Fair settlement price on a totalled 94 SVX L

MobziW · #1 03-13-2008, 06:07 PM

Hi everyone. Unfortunately my first post on here is about my 94 SVX L being totaled. It looks like it can be fixed but the insurance company has estimated that the cost of repair is more than the car is worth. So far they have only offered 2961.64. Note the car was in excellent condition before the accident and I am only the second owner of the car. It had only 78949 miles on it, and no previous issues or accidents. It also had an upgraded interior and the six speaker stock sound system in it. There are two 92 SVXs within 50 miles that are up for sale, but the insurance company doesn't seem to care about that. The 92 SVXs are priced at 5950 and 5500.

A girl hit a patch of ice and was spinning 360 degrees, and to make a long story short, her left rear corner spun into the left front fender of my car. Left front fender needs replacing. Hood is damaged, bumper is damaged, oil filler tube is broken, battery is punctured, left headlight and corner light are damaged, right front fender slightly damaged from hood, right head light slightly damaged.

Zandar · #2 03-13-2008, 06:58 PM

Your insurance company is lowballing you, in my opinion (which is illegal; at least in California). How are they proving their price?

greggbzz · #3 03-13-2008, 08:01 PM

Kelley blue book puts you car, in your zip code, at 4,255 for good an 4675 for excellent.
That is how insurance companies are supposed to do this right? book value?

OrangeOkie · #4 03-13-2008, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greggbzz

Kelley blue book puts you car, in your zip code, at 4,255 for good an 4675 for excellent.
That is how insurance companies are supposed to do this right? book value?

Insurance policies are written for Actual Cash Value (ACV) which is generally what a bank will loan you with the vehicle as collateral. Sucks pretty bad, but it is what it is.

MobziW · #5 03-13-2008, 08:41 PM

They used a "claim service" that gave them the following analysis

NADA State Value $ 2,788.00
CCC Value $ 2,800.00
Vehicle Valuation Amount
(average of NADA and CCC
values)
$ 2,794.00
Pre Tax Amount $ 2,794.00
Vehicular Sales Tax 6.00% + 167.64 Sales tax reflects all applicable state,
county, and municipal taxes.
License/fees (if applicable) $ ______
Adjusted Vehicle Value $ 2,961.64

Basically they took the lowest NADA value and compared it to the 3 lowest comparable cars that were for sale. They say they get there price from an average of the NADA value and t the value given to them by the independent source. I could do the same type of analysis and skew the value toward the high end. It's completely biased.

They said that they don't go by Kelly Blue Book pricing. Also, it's not my insurance. It's the girl's. Her insurance is 100% responsible for the compensation. This has been dragging on for a month now. It took them about 3 weeks to even look at it. I just wanted some second opinions on this because its been wearing me down to the point where I just want to get it over with already.

I'll call my insurance tomorrow and get their advice. Though last time I tried that they seemed to want to just direct me back to the other company.

Thanks

SubaruSVXCrazy · #6 03-13-2008, 09:06 PM

That sucks, Best of luck.

Zandar · #7 03-13-2008, 09:16 PM

Yeah, that's really shady. I don't know what the DOI (Department of Insurance) rules are in CT, but I know that what they're doing is illegal in CA. There are guidelines for what a company will pay for a total loss, and NADA values aren't it.

Take this next part with a grain of salt, as it is how insurance law works in CA- your mileage may vary.

If you dispute the value of a TL (total loss) settlement, the issuing company must provide proof that their settlement is valid in the form of recent sales of similar or better condition autos of the same make and model as yours and the same year or better. Further, they must provide a seller who has a vehicle of like or better quality of your same make and model, equal or better year, who is selling the vehicle or who was selling it at the time of your settlement within the settlement amount.

Also, it is illegal for a company to turn away a 3rd party claimant when damages and liability are reasonably certain (basically, they can't send you back to your insurance just because they don't feel like dealing with you). That being said, they are not on your side and you might be better off going with your carrier and letting them subrogate against the other guys, if you have valid collision coverage. The downside there is that you would most likely incur your deductible until your insurance collects, unless you have AAA or USAA.

In any case, check your state DOI law and maybe consult an insurance law attorney, if you can get one to look it over for free (I would personally recommend against actual representation as they can only get the actual value of the vehicle in most property damage cases, and then you're out lawyer fees with no extra money to show for it).

It really sounds like these guys are giving you the shaft, unless they do things totally different in CT. This kind of crap would get someone fired in my office.

EDIT:
I was re-reading your post; the key here is what CT considers a "comparable auto." In CA, it's defined by DOI as a vehicle of same make and model, same year or newer, in same or better condition (mileage, amenities, overall condition, etc.). I would imagine that CT has the same DOI language (but, admittedly, I don't know), and it seems they are definitely not using comparable autos for their valuation.

Subix · #8 03-14-2008, 12:07 AM

Screw that! Take them to court, I would.

lhopp77 · #9 03-14-2008, 08:23 AM

Don't you have some latent injury that is just showing up? That might cause them to get a bit more realistic.

While that might be all a high mileage 92 is worth even low mileage 94s on Ebay sell for considerably more than that.

Lee

TN_fwdsvx · #10 03-14-2008, 03:05 PM

I have a 1994 L (FWD) which was struck in the rear by a Memphis City Schools SCHOOLBUS. Took a week to get an adjuster to look at the car and he estimated value at $1600.

The adjuster is on contract with the bus company's insurance company which doesn't seem to have an agent in the Memphis area. I do have an 800 number for the agent handling the claim and I disputed the adjuster's evaluation. The agent immediately raised the evaluation to $2,875 (NADA mid-range retail). Unfortunately, repairs are estimated at 2,800 before they even look at the suspension - and the car is not drivable due to rear vibration at about 40mph. After talking with the owner of the body shop where my SVX is currently residing, I did a search on the internet for 1994 - 1997 SVXi for sale within 500 miles of Memphis.

Lowest price I found: $3,500

I will be disputing the evaluation if they still try to total my car. Recommend you do same to get "real" value of your car.

Zandar · #11 03-14-2008, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lhopp77

Don't you have some latent injury that is just showing up? That might cause them to get a bit more realistic.

While that might be all a high mileage 92 is worth even low mileage 94s on Ebay sell for considerably more than that.

Lee

This was probably a joke, but just in case:

Never ever EVER do this. It will NOT get an adjustor to suddenly "get serious," but it WILL have SIU all over your @$$ for an insurance fraud investigation.

Adjustors are never intimidated by injury claims. In fact, some adjustors welcome them because it means they can pawn the claim off to a BI investigator and not have to deal with it (depending on the company).

MobziW · #12 03-14-2008, 09:14 PM

Hey everyone,

Thanks for all the advice. I talked to my insurance company's "customer service" department today, and as I expected they redirected me back to the other insurance company. It's like they're all part of the same club or something. I thought they were supposed help ME out. They had absolutely nothing useful to say. I asked if they could give me a fair estimate. The rep said she couldn't. I asked how they go about determining a fair estimate. She said she didn't know because they use another company to do it She apologized and then told me if the other insurance company gave me any problems with giving a fair estimate to call them back. Funny, I thought that's why I called her today.

Anyway, I'm putting together an analysis report of my own based on the cars on autotrader and the report that the insurance company sent me by email. I'm also going to the local dealer to see if they can help me out with a fair value assessment, as they were really impressed with the condition of my car when I brought it for my last oil change. I also can find out why that oil change didn't come out on the car fax report the insurance company pulled up.

I'll keep you guys posted.

benebob · #13 03-15-2008, 04:47 PM

Yet another reason why everyone should look into agreed value insurance for their SVXs. Basically you and the insurance company agree to a price if totalled then it increases by a few percent annually.

Of course this won't help your situation best advice I have is don't settle if you can afford to be down a vehicle for a while (even better if they provided you with a rental) and find a good lawyer friend to make a few calls for you and "rep" you. Price will go up as soon as a lawyer calls. Honestly if it is an average fwd car condition wise and you have a $500 deductable with your insurance (which at least in PA will effect payout but we're a no fault accident state) they're probably within range of the average price. Low side but within the range. Did you give them a number for what its worth to you? If not keep sending them similar condition SVXi from your region (hard but possible) and say you'll settle for whatever they can neg. the price on any of those. Good luck!

ensteele · #14 03-15-2008, 05:11 PM

I have been putting mileage, year, and price on a graph and it is a fairly good indicator of price. You car would be $6,000 to $6,500 according to the graph.

The other thing to keep in mind is that you want a car that is comparable to yours, not just a SVX. You want it "replaced", not just get another SVX. You insurance agent should be helping you get the settlement. If they don't, I would be looking for another agent.

benebob · #15 03-15-2008, 05:19 PM

Are you using asking price or sales price Earl. That seems quite high to me even for an asking price of an L (possibly even a fwder which suffer horrible drops in price). Maybe I should be asking more for mine then.

Lol

Quote:

Originally Posted by ensteele

I have been putting mileage, year, and price on a graph and it is a fairly good indicator of price. You car would be $6,000 to $6,500 according to the graph.

The other thing to keep in mind is that you want a car that is comparable to yours, not just a SVX. You want it "replaced", not just get another SVX. You insurance agent should be helping you get the settlement. If they don't, I would be looking for another agent.