Car possibly totalled: Need advise

7

7Titles

500+ Posts
Well my wife's old BMW, 91 325i, is probably totalled, I got hit in a parking lot. This sucks because it is/was in perfect condition and was cheap transportation and had some nastolgic value.

Anyways if it is totalled what are my options. I'm guessing its worth maybe $3000, and I'm almost certain I wont find as good of a car in that kind of condition for $3000. Im guessing it will cost about $3000 to fix the car.

So if the insurnace company declares it totalled can I buy it from them? Will it have a salvage title or something. THe car is still very driveable with ony superficial damage. I got hit in the right rear tailight. I have a damaged trunk, trunk lid, rear 1/4 panel, and tailight. Unfortunately the car hit me above my bumper.

Thanks guys.
 
Do a search of the archives on this subject. There's been a couple of pretty good threads on the subject no too long ago.

Bottom line is, if the cost to repair the car approaches or excedes 80% of the market value of the car, the insurance company will probably total it. They must pay you what it would cost to replace the car with one of equal value within a rerasonable distance of Austin, so search the want ads for a replacement.

You have the right to buy the car back from the insurance company for its salvage value, with a salvage title.
 
Yea I dont know what the % is, here at work a buddy said 75%. I seem to remember 60% from a previous accident.

One of the body shops estimated my car value at $4000, they wanted 3900 to fix it. Another shop said $2750 to fix it. It looks like it will be close.
 
50% or 60%?

In my +30 years in the business, I've never heard of an insurance company getting away with totalling cars when repairs cost 50-60% of the value. In other words, if you have a $10,000 car you think the company can total the car if repairs cost $5,000? I don't think so.

If you know of situations where that is happening, complaints need to be made to the Insurance Department for any number of Insurance Code violations.

If the repair costs are going to be that close, you might want to work with the body shop to hold costs down; IE: used parts, etc

I had this very same thing happen to me a few months ago. My vehicle had an actual cash value of about $3,000 and the repairs ended up being +$2,800. I made sure that the adjuster & body shop knew that I didn't want the vehicle totalled, and got the body shop to do everything possible to hold down costs.

Another thing that may help is whether you've done any recent repairs/upgrades to the car. They will usually consider that in the value.
 
AustinTejasfan

That is pretty much what I was thinking, Ive put new tires, muffler, and various engine parts in the car over the past year probably totalling 800$. I have receipts for nearly all of it.

The insurer is Hartford. And apparently one of their guys will actually come look at it in a day or two. Should I wait till after they arrive at what their offer is before I begin bargaining?
 
I'd start working on the adjuster as soon as he gets out of his car to let him know that you really don't want the car totalled. As long as the repairs don't exceed the car's value, they don't "have" to total it. It's up to the adjuster/company.
 
Good advice Mac. I agree 100%, but 7Titles has a 13 year old Beemer with minor damage.

I know when I was in a similar situation recently, with my '92 Cherokee, the damage was pretty minor, but it came close to totalling my jeep. And, since I had spent about $1,000 in repairs/upgrades withing a few days of the accident, I didn't want to lose the money I had spent. Which is what would have happened if it was totalled.
 
Yes the damage is very minimal, but it did damage slightly the trunk lid and the back of the trunk. THe quarter panel is a bit more badly damaged.

$2,700 estimate includes
$924 parts and paint rest is labor

$3900 estimate
$1400 parts and paint rest is labor

The primary difference in the parts is the cheaper place said the quarter panel is available in sections, the other place bought the whole quarter panel, about a $300 dollar difference. Both places said their estimate was to fix it "perfectly" and it could be made next to perfect for less.
 
I know I'd much rather fix my own car than have it totalled out so I have to go drop that money on somebody else's (potential) problems. As long as the frame isn't bent, it sounds like your BMW should still be a good car for years to come.
 
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