How to Fight Auto Insurance

On Sunday evening my 1974 Nova 350 cubic inch 3 speed automatic was struck by a ford focus while sitting on the street. I was not in the vehicle rather on my way home from a double at work. I had pulled up wondering why people were standing around my car and then my cousin who was at my house told me my car was hit. Cops came all police files were reported and so on. The damage is to the driver side rear quarter panel and it is deep enough to scratch the exhaust with the body but not bent in enough to hit the frame. A person came out to value my car and claimed it was a total loss. To repair the car they said it would cost 1500 dollars. They also said the base value of my car is 681 dollars which I was in complete shock over. I know with all the extras I put in and all the work I have done to the vehicle (headers, intake manifold, carburetor, installed electronic ignition, oil changes, radiator flushes, new polyurethane bushings for upper and lower control arms for both sides of the vehicle along with new outer tie rods and sway bars stabilizers along with new front springs and new front and back shocks. How do I fight with the insurance people to up the ante on how much my car was worth? Plus how much if fully restored would a salvage title effect the selling price of the vehicle?  

I worked for a bodyshop for a long time. I just retired amost 2 years ago. here What I can tell you. Insurance companies use a black book on what your car is really worth. they say $681, well add 25 percent onto that for there markdown and another 50 percent for the blue book to black book markdown. Thats what your car is really worth by blue book standard. So really your car is worth $1276.88 give or take. sounds a little better. Now I'm guessing you didn't have custom car covrage. If you do then evey thing that you have done except part and body should be coverd. Paint and body work has got to be documented... if you don't have custom car insurance then everything you put on needs to be documented with a shop that did it or a receit and photo with it installed. That might help.

Also get a copy of yours and the other persons insurance and read through to see what it says. you might want to consult with a eturnie to see wha tyour leagel rights are. You might be able to get money from the other guy to make up the diff.

If you don't want to go through all that then a take settlement from the insurance company and fix it your self and go after the guy that hit your car.

Make sure you have the proper insurance on your car for the future.

good luck with this one. let us know how it turns out. sorry about the luck.

P.S. you can get a personal appraser to tell how much you car was worth before it was wreched as well. get that documented as well.

AND DON'T SIGN A THING UNTILL YOUR HAPPY WITH IT.  

i have always wondered about this subject...

i would think ...  that is it not the insurance company's right to just buy you out..   he had insurance.. to cover damage to other peoples cars...    to get them fixed...  not for the insurance company to just buy them up as it is cheeper for them to do so than to fix the persons property...

if he ran into your house...       would the insurance company offer you 8 thousand bucks for your house as it is old ... and was built 40 years ago...  then give you a check and tow it away... leaving you without ....


property is property...    they have been getting away with this for decades... nobody has spoken up....

be sure to print this and show it to a lawyer... " your lawyer"...


can you get estimates on repairing and repainting the damaged area????   they do cost...

i think that all the parts like quarter panels are available new now a days...   be sure to take several current parts catalogs with you to the body shops for the estimates...

the cheepest way out for them will be the cost to repair the damage... back to what it was...

be sure to clean out the car.. wash it... if its dirty.. trash inside ... the trunk filled with excess stuff... you will get less help if your car looks like a homeless lives in it...  i call it urban camouflage...


there is one of the body parts suppliers who have a shop on the east coast that does quarter panel replacements along with floor and trunk pan...  they have a flat rate price sheet depending on which parts get replaced...  and their price is after you have stripped the car of many items... just a shell with suspension is what they want to work with...   on a nova... that would take a day or two to do at home with basic tools..  

well i dont know much about these issues. i always get help from a web which gives me better solutions for all my problems so i hope it will work for u also
http://autoinsuranceonlineinfo.com/