Help GreenMarine Get more money from GEICO

[GreenMarine]

First I'd like to thank everyone for their support through this accident. It really is great to feel cared about.

This thread is about getting YOUR oppinion on what you think my car is worth... GEICO's offer to me wat $4,800... Then take away my $1,000 deductable and you have $3,800... Then subtract the $720 it would cost to buy the car back and that leaves me with a grand total of $3,080...

I decided to challenge their offer because I believe that the car is worth WELL OVER 2x what they offered me... In this thread I am asking all members to please look in my locker and study the pics of my car. Then vote on what you think the car is worth... I am going to print the results out and send them (along with any comments that you may have attached in posts) to my adjuster's boss... He has promised me that he will give me a fair chance to appeal. So I'm hoping to OVERWHELM him with proof that my car is infact worth more than what GEICO is offering me. Thank you and please tell everyone you know on the site to vote if they have the time. I need the most amount of feedback that I can get...

Thanks again

** There is a limit of 5 days on the poll, I have to send it in rather soon, so please vote today!! Thanks **

[ensteele]

I don't remember all of the info on your car. Maybe you could post it so it would be easier to get a feel of the worth.

I voted for $7000 or above based on the amount of money and work put into the 5 speed conversion and the suspension. Have your receipts ready to show to your insurance company.

Mike

[SubaSteevo]

After only seeing your car at Reading, I can vouch that it was in excellent condition, and definately worth more than $4800. I purchased my car for $5300 and spent $2700 on the transmission, so there is no way you could replace the car at fair market value for only $4800. I voted for $6001-$7000, keeping in mind that to an insurance company, mods are pretty much worthless. If the value of the mods was concidered, I would vote on the higher side of $7000.

[NapaBavarian]

I can't vouch for value, however I can vouch for the fact that geico will try to cheap out, they tried to get me on my vanagon...

[GreenMarine]

I forgot to mention one thing. The estimate can only be made is if the car had no mods on it... My car was only insured for the value of a 1995 SVX. I didn't mention any of the mods to them when they were done so they won't recognize them now, even with receipts. So ya have to pretend that the car is stock. Sorry I didn't mention that earlier...

Lets just say that I've learned my lession about insurance companies though. Also if GEICO can afford those million dollar $$$$ comercials during the superbowl but they can't toss a few more thousand dollars my way... I vote that if GEICO doesn't sway twards giving me more money that the Subaru community "Boycott GEICO"...

[Seraph]

Well don't take it personally, any insurance company will always tell you a lower amount. How much do you really think it is worth before the accident if the car were to be sent to an auction? They look at a few values on the car. Retail, Auction, etc and from their point of view, 4800 seems pretty fair. Remember, mods don't count and they don't give a crap about mods regardless of how much you spend on the car.

We also think our cars are worth so much more when in reality, they are not. That is also something to consider.

[Chiketkd]

$5,001 - $6,000.

Most '95 SVX's in good condition have a market value in this range. I looked on autotrader, cars.com, got the kbb value and black book value - this range seems to be a good average of the prices I've seen.

Good luck with Geico. My wife and I were planning to switch insurance companies this year - if they screw you over, I'm going to go with Progressive or State Farm instead.

-Chike

[NapaBavarian]

Originally posted by GreenMarineSVX
I vote that if GEICO doesn't sway twards giving me more money that the Subaru community "Boycott GEICO"...

Did ja know Mercury is part of Gieco? Anyway, I got a quote from them once and the sales guy was an ASS!!! I vote we boycot them anyway

[NapaBavarian]

Originally posted by Chiketkd
$5,001 - $6,000.

Most '95 SVX's in good condition have a market value in this range. I looked on autotrader, cars.com, got the kbb value and black book value - this range seems to be a good average of the prices I've seen.

Good luck with Geico. My wife and I were planning to switch insurance companies this year - if they screw you over, I'm going to go with Progressive or State Farm instead.

-Chike

I have Progressive and have had good luck, but I only carry liability so payouts arn't an issue. I spoke with a bodyshop and he said Progressive wasn't much better than Gieco/Mercury on payouts, not sure about state farm, but a friend has them and likes them, he has collected uninsured motorist claims a couple times.

[UberRoo]

Kelly Blue Book retail is $8,740. From the pictures, your car appears to be in excellent shape and perfectly fit for a dealership sale. I think even a dealership, which would probably ask nearly the KBB suggested price, would sell the car for as low as $7000. Add to that, taxes and licensing, and you're back where you started. My answer is that it's worth $7000+. Ask for $7k.

The cost of the deductible and the buy-back price are irrelevant. The total cost to you after those are factored in should not be a consideration to anyone. If you weren't madly in love with your SVX, you'd be happy to take their money and find another car. The deductible is an expense you just have to eat. If you want a lower deductible, you have to pay a higher rate. Tough, but that's just the way it works.

As for the aftermarket parts, you're absolutely right. They're worth nothing to the insurance company, and also irrelevant. The only factor of any importance is the replacement value of a 1995 SVX with 92k miles in equal factory condition. If your car is truly in excellent condition, fit for dealership sale, I would say the KBB value is a good benchmark. They offered you the trade-in value. You can't replace your car for that.

One more question; how much did you pay for the SVX when you bought it?

The Kelly Blue Book values:
Trade-in: $4,975
Private party: $6,810
Retail: $8,740

[Seraph]

Originally posted by UberRoo


The Kelly Blue Book values:
Trade-in: $4,975
Private party: $6,810
Retail: $8,740

When was the last time you pay KBB retail value for a car? I for one have never paid retail for a car. Most of the cars I've bought (and I did buy a lot), I've paid close to tradein. The dealers get their cars for tradein or at auctions and they can get them relatively cheap. A 97LSi in excellent condition with the right milage runs for around 7k in IL at the auctions (if we can find one). 95LSi would go for around 5ish and most dealers would sell for around 7-8ish.

Are insurance companies and dealers ever fair? Nope. so... If you can get more, try. It does not hurt. But from people like Geico would never go over the ACV of the car in paying out. That's how they make money.

Originally posted by Seraph

Are insurance companies and dealers ever fair? Nope.

That's a pretty broad statement to make. I think that's inaccurate also.

[SubaSteevo]

I'm kind of curious why two people voted for under $3k, even in half the shape that Chris's car was, it would be worth more than $3k. Even a dealer would give him more than $3k for it

[mikecg]

The insurance company is only going to give you whole sale value. My 94 only had 20K miles when I bought it and the whole sale on it was 5 grand.