Originally Posted by Scott
4. Last but not least and this applies to any sale, negotiation, settlement (at least from what I have learned over the years). Thee who names a price first gets hosed 90% of the time in the end. Let them offer, then you shoot back much higher, and settle somewhere in between. This is the same thing I do with contract negotiations on homes and it works just about every time.
Just don't let them bully you into something you are not comfortable with. Like Figment says they have to pay your rental while they are dicking around. And as much as I dislike attorneys the threat of using one after all else has failed is a wake up call to some.
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.