you defnitely want it totaled

 

ML - let me know where you ended up taking your car? I have a very recent similar experience here in Toronto that I hope to be able to steer you clear of a couple land mines. PM me if you want or better yet e-mail me.

 

Very sorry to hear about your accident but glad that you are OK.

Not to sound too cynical, but do you think a body shop would not want an excessive repair list where the cost would surpass the totaled value and thus lose the "job" completely?

 

I too am happy you are all ok! I am sorry but have to agree I doubt they will total your car. Good luck with the insurance and make them get you a car that is like yours as a rental, ie do not take the ____ cheap car.

 

You didn't hear this from me but, here's little bedtime story for you.

Many, many years ago when I was a youngun', someone I know owned a Porsche Turbo. His buddy was driving it, got on the boost a little hard in a corner, and wrapped it around a telephone pole. Luckily, they walked away without a scratch.

The car however was messed up bad - bent frame, etc. It was taken to the most highly respected body guy in the area for an estimate. He argued and argued with the adjuster over the phone, said there was no way any shop on earth could make the car "right" again, and that it was a waste of time to do anything but part it out. In the end, the car came up $900 short of being totalled, according to the adjuster.

So the owner is standing in the body shop with the body guy, who was a bit of a good ol' boy. At one point body guy looks over and says "You know, that rear window glass costs $1,000 to replace, too bad it ain't broken". He then walked over to his tool chest, handed the owner a hammer, and said "I'm goin' to lunch now, have a nice day."

And yes, the story did have a happy ending.

 

I would make damn sure you get diminished value if they try and fix it. There is no argument that your car is worth far less now than it was pre accident.

 

Beautiful story!!!!!!! Is it true?

 

Yes.

 

I was the good ol boy..with the toolbox!

But your right....what is the point if the difference is 900 bucks....i is totalled.

But ML's P doesnt' look totalled..and the value of the car is much more than 28K canadian.

Make sure they repair it well!!! glad you drove a german car....it saved your life!

 

Push the darn insurance company hard. I am in the middle of a battle of Diminished value claim(s) on my wife's BMW. Other party was at fault so we are going against them as a 3rd party. We just got the car back after nearly 2 months of repairs. It's a 2004 BMW 325 CIc worth about 31k retail that had rear frame rails replaced , had to be put on a straightener and had about 3 dozen new parts applied, plus tons of body work. $9500k in repairs and bound to grow slightly as I work the final kinks out.

I just had an independent Diminished value appraisal done. They came back with an estimation of 35% (expected loss on sale) which they state is standard on a higher end car with frame related damage. Not sure we will actually get it but there is plenty of precedence. In your case, that 35% retail plus the repairs could easily surpass the 50% valuation which can trigger a total loss (depending, of course, on ins. company).

Push them on every angle, and as stated, find a worthy repair shop and demand all OEM parts to ensure repair estimates are maximized. (the ins. co. will try to get you to accept refurb and recycled crap parts and body panels and even tell you they won't warrant OEM but will warrant the cheaper crap - what a racket)

RB

 

"Anyone has suggestions on how I ensure that my car is considered a total loss?"

Light it on fire.