patrick.net

B.A.C.A.H. says

WookieMan says

We owe $30k,

The silver lining: congratulations on being able to get out from under that debt.

We run our cars into the ground. That was the only one financed. Good credit so not too bad monthly. Most people we talk to spend more on cars than we do on our PITI for housing. We live more frugal than anyone we know by a long shot with our income. Wife also get $600/mo for car allowance, so it's not like we really were paying for it.

Adjuster is calling early next week to talk about the value of the vehicle. That will be crunch time. Our insurance will cover the loan I'm sure, as that's what I'm pretty sure they're required to do. The question is how these fuckers negotiate behind the curtain about vehicle value. It's a unique position because there's equity in a car. That's not very common unless fixing one up.

Like I said, if I could have sold it 3 weeks ago for $50K before the wreck, I want $50k for the car. If I buy a $100k house replacement cost wise for $20k, insurance still pays out the cost to make you whole and rebuild. They don't pay you $20k or whatever your mortgage balance was.

Yep, if it's a vehicle you need, they have to pay for rental. If you paid for rental coverage in your policy, can use your insurance for it. Otherwise just keep receipts from rental company.

Automan Empire says

If you don't have uninsured motorist coverage, add it, it's cheap and worth it if there's a loss.

This is a must have in SoCal where the person that hit you may be an illegal, or from TJ. Although the one time it happened to me, the person was black.

WookieMan says

And yes, she did go to the chiropractor and has had multiple massages.

I assume you informed them it was related to car accident? They keep separate/additional paperwork for car accidents to submit to insurance. If you have med-pay on your insurance, they'll actually cover those costs. If a lawyer is handling the case, you don't pay till settlement. If not, unsure if you have to pay or not.

Automan Empire says

print out all of your service history from the last 3 years or so.

2018 Toyota Sequoia. Purchased April of 2021. 32k miles, put 8k on it. Rounding so just calling it 40k miles total.

We bought it from a Toyota employee/manager, NOT dealer. Manufacturer basically. The transaction occurred at the dealer, but literally bought it directly from Toyota. Used price would have been $55k when we bought it for $35k. I could have flipped it for $60-65k out in Montana, but our guy is a friend and it felt unethical and we needed a car anyway. We usually get to 200-250k miles before dumping a car.

And yes, we financed a lot. Our income is a roller coaster due to seasonal payout. We make chunk payments and hopefully pay it off in half the time. Low interest, so free cash flow when it comes in can go to better opportunities to make money instead of sunk into a car down payment.

Wife also transports clients, so we can't have a beater. Not that a Sequoia is some bastion of luxury. 3 kids, we need the room. Minivan ain't happening. Kids might have been injured pretty badly in a minivan.

Dewey, Cheatem and Howe recommends: Your wife was on the way to get your kids vaccinated when struck by the van, preventing your kids from getting the vax, and subsequently, they got COVID. The driver of the van was anti-vax, and this was no accident. Their usual fee is 90% of the settlement.

Automan Empire says

Behave friendly and professionally with the adjuster

Story time about this. One time I was working with a guy who was NOT a regular client but needed a hoist inspection with the adjuster after hitting an object on the freeway, so he ended up at my shop already pissy and impatient "because all this trouble." He was some corporate muckety-muck at a regional hospital chain and quite full of his fat phlegmatic self.

The adjuster arrived and documented the clear and obvious damage and wrote up a fair repair estimate right on the spot using his sophisticated collision estimation system. The customer stood still with his hands at his side as the adjuster held out the repair bid which was as good as money at the planned body shop. "What about THIS though?" he says petulantly, pointing to a slightly bent wheel with obvious bruising of the tire that was MUCH newer and several feet away from the collision damage on the other half of the undercarriage. Both me and the adjuster immediately acted skeptical, prompting this guy to go into Male Karen mode. He doubled down INSISTING this was caused by the same loss event, and that they were GOING to PAY for that too!

Long story short, the insurer unusually reached out to us later to thank us for working with them and to mention that the guy's annual premium would be going up by an amount greater than the idiot-self damage he was trying to grift onto the accident claim. Lots of respect for Traveler's after this.

To get the approximate value for your vehicle, input the info into Carvana, Vroom, etc as if it were not wrecked to see what the offers for it would be.

zzyzzx says

input the info into Carvana, Vroom, etc as if it were not wrecked to see what the offers for it would be.

Sort of. Use these to get an average valuation for the year/model/build, not cherry pick a highball number. It's kinda like casually using Zillow to build up unrealistic expectations using not-very-comparable comps, or comparing retail restaurant meal prices to your grocery receipts.

Small point of order…uninsured motorist keeps you from paying a deductible. Otherwise any repair/total goes against your own insurance and your own insurance will cover the repair or tota.

Pay your deductible and it’s the same effect. Pay your $300 or $500 and hand the task to your insurance company. You can still reject the other parties offer. When your insurance company collects from the other parties insurance they’ll refund your deductible unless you are at fault.

If it's all still intact, you could pull the back axle, as much of the front suspension that is still good, the Motor the Trans, and part it all out.
You could probably make more money like that, than selling it as a wreck heap.

Or you could take all of those parts and build a Swamp buggy, and go to the next Red Neck Mud fest in Punta Gorda Florida.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQl0DPte9n8

Google "Diminished value" consultancy or mediator.

One of my kids' auto was involved in an accident in which the other driver admitted guilt (shocking!). Other parties Insurance company was happy to pay for repairs but (little known fact) once your car is involved in an accident it's resale value is reduced by thousands.

My wife found one of these "diminished value" guys and for $300 he was able to represent my daughter and wrangled an extra $4,000 above and beyond the cost of repair to make up for the diminished value. Pretty good return on investment.

My state has laws in place which enable this, not sure about yours.

stereotomy says

Whiplash is a MAJOR ticking time bomb. If it was bad enough to total the car, you should get her an MRI ASAP. Brain injuries manifest over several days, and by the time she's feeling bad, the damage has already been done. If the brain is injured, it swells, but there's nowhere for it to go, so it squeezes itself against the inside of the skull until blood flow is cut off and grey matter starts dying. She needs anti-inflammatory medication ASAP if she's brain-injured.

WineHorror1 says

Tell your wife to get medical attention Pronto. Do not wait.

Agree.

The liabilities associated with the property damage are rounding errors compared to medical damages. This is why homie has no collision but millions in liability. Someone close to me had a liability claim in excess of 1 M from a rainy-day accident.

Several years before I was rear ended I had received chiropractic care. It was all in the past when the accident occurred. The day after the crash I made an appointment for him to reassess me "just in case". I could see the Greedy Daffy-Duck type dollar signs in his eyes when I told him about the accident.

Moreover, my ten year old was in the vehicle during the accident. The chiropractor examined the kid and determined that to be sure there was no injury that might have latent effects, the kid would require several follow up exams.

The insurance company kept checking up on us, asking how we're doing. I only answered, "we're under the chiropractors care: ask him."

Eventually, the chiropractor cleared the ten year old from "needed follow ups". The insurance company was thrilled, and without me asking, proffered a large cash sum that would more than cover the piddly-ass amount the OP is worried about for his property damage, if (as his guardian) I would release them from liability for my child. It was a nice start for the college fund.

As for my separate claim, I had many more visits to the chiropractor. Then I waited till one year after the accident for the insurance company to settle the claim. At no time did I ever ask for a penny of pain and suffering or lost time or anything. They just settled because they were glad to get rid of us.

Property damage is nickel and dime stuff.