It is totally unfair...why should i lose out when it is not my fault?

Chris

Fair is where you go to get cotton candy and funnel cakes! It's not the same to each person. The insurance company is only obligated to put you back in the condition you were in before the accident. Before the accident, you had a vehicle that was very special to you and got you where you needed to go, but it was only worth 4k. To pay you more than that or enough to buy a brand new vehicle is not the purpose of insurance. They will offer you actual cash value, which basically means what it would cost you to buy another 1997 Cirrus (we're talking a car that's closing in on 10 years old- there really is no "fairly mint condition"). Total loss offers are somewhat negotiable, but they may already be offering you over the ACV to settle in the interest of being fair. Maybe you could get a little bit more, but don't expect it. Total loss evaluations already assume the vehicle has been maintained as well.

They are perfectly within their right to handle the claim that way. It's industry standard. As far as suing goes, or getting an attorney, property damage evaluations differ greatly from injury claims. It's hard to put a value on someone's pain, but vehicle damage can be appraised line by line and values can be shown in writing with proof and are not difficult to prove. An attorney will be unsuccessful getting more, and you'd still have to prove that the insurance company's evaluation was wrong (i.e. provide documentation to prove the value is more) if you went to court.

CowboyBill

They are doing what the terms of your policy states (you know, the one you didn't read before you signed the dotted line). Withdraw your claim or settle, crybaby.

waplambadoobatawhopbamboo

That's unfortunate. I have to think of it as the risk I take to be on the roads. Be thankful you didn't get injured. Also remember that it may have been on the verge of giving you mechanical grief anyway and you may have escaped having to deal with the expenses an aging car starts to present you with.

Silly chick

You can get a decent car for that but you could get ripped off by a used car dealer. I know it stinks but that's all they are going to do for you so you will have to take the money and get another car.

If it's not enough, you have the option of suing the person who hit your car for additional damages.

kittlesworth

I bought my 1999 Chrysler Cirrus with 112,000km's on it for $7,000, no rust and mint. I've had my car for almost 2 years, it's got 180,000km's on it, rust spots, and scratches on it that I didn't even do. Someone backed into me and rippled the paint and also got this more scratches that I didn't do and it's probably not even worth close to that any more. How many km's/miles were on it? It doesn't matter if someone else did the damage, unless you're willing to pay to fix it or not, it's not going to be worth as much as you paid for it. So lets see, you paid $17,000 for it, knock off $5000, so that's $12,000 the day you drove it off the lot and you've had it for 7 years, wouldn't be worth much anymore.
I'd have to say that $4000, is pretty decent amount for a car, and honestly who knows, your car is probably worth around that much anyway. Good luck making the right decision!!

take the 4000 and put down on new car.

bostonianinmo

Insurance companies generally will only pay you blue book retail value on a total loss. You can verify that they are offering fair market value by looking up your car at http://www.kbb.com

I did a quick check on that car, and retail is close to $4,900 if it was in excellent condition. You should check the site against the equipment and condition of your car.

Some insurance companies may try to offer the private party value or even the trade-in value. You are entitled to full retail value of your car, so check the value on the site and use that as evidence to substantiate your claim that the owe you more for your car.

If they are offerning you book value, it is possible to argue the point with them sometimes, if you do it carefully. Provide proof to your insurance company that you can't replace it with a like vehicle for what they are offering. Copies of local sales ads would help.

PeppermintandPopcorn

Log on to nada.com to find the real value of the car. Car's aren't good assets to hold on to their worth and that $4000 is decent for a car that is 10 years old.

Sheena

ask them if it will be a junk or salvage title if salvage use the buyback option they give you , file for a rebuilt title and have it inspected drive away in your car with a little extra cash in your pocket

John Paul

Ok your 4 cyl. economy car was smashed 10 years old too! Take the money and run! Good down payment for your new car. You were looking a little worn down in the cirrius were you not? Imagine your self looking in the reflection of the windows at the supermarket saying gee I look great in my new XXX and only 400 a month! That's one good XXX

elk312

There's nothing you can do about it. I'm sure the estimate wasn't that far off though. Check http://www.kbb.com for the estimated value. I entered info for a base model at an average mileage of 85K and in fair body condition in San Diego and came up with a value of under $1800 so the insurance company is probably being fair.

My '91 Acura Legend was stolen and found completely stripped and I too was told by the ins. co. that it would cost too much to restore it so they gave me a check for $4000. I was able to find something decent-in fact, it's better than what I had stolen from me! Look, sh!t happens. You just gotta stop whining about it, get over it and get out there and look for something suitable. You're lucky you had insurance to begin with and got anything at all!

I'm Gonna Tell You

Sue the guy who hit your car. You'll have to prove your car was as good condition as you say it was.

oklatom

If you feel your car was worth more, you can certainly refuse their offer and ask for more. You can also hire an attorney to negotiate on your behalf, but the whole idea behind insurance is to make you whole, that is, give you what your vehicle was worth at the time of the loss, not its replacement value.

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