totalled vehicle claims

THE BIGPUNN · October 21, 2003

my van was struck parked at the curb. how do insurance companies determine if a car is worth fixing or just totaling out? its worth retail $8,000 the damage is probably $4,000.

tmf6902 · October 21, 2003

I think they just look to see if it will cost more to fix than the value of the vehicle.

Shaners · October 21, 2003

My friend had this happen to him this summer when his wife totaled their 1-month old Honda Accord. He said there was a specific % of the vehicles worth vs. damage costs. I think it was around 75% or in your case it would need $6k in repairs. This formula may change depending on the year of the vehicle, which in his case was a brand new 2003. His wife did around $18K damage to the Accord, so the insurance company paid him MSRP - 10% depreciation. They then also gave him another $1200 or so for the sales tax, and all his liscense and registration fees and $20/day for rental riembursment.

Sorry to hear that your van got hit...

pacodiablo · October 21, 2003

The Contour is not worth a lot, so when it got wrecked this came up. I don't know a great deal about this stuff, but if the vehicle is wrecked and it will cost more to fix it than to buy an identical one (year, trim level, miles, etc...), insurance will probably total it.

Also, see if you are eligible for money to compensate for depreciation. Many, if not all, insurance companies will pay the estimated depreciation in the value of a vehicle if it has been wrecked & repaired.