# Car advice: Sigh ... they're going to call my car a total loss ... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 1, 2011, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055 "2011-03-01T13:12:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055/21 "2011-03-01T15:31:22Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Don’t forget to find out what the salvage was on the crushed car, if they sold it for parts there could be another $2-3 thousand there they won’t expect you to know to ask for. This is an excellent point, especially WRT a super-common vehicle like a Corolla. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055/22 "2011-03-01T15:35:35Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Don’t forget to find out what the salvage was on the crushed car, if they sold it for parts there could be another $2-3 thousand there they won’t expect you to know to ask for. It’s not his to ask for. The insurance company will buy the car from him at fair market value–what could he have sold it for on the day before the accident. What they do with it after that is their own business. If the salvage value is $1,000 he can make a choice: Take $5k and walk away, or take $4k and keep the wrecked car. **acsenray** I spent 8 years as a total loss adjuster, it’s all I did for 8. Frickin’. Years. My job was not to make you happy, my job was not to pay you the lowest possible amount. My job was to establish the fair market value of your car and give you that amount. If I told someone their car was worth $5k and they said “nu-uh!” I followed up with two simple questions: “How much do you think it’s worth?” and “Why do you think that?” If the answer made sense they had a very good chance of getting closer to what they wanted for the car. Take your Toyota for instance. Sounds like it books out at $5k. But you recently replaced the engine, right? Well, generally speaking, a car isn’t worth anything if it doesn’t run, so the money you spent on the engine essentially brought it back UP to market value. However, depending on what you put in there (Brand spankin’ new as opposed to just another engine with a unknown history/mileage) you may have improved the car’s reliability and that matters. If it was a new or rebuilt you could probably recoup 20-30% of the cost of the replacement. Basically, all you can really do is go car shopping ([cars.com](http://cars.com), [autotrader.com](http://autotrader.com), etc.) and decide how much you would pay a total stranger for the car you just lost. Be honest, and document your findings. If you respond to my $5,000 offer with $7,500 and are able to produce ads for local vehicles of the same year, make, mileage, condition & options–I’m cornered. But if you respond to $5k with a demand for $10k because that’s what cars 6 years newer are going for, you’re getting $5k, your rental will be due back in 3 days, and you’ll need to get your car out of the tow yard because I’m not paying their storage charges after tomorrow. you don’t need to “squeak” or put on a broadway production–just present me with some facts and don’t be rude. Oh…and I saw a LOT of Saturns and Subarus with well over 200,000 miles on them if that helps. And Subarus have got some _balls_ for being simple commuter cars. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055/23 "2011-03-01T15:35:53Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > And so what’s my strategy? I know the car isn’t worth as much as $15,000. How do I go about negotiating through this? Your car was however many years old but you had a one-year-old engine that cost you $5,000. That should certainly increase the amount you’re paid. When you go to the meeting with the adjuster, bring the documentation on the engine and anything else you put into the car (new stereo, tires, etc.). And although you said that you didn’t like the Accord or the Civic, have you tried the Honda Fit? I have a six-month-old one that I love. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055/24 "2011-03-01T15:43:03Z")
If he found the Cobalt too small, and his wife doesn’t like the look of the Cube, I seriously doubt he’s going to like the Fit. Plus, they’re so popular that used ones are selling for pretty much the same price as new ones. ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055/25 "2011-03-01T16:22:04Z")
Third vote for the Subaru. I have a bit of a man crush on my Outback. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055/26 "2011-03-01T16:28:51Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Any thoughts? Advice? Plans for revenge against insurance companies? This happened to me some years ago - and what we did was this: we took the money, bought the car back for its scrap value, and had our mechanic fix it up; there was money left over. The key is that, in determining whether your car is a “total loss”, the insurance company evaluates the cost to fix it versus the value of the car - but they use a high-end mechanic to do the evaluating. If you can get it fixed cheaper, you can come out ahead, have your car and some money too. Of course that only works if your car isn’t really flattened … and you know a good, reasonably cheap mechanic. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055/27 "2011-03-01T16:43:37Z")
I went through this around 15 years ago - a nice commuter car of mine was t-boned and they wanted to give me the low ball blue book value. I came to the meeting with the Autotrader pages of comparable cars highlighted. I also took the information and put it into a spreadsheet. in my case, large American sedans with low mileage and no history of accidents prior to this. I refused to take the check for anything less than the TRUE replacement cost of my car - not just some Kelly Blue Book number. Around $3k became $5k pretty fast. ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055/28 "2011-03-01T18:11:06Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Take your Toyota for instance. Sounds like it books out at $5k. But you recently replaced the engine, right? Well, generally speaking, a car isn’t worth anything if it doesn’t run, so the money you spent on the engine essentially brought it back UP to market value. However, depending on what you put in there (Brand spankin’ new as opposed to just another engine with a unknown history/mileage) you may have improved the car’s reliability and that matters. If it was a new or rebuilt you could probably recoup 20-30% of the cost of the replacement. Basically, all you can really do is go car shopping ([cars.com](http://cars.com), [autotrader.com](http://autotrader.com), etc.) and decide how much you would pay a total stranger for the car you just lost. Be honest, and document your findings. > > If you respond to my $5,000 offer with $7,500 and are able to produce ads for local vehicles of the same year, make, mileage, condition & options–I’m cornered. That’s my strategy at the moment. I’ve got a 2000 Honda Odyssey, which blue books for ~3k. That’s pretty good for an eleven year old car with 140k on it, but the interior is a mess. My wife and I have five kids, and they’ve grown up in it, it was our only vehicle for a long time. So what I do have is a sheaf of documentation showing that I’ve hit every single maintenance item on time, every time, and used the dealership and had OEM parts every time. I’ve also used synthetic oil and every projection the dealership has run shows this vehicle going well over the 200k mark without powertrain issues. Every part I’ve had put in has lifetime warranties and I have the documentation on those. I have gas logs showing fuel economy(a good proxy for overall engine health) and it’s still getting very good mileage for a vehicle of it’s size and age. Still, in the next year or two I think I’m going to bite the bullet and see if I can change my policy to an [Agreed Value](http://www.carinsurance.com/kb/content44440.aspx) policy. They may not want to do this because it’s usually for classic cars and such, but it would give me a better chance of getting them to fix it instead of totaling it if someone backs into me. Someone backed into my wife at church a couple weeks ago and the estimate came in at $1200. With the private party blue book being $2500, that’s too close for comfort for me. I intend to get another two years at least out of it, so for me that’s two years of no $300 a month car payment. ~$7200 minus maintenance of probably 100 a month, so $4,800 is about what it’s worth to me in cash out of pocket. Not to mention the possibility of handing it down to one of my kids when they start driving. Once we buy a third car we’ll probably go liability only on it and either fix or not fix whatever happens to it ourselves. But I expect to get those two years out of it first. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Haunted\_Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@Haunted\_Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted_Pasta)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055/29 "2011-03-01T18:14:29Z")
If you thought the Cube was reasonably comfortable, is the Honda Element a possibility? Or is that too close to sideways-refrigerator aesthetic for your wife’s taste? I like mine a lot, and I do feel like I’m sitting up driving it. I don’t like the reclining feeling, either. We went through the same thing several years ago with my wife’s much-beloved Saturn. It sucks. It never seems that the replacement value is adequate. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055/30 "2011-03-01T18:15:54Z")
> [@](#): > > Now, what should I be looking for? I feel like I should try something other than a Corolla. I’m open to the idea of a Ford or a Chrysler, but I’m not sure I’m ready to trust American brands again after our family’s disastrous experiences with Plymouths, Oldmobiles, and Buicks in the 1970s and 1980s. Let me put it this way: The disastrous experiences you refer to were 30 to 40 years ago. The Corolla you had which ate its engine was a 2003. I mean, an engine failure is (IMO) borderline disastrous, and it’s on a much more recent car. You might look at a Fiesta; they’re somewhat inexpensive. You might also be able to get a deal on a current-gen Focus; it’s not nearly as nice as the upcoming 2012 Focus but it’s a solid car in general. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055/31 "2011-03-01T18:17:11Z")
Yeah, the Element is probably going to be to boxy. And I think SUVs are out of my price range, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055/32 "2011-03-01T19:10:40Z")
I love the Toyota Scion xB, aka the box car. Looks a little funky, but it’s got plenty of space and it’s a lot bigger inside than you’d imagine. It’s also cheap and decent on gas mileage. The only problem I’ve had with it is that the fuel tank is too small. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055/33 "2011-03-01T19:30:14Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > This happened to me some years ago - and what we did was this: we took the money, bought the car back for its scrap value, and had our mechanic fix it up; there was money left over. > > The key is that, in determining whether your car is a “total loss”, the insurance company evaluates the cost to fix it versus the value of the car - but they use a high-end mechanic to do the evaluating. If you can get it fixed cheaper, you can come out ahead, have your car and some money too. > > Of course that only works if your car isn’t really flattened … and you know a good, reasonably cheap mechanic. That’s what we did when someone took off the fender of my beloved 96 Tercel last summer. I drove around with an exposed tire for a while till a family member put on the fender and bumper I ordered online. (He is a bodyman). The other guy’s insurance man didn’t have a mechanic check out the damage, AFAIK; he did the evaluation himself although we met at a bodyshop. I came all prepared to argue my case, and did, but they offered more $ than I anticipated. Car ran fine. Toyotas are made of Kryptonite! I agree about the insurance reimbursement system. It does suck. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055/34 "2011-03-01T19:43:30Z")
How about a Nissan Versa? We sat in one at the Seattle Auto Show, and it had scads of room inside and an upright seating position. …and how about a Suzuki SX4? We own its predecessor, the Aerio, and it’s been a very good car. Again, it has an upright, roomy seating position. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055/35 "2011-03-01T19:57:05Z")
The little Fords are a hit. Fiesta and Focus. Fords tend to have higher cowl line as of late, which generally means more of the seating arrangement described by the OP. Quality rivals or tops imports. Fiesta has European blood lines. I’d buy an American car w/out a thought. Get the stigma out of your brain about quality. That’s so last century. ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055/36 "2011-03-01T20:04:12Z")
Have you looked at the Mazda 3? My husband and I bought two of them back in 2006, and nary a problem from either since then. The seating is upright (I have lower back issues and am much more comfortable with a firm seat than a pillowfest), but the interior is pretty roomy. My husband has the hatchback model, I have the touring sedan model, and we’ve both been extremely pleased. Good gas mileage. Just around $19k for this year’s model, maybe a little less. They actually do make an SUV with a very similar design, the Mazda 7, but it’s a little pricier. ---
**Author:** ![Kiber](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiber/32/317_2.png) [@Kiber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiber)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055/37 "2011-03-01T20:17:20Z")
I’ll just toss a vote out for the Ford Fusion. I drove it as a rental for a couple weeks last year and just loved it. It had all the bells and whistles, drove great, was comfortable around town and for long trips, had plenty of power and good mileage. I was very, very impressed. And that’s from someone who has only ever owned Japanese cars. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055/38 "2011-03-01T22:39:11Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > The little Fords are a hit. Fiesta and Focus. > … > Quality rivals or tops imports. Fiesta has European blood lines. > … > I’d buy an American car w/out a thought. Get the stigma out of your brain about quality. That’s so last century. Sounds like the OP isn’t looking for a new car, though, and so there probably aren’t a lot of used Fiestas. The Fiesta _is_ my baby, though. If I weren’t about to get shipped out of the country again, I think I’d pick one up as a commuter car. > [@Kiber](#): > > I’ll just toss a vote out for the Ford Fusion. I drove it as a rental for a couple weeks last year and just loved it. It had all the bells and whistles, drove great, was comfortable around town and for long trips, had plenty of power and good mileage. I was very, very impressed. And that’s from someone who has only ever owned Japanese cars. A used Fusion (or Milan or MKZ or Zephyr) are all excellent choices. And they have a lot of Mazda 6 in them, so you’re not really off the mark! (The Fiesta also Focus also share a lot of both Mazda and European engineering.) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055/39 "2011-03-01T22:41:28Z")
Some very interesting suggestions. A friend of mine recommended Hyundai Sonata. Yeah, I think it’s going to have to be used. I just can’t justify the cost of new. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055/40 "2011-03-02T00:12:56Z")
> [@Kiber](#): > > I’ll just toss a vote out for the Ford Fusion. I drove it as a rental for a couple weeks last year and just loved it. It had all the bells and whistles, drove great, was comfortable around town and for long trips, had plenty of power and good mileage. I was very, very impressed. And that’s from someone who has only ever owned Japanese cars. The Ford Fusion is based on the Mazda 6 platform. I’ve driven both - they feel very similar. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-advice-sigh-theyre-going-to-call-my-car-a-total-loss/573055.md?page=3)