Tom R.

I figured i would start a new thread with this and let the other die.

Geico offered me 10k saying that is fair market value. i said it is too low.

now the excerpt from the law.

"the insurer shall pay... the cost of a substantially similar vehicle..."
sounds a lot like replacement cost to me!

is my car with 74k substantially similar to a car with 100k?
is my car with new konis substantially similar to a car with 100k and original boges?

how bout rims, cam tensioner, new vs original clutch.

i want the 10k plus the cost of konis & ball joints, cam tensioner, rims (they can have the d90s), and seats, and new belts & water pump since the "substantially simalar" cars had the job done two years ago. that puts me way above 14k.

stay tuned.

BTW, my adjuster said there is a mileage adjustment, she just didnt know how many cents per mile. and this is her full time job!!!

Scootin159

hmm...I know when I was having the total vs. repair debate with my insurance company (Nationwide) one of the things that came up was the value of the vehicle.

At first they said it was worth $2000, thus making it totaled as the repairs (i.e. new fender & front spoiler) enough to warrant it being totaled. I told them that it was rediculous that two body panels (and it was only the two panels, no underlaying damage) warrented the death of the car.

I ended up having to talk to the supervisor, then the supervisor and then the supervisor's supervisor. I think I ended up talking with the guy who is like in charge of all of New York State or something like that. Anyways me & him went & looked through several cars on ebay and autotrader. He also had pictures of my car from about 2 weeks prior. After all of this we decided that replacement (and the required repair of almost any car out there to get it to the same level) was going to be somewhere from $6 to $10k.

This was for an N/A with 102k, original clutch, original (!!!) timing belt/waterpump (well it had 60k on it due to a previous engine swap), faded paint and the usual wear & tear.

Good news was in the end I got them to pay for a fiberwerks front end, new OEM fender, repaint of whole car ($100 extra) and a 4 wheel alignment. The bad news was it took almost 4 months from the time of the incident until I had my car back.

Tom R.

i think they used an NA value instead of an S2 value. i wouldn't be surprised if they did that, because when my legend coupe was stolen they told me a legend sedan (which is a completely different car, wheelbase, length, height, etc) was a substantially similar car!

if they did that, my battle is much easier than i think.

OriginalSterm

I got a feeling the insurance company is kind of like a car dealership. When you go to sell them your car with a new stereo system, they could care less. The only thing they are buying is that "generic" car. For example, they are looking at a Porsche 944 S2. They could care less what has been done to it. The 2 main factors they look at are condition and mileage, not the extensive work and maintanance that has been done. I agree, no way could you buy a comparable S2 for $10k. Hopefully you can straighten them out.

Tom R.

dont use the word comparable. use the correct term of art "substantially similar"

i have to pull out my blacks law dictionary and quote substantial, and similar!

UDPride

Tom,

Do what I did. If they wont budge at the $10,000 figure for the car, tell them you then prefer a replacement vehicle in the exact same vintage with the exact same mileage in the exact same condition with the exact same options because after all they were insuring the car, not just a dollar figure out of thin air. They are insuring your car for replacement value according to them. They feel for $10,000 you can find a qualified replacement of your exact vehicle. You believe you cannot. So tell them fine, just find me the car and we'll call it even. Obviously for $10,000 THEY SHOULD be able to find one right because thats THEIR number.

They will squirm though. I used this tactic against Progressive and they finally backed down and heeded to my demands.

The insurance company is obligated to insure your vehicle and reimburse you for the replacement cost for a similar vehicle. If you cannot come to a head on dollar figure, you already agree on the type of car you had. Instead just tell them to forget cash and replace the car since they are so certain there are plenty floating around for their dollar figure that you could replace it with. Id' call their bluff and tell them fine, if you are so certain, then bring the mountain to Mohammed and we'll see if you are blowing smoke or not. And if they refuse, I would tell them thats a clear indication that their dollar figure is artificially low.

Once you start getting nasty with them and call their bluffs, they will back down. I hate insurance people. I hate lawyers too, but in the end you may need one if nobody wants to solve the issue on the insurance companys end. Usually a memo on attorney letterhead is sufficient enough to solve these things and scares the insurance people into not tying up vast resources, time, and money into fighting over what amounts to peanuts for them in the grand scheme of things.

Tom R.

dont hate me because i am a lawyer!!

i did the replacement thing with them on the acura and got my value.

i am giving them ads for replacement vehicles along with quotes to ship the car here, and ppi's in the appraisal package i am preparing.l

OriginalSterm

UD, I didn't know you were one of THEM. Damn lefties and their equal rights push. Next thing you know, you people will want your own notebooks for righting and special scissors. Go back to where you came from!!!!





Sorry Tom, I agree though. Make them find you a replacement for your car. You'll easily see a couple grand more when nothing turns up.

Tom R.

damn tree hugging hippies. screeew you guys, iiiim goooing hooome!

isnt it great what a little knowledge can do. knowledge is power!

kinda makes yesterdays post obsolete now that we know what fair market value means in this context.

geico never used the term substantially similar. the people i spoke with said they get the values of similar cars and base their number on that. notice how the word substantially changes everything.

From my black's law dictionary
Substantial: of real worth and importance; of considerable value; valuable. belinging to substance; actually existing; real; not seeming or imaginary; not illusive; solid; true; veritable. something worthwhile as distinguished from something whithout value or merely nominal. synonymous with material.

think fishey will still say the work i did is not substantial?

Sasha

Tom,
I am no lawer, but unless you insured the car with all the aftermarket stuff on it, (which the insurance agent usually takes pictures of) why would they pay for all that? I think, that everytime you increase your car's value (substantially, i.e. new wheel for example) you should talk to your insurance agent to re-adjust the coverage.
I have also heard that on a used car market a highly modified car usually has lesser value than a stock, siting questionable safety, performance and quolitiy of work performed...

I do wish you get your problem solved. Good Luck.

Thanks.

Tom R.

Sasha,
everything on the car is porsche oem, or porsche option. the seats are 928, wheels boxster, shocks koni like what porsche offered, motor rebuilt to factory spec.

replaced scratched rims with new rims, old shocks with new, etc.

modified cars usually do have a lower value. but it also depends on the modifications. suspension mods dont affect the value as much as motor or paint mods because they are usually bolt on.

Blueman33

I once had a car totalled. The pay off was low. They allowed me to take some mods off before towing it away. So I got my stereo, speakers, and perelli tires (i had to replace the tires, so i bought $4/ea used tires at a tire junk yard)

Just a thought. See if you can pop off the koni's and put on the old OEM, etc. as long as the car HAS a shock, they shouldn't care.

I did it, but they weren't real thrilled.

my 2 cent

Fishey

His car was stolen.......
Most likely by some assclown. Keep an eye out for a red s2...
BTW what was the VIN?
Just so if I find the car in bad condition I will simply steal if from the people who stole it from you. If found in good condition I will notify you...

Fishey

Hey Tom...

JDM parts (altho clearly OEM honda) are considered aftermarket.. Just food for thought..

IceShark

Blueman, Tom has this slight problem ..... the car was stolen and he has no clue where it is! Sort of hard for him to pull off upgrades or have the adjuster come out and see how nice it was a few weeks ago.