Insurance is Totaling my Car over a Faulty Repair done several years ago (that damaged the car over time d/t rust) that They Guaranteed. :(

[mariusv]

Hi guys - I'm a non-traditional college student who is changing careers. It's a lot to explain but long story short, I have a LOT of student loans from my previous career choice. All this is to communicate how much I cannot afford to purchase a new vehicle right now, and why I'm turning to the internet for help.

Back in 2013, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world when I got a KIA soul 2013 for my birthday in 2012. My parents were going to get a used car, but since they were so expensive at the time the difference between new and used was pretty low so they purchased this new one.

A few years later, I was T-boned by someone coming out of a side-street and not paying attention. The passenger side door was crushed and needed to be replaced. It was.

Many years later (i.e., earlier this year in late Spring) my mom noticed when she came to visit that the passenger side door was rusting quite a lot... and there was no damage to that door or side since, so nothing to explain where all this rust was coming from.

She talked to insurance about it and after much digging it turns out that the body shop that repaired the car had actually used a 'bad' door that had rust already on or inside the door somewhere. We took it in and as a result it turns out that the rust had spread to other parts of the vehicle and had now started to eat into the roof and other parts of the car

We found the old paperwork from the repair, and it turns out that the insurance company (Traveler's) had "Guaranteed" the repair...so we filed a claim and it has been in the body shop in IL (my home) waiting for parts from Korea (since it's a KIA and covid-19 has slowed down shipping of parts) ever since.

In the meantime, it's been stressful as hell and I even went through a move to New Mexico (we never expected it to be in the shop for MONTHS, so the insurance company agreed to rent me a vehicle to move and to use down here in Albuquerque, NM until the car is fixed).

Despite all the parts finally making it there, I recently learned that apparently the car is going to be totaled. I only learned this because I called the body shop itself to ask since Travelers would NOT get back to me despite several phone calls and voicemails over the span of almost 2 weeks of radiosilence. I'm totally devastated and also really scared about what this means financially.

I'm also concerned - could they really 'total' a car that wasn't even in an accident but is instead in repair because of a faulty repair that THEY guaranteed?! That HAS to mean something, right??

I'm afraid that if I buy a new used car, it'll come with some other troubles that I'm not aware of and maybe not last as long as my KIA would have lasted me... I took it in twice somewhat recently before all this happened and asked them to be honest with me about its condition - how was it doing? Both times, I got great feedback.

The car means a lot to me in and of itself, but on top of that I've recently invested $600 in new tires, and have also gotten weather tech floormats for it and a spare key fob just in case. I take really good care of it - always make sure to be on time for oil changes, take care of tire pressure issues immediately if they arise, and anything else I'm told needs changing or fixing.

Is there ANYTHING I can do?? Could we take them to court over this or would we even have a case? I don't really want to - I just want something to defend myself if they lowball me the way insurance companies are notorious for doing... Please help I've been stressing over this for months now

 

[california1der]

@mariusv Total bummer of a situation. You have my sympathies, but you should also realize that everyone is struggling right now, and your personal finance situation will have no bearing ever on the outcome of a claim.

Yes, they can total the vehicle because they are not going to sink that much cost into a low value 8 year old Soul. Where did you hear that insurance companies are notorious for lowballing? I assume that's anecdotal. Did you know that insurance companies don't determine the value of the vehicle? They have to use a third party method to avoid conflict of interest. They are going to offer you the current value of the vehicle plus applicable tax/title fees. They may reduce that settlement by the amount that they paid in repair from the original claim, although I doubt they would do that in this situation. In exchange for the settlement you'll sign the car over and use those funds to go shopping for a replacement.

There's nothing to sue for as there has been no breach of contract, so an attorney would be expensive and pointless.

 

[mariusv]

@california1der I see - so even though this claim happened through a faulty repair that they guaranteed and through no fault of my own, there is nothing I can do? I was thinking that I'm not even sure if this option to total the car is something that applies to this sort of situation since it's just so weird

 

[california1der]

@mariusv I'm surprised they're even covering this given the time lapse. I'm curious as to how they 'confirmed' that a door was faulty from 4-5 years ago. Even if they did, if any of that rust is visible this is more of a lack of mitigation issue on your part. None of that really matters though as they're taking care of it.

 

[realsavior]

@mariusv What r/CanderousGordo82 said is right. They are "guaranteeing the repairs" and they can choose to make you whole in the most cost effective manner. In this case, totaling the car is cheaper (more cost effective) than fixing what sounds like a systemic rust issue. I am sure this (their ability to total vs. repair) is written either 1.) into the policy or 2.) written into the repair guarantee language (or both). Also, he's right about (usually) a 3rd party company giving a total loss amount based on other vehicles with same year, make, model, trim package, mileage, and condition. Taxes and unused vehicle license fees are also usually added. At least you don't have a deductible.

 

[roxie12]

@mariusv Them totaling out the vehicle is them guaranteeing the repair. They are making the faulty repair right by paying you the full value of the vehicle.

 

[michaljongkind]

@roxie12 I'm with you on this.

Frankly I can't envision a better alternative myself.

Option B is days/weeks in a body shop? Not that great of an option either. a 2013 Kia isn't a one of a kind vehicle or anything special, take the money, push it up as high as you can and start shopping for a new car.

FWIW, the situation has my sympathies, but given used car pricing you might end up doing fairly well in the end.

 

[biscut]

@mariusv The key for OP is to make sure that she is receiving the correct value for the car once it's totalled. Relying on KBB or NADA may not yield replacement value given the insane price increases in the new and used car market due to chip shortages. OP needs to compile a list of similar condition/mileage Souls for sale and recently sold to compare to the insurance company offer and needs to be prepared to dispute their valuation.

 

[mariusv]

@biscut That's exactly what I ended up doing. I read into this a LOT and learned that apparently the insurance company is obligated to provide you replacement value, NOT trade-in value (which is what they'll usually offer). I'm trying my darndest to be able to get enough to get the same car (same year, similar mileage, same package, etc.)...but I suppose we'll see what happens ... Thank you so much for your help!! I learned a lot by posting and reading on here!