I was rear ended - other driver at fault. Insurance has accepted responsibility. I’m worried they will want to total the vehicle.

[dt1122]

@caymele This is PA law I’ll describe but there are parallels. I encourage you to find the Total Loss Appraisal law for Texas. I had a similar accident and a similar situation, with a CCC evaluation. The 3 comparables they used were different body type, where an owner of one type would not typically consider the other type for good reason. So the comparables were not comparable. The engine was different as well, so look at the serial number of their comparables and ask yourself is it something you would have ever driven? The comparables in PA are derived from what has sold recently, or what is on the lot and what the lowest $ a dealer would take. Interestingly, the adjuster claimed the law was a 100 mile radius from my garage and couldn’t use the other comparables I had found outside the radius (despite what we all know about cars online these days). There were no local comparables with my body type. The DMV in PA however, said NO, there was no such law regarding distance of comparable. So get the total loss law and check what they tell you against what the law is. You are a 3rd party claimant, which puts you low on the insurance priority list, but you still have rights and they can’t lie to you. Adjusters have a job to do, and you can be sure they conform to requirements put on them by their job. They usually deal with people in desperate need of any replacement auto who can’t wait around for a better deal. In PA, if the car will pass inspection, it can’t be totaled and be “deemed” totaled and undriveable by a third party, rendering your car useless to you. If it can be registered, inspected and insured, you are good to go. They must pay you to fix the car, or give you what it was worth just prior to the accident, minus scrap value. You need to get all your ducks in a row to counter whatever claims they come up with, that you disagree with. Find out what the small claims court limits are in TX, and if you have to and feel “you are right”, decline their offer and indicate you’d prefer to go to court. Be sure your ducks are in a row and you know what you are talking about. Good Luck.

 

[imayanitur]

@caymele A 22 year old Pontiac isn’t going to be worth much. Insurance doesn’t consider collector value. It’s just an old Pontiac. What you need to consider is can it be repaired and do you want to pay for it. The insurance will offer what the value of the car is. That’s it. If you decide to fix it do you have the funds and time and another vehicle to use?

 

[caymele]

@imayanitur It can be repaired. The car is fully drive able.

I can’t afford the repairs.
I also cannot afford another vehicle.

How is the value determined? I’m seeing online listings starting at 15k and higher.

 

[robbie_p]

@caymele You are....not getting 15k for that vehicle

 

[caymele]

@robbie_p Never said I was. Which is the whole purpose of these questions. Why not actually answer the question instead of making comments like these.

The vehicle was functioning fine and is still drivable with the damage being minor.

 

[robbie_p]

@caymele I think you have plenty of other answers. Rarity =/= valuable, especially a basic old Pontiac. Keep it if totals and drive it into the ground.

 

[imayanitur]

@caymele Value isn’t what someone is willing to pay. That includes collector issues. The value is it is a 22 year old car with lots of miles (newer engine doesn’t count either). You were not properly insured. There are collector car policies. People don’t get them because they are expensive and there are restrictions. See what they offer. Try to negotiate up some and then see if you can swing the repairs.

 

[peinopela]

@caymele In your specific case, first make sure you provide documentation for all of this so the actual cash value can be made accurate. Perhaps it would be high enough so that the cost of repairs don’t meet that threshold. If it is indeed a total loss, you may want to consider buying it back as salvage if you like. I don’t recommend doing that to keep driving it though, salvage/rebuilt titles are problematic.

 

[caymele]

@peinopela What’s problematic about the title?

I’m located in Texas.

I can’t afford another vehicle to replace this one.

 

[peinopela]

@caymele I may be misinformed as I’m not aware of how that all works specifically in Texas. Typically in most cases salvage vehicles cannot be legally driven without having the title “rebuilt”, and after that are difficult to insure, with virtually no first-party property coverage. Again, I might be wrong in your specific case given the vehicle and your state.

 

[raphacam]

@caymele

I know that if the vehicle is totaled, I won’t be able to find this vehicle for the amount they try to settle for.

You haven't even heard from them yet, but you're certain they're gonna "lowball" you huh? Nice attitude to have to start out a claim.

 

[caymele]

@raphacam I’ve had vehicles totaled in the past where the only damage was a single taillight and rear bumper. They still totaled it and the settlement amount was not enough to replace it.

 

[serenelyblue]

@caymele Start finding comparable models for sale and show its value. I would think a Trans Am would still go for decent money.

 

[tinagomez]

@serenelyblue This is the most important thing. You can argue their valuation is too low

 

[maddog54e]

@tinagomez You can't argue anything. You can PROVE their valuation is low by providing COMPARABLE listings. A car in CA isn't comparable to a car in Texas.

 

[tinagomez]

@maddog54e Bullshit. How many stock firebird ws6s are left. Do you even know what that is?

 

[maddog54e]

@tinagomez I know what it is more than you know about how valuations work.

 

[tinagomez]

@maddog54e Cool story bro. Value a stock firebird ws6s and tell me how many you find

 

[zionxleep]

@caymele Once it's totaled, see if you can buy it from the insurance company and repair what you want.

 

[ambc]

@zionxleep

see if you can buy it from the insurance company

I see this so much here.

You're not "buying it back", you're deciding to owner retain a vehicle. The insurance company just deducts the estimated salvage return from the vehicle payment (edit) that the insurance company will be making you for the total loss of the vehicle