My car was totaled. The other insurance company only gave me $2500. I cant replace my car for that. What now?

Vipassana

Who said they had to replace your vehicle?

All they are responsible to do, is reimburse you for the loss of the value of your vehicle.

And a 2001 Sunfire, is worth around $2500, or less. Even if it's "extremely well maintained".

Problem is, there's usually a huge gap between what a car is worth, and what a person THINKS it's worth.

Robert K

I am sorry to say that in this situation there is not much that you can do about it. Insurance settlement checks are based on actual cash value of the damaged vehicle, meaning they provide to you either what it would cost to repair the vehicle, or they give you a check based on the vehicles value determined through sales of like models and years in the area, combined with national appraisal averages.

The fact that the car was well maintained, or even if it was very low mileage, the value is not significantly impacted.

Regarding trying to get more, if you have already accepted payment, this constitutes the claim being settled. If they just sent a check to you and never spoke to you about settling, and the check has not been cashed yet, you may be able to try and negotiate a larger settlement. No matter what though, I would not expect to receive very much more than you have already. Your best bet is to either put what money you have with the money they gave you and try to buy the nicest car you can, or get financed for a new car and hope for the best.

Scott H

Insurance only compensates you for the actual value of the car just prior to the accident. How much it costs you to buy another car is not the insurance company's or the other drivers problem. Sorry, but that's how the system works. The insurance company fulfilled their obligation to you, and that's all you get.

blah

The only thing you can do is to sell your sunfire for parts/salvage and use that to help yourself in a different car. Try ebay.

timothy p

If you have already accepted the money there isn't much you can do. There are several different blue book values based on the condition of the car. You could try to negotiate for a little more, but if they gave you blue book for your car in excellent or even good condition it sounds fair.

Luna & Lawnboy

No, you have no legal recourse, and it does not matter how your vehicle got totaled. You are actually lucky you got the Blue Book value. Most insurance companies do not use "books". You are entitled to the Actual Cash Value. Nothing more. You don't get compensated based on what kind of vehicle struck you. Could have been a motorcycle or tractor trailer, doesn't matter. If either totals your vehicle, you get the same amount.

If you felt you were entitled to more, you should have proven your allegations and submitted documentation. Since you settled the claim, I assume you signed a release. Too late now.

mbrcatz

They don't owe you replacement, they owe you actual cash value. They paid what they owed.

Legally, they paid you the FULL amount. There's nothing else to recover from the driver or his insurance.

If you want, you can TRY to sue the manufacture of the grate, and the body shop that put it on . . . but your lawyer is going to charge you tens of thousands in fees, up front, for those suits.

Sub Zero

The insurance company doesn't have any obligations to replace an entire car, what they will do is give you market/blue book value for your vehicle.

You could take the person who rear-ended you to court and sue them in order to get more money for your vehicle to replace. If the truck was part of a fleet for a company, you may have to name them in the law suit as well.

pedro7of9

forget the past...look for a new car...nothing to do about the "accident" life isn't fair

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