Husband was in Car Accident

Mrs.K · 11-12-2012, 05:10 AM

He is okay. He was very lucky. Three weeks after coming back from deployment, he went to work two hours early and got hit by a Dodge Ram. Needless to say our Jeep Compass has some major damage and the body shop isn't sure if it's totaled or not.

If they give us a call to pick up our things, today, we know it's totaled. I almost wish it was totaled because that would make things go a lot faster and easier for us and who knows, maybe it's a blessing in disguise. Our car would be paid off and we'd get a 1000 towards a new/used car plus the per diem on top would give us a downpayment for two used cars.

That being said, right now I'm stuck at home, which sucks. I missed training this weekend and especially now, where things go so well, I don't want to miss too much training.

Is it bad that I wish for a totaled car?

evybear15 · 11-12-2012, 05:45 AM

Oh no!! So glad that your husband is okay, but I'm sorry you're going through this. I can understand why you'd be hoping for a totaled car, though. The logic of it makes sense to me. Sending good thoughts your way, hope everything works out in the end and gets resolved quickly!

Dainerra · 11-12-2012, 06:41 AM

glad that he's ok! that is always the important part. Things can be repaired or replaced, people not so much!

wolfstraum · 11-12-2012, 06:49 AM

Glad he is ok! Is he still in military???

Start reseaching your vehicle's value.....go to KBB.com and Autotrader.com and find as close a match as you can....the insurance company will ALWAYS lowball the value....you have the right to negotiate the value....on my Eclipse, they started off offering me $2600 + tax...... I ended up with $4997.50 + tax....I found comparable models and insisted on dealing with the adjuster's supervisor.

Another issue is fault - if the other driver is at fault, then your adjuster is spending HIS insurance money, not his employer's money.....the first adjuster did not realize that, the supervisor made the comment during a conversation that the other guy took full responsibility for the accident and his property insurance was $5000 - state minimum.....so with the 2 cars I found online for sale, I got their average (4995 and 5000, hence the 4997.50).

Lee

**jocoyn** · 11-12-2012, 06:50 AM

Glad he is ok. I never had a car totalled - is the payoff plus the 1000 part of your insurance policy or state law? I thought they just paid book value.

wolfstraum · 11-12-2012, 06:58 AM

"Book value" can vary widely! They used to use 3 "books" and average them to establish value. Now with the internet is so much easier to negotiate a value....it used to be you had to go through newpaper ads to establish price if you did not like the book value.....I had a Camero that was stolen 4 times....the final time it was recovered the insurance company totalled it, and after much discussion - they simply replaced it with a somewhat improved model! More options, less mileage...and arranged to have my loan transferred.....I had a Firebird that was stolen, and had to negotiate that one, and the Santa Fe that was hit from behind they gave me more than I expected, so I just took it.

LOL I have had too much experience with totaled cars!!!

Lee

Syaoransbear · 11-12-2012, 07:07 AM

I'm glad your husband is okay, but don't feel bad about wishing for a totaled vehicle. I always wish for a totaled vehicle. Trying to resell a vehicle that has been in a major accident is hard, and even when it's fixed sometimes it's never the same.

Plus here we only have one insurance company that is owned by the province that everyone has to buy from and they seem to be incredibly generous. They always gives us more than what we paid for the vehicle, whether we bought it used or brand new. My husband bought a brand new truck from a dealership a few years ago and his brother totaled it a few months after he bought it. Insurance gave him $2000 more than what he paid at the dealership!

Mrs.K · 11-12-2012, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jocoyn

Glad he is ok. I never had a car totalled - is the payoff plus the 1000 part of your insurance policy or state law? I thought they just paid book value.

No, it's the GAP insurance via our financial institution that approved us for the car loan.

Mrs.K · 11-12-2012, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfstraum

Glad he is ok! Is he still in military???

Start reseaching your vehicle's value.....go to KBB.com and Autotrader.com and find as close a match as you can....the insurance company will ALWAYS lowball the value....you have the right to negotiate the value....on my Eclipse, they started off offering me $2600 + tax...... I ended up with $4997.50 + tax....I found comparable models and insisted on dealing with the adjuster's supervisor.

Another issue is fault - if the other driver is at fault, then your adjuster is spending HIS insurance money, not his employer's money.....the first adjuster did not realize that, the supervisor made the comment during a conversation that the other guy took full responsibility for the accident and his property insurance was $5000 - state minimum.....so with the 2 cars I found online for sale, I got their average (4995 and 5000, hence the 4997.50).

Lee

Yes, he still is in the military. We'll find out in January whether he stays in or not.
We are insured via USAA and have GAP on top of that via our financial institution. The Gap would give us a 1000 dollars on top of what we would get from the insurance company if I didn't get that wrong. At least that is what our financial insitution told us.

robk · 11-12-2012, 07:14 AM

I am glad that your husband is ok. That is the most important thing.

You are correct for wishing for a totaled car. If the vehicle is not totaled you will have a seriously reduced value, dirty car fax, and possible (depending on your state laws) a branded title. You are always better off when your car is totaled. That is, of coarse, if you, in fact, are in a positive equity situation. Even if you have a little bit of negative equity, count it as a blessing if they total your car. A dealer can tell if a car has been wrecked from a mile away and will use it against you when you go to trade.

11-12-2012, 05:10 AM	#1 (permalink)
Mrs.K Crowned Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 8,492	Husband was in Car Accident He is okay. He was very lucky. Three weeks after coming back from deployment, he went to work two hours early and got hit by a Dodge Ram. Needless to say our Jeep Compass has some major damage and the body shop isn't sure if it's totaled or not. If they give us a call to pick up our things, today, we know it's totaled. I almost wish it was totaled because that would make things go a lot faster and easier for us and who knows, maybe it's a blessing in disguise. Our car would be paid off and we'd get a 1000 towards a new/used car plus the per diem on top would give us a downpayment for two used cars. That being said, right now I'm stuck at home, which sucks. I missed training this weekend and especially now, where things go so well, I don't want to miss too much training. Is it bad that I wish for a totaled car?

11-12-2012, 05:45 AM	#2 (permalink)
evybear15 Knighted Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Ohio Posts: 2,828	Oh no!! So glad that your husband is okay, but I'm sorry you're going through this. I can understand why you'd be hoping for a totaled car, though. The logic of it makes sense to me. Sending good thoughts your way, hope everything works out in the end and gets resolved quickly! __________________ Evan Baxter - aka "Basher" GSD 9/27/10 Boomer & Star - Kittens of Doom

11-12-2012, 06:49 AM	#4 (permalink)
wolfstraum Crowned Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: PA Posts: 8,213	Glad he is ok! Is he still in military??? Start reseaching your vehicle's value.....go to KBB.com and Autotrader.com and find as close a match as you can....the insurance company will ALWAYS lowball the value....you have the right to negotiate the value....on my Eclipse, they started off offering me $2600 + tax...... I ended up with $4997.50 + tax....I found comparable models and insisted on dealing with the adjuster's supervisor. Another issue is fault - if the other driver is at fault, then your adjuster is spending HIS insurance money, not his employer's money.....the first adjuster did not realize that, the supervisor made the comment during a conversation that the other guy took full responsibility for the accident and his property insurance was $5000 - state minimum.....so with the 2 cars I found online for sale, I got their average (4995 and 5000, hence the 4997.50). Lee __________________ Csabre Sch1, Hexe Sch2, Bengal, Komet, Kyra, Kira & Kougar v Wolfstraum ~ - Danger Sch1 SAR - ATB~ Kougar Sch3, Kyra Sch3, Cito Sch2, Alice Sch1, Kelsey CD, Ret ~ Basha Sch3, Fenja Sch3 wolfstraum.net

11-12-2012, 06:50 AM	#5 (permalink)
jocoyn Zombie Queen Moderator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: South Carolina Posts: 11,866	Glad he is ok. I never had a car totalled - is the payoff plus the 1000 part of your insurance policy or state law? I thought they just paid book value. __________________ Nancy www.scsarda.org Beau -NAPWDA Certified Cadaver Dog Waiting at the Bridge (italics=GSDs) (hemangiosarcoma=blue):Grim , Cyra, Toby, Rainbow, Linus, Oscar, Arlo & Waggles

11-12-2012, 06:58 AM	#6 (permalink)
wolfstraum Crowned Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: PA Posts: 8,213	"Book value" can vary widely! They used to use 3 "books" and average them to establish value. Now with the internet is so much easier to negotiate a value....it used to be you had to go through newpaper ads to establish price if you did not like the book value.....I had a Camero that was stolen 4 times....the final time it was recovered the insurance company totalled it, and after much discussion - they simply replaced it with a somewhat improved model! More options, less mileage...and arranged to have my loan transferred.....I had a Firebird that was stolen, and had to negotiate that one, and the Santa Fe that was hit from behind they gave me more than I expected, so I just took it. LOL I have had too much experience with totaled cars!!! Lee __________________ Csabre Sch1, Hexe Sch2, Bengal, Komet, Kyra, Kira & Kougar v Wolfstraum ~ - Danger Sch1 SAR - ATB~ Kougar Sch3, Kyra Sch3, Cito Sch2, Alice Sch1, Kelsey CD, Ret ~ Basha Sch3, Fenja Sch3 wolfstraum.net

11-12-2012, 06:41 AM	#3 (permalink)
Dainerra Crowned Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: N. Central Arkansas Posts: 5,229	glad that he's ok! that is always the important part. Things can be repaired or replaced, people not so much!

11-12-2012, 07:07 AM	#7 (permalink)
Syaoransbear Crowned Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Canada, Sask Posts: 3,957	I'm glad your husband is okay, but don't feel bad about wishing for a totaled vehicle. I always wish for a totaled vehicle. Trying to resell a vehicle that has been in a major accident is hard, and even when it's fixed sometimes it's never the same. Plus here we only have one insurance company that is owned by the province that everyone has to buy from and they seem to be incredibly generous. They always gives us more than what we paid for the vehicle, whether we bought it used or brand new. My husband bought a brand new truck from a dealership a few years ago and his brother totaled it a few months after he bought it. Insurance gave him $2000 more than what he paid at the dealership! __________________ Chrono - 18/01/2008 http://www.dogster.com/dogs/994330

11-12-2012, 07:14 AM	#10 (permalink)
robk Elite Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Fayetteville, NC Posts: 1,535	I am glad that your husband is ok. That is the most important thing. You are correct for wishing for a totaled car. If the vehicle is not totaled you will have a seriously reduced value, dirty car fax, and possible (depending on your state laws) a branded title. You are always better off when your car is totaled. That is, of coarse, if you, in fact, are in a positive equity situation. Even if you have a little bit of negative equity, count it as a blessing if they total your car. A dealer can tell if a car has been wrecked from a mile away and will use it against you when you go to trade.

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