My 1992 LX was stolen in ‘01 and State Farm shafted me. Cobra intake, Crane 1.7rr, pulleys, gears, headers, full exhaust, shifter, throttle body, mass air, brand new tires all around, and a new $400 Kenwood stereo that State Farm paid for after the second time the car was broken into. The car was immaculate and they gave me $4400 for it. That was after pushing the issue of the new tires. When I reminded them that the stereo they paid for was worth over $400 the lady told me that just because I had a $400 radio doesn't mean the value of the car goes up $400. It's the truth but she was a bitch about it.

Long storey short, don't expect to get much out of it.

 

ive been here before. figure out what you think is fair price for your car, back it up with reciepts. ask for a bit more than you want. you do not have to accept the insurances offer and they have to keep paying for a rental car until they settle. threaten that your going to get a lawyer. i got paid for my car plus most off my mods, wheels and all of the audio gear i had. i didnt have a repiept for everything. i was dealing with a small insurance company and my insurance company(statefarm) even got on their case to pay me what i want.

 

As much as I hate to say it, you really aren't going to get much of anything for the work you put into that car.

Any mechanical work is generally regarded is maintenance. In other words, the suspension work you put on your Mustang is regarded as maintenance. It makes no difference in the eyes of the local market, whether you replaced it with stock Foxbody parts or upgraded to the SN95. General maintenance of suspension components, brake components, oil changes, etc is what is expected of the owner to keep the vehicle in running condition. As such it does not add value to a vehicle.

However, major component maintenance (i.e. motor, transmission, rearend, etc.) does add value to the vehicle BUT the insurance company will not pay dollar-for-dollar for what you paid. Generally it is factored into the value of the vehicle itself...depreciation and market conditions adjust the value. The amount you get generally depends on the amount of money spent and when it was installed. Usually you won't get much of an increase for major mechanical work done over one year ago. For example, we all know a Mustang with a new $5k motor would not be worth $5k more than a similar Mustang with the original motor.

Definately keep all the receipts and submit them as necessary. It can't hurt you to go through them with your adjuster to see what impact it will make on your valuation. I would also request a copy of the valuation summary as well. Read through it to make sure everything is correct. Insurance companies generally use a 3rd party value system (i.e. CCC Valuescope)...so when you get the valuation, feel free to call the up yourself. You can discuss the impact of this work with a rep...they are generally more than happy to answer whatever questions you ask of them.


To contradict what was said above...the insurance company does not pay replacement value. It is the duty of the insurance company to indemnify you, meaning put you in the same financial spot you were in prior to the accident. They will pay you the value of YOUR vehicle based on the local market in which you reside. They will not pay the cost to replace it and definately not pay the price that the niche of Mustang fanatics would pay for a comparable Mustang.



Sorry if this post doesn't make sense. Been a shitty day and my brain is absolutely mush. I'll probably need to make revisions to this post later.

 

^^^ take that Levi .

 

this is true. ^^^

when i totaled one of my nissan's the value was determined by using about 7-8 different vehicles at stealerships across the state, ie tampa/orl/mia.

they averaged it, i got almost 4k for a car i couldnt sell private party for 3k.

 

Honestly, there really is no negotiating the value of a vehicle. The car is what it is worth...period. You may find differences between valuation methodologies (i.e. CCC vs. NADA vs. Blue Book), but generally these differences are no more than a few hundred dollars. You really cannot count the 1% of the market who would pay an insane amount for the car as that niche market is obviously not indicative of the general sample of car buyers. A car really isn't worth what someone pays for it, a car is worth what the market will bear. In other words, if you trade a $5 bill for a $1 bill...it doesn't mean that $1 bill is now worth $5.

He does have the option of the Appraisal Clause. He and Direct each pay for a 3rd party appraiser. Those two appraisers select a third appraiser called the "umpire" whose cost is split between he and Direct. If the two appraisers cannot come to an agreement on the valuation, the "umpire" reviews and makes a final decision. The outcome of the Appraisal Clause is binding regardless of whether or not it is higher or lower than the originally quoted value. PLUS you have to figure in the cost of an appraiser, which is somewhere around $200. So figure you are out of pocket somewhere around $300 just for the cost of the appraisers. If that value comes to less, you get screwed. Most of the time, from what I've been told, the Appraisal Clause comes out lower OR negligibly higher. If it were me, I would not go that route.

Regarding the rental...keep this next few sentences in mind. The State of FL states that an insurance company does not have to pay for loss once a fair valuation is offered to you. In other words, the day they say your car is worth X amount of dollars is the same day they can cut off your rental. Most of the time we won't do that, but I cannot speak for other companies. Just get all of your stuff together and stay on top of things.

Also, if you don't have a rental car, they still owe you for loss of use from the date of the accident. This is either added into the valuation or cut to you in a separate payment. Generally this is paid between $20-30 per day. Most stick at $20/day, but if you lean hard enough you can get $30/day out of them.


Any an FYI to everyone here. Don't be an asshole to the adjuster if/when you are in an accident. He/she is someone just like me...another poor sucker out there earning a living by doing a job we don't particularly enjoy.

 

Tax should have been included in the valuation presented to you by the at-fault insurance carrier. They owe you vehicluar sales tax, if they didn't include it in the valuation you need to make sure they throw that into the figures. Most do not add in the cost for the tag transfer and title work. Remember they are paying the value of the vehicle...tag & title have no bearing on the value of a car. However, some companies will reimburse you this cost if asked.

How is the process going so far? Have the presented a value yet? If so, who are they using to value the vehicle? If you need any help, let me know!

 

word of warning if you have collision on your allstate policy file thru Allstate Direct general is a second rate company and you will not see anything near what your expecting .. I was an adjuster for GEICO for years if you need more info Take it private and I'll help if I can