[roast]

I was in an accident (someone pulled out in front of me trying to make a left hand turn from a private drive). Luckily I was able to slow down enough so that neither of us were injured.

My insurance company is sending an appraiser to value the car, I've kept it in great shape and only put highway KM's on it... The repair bill is slightly over $4100 and the repair shop said it was on the line if they were going to fix it or write if off.

I told the repair shop that I want the car fixed, I've owned it since new and it's been a very reliable car.

2003 Ford Focus SE, 2.0L Zetec, 5 Speed
192,000KM
Oil sprayed yearly
Oil changed regularly
All maintenance done
Preventative maintenance as well
0 Rust
Clean interior, etc, etc

Autotrader.ca has cars around the same mileage between $5k - $3k, I don't think any of these cars are as well maintained as mine, how can I argue (if they buy me out) that my car is worth more then the offer they give me?

[ZX3_2NV]

Sorry about the accident but theres no arguing with the insurance companies. My 08 Jeep burned down within 8 months and even if you say your car is was in mint condition and blah blah the insurance company will go by the replacement cost if it has the lowest price tag. I say ask for the option to buy it back and fix her up. Where is the damage on your focus

[NikiterZTS]

Roast your car is toast.

I would want to be writen off. Even if they do fix it later in this life you will get $0 for this vehicles with the accident on it. Get rid of it now before you can still do so.

[roast]

ZX3_2NV,Feb 18 2010, 03:57 PM Wrote:Sorry about the accident but theres no arguing with the insurance companies. My 08 Jeep burned down within 8 months and even if you say your car is was in mint condition and blah blah the insurance company will go by the replacement cost if it has the lowest price tag. I say ask for the option to buy it back and fix her up. Where is the damage on your focus
[right][snapback]301644[/snapback][/right]

Front bumper/hood/headlight and rad support, driver side seatbelt and paint.

[ZX3_2NV]

buy it back fix it your self did the air bags blow? I have a rad seat belts and airbags and you can grab lights hood and bumper for cheap. But check if the frame is still straight before you think about keeping it.

[schade]

when my old focus was in an accident and written off, the insurance company went by the current price of other Focus' that were forsale with the same options as your car and the same about of miles ...
if you look through auto trader, buy n sell, kijiji and such to find out the prices, that will tell you what you are going to get and it also gives you leverage if they try to lowball you.

by doing this i managed to get an extra $1500 on top of there original offer

[roast]

NikiterZTS,Feb 18 2010, 04:05 PM Wrote:Roast your car is toast.

I would want to be writen off. Even if they do fix it later in this life you will get $0 for this vehicles with the accident on it. Get rid of it now before you can still do so.
[right][snapback]301645[/snapback][/right]

If I didn't buy the car brand new, I'd take the money and run.

Spending $24k w/tax, etc, and getting cut short really sucks. 7 years is a long time to own a car however I was planning on 10. The car's been maintained well with the hope that in 10 years it'd still be reliable (and it would be).

In 3 years the car's worth $500, if they buy me out, I'd need (3 [years] x $2400 + $500) = $7.7k to walk alway free and clear.

[roast]

schade,Feb 18 2010, 04:23 PM Wrote:when my old focus was in an accident and written off,  the insurance company went by the current price of other Focus' that were forsale with the same options as your car and the same about of miles ...
if you look through auto trader, buy n sell, kijiji and such to find out the prices, that will tell you what you are going to get and it also gives you leverage if they try to lowball you.

by doing this i managed to get an extra $1500 on top of there original offer
[right][snapback]301651[/snapback][/right]

Thanks! I'll find similar cars and present my argument..

[Frost__2001]

usually if the damages are over or close to the mid point of the value of the car they tend to write them off, if anything this is a good reason to buy a new car rather then used as you are making it more or less clear you'd rather own new for the long haul.

[Lowe9]

roast,Feb 18 2010, 03:31 PM Wrote:

NikiterZTS,Feb 18 2010, 04:05 PM Wrote:Roast your car is toast.

I would want to be writen off. Even if they do fix it later in this life you will get $0 for this vehicles with the accident on it. Get rid of it now before you can still do so.
[right][snapback]301645[/snapback][/right]

If I didn't buy the car brand new, I'd take the money and run.

Spending $24k w/tax, etc, and getting cut short really sucks. 7 years is a long time to own a car however I was planning on 10. The car's been maintained well with the hope that in 10 years it'd still be reliable (and it would be).

In 3 years the car's worth $500, if they buy me out, I'd need (3 [years] x $2400 + $500) = $7.7k to walk alway free and clear.
[right][snapback]301652[/snapback][/right]

But thats not how insurance works. They are only obligated to making you whole at the time of the accident, not paying you for future use of your now totalled automobile. While it sucks that you wanted to keep your car for 10 years, that doesn't concern the insurance company.

And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your car is totalled. Looking at Kijiji Ottawa just now, I only see 1 2000 focus going for 4k. Most are 2k-3k, and those all have less KM than yours. I would try holding out for 4k from insurance, but I doubt you will get that. They will probally offer you $2500 to start, and then you will need to haggle with them from there.

[GFXjamie]

his car is only a 2003. by my guess they will likely give around the 4-5k mark at best. odds are you will get 3-4k maybe more if you argue. good luck and let us know how it turns out.

[GFXjamie]

just checked auto trader, same kms, 2002 mode year and a 4 dr SE is priced at 5200, did a search and the prices you found earlier are spot on, 3k to 5.2k$

[ZTWsquared]

roast,Feb 18 2010, 04:33 PM Wrote:Thanks! I'll find similar cars and present my argument..
[right][snapback]301655[/snapback][/right]

I've never tried this website (heard about it after they wrote off my wagon) ... BTW - you might want to ask your insurance company how much it costs for replacement value insurance ... it costs my something like 86 bucks a year and it has proven invaluable.

Help! They Wrote Off My Car!

[roast]

I'll find out what's going on tomorrow.

I think they'll offer me a buyout, as most of you suspect.

[NikiterZTS]

I heard that "buyouts" are no more.....
my buddy wrote off his wrx not too long ago and they said he couldn't buy it out since some kind of a new law......it sucked so bad cause of all the parts he had on it......i wanted his sti tranny
:(

[Jmountney1]

no buy outs.... thats bad ... i dont even wana say it but if i ever wreck my svt i figured id make a svt sedan. but this changes every thing. :( :(

[NefCanuck]

I think the "no buy out" thing is to stop people from buying vehicles that have been heavily damaged, then repairing them and then flipping them to other jurisdictions. At that point they can "clean" the title and remove the "accident" branding or pull even worse shenanigans with the wrecked vehicle's VIN.

NefCanuck

[Jmountney1]

so what happens to the car?

buddy at scrap yard gets it :(

[roast]

I'm hoping because it's only "cosmetic" damage that the insurance company will let me buy back the car.

Someone told me it's approx. 10% of the write-off value. I've been calling wrecking yards and I'm certain I can source a hood/bumperghts for very cheap.

Has anyone replaced a rad support?

[Burnin21]

Ya I have. They are easy and fairly cheap I know ZTWsquared (Ken) hooked me up :)