Insurance Write-Offs

[riced]

Hey guys

I was wondering if any of you have any experience with write offs..
Recently I got into an accident involving three cars, one of them being a city bus. Currently, I'm not at fault for the accident.

The appraiser has said that the damage is 65% and just short of $8000 in repairs.

The adjuster calls and asks about the accident and how much repairs would be and she even seemed surprised that it was not a write off yet.

So my parents are kinda iffy about keeping the car with so much in damages and worry about resale in the future.

So.. do any of you know if it's possible to ASK for a write off and be done with it?

[corsvette]

Depends alot on the current value of the car,i think they write a car off if the repairs are more than half the cars value,entry level cars (honda civic's ect.)get written off for little damage,but since they are worth less it takes less damage for the adjuster to write it off.Tell them your concern's about resale value,more so if it has frame damage.

[Joe-G]

Is the car movable? Maybe you could try and some quotes at a couple different shops to prove them otherwise?

[riced]

Well from the recent ads I've seen, even a 2007 Civic EX is about $15,000.

Mine is a 2006 DX-G.. which I would probably price at maybe 13-14K with 70,000KM.. If the insurance includes the mods, then it could be more.

The car is not driveable.. so I can't take it anywhere, unfortunately.

[Masked Bandit]

Unfortunately it's up to the insurance company of the person who is at-fault for the accident. With that said, a pleasant conversation with that adjuster should get the vehicle written-off if that is in fact what you want. I know if it were my car and there was that much damage I sure wouldn't want it back.

[88CRX]

My buddy had his civic stolen and recovered..... they appraised the damage at $7k (or something like that) on a $13k car and they were going to repair it.

He told them straight up he didn't want it back at all. He said he's take less money for a payout for it being writen off (he made them an offer) and they came back and agreed to it. I can double check all the numbers with him but just tell them you don't want it back and you want such and such amount of money.

Also tell them you'll take your mods off (seats for sure) and replace them with stock parts to keep the cars value down.

[riced]

Wicked! Thanks, Ryan.

I did some more homework, this is what it comes to

The body work (not including the frame, suspension etc) is estimated at $7,9xx.
The appraiser did not check the rad, frame or any of that which I suspect has damage as well.

The car's estimated value is about $14,000 - $16,000.

If you could check how much he got for it from the insurance, that could give me some help in knowing what to say to the adjuster on Monday.

As far as I'm concerned, I want to get this car written off asap. I hope they let me take my mods if they agree to the write off.. my seats and subs are a few things I'd like to have back.

[corsvette]

You can negotiate the mod's for sure, they would want you to put the factory parts back on if you keep the mod's.

[88CRX]

Originally posted by riced

If you could check how much he got for it from the insurance, that could give me some help in knowing what to say to the adjuster on Monday.

Yea, I'll let you know asap what the $$'s were. His was on a 00' Civic SIR.



Originally posted by corsvette
You can negotiate the mod's for sure, they would want you to put the factory parts back on if you keep the mod's.
Yea forsure you'll have to go the yard it's being stored at and put your stock seats back in.

[riced]

Thanks, Ryan. I'm really hoping that when I talk to my adjuster tomorrow I can somehow persuade her to change it to a write off for a reasonable price. Part of me gets the feeling that it won't be possible with how new my car is.

Currently, the car is not at the impound. It's at my uncle's shop so I think I could probably do it quickly there if this goes my way.

Does anyone else know anything about changing it from repair to write off?

[redblack]

one of my cars was a borderline write-off and i bitched, moaned and pleaded with the adjuster but in the end they wouldnt write it off. but oh well, it's fixed at a very reputable shop and i have a lifetime warranty on the repair.

[88CRX]

Just talked to my buddy about his Civic.

He figured his car at the time was worth $12-13k and he had $7k or so in damage (plus missing rims). They told him that the cars repair bill needed to be roughly 80% of the value of the car for them to write it off.

So he went back and asked for $10k and a write off and they agreed.

He also said just be persistant and ask them to work with you on it and to make it clear that you don't want a newer car thats had $8k in repairs.

Also make sure they're taking into account all the repair work (ie: frame damage, suspension, alignment crap, etc etc.) it's more then just some simple bodywork.

Maybe take a slight hit in the cars value & payout to just be done with it :dunno:

Or go in for some major bodywork and a full respray in another colour :dunno: :D

[Proboscis]

From my experience working in a shop, sometimes it balances on which airbags where deployed. Especially on the side curtains airbags where damage is done to the headliner and the seats are torn apart. If the front bags are blown and the front rails are bent, the resale won't be the same even though it's repaired properly.

Most people don't want to buy a car after they've seen it's damage history off Carproof and Carfax. In your case 65% on a 07 Civic isn't really out of the question to fix it, they are really nice cars.

But your parents will probably want a newer car, write of the Civic and tell them to get a CSX :thumbsup:

[riced]

No airbags were deployed.

Thanks for that info, Ryan. I'll give it a try tomorrow. I dunno if I want to go as low as $10k but I'll see what I can do with the adjuster.
My parents and I see this as an opportunity to get rid of this car and get a better one.

We're looking at an 08 Si Sedan this time in Taffeta White.

[Proboscis]

Taffeta White :drool: Tri-stage

[riced]

So the adjuster called me back this morning and apparently it's not up to him to decide whether he can change his mind in making it a write off or repair.

He said that even if the car was 75% damaged and 5% away from the total loss policy, he still can't make it a write off no matter how much of a hit the owner was willing to take.

Now I'm not sure if this is because it's AMA and they're a bigger company with strict rules or it was just the adjuster being honest to his job.. but the car is indeed going in for repairs now.

Just thought I'd put that out there for whoever is interested in the future.

Thanks for the help guys

[signature7]

Will the insurance cover the mods that were damaged in the accident?

[riced]

Originally posted by signature7
Will the insurance cover the mods that were damaged in the accident?

No mods were damaged, fortunately :)
I took them off about 3 weeks before the accident.