okay if you guys read my other thread the insurance finally came today to make a estimate and now they say they want to total it the car is mint besides it needing a motor and turbos. but she was like the car needing a motor alone is enough for it to want us to junk it.

i was like what they rather total it and give me the cars book value which is like $13.5k i have a 94 vr pep with 83k miles all regular options and sunroof car is mint besides couple small door dings.

they must only think the car is worth $5k or something but i looked on kbb it says $13.5 if they only want to total it for $8k or so.

 

get a lawyer

 

its worse now since i got a big single turbo in there they are like we don't cover aftermarket i'm like can't you give me price for stock twins.

 

1) You're lucky they don't cancel your policy and refuse everything on the basis that you're running a heavily modified engine setup. They say they don't cover mods, but they're willing to replace your single turbo with a stock turbo!? It might be fraud on your part.

2) In the other thread you're saying the engine blew due to water in the engine bay (what? broken coolant hose?) and your insurance will cover the damage? Was there an accident report filed somehow?

3) So your insurance is telling you:
- you pay $1k deductible
- they say $3700 for a reman and $4600 for stock turbos, but they want to total it.
- KBB is $13500, which suggests the damage is still $5k short of totalling it.

This seems rather messy. I don't know what to say, and involving a lawyer might find things working out even less in your favor. (As in, the insurance company might realize they have grounds to drop your coverage - many plans will if you modify your engine). But I don't know the details of your policy and the reason for your 'accident'. So it's hard to provide much help.

Dave

 

...a lawyer may complicate things yes...but usually insurance companies will cover moded cars ...when u start a claim they ask you if you have anything done to the car at all you would like them to cover...usually they will go to a certain amount of money...or u can take a seperate claim out on just the mods done to the car...now as for electronics they will not cover anything over 500 since the car is already over 13 yrs old and is prone to fail...i dunno what to tell uabout them not giving u the full kbb value thats odd..if they do decided to do this...part out the car and make ur money back and go buy another one...

 

The following input is based on my personal experience, where I had considerable success in a situation fairly similar to yours on my recently totalled gen 3.

Formally protest their offer. Get some comps, preferably in your area. You can get these from this forum, ebay(risky maybe?), Autotrader, local papers, etc, etc. Submit them to your insurer showing the TRUE cost of a replacement. Even book value typically appears to show no premium for the extra cost of obtaining this increasingly rare car. Even worse, the estimator will then discount book value for known "defects." The comps. should better show the true costs, and will generally also accomodate a premium for desirable mods.

In addition, in my exerience, insurance estimators deal with this car so rarely, they really have no idea of replacement value. As such, if you can prove your point, you have a better chance of pushing them up.

Your position should be that you expect a comparable replacement and you need it for your job/etc. You expect a similar vehicle on a funtional and cosmetic basis. You are not asking for anything unreasonable. Because of the high cost of repairs on this car, insurers often just total it, even when it could actually probably be repaired adequately using alternative, (for example, used) parts. Once they make the call to total it, you get screwed unless they give you enough cash to replace it.

Good luck!

 

okay guys this is what happened going up a mountain in a rainstorm the FD hit some wet leaves then it hydro planned did 4 360's hit a guard rail the hood popped up and the rainstorm got in simple as that. no i wasn't driving fast 35 going up that steep mountain is slow even in the rain.

yes the car is heavily modded, but i've never had one ticket in the FD ever and i don't have a radar detector either so simple i don't break the law simple as that.


i know the rain got my motor because soon s the rain was soaking it i smoked up the whole mountain beyond a FOG.

after all that accident the car will not hold a idle and just wants to shut off. no i'm not a crook i'm a dirt poor guy who works hard to keep this beauty its the only thing i have.

she even said it herself wow your car looks mint then she calls in and tells them i have aftermarket body panels i was like well the whole body is stock but the motor is stock too which i was expecting you to cover body damage and a stock motor.

 

i'm not getting any of this clear and free either they said no matter what my insurance is going up 4 points for 5 years so i'm paying for all of it in the end.

so whether they even cover a stock motor or not and just cover the body damage which looks like a bent radiator support and headlight housing support new front bumper new headlight new fender suspension and i'm sure the bumper support took some damage as well.

that still is no where near 4 points in 5 years worth of paying which will probably double my coverage for a years payment.

so i'm not pulling a scam or anything i'm getting ripped a new hole for a new motor or not but i'm sure the body damage they have to fix or am i wrong on that one too and life does suck .

i also forgot to say that i said the KBB is 13.5k when i looked it up they said they don't have to use it which they are probably already planning to total the car and only give me $5k but thats justice right as long as its not your guys FD and mine.

a mint one that is stock exterior reliability and a big single.

so i guess you'll see another FD in the junkyard in a month or so and me with just $5k and a $12k loan i have to pay off on the car lol.

 

Bro, this is a perfect example of why owning a FD is not for everyone. I would NEVER go through insurance to fix a motor I popped, no one does that. How much do you want for the car though?

 

The motor itself should not care much about getting wet, unless the cold rain on a very hot engine block caused it to warp or something to that effect. But it's not clear to me how a minor bump accident could move/lift the hood to the point of getting the engine deluged with cold water, even in heavy rain. As well, the turbo shouldn't be damaged much except if it was reallyl hot and got quenched with cold water.

The no-start problem is more likely in your wiring or electrical system. Check the alternator, and wiring harnesses. Unplug all the plugs and be sure the connections are nice and dry.

Oh, and the others said it already: you are entitled to replacement cost. Find some good FDs w/ 80k and show them the asking prices. The mods shouldn't matter much in proving this replacement cost. As well, request to see the line-by-line items that they are using to estimate 'totalled' value - I'll be many of them (motor) make no sense.

Dave

 

LOL how can i sell a car i owe money on? i have more problems to worry about then selling a car.

 

i understand what your saying but is it normal for the car to go into redline during 4 360's? my foot wasn't on the gas obviously and after all that the car was smoking like a mother like i just did a huge burn out.

i can get teh car to turn on and what not but hold the idle i can't it stays alive if i rev it but i have to keep revving it and not let it idle which is annoying.

i'm not talking regular smoke either i'm talking enough to turn a whole mountain into pure white thick smoke so i was assuming something is not right turn back on the car and i found out this next lol.

my engine was probably pretty hot since my temp read 98 on my pfc when it happened and the car stopped. the turbo is usually hot even if it doesn't spool its been like that. i don't know how they are supposed to be but obviously i don't boost in the rain.


i forgot to mention since that whole thing after i turn it on and when i moved it off the mountain it smokes non stop so something is definately wrong even when i got home the next day fire it up it smokes non stop and can't hold a idle.

 

I would check with your state laws...I believe that you don't have to go with the insurance adjuster's findings. You can hire your own (properly licensed) insurance adjuster, the insurance company has to abide by their findings. Double check my information before you go off and do anything. If you have an insurance agent, get them involved, they might be able to help your case.

Good luck! Let us know what happens.

 

There are a lot of possible reasons for the smoke. Shoot coolant on the engine block or turbos and you could get quite a bunch of smoke/steam, especially on a humid day.

 

okay i understand that but why can't it hold a idle now? at all and it still smokes non stop i tried to fire it up the day after and while i was just holding a rev at 2k it was smoking for about 1hr. i gave up and shut it off before anything could go bad.

and yes i did almost suffocate in my garage even though both garage doors where open .

 

how can you sell a car you owe money on? The same way you sell a car you don't owe money on bud.

 

okay man, but where is the FS: in m topic i kind of missed that part maybe someone can kindly add it in for me lol.

 

This is your best advice, don't let them low ball you. It shouldn't be such a pain in the butt, but that's how it works these day. Stick to your guns.

 

Keep in mind that insurance companies are not required to give you the same amount on a total car as to what you still owe on a loan. It's possible that you have say $10,000 on a loan still, and they give you $8000. That means you still owe $2000 on the loan to pay off yourself.

The reverse can be true as well, you have $8000 left on the loan and they give you $10,000 on the total. You would take $8000 and pay off the load and bank the other $2000.

Fight them to get a much out of it as you can, just be aware of what might or might not happen.

 

Hmm.
1) disconnect the throttle body elbow
2) reset the ECU
3) set a big fan in front of the exhaust, run at max speed, and point it toward the outside.
4) try again for 10-20min.

Dave

 

if i reset my pfc won't it try to learn all over again and thing is it won't ever learn because it can't hold a idle otherwise i would try that now.


i just simply think they don't even want to cover the body damage since it'll be expensive and the kbb value is too high for them and they can't find a street value cheap enough.

i told them just a stock running fd with same mileage will be 10-13k and they didnt believe me i guess they are seeing it now lol.

they probably just want to give me $5k and total my car. i'll probably get a phone call back and they'll say that .

 

Yeah, don't reset the ECU since it's a PFC (forgot - single turbo means no stock ECU).

I think they're playing games with you. There is no reason you should leave with less than the value of the replacement. It's your legal right.

Dave

 

they haven't called me back so they probably forgot about me lol. anyway if they junk it i hope i at least get $12k but i'd rather them fix it.

 

what a way to jinx myself they called not even 20 minutes later and said they are going to total the car and total loss unit will contact me later this week here comes the lowball prices which will probably be $5k $7k if i'm lucky .

wish me luck guys another FD goes to heaven. maybe i can swap out my big single for some dead twins and keep most of my electronics since they didn't come with the car.