Ok, here's the story: About a week ago I was on my way home from work at 10:30pm or so and it had just stopped raining. Halfway home I make one of those sharp 15-20mph turns and there is a deer in the center of the road, i swerve and avoid hitting the deer but lose traction and slide down a hill into a tree.

The insurance company is trying to total the car due to slight damage to the firewall. They are telling me they will give me like 9k for it because it is a 93 and any 93 couldn't be worth more than 9. They said they will give me more if I can get the phone number and VIN of any person who has bought an FD in Ohio in the past 6 months for more than that. As it stands I still owe about 6 on the car and the motor has to be pulled for the repair, so any body shop will charge me an arm and a leg for this. Any help would be very much appreciated.


Here she is

 

Damn dud that sucks.. If i lived in there i would help you out.... Damn deer..

 

wait, so what exactly is all damaged? no deer can do $9000 worth of damage i dont think...

 

Call Rx7store...

 

I didn't hit the deer, I missed it, and its 6000 in damage, they estimated that an FD is only worth 9.

Thats a good idea, I hadn't thought of that. Hopefully I can get multiple sales to drive the point home.

 

bought my 93 last aug. ....for 14,500...
got a loan for 10(didnt want to drain the whole bank account)
bank said they wouldn't loan anything above 12...because thats what they thought the car was worth...(and thats with perfect credit)

your best bet would be to contact jason...at rx7store...

not sure where your located...good luck

brad

 

That doesn't make sense. If the damage is appraised at $6k, even if your car's value is only $9k, it's cheaper for them to cover the cost of repairs rather than total the car.

 

That's not how it works. They call it like "economical total." If the repairs exceed a certain %, like for example 55% of the cars value, they total out the car.

-Scott

 

That's an unreasonable burden of proof.

Just because they ask for something doesn't mean you have to do it. This is a negotiation for market replacement value. If they won't value the car at the price you paid, and a list of comparable cars for sale isn't enough evidence, then you need to hold firm and move up in their corporate ladder. If you have decent evidence, and waste enough time of people who's salaries are more than the crappy adjuster you're currently talking to, things will surely change.

What insurance company is it? Sounds like one to avoid.

As for "economical total" it's not surprising for them to simply pay out rather than repair since you have to factor in the cost of processing the claim and all the other overheads involved.

Dave

 

^What he said. Kelley Blue Book has the value at ~$13,700

 

My insurance (progressive) told me if the damage exceeds the total value of my car, then it's totaled. My total damage to my front end was roughly about $9,000, and they still fixed my WHOLE front end, because the insurance company told me my car was worth $17,500.

 

dang jeff, that is a good deal if they say it is worth 17500. they said mine was worth 13000 and i have geico :-/

 

When I had my little run-in, they valued my car @ $18k+. I was pretty shocked and offered the insurance company to take the car out of my hands @ $18k.

 

DAMN...i bought one for well over that in cinn. but that was 11 months ago!

 

I bought a FD last summer from Virginia happy to help you.

 

I think 6 months is an unfair time frame. It does not take in to account the change in selling prices due to seasons. that gives you only part of a good season and all of a bad season for buying sports cars. Tell them to shove it and goo off of what they are being posted for at car dealerships in Ohio and private party for a comparably modified one.

 

if they will allow you to go past 6 months...let me know i purchased it in cincinnati, ohio

 

dgeesaman is right though...

when i totaled my 98 prelude...they said they would give me 14 for it....after i did my own recon of 10 cars ....they ended up giving me 16.5 for it which payed it off then some.....(they deducted for $#!t like manual trans. when the sh version only came manual tran.)
i ended up buying another lude...2000... they payed my tax on the car for all the hassle they put me though...

brad

 

6 months is indeed an unfair time frame, as is the fact that I can only find them in Ohio when you consider I can be in Indiana within an hour. Also the real strange thing is last time I got run off the road the other person's insurance paid 9300$ to have my car repaired, yet my own company says its worth less than half that. The insurance company is State Farm for those asking.

And anyone who has bought one within a year i would appreciate hearing from as well, especially seeing as its unlikely to get many within 6 months. This situation is becoming a very serious headache and I'm trying to avoid all the complications I can. But I can honestly say when this is all over its more than likely I will change insurance companies because of this situation.

And again I thank anyone who can throw advice or information into this for me.
I'll try to post a picture of the damage when i get the car towed back to my house from the body shop where it is now.

 

when i totaled my first FD in 98, I bought the car for $23k, and because the claims inspector couldn't see the milage after battery being disconnected, they went for Kelly blue book price and guestimated the milage from the year of the car and gave me $25k.

If anything, they should still go by KBB value.

 

Dude, a deer could cut your 7 damn near in half if you hit him right.

Imagine taking one of those 55 gallon oil drums, and filling it with sand, and then driving into it at 55mph, that might be close to the effect of hitting a deer.

Worst part about hitting a deer in a car, is its all but a garrantee that you will hit it in the legs causing it to slide over your hood and into the cab of the vehicle.

 

I just looked up my car on kbb.com. It says that my car with 72K miles in excellent condition is worth $16,335 (private party). Not sure what condition yours was in, but 9K seems far too low to me.
You could also look on NADA and Edmunds and average the 3 values together to be fair.

 

i hit a deer in an eagle talon once. it actually flipped completly over the car! i actually put my arms up in front of my face, cause i thought it was coming in for visit for sure!

 

Honestly, I would just print off KBB. Then add on any mods that you have reciepts for.

Replaceable value.

 

What I would do is find cars that have sold within the last 6 months in the "Midwest area". Take those amounts and then add in receipts of your aftermarket parts. Also, print out what KBB.com says and then hope for the best. That's about all you can do in these kind of situations.