I wonder if that’s simply because of the cost of replacing the airbag. Or does an airbag deployment indicate more severe, hidden damage?
Cost is a lot of it. By the time you include the labor they’re $2-3K installed. Each.
My crunch upthread didn’t deploy any bags on my car, but fired 4 bags on the guh who hit me. My last airbag event fired IIRC 5 bags.
That adds up quick.
Seriously, this is a huge amount of it. Speaking as a former adjuster of now quite a few years ago (although NOT part of the Total Loss Team to be clear) parts are not cheap, especially if your state has any requirements for OEM, but labor kills you often at $80-90 per hour or more, and that’s with negotiated rates with “partner” repair shops.
Combine that with the generally low values on older, or higher milage cars, and you hit total loss very quickly, especially with another niggle. See, if the insurance company commits to the repair, and open it up only to find MORE damage they’re pretty much stuck with a sunk loss. So in my day, if the repair estimate was over say 85% of the total estimated value of the vehicle, it was sent to total loss. Not 100%. Because so often opening up a car WILL find additional damage.
Now some things can be worked in your favor. If you can prove recent work, additions, or improvements (emphasis on prove) you can sometimes get additional $$$ added to the loss estimate. Receipts for brand new tires a few months old? Maybe a few hundred (depending on tire). Stereo, not so much, but maybe a bit. New engine? Again, may improve the settlement. So keep those records and there may be some help (albeit with depreciation).
This for sure. Airbags are expensive for you & me but not in the world of automotive parts and body repair. I’d (probably, wag’ing here) rather pay for an airbag install than, say, pay to have a fender painted.
But they don’t go off for just anything. It takes quite a ding and, even then, only under certain criteria.
Probably frame damage, which is often not worth fixing. Pickup trucks that get hit on the side are particularly vulnerable to that.
Nope, frame fine.
Welp, they totaled it. $7600 if they take it, $4K+ if I keep it and register it as a salvaged vehicle.
Is it generally acceptable to withdraw the claim and take nothing?
It’s still going to show on accident reports. So it’ll leave you with very limited resale value down the road. So I don’t think it does you any good to withdraw the claim.
Agree w @ParallelLines; Getting hit was severe wallet damage even if the car’s physical damage appears trivial. IMO the worst option is keeping the damaged car and foregoing the $4K.
I’ve said my piece at length above, but IMO the best (IOW least bad) option of those is take the $7600 and give them the car.
BUT …
Who is the “they” who totaled it and is offering 7600 or 4000? If it’s the other party’s insurer, do the same claim process with your own company ASAP, no matter how painful their pitiful customer service makes it. Yes, you’ll be out the deductible if you take their offer, whatever it might be. But if they offer you more than 8100 or 4500 you’re money ahead immediately. And regardless of what they do offer you will eventually get your $500 deductible back once they finish subrogating.
Accident report? You mean the one submitted to the insurance company? I’m not really concerned about any putative resale value, as I don’t see my credit ever being good enough again for me to ever buy another car (it’s gone steadily to hell ever since Joan died).
I’m mostly worried about what having a “salvaged” vehicle means in terms of registration and insurance costs. If it doesn’t make it more expensive for me to own, then I’d take the $4K (actually $4850, as it turns out) rather than walk away from the claim process.
If I surrender the vehicle for $7600, I’m concerned that that won’t be enough to get me into a different car. OTOH, a ten-year old hybrid with 200K miles on it, I gotta wonder how much more life the hybrid batteries have in them.
I’ll be talking with my brother-in-law and maybe another friend this weekend, and try to figure out what’s the best way for me to go.
In my state, it would cost the same or less to register (we pay more to register more valuable cars, but it bottoms out quickly) and the same insure. Except i doubt you can get physical damage coverage, so any further damage to the car is on you. But you won’t be paying that premium, either. If you are now.
If you did have physdam at the time of the accident, LSLGuy is right, see how much your insurer will pay. It might be substantially more, and if it’s less, you can still accept payment from the other guy’s insurer instead.
I agree that you are better off taking money from the insurer than not.
My understanding is a salvage title really comes into play when selling your car. Basically you will get scrap value. Depends on your state but here is the Coloradan implications.
A salvage vehicle is a vehicle damaged by collision, fire, flood, accident, trespass, or other occurrence, excluding hail damage, to the extent that the cost of repairing the vehicle to a roadworthy condition and for legal operation on the highways exceeds the vehicle’s retail fair market value immediately prior to such damage, as determined by the person who owns the vehicle at the time of such occurrence or by the insurer or other person acting on behalf of such owner. [See C.R.S. 42-6-102(17)(a)(I)]
Owners of Salvage Vehicles
- The owner of a salvage motor vehicle may make an application for a salvage certificate of title before the sale or transfer of such motor vehicle. All subsequent purchasers or transferees of a salvage vehicle, other than transactions that are not subject to taxation pursuant to Colorado Revised Statute 39-26-104, must obtain a salvage certificate of title in the owner’s name within 60 days from the date of purchase or transfer. Colorado Revised Statute 42-6-110 If an insurance company acquires a motor vehicle that has been defined as “salvage” in accordance with Colorado Revised Statute 42-6-102(17)(a) the insurance company must apply for a salvage certificate of title in accordance with Colorado Revised Statute 42-6-136(2), before transferring ownership of the vehicle. If the owner retains a motor vehicle upon settlement of a claim with an insurance company, and the vehicle has been defined as “salvage” in accordance with Colorado Revised Statute 42-6-102(17)(a), the owner must apply for a salvage certificate of title in their name.
- Salvage Vehicle Application (DR2410) (opens in new window)
- Titles for these vehicles shall be surrendered to DMV for the record to be marked salvage.
Fundamentally, it’s going to be listed as totaled in terms for value from now on, even if you withdraw your claim. If you DON’T mention that and insure it as normal with your current or a new carrier, they’ll likely insure it as usual per costs, but will payout on the totalled value of the car in a future claim, approx $3000 by your prior estimate. Maybe, maaaaybe you’ll be able to get by on normal “windshield” claims, but any future physical loss is going to come up with that new, lower value. If it’s driveable, and a new car isn’t in your future, my advice is take the $4k (feel free to do comps or ask your own carrier as well) and do the salvage title, plus drop the coverage to liability only. You can also ask if the settlement includes a reasonable amount (for your state) to re-register the car.
ETA -
There are a very few states and carriers where a NAF (not-at-fault) accident can raise your rates, but it’s rare. But in my experience, the At-Fault carrier is likely to be more generous (to get things settled quickly) than the NAF carrier.
Is there a chance that his rates will go up if his own insurance pays out the claim?
Based on that side photo, that truck looks better than some of what I see on the road. If it’s still drivable, and given the cost of new vehicles today, I can understand why you want to just keep it.
Is there a chance? I suppose. It’s pretty unlikely. Most states don’t allow not-at-fault accidents to be used in auto rating, iirc.
And since he’ll be dropping the physical damage coverage anyway, his premium will go down.
The picture is after repair. Damage was minimal, but was initially considered totaled. It’s an older truck but low mileage.
Sorry. I was confused; it’s @kaylasdad99 whose vehicle is being totaled by the insurer, though I agree that he should ask his own carrier to evaluate it.
Is claim history affecting overall premiums (including premiums on any cars purchased in the future) something to consider?
Filling a claim agains the other driver’s insurance is surely a lower impact to @kaylasdad99’s future premiums than filing a claim against their own insurance, even if they estimate the settlement higher.
Bought a Chevy Equinox for my wife, salvage title, paid $13k cash for it. When I totalled it, our insurance paid out CMV, $17k.