Meeting with an adjuster

[Neil4Speed]

Hey guys,

Reaching out for some guidance.

Just as a follow up, I was hit about a month ago

http://forums.beyond.ca/st/255953/check-your-fucking-tire-tread-and-give-plenty-of-time-for-stopping/

I got some estimates on the damage and both came out to be just over $2000, the parts were really quite expensive being that the car is older and rare.

I was notified that I would hear from an adjuster this week, but I am not too sure what happens from that point on. How does it work? She comes out, assesses the damage

- goes okay, well we are going fix the damage. Are they going to look at my estimates and cut me a cheque, or are they going to tell me to go to their bodyshop to get it fixed.

- Or, are they going to be, well I the damage seems to be too high for this car, here is a cheque for the value of the car, the car is ours now. In which case, what do I do if they cut me an unfair amount? The car has high mileage and is old, but is very well maintained, in great condition, and is quite rare (only 34 sold in Canada)


I have never gone though this process before, any tips suggestions or guidance?

[psycoticclown]

This is my experience with my insurance company after I got hit, might not be 100% accurate though.

When I got hit, the adjuster went out to the shop and went over all the damage with the bodyshop so that they weren't getting gipped. After that, they gave approval to the shop and than cut them a cheque after all the work was done.

As for the car being written off, they won't just go bam here your car is now ours and here's the money. They'll ask you if you want to go through with it and you can negotiate the amount. If you think it's too low, go look at examples of your car on the market and show them examples that have similar KM's and year and they'll usually give you a fair amount. A few of my friends have written off their cars and they were given more than what they purchased the car for a year earlier, so you might actually end out on top.

[-TOFU-]

WOW! Niel, you still have the legend? did you ever got around to getting that center dash trim fixed? I remembered when i sold you the car it had about 400,000 kms on it. :)

[Neil4Speed]

Originally posted by psycoticclown
This is my experience with my insurance company after I got hit, might not be 100% accurate though.

When I got hit, the adjuster went out to the shop and went over all the damage with the bodyshop so that they weren't getting gipped. After that, they gave approval to the shop and than cut them a cheque after all the work was done.

As for the car being written off, they won't just go bam here your car is now ours and here's the money. They'll ask you if you want to go through with it and you can negotiate the amount. If you think it's too low, go look at examples of your car on the market and show them examples that have similar KM's and year and they'll usually give you a fair amount. A few of my friends have written off their cars and they were given more than what they purchased the car for a year earlier, so you might actually end out on top.

Hey thanks so much for the detailed response, really helps me out in getting prepared on what to come.


Originally posted by -TOFU-
WOW! Niel, you still have the legend? did you ever got around to getting that center dash trim fixed? I remembered when i sold you the car it had about 400,000 kms on it. :)

Hey man - yes I still have the Legend, it has been great to me so far, I replaced the center dash trim with a modified one from an auto, the dealer wanted $3400 for that wood console, apparently since its so rare from a Manual, and actual wood.

The car runs great still at 415k, I bought it at 383k. Burns no oil and is great fun to drive.

[redblack]

How much is your car worth? To get the car written off I believe it has to be above
75 percent of th cars value

[canuckcarguy]

Detail the car before the adjuster comes.

Make it look as good as possible, so that they will ultimately set the value at the highest part of the value range. Talk up the care and attention the vehicle has received, and how great it is, mechanically and cosmetically. Whine about how impossible it will be to find one as nice. Then always refuse the first offers they make to you. They will go higher.

A lot of years ago I was hit in my Wrangler, they initially offered me $6500. Just by saying no to them over and over, and insisting on the value in my vehicle vs. comparable vehicles, they eventually paid me $10,000, plus let me keep the salvage, which I sold for $3500 after removing the stereo and alarm system.

All this for a Jeep that was probably worth, at most, $9000 before it was hit.

[ralliart_girl]

Okay, you guys are mostly likely getting two people mixed up.

The adjuster is the person who will ask you for statements and set up appraisals, and bodyshop, settle liability...stuff like that.

The appraiser is going to be the one viewing your car, and determining if the vehicle is going to be repairable. The 75% sounds about right. However, if your vehicle is written off, unless the appraiser is on crack....the first offer, is going to be your only offer. But if you do think that your vehicle is going to be written off, it doesn't hurt to do a little research. Make sure the comparable you use are within the same area (ie. Edmonton vehicles = too far), same make and model, and mileage if possible.

If it really is just the appraiser coming out to see you, don't worry, they are usually pretty chill. But like the previous person said, mention things that you think like how well you maintain your car, and if you had done anything extra to the vehicle, by all means, show them the receipts of things you have done. Don't bother with typically stuff like oil change receipts. But don't lie about anything, cause most appraisers will be able to tell

Hope this helps.

[ee2k]

My experience: when I got hit from the rear last year, the car was not drivable and was towed to the city yard. The very next day, I received a call from my insurance company saying that an adjuster was on his way (they outsource that apparently). The following day, they came back stating that the car was a write off, with a written offer per the value assessed by the adjuster.

Like the other replies stated, it is worth doing research on your car type and how much you'd need to replace it. My adjuster report (damn I forget what the company is called) even included a listing of cars similar to mine that were currently on the market (Autotrader). Even then, I personally found that their offer was low and called back my insurance company and explained my points: need be very factual and firm, back it up with items like recent new tires with $ amount, cleanliness, recent maintenance costs etc. Do not state exactly how much you want, simply state why your car is worth more and have them come back with an offer.

I scrutinized the cars that were available for sale on Autotrader and compared what they did not have but my car did have: mileage, tires, loaded or not, tint, stereo, trim, engine type etc.

After a couple of calls back and forth within the first couple of days, insurance company came back to me with an offer that was greater than what I had expected.

[Neil4Speed]

Originally posted by ralliart_girl
Okay, you guys are mostly likely getting two people mixed up.

The appraiser is going to be the one viewing your car, and determining if the vehicle is going to be repairable. The 75% sounds about right. However, if your vehicle is written off, unless the appraiser is on crack....the first offer, is going to be your only offer. But if you do think that your vehicle is going to be written off, it doesn't hurt to do a little research. Make sure the comparable you use are within the same area (ie. Edmonton vehicles = too far), same make and model, and mileage if possible.



Thank you guys for all the great responses - so solid.

Finding comparable cars is difficult, there are only two 6MT coupes for sale in Canada, and both have half the mileage and are 10k+. I just want a reasonable settlement, nothing close to 10k, a little less than half of that would be fine.

Anyways, I will be hearing from these guys this week, I will let you guys know what happens.