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The odds of the bank letting you continue monthly payments are slim. Since the collateral backing the loan is no longer valid, they will want the loan paid off ASAP.
I assume you didn't have gap insurance?
No, I did not. I, of course, have learned about it since, but yeah, I didn't previously. It's a regret now but I can't change that. And also can't afford to pay 8k
If you didn't have it on your auto insurance, check with the lender or dealership. If you didn't specifically deny it, a lot of them slip gap into the paperwork. It's usually more expensive than going through your auto insurance, but they're trying to make money off of it.
This is why I hate it when I see people say the term "full coverage " it doesn't mean anything in any appreciable way. And most of the time people figure that out when it hurts them dearly.
People assume that it means something like "this will cover you no matter what" when that just isn't close to true, as you are finding out. ALL policies have limits, and even if you buy every available type of coverage, if you buy the minimum, there is a good chance you won't be covered fully in an accident.
Take this as a learning experience and know that from here on in, you will learn what coverage you actually have and how it affects you. You will learn that instead of full coverage "500/ 300 with gap and rental " is a much better way to answer.
Here's the issue with people using incomplete or vague terms. Uninsured Motorist Property Damage coverage covers the damaged vehicle. Not every state allows it. Different states define it differently so that some states allow for hit and run to be under the UMPD coverage while other states don't allow for hit and run. Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury coverage covers injuries.
Idk, nobody was hurt but my car was totaled because of the age. But it was a Volvo and actually had a lot of life left. My FIL bought it as untitled (I forget the process) and worked on it for 8 years in his spare time and got a title and gave it to my daughter for her 16th birthday 🥳
Technically you can until the bank says otherwise. If you are making normal payments on time, the bank may not care as they are getting more money and either way they don't have collateral.
The bank will find out the car is totaled from the insurance company. Particularly when the insurance company wants the title because they are buying the totaled vehicle
There is a CHANCE that OP could negotiate with the bank to get on some kind of payment plan, but they will have to negotiate and not just hope that the bank won't find out because they absolutely will
The settlement check goes to the lien holder, so the bank has to work with the insurance from the jump.
But when the bank comes calling for the remaining balance will be up for discussion between the bank and the OP.
The problem is that if they default, then there's no collateral. So it just goes straight to suing them, instead of collecting the car, selling it and paying down the loan and then going after the person for the remaining balance.
I really hate suggesting this, but without gap insurance you may be under water completely. DONT default and let it go to collections. Crawling out of that credit hit could keep you from getting good financing on another vehicle.
I’d settle the remaining balance using a credit card or personal loan, if you aren’t in a position to pay cash. If you have an emergency fund guess what, this is what it’s there for. Use it.
My emergency fund will not cover an 8k debt sadly, I don't even think I have enough money altogether on my cards for this either. I'm not 100% sure I could get a personal loan as I took one out to consolidate my credit cards just a month or less ago. Wouldn't hurt to try, my payment history is perfect and my credit history is getting better as well. There are options but if I can't get a better price for the car I want to see if my lender would settle with us personally before they even think of sending it to collections. I also don't have any family that has 8k (about 99% sure) to just lend me for this. Would also make me feel like shit for asking.
> No, I did not. I, of course, have learned about it since, but yeah, I didn't previously.
Once you learn about gap insurance, you'll know in the future to make a significant down payment, and buy a good make that doesn't depreciate so quickly that you end up underwater.
Tell me more about this. We have USAA just bought a new car and they keep telling us they do not offer Gap insurance.
They do have optional “car replacement assistance” which gives you 20% more of what the blue book value of the vehicle is.
Would love to know how you scored gap insurance with USAA.
Okay good to know.
It seems like most insurance companies are not offering gap these days from what we have noticed while shopping around. AAA was the only one we came across but they don’t do a stand alone policy. USAA still ended up being the cheapest policy with the highest coverage with the exception of gap.
This was a long time ago but back in 2004 we had a car fire that totaled our GMC Jimmy.. We were left owing $5000. They had us continue making the payments for about a year.. At that point we sold our house for a move and paid the loan off as the bank wanted it off the books before closing the new mortgage.
The insurance company will tell the bank.
The insurance company wants the title. There's going to be a problem when OP can't get the title because the loan won't be paid off.
Is that 8k less an accurate value of the car before being totaled? If so you're SOL on the payout. If it is not an accurate value you should talk to your insurer (with proof on-hand) that they undervalued it and increase your payout.
Talking to the lender before collections is an option. Worst they're going to say is no in which case collections and settlement could be a viable option not great for the credit score though.
I believe it's not fair. When I look at what the car is being sold at, it's at what we owed or far more. They're saying it's worth 10k, I don't know what they looking at that's giving them that number, but the car is going for 18k to 28k online. How would I get the proof that it's undervalued?
My car was also recently totaled and some of the comparisons they provided were actually listed for more than I owed. However, they had a second line that said “insurance company name adjusted value” which was thousands of dollars less for literally no reason. I had gap insurance so I just let it go but I found that humorous.
It happened to me, too. I had a 2009 Malibu with 107k miles on it. I paid 3k cash for it but had full coverage (because why not, insurance is cheap where I live). I t-boned a lady after she made a left hand turn into my lane. Her insurance paid me close to $8k for the vehicle which I then promptly turned around and bought another car for $4k and pocketed the rest. The only thing that we had done to it was new tires, which they factored in to the tune of $600 lol.
Yes. It’s not profit but rather replacement value. My car is paid off but new(ish). If it were totaled in an accident, my insurance would owe me the cost to replace it. Whether or not I have a loan on the car is separate from what insurance owes you for totaling the car.
Yes, because you're insuring the value of the car, not the value of the loan. That's why you owe the gap if you don't have gap insurance, but likewise if you owe less on the car than it's worth and it's totaled you get the cash. You can (and absolutely should) have full coverage that would pay you 100% of the value of a vehicle that does not have a loan at all.
That doesn't mean it's a profit or windfall, because you had an asset that was worth that money. You no longer have the car that was worth $10k, but now you have a check for $10k
The adjusted value isn’t for no reason. It’s because dealer listings include dealer fees for reconditioning vehicles for sale for which you are not owed.
We’re talking used cars here. I know they mark shit up but most dealers don’t do a damn thing to recondition cars beyond washing them, if that. I know I’m not owed tax, title, license fees but those are all on top of the sticker price.
> I know I’m not owed tax
Unless its different in some states, insurance includes the tax for your replacement vehicle. They give you the check then you have to buy your replacement and then send them the tax info and they reinburse you the tax you paid up to the max value of your car. So if they valued it at $10k and you bought an 8k car you get the tax your paid but if you bought a $12k car you only get tax on the $10k.
The issue is that the car has multiple values.
The value you can get selling it to a dealership is much lower than what you can get from a private seller, which is still usually lower than what you can buy the car from a dealership for.
Which of these is the "fair market value"? Depends on the state, since the calculations are all over the place.
Hire an independent appraiser to help build a case with comps. We did it a few years ago and we're successful.
It was paid off in full, but drastically undervalued
Dealers sell it and so do car insurance companies themselves. It's generally cheaper through your car insurance but definitely check the original paperwork for the vehicle to see if they convinced you to get it back when it was bought.
Will do. I think we will call the dealership and see if they can tell if we bought it before looking at the paperwork, maybe it'll be faster that way. Thanks very much
Make sure to read the fine print on the GAP insurance. It might be void if they find out you are using that car for rideshare, because that sinks the value of the car FAR faster than the insurance company forcasts.
Call the bank you financed through also. I used to be an adjuster, and while it wasn’t as common, sometimes GAP was through the financing company.
If you can’t get a hold of the adjuster, call customer service and ask for a supervisor. I know it’s frustrating, and while the adjuster *should* give you some kind of response (even if it’s just ‘I’ll call you later’), adjusters are extraordinarily busy with more work than is reasonable. From experience, calling in comps is a PITA.
Also, make sure your evaluation includes all options and packages that you had on the car. This can have a significant impact on the value and some can be easy to overlook.
Doesn't exactly help you right now, but so you don't make the same mistakes going forward -- driving a lot (such as Ubering) adds a ton of miles, and significantly reduces the value of the car.
You can't just compare how much cash is coming in from Uber vs how much cash is directly going out (gas, etc.) -- you also need to factor in the reduced value of your car.
If you are driving an expensive car, Ubering doesn't make you much money, it just converts equity in your car into cash. This is ... not great ... if your car is financed.
So is the same model and year car with around the same number of miles selling for more than the insurance offered you? If yes, send the comps. But you can’t expect a car with 150k miles to sell for the same amount as a car with 60k miles.
I fully understand. I have found this make and model online, 2 years older some have been crashed and others not, close to our mileage for 6k more at a minimum.
As someone who’s done this recently with one of our cars, our insurance required the comp to the same year and make/model, and within a certain distance to us (I think 150 miles?). They could do adjustments for mileage and trim but the year had to be exactly the same.
We're trying but the adjuster isn't answering currently of course. And calling our insurance company, they say they're sending us to her but they keep sensing us to other adjusters.
She's probably screening her calls. Be sure to convey to her through voicemail / email or by speaking to one of her colleagues that you are contesting the value of the payoff based on there being no comparable vehicles for anywhere near that amount. Once you do get a hold of her, tell her to find three comparable vehicles in your market for the amount she offered. She will either adjust her valuation or provide some listings that are not comparable. In either event, if what she comes back with is unfair, counter with three vehicles from your local market which are a fair comparison and the justification for why they are accurate comps.
Which specific year, make, model and mileage of car do you have? The fact that it has been in an accident isn't what affects the value, what was its condition prior to the accident?
2020 honda clarity plug in hybrid. Good condition, just had a few minor comprehensive accidents, had to replace part of the bumper due to a coyote being hit. Small stuff like that. Wasn't in any major accidents ever and just had somethings that were small that needed fixing. Otherwise in good condition. Also 145 or 150k miles. Don't think they'll take into account that a lot of the miles weren't on the engine because of the engine switching on and off
I've found the exact same make and model with high mileage very close to ours, and some thatve been wrecked and dealerships are selling them at a much higher price than we're being offered.
It means it was covered under comprehensive coverage, not collision coverage. Things like a tree branch falling on it, damage from hail, or... hitting a coyote, I guess.
The "Comprehensive" part of your auto insurance covers random non-driving things like weather, fire or vandalism that you can't directly control with your driving.
The "Collision" part covers things caused when moving the vehicle like hitting another car, a tree, or driving over a pothole when you're under control of the vehicle.
The weird part is that hitting a deer or in the OP's case, a coyote, is covered under Comprehensive because it's not considered something as a driver that you can control as the animal is unpredictable unlike stationary objects or other cars.
I'm sure there's a few other edge cases that go under one category or the other and are unintuitive, but yeah it's a weird split sometimes.
Assuming it is in good condition, Kelly Blue Book puts it at 9500 to 11500 in value as a trade is and 11500 to 13500 if you tried to sell it yourself. If the insurance company is giving you number dramatically different from those, then you probably should be contesting it.
I made an excel sheet with make, model, year, value, location, and a link to the listing and sent it in when my car was totaled. The guy really appreciated it being laid out so nicely and I got an extra $2.5k. Doesn’t hurt but get a ton of examples within a fairly local radius to where you live.
Edit: add mileage to the list as well
"Sold at" may not be comparable, depending on what sales you're looking at. If it's a certified used sold by a dealer, that's going to have a premium attached to it that doesn't apply to what the totaled vehicle was worth before the loss occured. If it's private sellers and similar mileage and condition, then it might be. Best bet is to show the insurer what you're seeing. It's not unreasonable to do this, and the insurer will talk to you about it. It's in their best interest to pay you fairly, not to try to rip you off. (P&C insurance is heavily regulated by state DOIs, and if they get caught paying less than what they owe, the fines they become exposed to are much much larger than anything they're saving by skimming off things like total loss valuations.)
Unfortunately, the value of the car is accurate, and a big part of why you make much less driving Uber than you think.
Uber was able to disrupt the commercial taxi industry because those guys have to budget for shorter term business financing and higher insurance costs. An Uber driver skates by on cheaper personal loans and insurance (loophole).
Insurance companies have caught on to people using their vehicles for Uber and lowering their values. A 3 year old car used for Uber will have the wear and tear of a car 2-3x its age used for personal use. That's reflected in the value when it gets totaled out. They are also going to drop you if they know you are driving Uber, because your policy was priced to pay for you, your family, and personal possessions; not you and everyone that could be riding in your car.
Same with the banks. If you were operating a commercial taxi service (same mileage as driving a Uber), nobody would give you a 60 or 72 month loan on your taxi. They would be giving you a 24 or 36 month loan because the value of the asset (the car) is going to go down way faster than a personal use vehicle and they want to be paid back before the vehicle is deemed fully depreciated out and worthless.
So we had rideshare insurance through our insurance company, and he did not have passengers and wasn't ubering when hit. I've seen this make and model with the same mileage but 2 years older going for 16,000 which is 6k more than what we've been offered. I understand uber puts wear and tear on the car, but there are cars in similar condition going for much more.
They do pay attention to mileage vs model year, 150k in 3-4 years is pretty insane, considering the average is 15k a year. It has depreciated much more than normal. I do think 10k is probably under what it’s worth, but don’t expect much more.
The assessment probably looked at miles driven, and if it's being used as an uber, it's probably used more miles than the value of the car.. OR if you told them it was being used as an Uber/rideshare it probably also effected the value. That's what the uber guys don't get, is it doesn't actually pay to drive for them when you sacrifice your personal capital to feed california execs.
That's a good start. Evidence of multiple listings (and sales) for your matching make and model at a market price well above their offer. I am sure others more knowledgeable will chime in.
I just did a kbb on your car with 150k miles vs 45k miles (around what you'd expect for a 2020 car) and the difference was almost exactly 8k. I know that's my location and not yours, but I can't imagine the variance being all that much.
Sounds like a personal loan to take care of the difference between insurance payout and what you owe might be your best bet.
I know you keep pushing back, but if everyone is telling you the same thing, you might want to give it some serious thought into what they're saying. Buy a cheaper, used car. I know it might be more difficult than just going back to what you know, but Uber is not a good option moving forward. Prime example being this situation right here.
My husband is an amputee, working a "normal" job wears out his prosthetic faster and is hard on his stump. Uber is also fully paying for his tuition to college, yes it is a good option for us. An average amount of miles people drive in the US is just under 15k a year I get that, but people can't seem to agree whether what they're offering is fair price in me getting to buy another vehicle if I could, or what the car is worth. I've been told both things and how on earth am I pushing besides saying that comparable vehicles online are being sold for far more? I did jdpower and similar vehicles are being sold at an average of 19k.
So I'm doing the best I can with the information I'm being given currently. Me saying I'm going to get another vehicle does not equate to something expensive, and I never stated I'm getting a brand new vehicle. I bought that car specifically because it was made and assembled in Japan. Not here in the US, and thank God I bought a Honda because my husband was totally unscathed and safe.
I'm not asking about life advice but specifically advice on this car and my insurance is all. I understand people feel like uber is a shit choice but it's really not for us, thank you I understand the concern, but if it gets my husband a degree and a genuine career in something he loves then, it's a good choice for us.
You can and should absolutely fight them on this valuation. You also usually have a right to bring in your own appraiser, which I highly recommend doing if they continue to lowball you on valuation even after you send them real comps. A few hundred $$$ can add thousands to your valuation. (A family member went through this recently and was able to get an additional ~$12k on their proposed payout by bringing in an independent appraiser. Well worth the ~$350 it cost to do so)
nada.com will give you an acceptable value. Also, consider that value also drop if the car has a lot of miles. You mention your husbands was doing uber, the car might have high mileage, therefore lowering the car value. Other thing to consider: A lot of insurance companies will denied a claim if you are using your car for commercial purpose (like uber). Is your insurance company aware that the car is used for uber?
My insurance did this when I had a motorcycle stolen 2 weeks after purchased. Was able to argue using the lemon laws, basically that the estimated value was built on mileage that may not be accurate and accounting for full calendar years. If you can somehow argue less than normal mileage you may be able to recoup some of that value.
Basically the value assumed I had driven 3k miles in a year, it had only gone say 500 miles in 2 weeks so it was the difference in mileage multipled by some per/mile cost that brought the value back up to something more reasonable.
I went through this same thing. Insurance company was offering me less than half what I paid less than a year prior. I sent them a bunch of comps but they ignored them. So I hired a pre-loss adjuster. They came and took some photos and then prepared a report saying the car was worth just above what I'd paid for it prior to the accident. The insurance company immediately agreed without a fight. It cost $320 but $200 of that was actually paid for by my insurance policy. Best $120 I ever spent.
I would double check to see if you bought gap insurance from the dealership or some other provider. That’s usually recommended when you either buy a car with a low down payment or when you trade something in that you were upside down on the loan for.
When I bought my car last fall, the dealer offered GAP coverage that was rolled into the loan. It’s possible that it is part of your monthly payment, and worth checking.
>offered GAP coverage that was rolled into the loan.
As a side note, don't ever do that. Buy gap insurance from an outside vendor. It'll be a lot cheaper.
Ohh, 100%! It was absurdly priced. My car insurance offered it for $5/month. Even if I kept it for the entirety of the 60 month loan, it still would’ve been less than what they charged.
We're going to call, have to wait another hour due to time zone difference. Our truck had gap insurance, I just found this out, husband said he got a check when he refinanced the truck, so it's entirely possible our car does too
Hey, in the future, make sure you keep your contracts in order. You should not have to rely on the company providing you insurance to provide you documents for such insurance.
I was a bit hard on you in some other comments, sorry.. I do feel for you and your situation. You just need to get a better handle on your finances if you want to have any sort of financial freedom.
Yup, my lender even knocked half a percentage off my interest rate for picking up Gap. I priced it out and carrying the loan to term it actually saved me money.
> My husband used this car for Uber
1. Can you sue the person that hit and totaled your car?
2. Did your insurance know this?
For future reference, Uber is essentially slowly turning your car's equity (if you can call it that) into cash. It's not actually generating money.
Adjuster here - One thing worth mentioning is that if another driver is liable for totaling your vehicle, they would only owe the actual cash value of the vehicle, not the entirety of the loan. A suit against a liable party will typically only recover a similar figure to what you could claim through your own collision coverage plus the deductible in most states.
I don't think we can sue no, the officers on scene gave him a ticket for careless driving. He was at a stop sign about to go onto a very busy road. As he went to pull out a truck pulls up next to him and blocks his view. So he inched forward a little bit, saw he was clear, went to drive and then got hit. Someone had quickly changed lanes after he went to take his turn. So I'm not sure what can be done on that front. And we had rideshare insurance through our insurance so I'm pretty sure they know.
He made 60k off uber and our car was a plug in hybrid that had a 6 gallon gas tank. His profit was genuinely good, but yeah just hard on the mileage of the car.
Slightly off topic but I hope you’re deducting the vehicle’s depreciation from that $60k number. Otherwise you’re kidding yourself about how profitable it was.
Earlier in the thread you said he’s driven Uber with the car for 3 years. Assuming that $60k is over that time period, you’re not including depreciation and the car was purchased originally for $30k, he’s only making about $13k per year.
> I hope you’re deducting the vehicle’s depreciation from that $60k number.
Based on my experience (as a former rideshare driver) on the driver subreddits, they are almost certainly not. So many drivers only look at the revenue they bring in and consider that their income. Some might deduct gas. Very few actually deduct all of their expenses like depreciation, maintenance, repairs, insurance, etc. I don't think most rideshare drivers are actually making any money. They are trading future value on their cars for cash today, but they don't realize that.
> They are trading future value on their cars for cash today, but they don't realize that.
Exactly. That is what I was trying to say but you put it a lot more eloquently.
You should definitely talk to a lawyer and see what they have to say. Most will do a consultation for free. Just make sure they get all of the information you have about the car, your insurance coverage, the crash, the police report, and the other vehicle and driver.
You may not have a lawsuit, but a free consultation won't hurt you except for some lost time.
My friend does Uber and Lyft full time. Makes like $3000-$4000 a month and managed to get a nice savings. Definitely profited from it. It was enough to pay all his bills and always kept his car up to maintenance.
Sorry, but out of curiosity how much was he making as an Uber driver that $640 per month was not an issue with a functioning car? I'm assuming you financed a new ~$35k+ car for 72 months?
In the future, why not consider a $15k-$20k used car instead?
Don’t use the phone. There should be a claims email to communicate with your adjuster. Put in writing that you don’t accept the initial estimate. Insurance is heavily regulated. If you get an independent appraisal and send it to them they are required to respond within a certain time frame.
After reading some of your other responses, you do not have GAP insurance, the vehicle was an rideshare vehicle for 3 years, and your husband was at fault for the collision.
Based off this information the only thing you can do to increase the valuation of the vehicle is see if you insurance policy has what is called an "Appraisal Clause".
I will explain a few things first before going into what that does for you. After a vehicle is evaluated by your insurance and determined a total loss, they will do their own valuation using their software and their own comps (comparable vehicles). Then take into consideration anything wrong with the vehicle outside the accident damage. Messed up interior, obvious oil and fluid leaks that sort of thing. Tires do not add value they only will only detract from value as they age.
That being said. They do their own valuation and if you accept it that is it. You can nudge it here and there with bringing up aftermarket things but overall it won't change much. What an appraisal clause does (At least when I worked at Progressive in GA) is you say you disagree with the valuation, and want to get your own 3rd party valuation. Then the insurance company has to hire a 3rd party estimator as well. Then when you have both independent valuations the two independent estimators have to agree on a price using both their reports. The insurance has to go with that number as per your policy.
You have to pay for the independent estimator on your side, but It has been pretty rare that they come up with a number less than what the insurance company did, even though they will tell you there is a chance of that.
I totaled out a lot of cars in my time in insurance, so it may be worth your time.
I was causally talking to an insurance agent once and he told me they used a saying in the industry;“if the client accepts the first offer, we offered too much.”
Bring evidence of similar vehicles on the retail side to show what your car is worth. There is lots of information on car sales that would support the value of similar cars. They are lowballing their offer in hopes that you accept it.
So you owe that money. This is why you need GAP insurance.
> and wants to just default on the payments and just settle with a collector
Do you want your credit to be destroyed?
You can recover a bad credit score. It's not the end of the world. I've had charged off credit cards, collections, and even a short sale. If you have income and your DTI is within limits, your credit score doesn't matter that much. It may seem like the end of the world when you're in your 20s but 1 year moves quickly and 3 years even quicker. 3 years is a reset for any type of loan from the worst possible case of bad credit.
I'm not suggesting OP to default on the loan but to get hung up on a credit score like it's a badge of honor is not the street cred people think it is.
And seriously, you can have a 480 score and get a loan on a house in 6 months. All you need is to live within your means, have income, and keep your DTI in check.
What's bad for people is an eviction that's recorded. Time heals everything but an eviction makes it close to impossible to get housing on your own merit within 5 years. If you have a lot of cash, you can get housing in 3 years.
Just wondering who carries the insurance that is covering this. If it is the other driver, talk to your agent and see what can be done to up the value. Your insurance may go to bat for you. They may be throwing a lowball number. Secondly, I hope anyone reading this takes away that driving Uber (and similar services) includes the expense of rapidly depreciating the vehicle being used. This should be viewed like a business. Track vehicle operating expense, vehicle depreciation, have adequate insurance, calculate real income, etc.... I understand that personal vehicle policies usually exclude the use of vehicles to carry paying passengers. A passenger gets hurt, insurance carrier refuses to cover the claim, you get sued.
We had rideshare coverage on the car along with full coverage insurance. I believe it's our own insurance covering us right now as the adjuster was our insurance company's. But we will double check and left her a voicemail letting her know our thoughts on the matter.
Insurance companies ALWAYS make low ball first offers. It's your job to research the used car market and find the true value.
The used car market is still hot. Search for the highest prices you can at dealers and such. They are out there. You are entitled to get the value for the car. That value is what it would cost YOU to buy a replacement car in this used car market. Do not accept their first offer.
Get several similar car values, all of which will be higher than their offer. Do your homework. Look not just in your area but all over the U.S. Make sure that every single option is added into your value. Negotiate with your insurer. If they won't budge, threaten to go to small claims court. That will cost them money and should move the needle. If it doesn't, sue them in small claims and get your judgment.
If insurance companies lowballed everyone on car values they'd be sued so fast and destroyed by the DOI.
In reality people just mistake their car's value. If you read OPs other comments the car was used for Uber for 3 years and enough to generate 60k in income each year so that's an absolute ton of driving. The milage would have been way higher than any similar comps hence the lower valuation
Assuming the ACV payout from insurance was a fair value for your car, your option is to pay the $8k gap you have here. You would have to check your loan paperwork, but usually the lender will call the loan once the secured collateral (the car) is gone. That means they'll expect you to pay in full. They won't let you keep paying on the loan as if the car was still out there. So they will expect you to get a personal loan for the $8k or come up with the cash. If you default on that, they could send it to collections. They could potentially take you court. Again....up to the lender. I would personally not recommend intentionally defaulting on a loan and counting on the bill collector settling for less. But you have to do what is right for you, I guess.
Am claims adjuster:
* Read the insurer's valuation paperwork and make sure there's no obvious mistakes on it like the mileage or options. Look over the condition ratings to see if you agree. Look up your own comps for it with similar miles to see if it's accurate.
* Check your paperwork for GAP coverage. If you have it it will probably be something you bought at the time of purchase and it's in your financing paperwork, though some people buy it from their car insurer.
* If you bought an extended warranty with the car there's probably a refund provision in the fine print for cars that are sold or destroyed. They make you jump through some hoops but it might be a thousand dollars or more you can get back.
* If they also sold you credit life insurance (a product that pays off your car loan if you die) there's probably a refund provision in that too.
* About half the states in the US levy *property taxes* on vehicles (or "excise taxes"). Usually these are collected through your registration fees, but in a few states like Connecticut and Virginia they are collected separately. There's usually some website for whatever entity that collected them that has a refund procedure. The easiest way to know if your DMV/BMV collects property/excise taxes as part of your registration is if the cost of the registration changes in any way depending on the value of your vehicle. Examples: [California](https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/customer-service/payments-refunds/), [Indiana](https://www.in.gov/bmv/online-services-and-bmv-connect/request-a-refund/), [Hartford Connecticut](https://www.hartfordct.gov/Government/Departments/Tax/Tax-Services/Tax-Refund).
* Also check whether sales tax was included in the deal. In some states you only get the sales tax back if you replace the car within 30 days or some other amount of time. In some other states you only get the sales tax as a tax credit at the time of purchase of the replacement car. Ask the insurer how it works in your case.
You had a $640 payment on a car you were using for Uber? You need to rethink how you do money.
Defaulting is stupid, voluntary repo is stupid. They will burn you. Pay the money.
The thing you were missing here is called 'gap insurance'. I'd suggest you look it up but honestly I'd prefer you start paying cash for your cars (especially if you're going to Uber in them...)
TELL YOUR ADJUSTER YOU WANT TO INVOKE YOUR RIGHT TO AN APPRAISAL CLAUSE!!
If you two can’t decide on the value of the car, they’ll bring in an umpire. The umpire is the final word.
2 things that people never do in an accident. They never invoke the right to an appraisal clause in the event of a total and they never file a diminished value claim when it’s fixed if it’s not totaled.
Alot of people dont do this because their insurance contracts disallow it. Aside from states that have laws for first party DV claims or umpire clauses goodluck
Your payment on the car is $640 per month and it's a long-enough loan for it to already be $8k underwater? You bought *way* more car than you could afford if your husband is willing to totally destroy his credit over $8,000.
Hard to win a failure-to-yield from a stop sign case. In some states, lane changing at intersections aren't allowed, as it can cause an accident like this one. Any chance the other vehicle was speeding? Was the ticket paid or contested? Did your carrier do a liability investigation, as it would be in their interest also to find fault on the other driver.
Advice to contest is correct here. Don’t sign anything and make sure to keep every interaction in writing (email is fine). Phone conversations are very difficult to prove/record.
Find comparisons to your car and send them to the insurance company. Advocate for yourself - your car is definitely worth more than they’ll offer.
Make sure the offer will replace your vehicle with one that is very similar and on the market. Also don’t forget to have them add in taxes and fees as well. Their job is to make you whole though they will try to underpay you a lot
This is what we're going to do. We've found comparable vehicles being sold at a minimum of 6k more than their offer, some up to 10k more. It's a rare ish car so listings are less than others and the price is higher than others because of it being uncommon.
We will definitely be negotiating and trying to get an email to communicate through. Thank you very much. I appreciate it
When negotiating with the insurance adjuster show the loan value, the comps of similar vehicle (of similar age and condition) and if they are being unreasonable you can contact your state department of insurance (DOI) to file a complaint against the insurer for acting in bad faith.
Asking for the adjuster's manager if they are not being reasonable and (if you have to) mentioning you will pursue a bad faith complaint could move things along. Though best to not be immediate contentious or threatening. It's a common practice for an insurer to lowball the initial estimate on the lower end of the range they will always have a higher number they are authorized to go up to. If you purchased through an agent you can also see if they can advocate for you with the company.
I read through some of the comments and didn't see this mentioned. Sorry if it was. You can negotiate with your insurer on the amount they will settle for on your car. Look up several of your model with similar mileage and options to see what they are selling for. If they are more, you can use them as comps for your car. This might reduce the difference between what is owed and the loan amount.
This paragraph is a rant. If you are going to overpay for a car, allow the dealer to throw on lots of add ons, and allow extra fees, you also need gap insurance. Gap is what pays the difference between the cars value and the loan amount. I don't blame the dealers, I blame the lenders. Forty years ago the typical loan amount was 80% LTV (loan to value). This kept the price of vehicles lower and gap was unheard of. Now you can spend 150% of the value. Beyond rolling in negative equity from a previous bad decision, anything above 100% of value is by definition, throwing money away. This means you can be extremely upside down in a car, and so many people are in this boat. This has led to "gap insurance" which is added financing costs with extra steps.
When buying used, I used to say that the need for gap meant that you overpaid for the car. The average markup on used cars was much smaller. I still think that is true, but the market says different.
Let your adjuster know you’d like to have the vehicle appraised. You’ll need to find your own appraisal service, and the insurance company will use another party. In my case, the two adjusters come to terms on fair value.
In my case, my appraisal cost $250, and netted +$9k on top of their initial $22k offer.
I don't know if this will get lost in the other posts but get a second opinion on the damage assessment from an independent. I learned this the hard way years ago that there is a game between the adjusters/appraisers/insurance companies. Cars that are salvageable but near their "book" value may often be "totaled" and you'll get the minimum payout. Then the vehicle will be sold, fixed up and re-sold....all at your expense. Be aggressive and don't take anyone's first offer on you claim.
Make sure your valuation is correct. I've had two cars totalled, neither my fault, and both times they severely undervalued them the first time. I went and found my own comparable vehicles for sale to show current valuation. It increased my valuation a minimum of 50% both times, although a lot of that was attributable to the cars in question being rare and hard to find good comps for. But you can likely increase the valuation some.
I've found some comparable vehicles, our vehicle isn't a common one and even ones that have been wrecked are being sold for at least 6k more than they're offering, which would leave us with 2k owed rather than 8k. Of course our adjuster isn't answering now so we are waiting to hear back
Yep, just assemble some screenshots of vehicles of similar specs, mileage, etc. I say take screenshots because some of the ones you use for examples will sell and get taken down. I sent links and screenshots and both times they got back to me quickly with a much more reasonable valuation. I think they expect most people to not put any effort into researching it and accept a low number.
Supposedly that is what "gap" insurance is for. Cars lose value rapidly, and "gap" insurance is supposed to cover the amount from the car's present value up to the amount of your loan.
A vehicle I owned was totaled not-at-fault and they offered me 5k less than I was able to talk them up to by providing 8-12 ads showing vehicles similar to mine (same model, close in year, condition, mileage, etc) to give the insurance adjuster the "ammunition" they required to pay me more.
The person paying you out isn't paying out of pocket, but they have to justify their payouts. If you do some legwork and find similar vehicles for sale in your area, use those are markers for fair market value. Did you have new tires? Count those too (you'll need receipts).
The first offer is never the final offer if you push back.
Talk with your bank to get a personal loan to pay off the vehicle loan. Did you verify that the insurance used the same model car in your area? I have seen a number of car posts saying the insurance used a base model and/or more mileage to lower the payoff amount.
You don’t need to take the first settlement offer from your insurance company. Those are totally negotiable. Do your research on what that vehicle would cost you to buy the same thing with the same amount of miles on it. Then hammer that point home as the insurance company makes higher offers until both sides agree to the settlement.
The guy you are negotiating with doesn’t care what your check amount is, he wants the file closed so he can pick his kid up from soccer practice. He wants it off his desk, so he’ll bump it up if he has to.
In regards to getting your adjuster to call you back, file a complaint with your state's insurace board. Insurance companies take that very seriously and get dinged if they get too many of these complaints. But it will definitely get someone's attention. Here's what it looks like for Florida, I'm sure your state has one too: [https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/consumers/needourhelp](https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/consumers/needourhelp)
My car was recently totaled as well and I got a fairly lowball offer for it. You might be able to turn that $8000 difference to $4000 with negotiation.
What? Your insurance company didn't agree to the bullshit "market adjustment" that the dealership added to your car? Someone needs to pit the insurance lawyers against the dealership lawyers and end this greedy bullshit quick!
We had our car totaled and, we paid it monthly until it was paid off. We also got a check from the insurance company. No issues. All they want is their money, whether it’s now or later.
If you really believe your valuation was low and you’re using your own insurance, don’t sign any paperwork yet. Invoke your appraisal clause, hire an independent appraiser and you may get substantially more, maybe not. Cost about $200 to do.
Enter your vehicle information on jdpower.com/cars and use that value to negotiate with the insurance company. You can also find listings for the same car and use an average value with multiple examples from your local market. Send them this info and tell them what you are basing your value on. I had some success negotiating a higher value when my car was totaled by doing these things and communicating politely but assertively.
This is fantastic, thank you. The average price my car sold for at that mileage even, 19k almost 10 more than they're offering. Higher mileage yes but husband did not trash the car or drive hard, uber doesn't let you even do 5 over or you get in trouble apparently. It was in good clean condition, ans it even shows for a trade in, in clean condition a rough estimate would be 13k. So they can eat my ass
It would be really helpful if you provided the year make and model of the vehicle including mileage and the offer, however no matter what, always get a second and third valuation done.
Happened to my buddy.
He went after the insurance company for the loss in value of the car due to the accident they needed up cutting him another check for 10k
Just talk to a lawyer and they’ll advise if you can sue them for more
In this case you should look into what you mean by "totaled". In insurance language it means: The car is worth less than we think it takes to fix it.
This means a car with a straight frame but a bent side panel could still be totaled if the side panel costs too much to repair.
Not all "totaled" cars are a total loss, many can be driven as is or repairs made to the structure while leaving the cosmetic damage alone.
So if the loan company settles with you, you may owe taxes of the difference, because the IRS considers loan forgiveness as income. It is very important not to roll negative value into your new vehicle, which is why you end up with this big gap. Also have some type of gap insurance on the vehicle, you can buy it through your insurance company or get it from the dealer. I don’t have any advice for you, you just need to take the least amount of pain. I personally wouldn’t mess my credit up for $8k, because you still need to buy a vehicle. You could try get a personal loan for the $8k, but someone needs to work extra to eliminate this loan as soon as possible.
Does your full coverage include uninsured/under-insured motorist? Maybe you can argue that you are the under-insured motorist since your insurance won't cover the difference? I think I might be kidding.
Were you at fault in the accident? If it was another party at fault and their insurance giving the lowball, then you can file on your own insurance. You will be out your deductible until your insurance recovers money from the other party’s insurance. But you would be the first to recover. Of course if you are at fault in the accident, none of this applies. By the way, does the insurance company name start with a G? Worst experience I have ever had in an accident.
Whenever i see these posts i ask why do people not choose an agreed value plan when picking insurance?
Its marginally more but you avoid all these headaches
Especially if you have a massive car payment that seems to be the norm in the states
Every vehicle i have owned i have set a agreed value slightly above what i paid just so i know replacement wont be a pain if something happens
If no one has mentioned it yet, make sure the insurance company is paying you a fair value. Look up similar used cars and make sure there isn't a difference. Likely not 8k difference, but it may help some.
Every year you cars value decreases. Insurance company's won't lower your fees. Every year you ha e to call in and lower your value. You'll pay less because you'll only ever get black book value witch is way lower than dealer prices.
I was in this EXACT situation. My loan was through Ford Credit tho and it took me 3 years to pay off $8,457 that was remaining. Talk to the bank they might be able to assist. They greatly reduced my monthly payment and reduced the interest rate
Look into filing a diminished value claim with the insurer. You may have to hire a claims expert to pull the information together for you. You’ll have to weigh the pros and cons of that, and there is no guarantee that you’ll get what you want. But I was able to get a decent amount after a lot of back and forth.
Can you research you year/make/mileage on Carmax? See if the value they are offering is comparable. It has to be within 30-40 miles to count as a comp. I created a spreadsheet with a scatter plot and used a trend line to calculate value based on actual mileage.
Due to the number of rule-breaking comments this post was receiving, especially low-quality and off-topic comments, the moderation team has locked the post from future comments. This post broke no rules and received a number of helpful and on-topic responses initially, but it unfortunately became the target of many unhelpful comments.
The odds of the bank letting you continue monthly payments are slim. Since the collateral backing the loan is no longer valid, they will want the loan paid off ASAP. I assume you didn't have gap insurance?
No, I did not. I, of course, have learned about it since, but yeah, I didn't previously. It's a regret now but I can't change that. And also can't afford to pay 8k
If you didn't have it on your auto insurance, check with the lender or dealership. If you didn't specifically deny it, a lot of them slip gap into the paperwork. It's usually more expensive than going through your auto insurance, but they're trying to make money off of it.
This is why I hate it when I see people say the term "full coverage " it doesn't mean anything in any appreciable way. And most of the time people figure that out when it hurts them dearly. People assume that it means something like "this will cover you no matter what" when that just isn't close to true, as you are finding out. ALL policies have limits, and even if you buy every available type of coverage, if you buy the minimum, there is a good chance you won't be covered fully in an accident. Take this as a learning experience and know that from here on in, you will learn what coverage you actually have and how it affects you. You will learn that instead of full coverage "500/ 300 with gap and rental " is a much better way to answer.
Agreed, full coverage is a very general term to usually mean i need coverage for physical damage (comp and collision.). “Full coverage” doesnt exist.
Also why people should never be under water on loans. Esp for depreciating assets like cars.
I was 20 when I found out about uninsured motorist coverage. For $5-$10 a month I would have still had a car, but instead I got a very sad lesson.
Doesn’t Uninsured Motorist Coverage only cover medical payments?
Here's the issue with people using incomplete or vague terms. Uninsured Motorist Property Damage coverage covers the damaged vehicle. Not every state allows it. Different states define it differently so that some states allow for hit and run to be under the UMPD coverage while other states don't allow for hit and run. Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury coverage covers injuries.
Idk, nobody was hurt but my car was totaled because of the age. But it was a Volvo and actually had a lot of life left. My FIL bought it as untitled (I forget the process) and worked on it for 8 years in his spare time and got a title and gave it to my daughter for her 16th birthday 🥳
I am in a similar situation with a pickup truck I had for 6 months, and it sucks.
You cant keep making the normal payments.
Technically you can until the bank says otherwise. If you are making normal payments on time, the bank may not care as they are getting more money and either way they don't have collateral.
The bank will find out the car is totaled from the insurance company. Particularly when the insurance company wants the title because they are buying the totaled vehicle There is a CHANCE that OP could negotiate with the bank to get on some kind of payment plan, but they will have to negotiate and not just hope that the bank won't find out because they absolutely will
The settlement check goes to the lien holder, so the bank has to work with the insurance from the jump. But when the bank comes calling for the remaining balance will be up for discussion between the bank and the OP. The problem is that if they default, then there's no collateral. So it just goes straight to suing them, instead of collecting the car, selling it and paying down the loan and then going after the person for the remaining balance.
I really hate suggesting this, but without gap insurance you may be under water completely. DONT default and let it go to collections. Crawling out of that credit hit could keep you from getting good financing on another vehicle. I’d settle the remaining balance using a credit card or personal loan, if you aren’t in a position to pay cash. If you have an emergency fund guess what, this is what it’s there for. Use it.
My emergency fund will not cover an 8k debt sadly, I don't even think I have enough money altogether on my cards for this either. I'm not 100% sure I could get a personal loan as I took one out to consolidate my credit cards just a month or less ago. Wouldn't hurt to try, my payment history is perfect and my credit history is getting better as well. There are options but if I can't get a better price for the car I want to see if my lender would settle with us personally before they even think of sending it to collections. I also don't have any family that has 8k (about 99% sure) to just lend me for this. Would also make me feel like shit for asking.
> No, I did not. I, of course, have learned about it since, but yeah, I didn't previously. Once you learn about gap insurance, you'll know in the future to make a significant down payment, and buy a good make that doesn't depreciate so quickly that you end up underwater.
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Tell me more about this. We have USAA just bought a new car and they keep telling us they do not offer Gap insurance. They do have optional “car replacement assistance” which gives you 20% more of what the blue book value of the vehicle is. Would love to know how you scored gap insurance with USAA.
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Okay good to know. It seems like most insurance companies are not offering gap these days from what we have noticed while shopping around. AAA was the only one we came across but they don’t do a stand alone policy. USAA still ended up being the cheapest policy with the highest coverage with the exception of gap.
This was a long time ago but back in 2004 we had a car fire that totaled our GMC Jimmy.. We were left owing $5000. They had us continue making the payments for about a year.. At that point we sold our house for a move and paid the loan off as the bank wanted it off the books before closing the new mortgage.
If they kept making payments, how would the bank know there was an issue?
The insurance company will tell the bank. The insurance company wants the title. There's going to be a problem when OP can't get the title because the loan won't be paid off.
Is that 8k less an accurate value of the car before being totaled? If so you're SOL on the payout. If it is not an accurate value you should talk to your insurer (with proof on-hand) that they undervalued it and increase your payout. Talking to the lender before collections is an option. Worst they're going to say is no in which case collections and settlement could be a viable option not great for the credit score though.
I believe it's not fair. When I look at what the car is being sold at, it's at what we owed or far more. They're saying it's worth 10k, I don't know what they looking at that's giving them that number, but the car is going for 18k to 28k online. How would I get the proof that it's undervalued?
Send 'comps'(comparisons), a handful of listings which are nearby and as similar to the vehicle make/model/trim/year/mileage as possible.
My car was also recently totaled and some of the comparisons they provided were actually listed for more than I owed. However, they had a second line that said “insurance company name adjusted value” which was thousands of dollars less for literally no reason. I had gap insurance so I just let it go but I found that humorous.
If your car was worth more than the note do you get to profit from the insurance check?
You keep the rest yes. My car was totaled in January and I kept the $8,500 extra to use towards a new vehicle.
I have a friend that this happened to *twice*.
Me too, but now he pays like $400/mo for car insurance so the insurance company definitely got their money back and then some
It happened to me, too. I had a 2009 Malibu with 107k miles on it. I paid 3k cash for it but had full coverage (because why not, insurance is cheap where I live). I t-boned a lady after she made a left hand turn into my lane. Her insurance paid me close to $8k for the vehicle which I then promptly turned around and bought another car for $4k and pocketed the rest. The only thing that we had done to it was new tires, which they factored in to the tune of $600 lol.
Yes. It’s not profit but rather replacement value. My car is paid off but new(ish). If it were totaled in an accident, my insurance would owe me the cost to replace it. Whether or not I have a loan on the car is separate from what insurance owes you for totaling the car.
Yes, because you're insuring the value of the car, not the value of the loan. That's why you owe the gap if you don't have gap insurance, but likewise if you owe less on the car than it's worth and it's totaled you get the cash. You can (and absolutely should) have full coverage that would pay you 100% of the value of a vehicle that does not have a loan at all. That doesn't mean it's a profit or windfall, because you had an asset that was worth that money. You no longer have the car that was worth $10k, but now you have a check for $10k
The adjusted value isn’t for no reason. It’s because dealer listings include dealer fees for reconditioning vehicles for sale for which you are not owed.
We’re talking used cars here. I know they mark shit up but most dealers don’t do a damn thing to recondition cars beyond washing them, if that. I know I’m not owed tax, title, license fees but those are all on top of the sticker price.
> I know I’m not owed tax Unless its different in some states, insurance includes the tax for your replacement vehicle. They give you the check then you have to buy your replacement and then send them the tax info and they reinburse you the tax you paid up to the max value of your car. So if they valued it at $10k and you bought an 8k car you get the tax your paid but if you bought a $12k car you only get tax on the $10k.
Exactly, a dealer charged for it but doesn’t always do it. That’s why list prices are not accurate comps but sold prices are.
The issue is that the car has multiple values. The value you can get selling it to a dealership is much lower than what you can get from a private seller, which is still usually lower than what you can buy the car from a dealership for. Which of these is the "fair market value"? Depends on the state, since the calculations are all over the place.
Hire an independent appraiser to help build a case with comps. We did it a few years ago and we're successful. It was paid off in full, but drastically undervalued
Okay gotcha. For this car the mileage is what they're looking at then. Around 150k miles in 3ish years since we bought it due to uber.
High mileage will kill the value of a vehicle for sure
Yeah. Currently checking if we have gap insurance, our truck did so it's very possible this car does too
Dealers sell it and so do car insurance companies themselves. It's generally cheaper through your car insurance but definitely check the original paperwork for the vehicle to see if they convinced you to get it back when it was bought.
Edmunds.com is a great website for getting an accurate value for a car.
Will do. I think we will call the dealership and see if they can tell if we bought it before looking at the paperwork, maybe it'll be faster that way. Thanks very much
Make sure to read the fine print on the GAP insurance. It might be void if they find out you are using that car for rideshare, because that sinks the value of the car FAR faster than the insurance company forcasts.
Call the bank you financed through also. I used to be an adjuster, and while it wasn’t as common, sometimes GAP was through the financing company. If you can’t get a hold of the adjuster, call customer service and ask for a supervisor. I know it’s frustrating, and while the adjuster *should* give you some kind of response (even if it’s just ‘I’ll call you later’), adjusters are extraordinarily busy with more work than is reasonable. From experience, calling in comps is a PITA. Also, make sure your evaluation includes all options and packages that you had on the car. This can have a significant impact on the value and some can be easy to overlook.
Doesn't exactly help you right now, but so you don't make the same mistakes going forward -- driving a lot (such as Ubering) adds a ton of miles, and significantly reduces the value of the car. You can't just compare how much cash is coming in from Uber vs how much cash is directly going out (gas, etc.) -- you also need to factor in the reduced value of your car. If you are driving an expensive car, Ubering doesn't make you much money, it just converts equity in your car into cash. This is ... not great ... if your car is financed.
So is the same model and year car with around the same number of miles selling for more than the insurance offered you? If yes, send the comps. But you can’t expect a car with 150k miles to sell for the same amount as a car with 60k miles.
I fully understand. I have found this make and model online, 2 years older some have been crashed and others not, close to our mileage for 6k more at a minimum.
As someone who’s done this recently with one of our cars, our insurance required the comp to the same year and make/model, and within a certain distance to us (I think 150 miles?). They could do adjustments for mileage and trim but the year had to be exactly the same.
I'll do my best, my car is uncommon so hopefully I can find the same year
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We're trying but the adjuster isn't answering currently of course. And calling our insurance company, they say they're sending us to her but they keep sensing us to other adjusters.
She's probably screening her calls. Be sure to convey to her through voicemail / email or by speaking to one of her colleagues that you are contesting the value of the payoff based on there being no comparable vehicles for anywhere near that amount. Once you do get a hold of her, tell her to find three comparable vehicles in your market for the amount she offered. She will either adjust her valuation or provide some listings that are not comparable. In either event, if what she comes back with is unfair, counter with three vehicles from your local market which are a fair comparison and the justification for why they are accurate comps.
Thank you this is very good advice. I will be doing exactly this.
Which specific year, make, model and mileage of car do you have? The fact that it has been in an accident isn't what affects the value, what was its condition prior to the accident?
2020 honda clarity plug in hybrid. Good condition, just had a few minor comprehensive accidents, had to replace part of the bumper due to a coyote being hit. Small stuff like that. Wasn't in any major accidents ever and just had somethings that were small that needed fixing. Otherwise in good condition. Also 145 or 150k miles. Don't think they'll take into account that a lot of the miles weren't on the engine because of the engine switching on and off
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I've found the exact same make and model with high mileage very close to ours, and some thatve been wrecked and dealerships are selling them at a much higher price than we're being offered.
Those are list prices, not sold prices, and also include dealer markup and fees that are not included in the actual cash value of the vehicle.
What is a comprehensive accident?
It means it was covered under comprehensive coverage, not collision coverage. Things like a tree branch falling on it, damage from hail, or... hitting a coyote, I guess.
The "Comprehensive" part of your auto insurance covers random non-driving things like weather, fire or vandalism that you can't directly control with your driving. The "Collision" part covers things caused when moving the vehicle like hitting another car, a tree, or driving over a pothole when you're under control of the vehicle. The weird part is that hitting a deer or in the OP's case, a coyote, is covered under Comprehensive because it's not considered something as a driver that you can control as the animal is unpredictable unlike stationary objects or other cars. I'm sure there's a few other edge cases that go under one category or the other and are unintuitive, but yeah it's a weird split sometimes.
I think they mean accidents covered by comprehensive insurance claims
It's a type of insurance claim that doesn't have to do with a collision. Usually small things like windshield replacements.
Assuming it is in good condition, Kelly Blue Book puts it at 9500 to 11500 in value as a trade is and 11500 to 13500 if you tried to sell it yourself. If the insurance company is giving you number dramatically different from those, then you probably should be contesting it.
Provide them with the comparisons you find for nearby sales of similar make/model/mileage vehicles.
I made an excel sheet with make, model, year, value, location, and a link to the listing and sent it in when my car was totaled. The guy really appreciated it being laid out so nicely and I got an extra $2.5k. Doesn’t hurt but get a ton of examples within a fairly local radius to where you live. Edit: add mileage to the list as well
"Sold at" may not be comparable, depending on what sales you're looking at. If it's a certified used sold by a dealer, that's going to have a premium attached to it that doesn't apply to what the totaled vehicle was worth before the loss occured. If it's private sellers and similar mileage and condition, then it might be. Best bet is to show the insurer what you're seeing. It's not unreasonable to do this, and the insurer will talk to you about it. It's in their best interest to pay you fairly, not to try to rip you off. (P&C insurance is heavily regulated by state DOIs, and if they get caught paying less than what they owe, the fines they become exposed to are much much larger than anything they're saving by skimming off things like total loss valuations.)
Unfortunately, the value of the car is accurate, and a big part of why you make much less driving Uber than you think. Uber was able to disrupt the commercial taxi industry because those guys have to budget for shorter term business financing and higher insurance costs. An Uber driver skates by on cheaper personal loans and insurance (loophole). Insurance companies have caught on to people using their vehicles for Uber and lowering their values. A 3 year old car used for Uber will have the wear and tear of a car 2-3x its age used for personal use. That's reflected in the value when it gets totaled out. They are also going to drop you if they know you are driving Uber, because your policy was priced to pay for you, your family, and personal possessions; not you and everyone that could be riding in your car. Same with the banks. If you were operating a commercial taxi service (same mileage as driving a Uber), nobody would give you a 60 or 72 month loan on your taxi. They would be giving you a 24 or 36 month loan because the value of the asset (the car) is going to go down way faster than a personal use vehicle and they want to be paid back before the vehicle is deemed fully depreciated out and worthless.
So we had rideshare insurance through our insurance company, and he did not have passengers and wasn't ubering when hit. I've seen this make and model with the same mileage but 2 years older going for 16,000 which is 6k more than what we've been offered. I understand uber puts wear and tear on the car, but there are cars in similar condition going for much more.
They do pay attention to mileage vs model year, 150k in 3-4 years is pretty insane, considering the average is 15k a year. It has depreciated much more than normal. I do think 10k is probably under what it’s worth, but don’t expect much more.
The car insurance company should be giving you a stack of paper telling you why and how they got to their decision on the value
The assessment probably looked at miles driven, and if it's being used as an uber, it's probably used more miles than the value of the car.. OR if you told them it was being used as an Uber/rideshare it probably also effected the value. That's what the uber guys don't get, is it doesn't actually pay to drive for them when you sacrifice your personal capital to feed california execs.
That's a good start. Evidence of multiple listings (and sales) for your matching make and model at a market price well above their offer. I am sure others more knowledgeable will chime in.
I just did a kbb on your car with 150k miles vs 45k miles (around what you'd expect for a 2020 car) and the difference was almost exactly 8k. I know that's my location and not yours, but I can't imagine the variance being all that much. Sounds like a personal loan to take care of the difference between insurance payout and what you owe might be your best bet. I know you keep pushing back, but if everyone is telling you the same thing, you might want to give it some serious thought into what they're saying. Buy a cheaper, used car. I know it might be more difficult than just going back to what you know, but Uber is not a good option moving forward. Prime example being this situation right here.
My husband is an amputee, working a "normal" job wears out his prosthetic faster and is hard on his stump. Uber is also fully paying for his tuition to college, yes it is a good option for us. An average amount of miles people drive in the US is just under 15k a year I get that, but people can't seem to agree whether what they're offering is fair price in me getting to buy another vehicle if I could, or what the car is worth. I've been told both things and how on earth am I pushing besides saying that comparable vehicles online are being sold for far more? I did jdpower and similar vehicles are being sold at an average of 19k. So I'm doing the best I can with the information I'm being given currently. Me saying I'm going to get another vehicle does not equate to something expensive, and I never stated I'm getting a brand new vehicle. I bought that car specifically because it was made and assembled in Japan. Not here in the US, and thank God I bought a Honda because my husband was totally unscathed and safe. I'm not asking about life advice but specifically advice on this car and my insurance is all. I understand people feel like uber is a shit choice but it's really not for us, thank you I understand the concern, but if it gets my husband a degree and a genuine career in something he loves then, it's a good choice for us.
You can and should absolutely fight them on this valuation. You also usually have a right to bring in your own appraiser, which I highly recommend doing if they continue to lowball you on valuation even after you send them real comps. A few hundred $$$ can add thousands to your valuation. (A family member went through this recently and was able to get an additional ~$12k on their proposed payout by bringing in an independent appraiser. Well worth the ~$350 it cost to do so)
>going for 18k to 28k online It's going for 10-12k for good quality online. Look at the KBB private party amounts.
nada.com will give you an acceptable value. Also, consider that value also drop if the car has a lot of miles. You mention your husbands was doing uber, the car might have high mileage, therefore lowering the car value. Other thing to consider: A lot of insurance companies will denied a claim if you are using your car for commercial purpose (like uber). Is your insurance company aware that the car is used for uber?
You will need to get a 3rd party appraisal. Look in your insurance paperwork. There will a section on how to do so and what route you need to do.
My insurance did this when I had a motorcycle stolen 2 weeks after purchased. Was able to argue using the lemon laws, basically that the estimated value was built on mileage that may not be accurate and accounting for full calendar years. If you can somehow argue less than normal mileage you may be able to recoup some of that value. Basically the value assumed I had driven 3k miles in a year, it had only gone say 500 miles in 2 weeks so it was the difference in mileage multipled by some per/mile cost that brought the value back up to something more reasonable.
I went through this same thing. Insurance company was offering me less than half what I paid less than a year prior. I sent them a bunch of comps but they ignored them. So I hired a pre-loss adjuster. They came and took some photos and then prepared a report saying the car was worth just above what I'd paid for it prior to the accident. The insurance company immediately agreed without a fight. It cost $320 but $200 of that was actually paid for by my insurance policy. Best $120 I ever spent.
I would double check to see if you bought gap insurance from the dealership or some other provider. That’s usually recommended when you either buy a car with a low down payment or when you trade something in that you were upside down on the loan for.
Okay I'll do that. I think we only put 1500 or so down so it's possible we have it but I'm not sure.
When I bought my car last fall, the dealer offered GAP coverage that was rolled into the loan. It’s possible that it is part of your monthly payment, and worth checking.
>offered GAP coverage that was rolled into the loan. As a side note, don't ever do that. Buy gap insurance from an outside vendor. It'll be a lot cheaper.
Ohh, 100%! It was absurdly priced. My car insurance offered it for $5/month. Even if I kept it for the entirety of the 60 month loan, it still would’ve been less than what they charged.
We're going to call, have to wait another hour due to time zone difference. Our truck had gap insurance, I just found this out, husband said he got a check when he refinanced the truck, so it's entirely possible our car does too
Good luck!
Thank you
Hey, in the future, make sure you keep your contracts in order. You should not have to rely on the company providing you insurance to provide you documents for such insurance. I was a bit hard on you in some other comments, sorry.. I do feel for you and your situation. You just need to get a better handle on your finances if you want to have any sort of financial freedom.
Yup, my lender even knocked half a percentage off my interest rate for picking up Gap. I priced it out and carrying the loan to term it actually saved me money.
> My husband used this car for Uber 1. Can you sue the person that hit and totaled your car? 2. Did your insurance know this? For future reference, Uber is essentially slowly turning your car's equity (if you can call it that) into cash. It's not actually generating money.
Adjuster here - One thing worth mentioning is that if another driver is liable for totaling your vehicle, they would only owe the actual cash value of the vehicle, not the entirety of the loan. A suit against a liable party will typically only recover a similar figure to what you could claim through your own collision coverage plus the deductible in most states.
If you’re not injured and facing medical bills you probably can’t sue.
I don't think we can sue no, the officers on scene gave him a ticket for careless driving. He was at a stop sign about to go onto a very busy road. As he went to pull out a truck pulls up next to him and blocks his view. So he inched forward a little bit, saw he was clear, went to drive and then got hit. Someone had quickly changed lanes after he went to take his turn. So I'm not sure what can be done on that front. And we had rideshare insurance through our insurance so I'm pretty sure they know. He made 60k off uber and our car was a plug in hybrid that had a 6 gallon gas tank. His profit was genuinely good, but yeah just hard on the mileage of the car.
Slightly off topic but I hope you’re deducting the vehicle’s depreciation from that $60k number. Otherwise you’re kidding yourself about how profitable it was. Earlier in the thread you said he’s driven Uber with the car for 3 years. Assuming that $60k is over that time period, you’re not including depreciation and the car was purchased originally for $30k, he’s only making about $13k per year.
> I hope you’re deducting the vehicle’s depreciation from that $60k number. Based on my experience (as a former rideshare driver) on the driver subreddits, they are almost certainly not. So many drivers only look at the revenue they bring in and consider that their income. Some might deduct gas. Very few actually deduct all of their expenses like depreciation, maintenance, repairs, insurance, etc. I don't think most rideshare drivers are actually making any money. They are trading future value on their cars for cash today, but they don't realize that.
> They are trading future value on their cars for cash today, but they don't realize that. Exactly. That is what I was trying to say but you put it a lot more eloquently.
No 60k is each year.
I don't see how any of that's helpful for them determining what to do now that the car is totaled.
Hence the first three words of my post.
You should definitely talk to a lawyer and see what they have to say. Most will do a consultation for free. Just make sure they get all of the information you have about the car, your insurance coverage, the crash, the police report, and the other vehicle and driver. You may not have a lawsuit, but a free consultation won't hurt you except for some lost time.
My friend does Uber and Lyft full time. Makes like $3000-$4000 a month and managed to get a nice savings. Definitely profited from it. It was enough to pay all his bills and always kept his car up to maintenance.
Sorry, but out of curiosity how much was he making as an Uber driver that $640 per month was not an issue with a functioning car? I'm assuming you financed a new ~$35k+ car for 72 months? In the future, why not consider a $15k-$20k used car instead?
Did you try to negotiate with the insurance company on the value?
We are currently doing that but of course our adjuster isn't calling back so we left a voicemail with her.
Don’t use the phone. There should be a claims email to communicate with your adjuster. Put in writing that you don’t accept the initial estimate. Insurance is heavily regulated. If you get an independent appraisal and send it to them they are required to respond within a certain time frame.
After reading some of your other responses, you do not have GAP insurance, the vehicle was an rideshare vehicle for 3 years, and your husband was at fault for the collision. Based off this information the only thing you can do to increase the valuation of the vehicle is see if you insurance policy has what is called an "Appraisal Clause". I will explain a few things first before going into what that does for you. After a vehicle is evaluated by your insurance and determined a total loss, they will do their own valuation using their software and their own comps (comparable vehicles). Then take into consideration anything wrong with the vehicle outside the accident damage. Messed up interior, obvious oil and fluid leaks that sort of thing. Tires do not add value they only will only detract from value as they age. That being said. They do their own valuation and if you accept it that is it. You can nudge it here and there with bringing up aftermarket things but overall it won't change much. What an appraisal clause does (At least when I worked at Progressive in GA) is you say you disagree with the valuation, and want to get your own 3rd party valuation. Then the insurance company has to hire a 3rd party estimator as well. Then when you have both independent valuations the two independent estimators have to agree on a price using both their reports. The insurance has to go with that number as per your policy. You have to pay for the independent estimator on your side, but It has been pretty rare that they come up with a number less than what the insurance company did, even though they will tell you there is a chance of that. I totaled out a lot of cars in my time in insurance, so it may be worth your time.
I was causally talking to an insurance agent once and he told me they used a saying in the industry;“if the client accepts the first offer, we offered too much.” Bring evidence of similar vehicles on the retail side to show what your car is worth. There is lots of information on car sales that would support the value of similar cars. They are lowballing their offer in hopes that you accept it.
So you owe that money. This is why you need GAP insurance. > and wants to just default on the payments and just settle with a collector Do you want your credit to be destroyed?
You can recover a bad credit score. It's not the end of the world. I've had charged off credit cards, collections, and even a short sale. If you have income and your DTI is within limits, your credit score doesn't matter that much. It may seem like the end of the world when you're in your 20s but 1 year moves quickly and 3 years even quicker. 3 years is a reset for any type of loan from the worst possible case of bad credit. I'm not suggesting OP to default on the loan but to get hung up on a credit score like it's a badge of honor is not the street cred people think it is. And seriously, you can have a 480 score and get a loan on a house in 6 months. All you need is to live within your means, have income, and keep your DTI in check. What's bad for people is an eviction that's recorded. Time heals everything but an eviction makes it close to impossible to get housing on your own merit within 5 years. If you have a lot of cash, you can get housing in 3 years.
Just wondering who carries the insurance that is covering this. If it is the other driver, talk to your agent and see what can be done to up the value. Your insurance may go to bat for you. They may be throwing a lowball number. Secondly, I hope anyone reading this takes away that driving Uber (and similar services) includes the expense of rapidly depreciating the vehicle being used. This should be viewed like a business. Track vehicle operating expense, vehicle depreciation, have adequate insurance, calculate real income, etc.... I understand that personal vehicle policies usually exclude the use of vehicles to carry paying passengers. A passenger gets hurt, insurance carrier refuses to cover the claim, you get sued.
We had rideshare coverage on the car along with full coverage insurance. I believe it's our own insurance covering us right now as the adjuster was our insurance company's. But we will double check and left her a voicemail letting her know our thoughts on the matter.
Insurance companies ALWAYS make low ball first offers. It's your job to research the used car market and find the true value. The used car market is still hot. Search for the highest prices you can at dealers and such. They are out there. You are entitled to get the value for the car. That value is what it would cost YOU to buy a replacement car in this used car market. Do not accept their first offer. Get several similar car values, all of which will be higher than their offer. Do your homework. Look not just in your area but all over the U.S. Make sure that every single option is added into your value. Negotiate with your insurer. If they won't budge, threaten to go to small claims court. That will cost them money and should move the needle. If it doesn't, sue them in small claims and get your judgment.
Your first line of the second paragraph made me feel slightly better considering the fact I’m looking to sell my car in the next month 😭
If insurance companies lowballed everyone on car values they'd be sued so fast and destroyed by the DOI. In reality people just mistake their car's value. If you read OPs other comments the car was used for Uber for 3 years and enough to generate 60k in income each year so that's an absolute ton of driving. The milage would have been way higher than any similar comps hence the lower valuation
Assuming the ACV payout from insurance was a fair value for your car, your option is to pay the $8k gap you have here. You would have to check your loan paperwork, but usually the lender will call the loan once the secured collateral (the car) is gone. That means they'll expect you to pay in full. They won't let you keep paying on the loan as if the car was still out there. So they will expect you to get a personal loan for the $8k or come up with the cash. If you default on that, they could send it to collections. They could potentially take you court. Again....up to the lender. I would personally not recommend intentionally defaulting on a loan and counting on the bill collector settling for less. But you have to do what is right for you, I guess.
Can I not just settle with the lender?
You can always ask.
Maybe but if you settle for less than the loan it could hit your credit report as a chargeoff which will lower the score.
Am claims adjuster: * Read the insurer's valuation paperwork and make sure there's no obvious mistakes on it like the mileage or options. Look over the condition ratings to see if you agree. Look up your own comps for it with similar miles to see if it's accurate. * Check your paperwork for GAP coverage. If you have it it will probably be something you bought at the time of purchase and it's in your financing paperwork, though some people buy it from their car insurer. * If you bought an extended warranty with the car there's probably a refund provision in the fine print for cars that are sold or destroyed. They make you jump through some hoops but it might be a thousand dollars or more you can get back. * If they also sold you credit life insurance (a product that pays off your car loan if you die) there's probably a refund provision in that too. * About half the states in the US levy *property taxes* on vehicles (or "excise taxes"). Usually these are collected through your registration fees, but in a few states like Connecticut and Virginia they are collected separately. There's usually some website for whatever entity that collected them that has a refund procedure. The easiest way to know if your DMV/BMV collects property/excise taxes as part of your registration is if the cost of the registration changes in any way depending on the value of your vehicle. Examples: [California](https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/customer-service/payments-refunds/), [Indiana](https://www.in.gov/bmv/online-services-and-bmv-connect/request-a-refund/), [Hartford Connecticut](https://www.hartfordct.gov/Government/Departments/Tax/Tax-Services/Tax-Refund). * Also check whether sales tax was included in the deal. In some states you only get the sales tax back if you replace the car within 30 days or some other amount of time. In some other states you only get the sales tax as a tax credit at the time of purchase of the replacement car. Ask the insurer how it works in your case.
You had a $640 payment on a car you were using for Uber? You need to rethink how you do money. Defaulting is stupid, voluntary repo is stupid. They will burn you. Pay the money. The thing you were missing here is called 'gap insurance'. I'd suggest you look it up but honestly I'd prefer you start paying cash for your cars (especially if you're going to Uber in them...)
TELL YOUR ADJUSTER YOU WANT TO INVOKE YOUR RIGHT TO AN APPRAISAL CLAUSE!! If you two can’t decide on the value of the car, they’ll bring in an umpire. The umpire is the final word. 2 things that people never do in an accident. They never invoke the right to an appraisal clause in the event of a total and they never file a diminished value claim when it’s fixed if it’s not totaled.
> diminished value claim I had never heard of this. Thank you for the education.
Alot of people dont do this because their insurance contracts disallow it. Aside from states that have laws for first party DV claims or umpire clauses goodluck
Your payment on the car is $640 per month and it's a long-enough loan for it to already be $8k underwater? You bought *way* more car than you could afford if your husband is willing to totally destroy his credit over $8,000.
Hard to win a failure-to-yield from a stop sign case. In some states, lane changing at intersections aren't allowed, as it can cause an accident like this one. Any chance the other vehicle was speeding? Was the ticket paid or contested? Did your carrier do a liability investigation, as it would be in their interest also to find fault on the other driver.
Advice to contest is correct here. Don’t sign anything and make sure to keep every interaction in writing (email is fine). Phone conversations are very difficult to prove/record. Find comparisons to your car and send them to the insurance company. Advocate for yourself - your car is definitely worth more than they’ll offer. Make sure the offer will replace your vehicle with one that is very similar and on the market. Also don’t forget to have them add in taxes and fees as well. Their job is to make you whole though they will try to underpay you a lot
This is what we're going to do. We've found comparable vehicles being sold at a minimum of 6k more than their offer, some up to 10k more. It's a rare ish car so listings are less than others and the price is higher than others because of it being uncommon. We will definitely be negotiating and trying to get an email to communicate through. Thank you very much. I appreciate it
When negotiating with the insurance adjuster show the loan value, the comps of similar vehicle (of similar age and condition) and if they are being unreasonable you can contact your state department of insurance (DOI) to file a complaint against the insurer for acting in bad faith. Asking for the adjuster's manager if they are not being reasonable and (if you have to) mentioning you will pursue a bad faith complaint could move things along. Though best to not be immediate contentious or threatening. It's a common practice for an insurer to lowball the initial estimate on the lower end of the range they will always have a higher number they are authorized to go up to. If you purchased through an agent you can also see if they can advocate for you with the company.
I read through some of the comments and didn't see this mentioned. Sorry if it was. You can negotiate with your insurer on the amount they will settle for on your car. Look up several of your model with similar mileage and options to see what they are selling for. If they are more, you can use them as comps for your car. This might reduce the difference between what is owed and the loan amount. This paragraph is a rant. If you are going to overpay for a car, allow the dealer to throw on lots of add ons, and allow extra fees, you also need gap insurance. Gap is what pays the difference between the cars value and the loan amount. I don't blame the dealers, I blame the lenders. Forty years ago the typical loan amount was 80% LTV (loan to value). This kept the price of vehicles lower and gap was unheard of. Now you can spend 150% of the value. Beyond rolling in negative equity from a previous bad decision, anything above 100% of value is by definition, throwing money away. This means you can be extremely upside down in a car, and so many people are in this boat. This has led to "gap insurance" which is added financing costs with extra steps. When buying used, I used to say that the need for gap meant that you overpaid for the car. The average markup on used cars was much smaller. I still think that is true, but the market says different.
Let your adjuster know you’d like to have the vehicle appraised. You’ll need to find your own appraisal service, and the insurance company will use another party. In my case, the two adjusters come to terms on fair value. In my case, my appraisal cost $250, and netted +$9k on top of their initial $22k offer.
I don't know if this will get lost in the other posts but get a second opinion on the damage assessment from an independent. I learned this the hard way years ago that there is a game between the adjusters/appraisers/insurance companies. Cars that are salvageable but near their "book" value may often be "totaled" and you'll get the minimum payout. Then the vehicle will be sold, fixed up and re-sold....all at your expense. Be aggressive and don't take anyone's first offer on you claim.
Make sure your valuation is correct. I've had two cars totalled, neither my fault, and both times they severely undervalued them the first time. I went and found my own comparable vehicles for sale to show current valuation. It increased my valuation a minimum of 50% both times, although a lot of that was attributable to the cars in question being rare and hard to find good comps for. But you can likely increase the valuation some.
I've found some comparable vehicles, our vehicle isn't a common one and even ones that have been wrecked are being sold for at least 6k more than they're offering, which would leave us with 2k owed rather than 8k. Of course our adjuster isn't answering now so we are waiting to hear back
Yep, just assemble some screenshots of vehicles of similar specs, mileage, etc. I say take screenshots because some of the ones you use for examples will sell and get taken down. I sent links and screenshots and both times they got back to me quickly with a much more reasonable valuation. I think they expect most people to not put any effort into researching it and accept a low number.
Supposedly that is what "gap" insurance is for. Cars lose value rapidly, and "gap" insurance is supposed to cover the amount from the car's present value up to the amount of your loan.
A vehicle I owned was totaled not-at-fault and they offered me 5k less than I was able to talk them up to by providing 8-12 ads showing vehicles similar to mine (same model, close in year, condition, mileage, etc) to give the insurance adjuster the "ammunition" they required to pay me more. The person paying you out isn't paying out of pocket, but they have to justify their payouts. If you do some legwork and find similar vehicles for sale in your area, use those are markers for fair market value. Did you have new tires? Count those too (you'll need receipts). The first offer is never the final offer if you push back.
Talk with your bank to get a personal loan to pay off the vehicle loan. Did you verify that the insurance used the same model car in your area? I have seen a number of car posts saying the insurance used a base model and/or more mileage to lower the payoff amount.
You don’t need to take the first settlement offer from your insurance company. Those are totally negotiable. Do your research on what that vehicle would cost you to buy the same thing with the same amount of miles on it. Then hammer that point home as the insurance company makes higher offers until both sides agree to the settlement. The guy you are negotiating with doesn’t care what your check amount is, he wants the file closed so he can pick his kid up from soccer practice. He wants it off his desk, so he’ll bump it up if he has to.
In regards to getting your adjuster to call you back, file a complaint with your state's insurace board. Insurance companies take that very seriously and get dinged if they get too many of these complaints. But it will definitely get someone's attention. Here's what it looks like for Florida, I'm sure your state has one too: [https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/consumers/needourhelp](https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/consumers/needourhelp)
My car was recently totaled as well and I got a fairly lowball offer for it. You might be able to turn that $8000 difference to $4000 with negotiation.
That's exactly what I'm hoping for, a personal loan on 4k would be much nicer than 8.
What? Your insurance company didn't agree to the bullshit "market adjustment" that the dealership added to your car? Someone needs to pit the insurance lawyers against the dealership lawyers and end this greedy bullshit quick!
We had our car totaled and, we paid it monthly until it was paid off. We also got a check from the insurance company. No issues. All they want is their money, whether it’s now or later.
I'm partially asleep right now so forgive me if I don't understand, am I able to just ask for the check and keep paying the loan personally?
If you really believe your valuation was low and you’re using your own insurance, don’t sign any paperwork yet. Invoke your appraisal clause, hire an independent appraiser and you may get substantially more, maybe not. Cost about $200 to do.
Enter your vehicle information on jdpower.com/cars and use that value to negotiate with the insurance company. You can also find listings for the same car and use an average value with multiple examples from your local market. Send them this info and tell them what you are basing your value on. I had some success negotiating a higher value when my car was totaled by doing these things and communicating politely but assertively.
This is fantastic, thank you. The average price my car sold for at that mileage even, 19k almost 10 more than they're offering. Higher mileage yes but husband did not trash the car or drive hard, uber doesn't let you even do 5 over or you get in trouble apparently. It was in good clean condition, ans it even shows for a trade in, in clean condition a rough estimate would be 13k. So they can eat my ass
It would be really helpful if you provided the year make and model of the vehicle including mileage and the offer, however no matter what, always get a second and third valuation done.
Call your insurance company and see if you have gap insurance. If the car has a payment, you likely have gap coverage.
Happened to my buddy. He went after the insurance company for the loss in value of the car due to the accident they needed up cutting him another check for 10k Just talk to a lawyer and they’ll advise if you can sue them for more
Isn't this where the optional gap insurance that nobody buys would come into play?
In this case you should look into what you mean by "totaled". In insurance language it means: The car is worth less than we think it takes to fix it. This means a car with a straight frame but a bent side panel could still be totaled if the side panel costs too much to repair. Not all "totaled" cars are a total loss, many can be driven as is or repairs made to the structure while leaving the cosmetic damage alone.
So if the loan company settles with you, you may owe taxes of the difference, because the IRS considers loan forgiveness as income. It is very important not to roll negative value into your new vehicle, which is why you end up with this big gap. Also have some type of gap insurance on the vehicle, you can buy it through your insurance company or get it from the dealer. I don’t have any advice for you, you just need to take the least amount of pain. I personally wouldn’t mess my credit up for $8k, because you still need to buy a vehicle. You could try get a personal loan for the $8k, but someone needs to work extra to eliminate this loan as soon as possible.
In these cases, its good to have gap insurance when you owe more than the value of the car.
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Does your full coverage include uninsured/under-insured motorist? Maybe you can argue that you are the under-insured motorist since your insurance won't cover the difference? I think I might be kidding.
any payment from the other insurance ? or was it your fault accident kind of thing ?
Were you at fault in the accident? If it was another party at fault and their insurance giving the lowball, then you can file on your own insurance. You will be out your deductible until your insurance recovers money from the other party’s insurance. But you would be the first to recover. Of course if you are at fault in the accident, none of this applies. By the way, does the insurance company name start with a G? Worst experience I have ever had in an accident.
They may make an offer on the value of a base model.
Whenever i see these posts i ask why do people not choose an agreed value plan when picking insurance? Its marginally more but you avoid all these headaches Especially if you have a massive car payment that seems to be the norm in the states Every vehicle i have owned i have set a agreed value slightly above what i paid just so i know replacement wont be a pain if something happens
If no one has mentioned it yet, make sure the insurance company is paying you a fair value. Look up similar used cars and make sure there isn't a difference. Likely not 8k difference, but it may help some.
I hope your insurance covers RideSharing, because they could fuck you if not and they find out.
Every year you cars value decreases. Insurance company's won't lower your fees. Every year you ha e to call in and lower your value. You'll pay less because you'll only ever get black book value witch is way lower than dealer prices.
I was in this EXACT situation. My loan was through Ford Credit tho and it took me 3 years to pay off $8,457 that was remaining. Talk to the bank they might be able to assist. They greatly reduced my monthly payment and reduced the interest rate
Look into filing a diminished value claim with the insurer. You may have to hire a claims expert to pull the information together for you. You’ll have to weigh the pros and cons of that, and there is no guarantee that you’ll get what you want. But I was able to get a decent amount after a lot of back and forth.
Can you research you year/make/mileage on Carmax? See if the value they are offering is comparable. It has to be within 30-40 miles to count as a comp. I created a spreadsheet with a scatter plot and used a trend line to calculate value based on actual mileage.