, I think there should be classes on how to get good insurance or how to work with your agent.
At 18 I pay $1,800(Rounded to the hundred) a year for the full coverage.
With a $500 deductable. But I've never had any messups and I own four other cars and the SVX is a weeked driver.:cool:

And you live in Montana...

Was the deer talking on his cell phone at the time? You should get uninsured deer insurance next time. They never seem to stay in their own lane.

Okay, seriously. Most insurance companies will make you sweat it out if you want more money. They can wait ages, but most people want to get the payout quickly so they can get a new car and go on with their lives. Insurance companies know this, which is why they low ball you and make you wait. I suppose if you wait long enough they'll offer more just so they can close the books, but that could take years.

Generally speaking, they should offer (and you should accept) an honest Blue Book assessment. If you print up a Blue Book assessment and find several ads in your area that are consistent with the book value, you stand a much better chance of getting a payout consistent with book value. During this process, most people discover their car has depreciated more than they thought. It's also very true that everybody asks more for their car than they really expect to get. Ads don't mean much. Blue Book does.

Another thing to consider is that the insurance company doesn't really know what sort of condition your car is in. It could be brand new, yet be worth nothing because it's beat to hell. When you buy a car at a dealer, you're also paying for the detailing, a tune-up and inspection, and frequently a newer warranty. Your old car didn't have all that, and the insurance company really shouldn't be expected to pay for it. The "value" of dealer vehicle prep is probably about $1000 and the cost of a warranty is probably another $1000. If your car comes in $2000 below the sticker you see in car windows at the dealers, that's why.