[Flat6Brick]

Other than my Outback, my wife drives/drove a 2015 Chevy Traverse LTZ. We really liked this vehicle until my wife and kids got t-boned by a woman who ran a red light going 40mph. Thank the Lord that my wife and 3 kids were safe.

Anyhow, it looks like they might total out our Traverse. It only had 20k miles on it, and was paid off. We are now having to drive a rental mini van which is HORRENDOUS. It's a Dodge Caravan and is not something my wife likes. She thought getting a mini-van would be good, but as the average guy review says, "I just HATE mini-vans!"

We have no idea if they'll give us the value of Traverse that was totaled ($26k) or the value of the car new ($47k).

My question is what is a spacious 3rd row SUV for a young family? The Highlander doesn't have the room of the Traverse. The 2018 Traverse looks appealing with it's new redesign, more room, and better tranny.

I was thinking of a used Toyota Sequoia or Suburban, but am not sure if the wife would be comfortable with it's large size.

Ascent won't be out sooner, or we would consider it.

Thanks!

 

[idosubaru]

got t-boned by a woman who ran a red light going 40mph....
We have no idea if they'll give us the value of Traverse that was totaled ($26k) or the value of the car new ($47k).

They will essentially give you whatever you are capable of negotiating. They're a business and their profits and losses are driven by cash. They want out of this as quickly and inexpensively as possible but to a corporation this can mean reasonable offers or not depending on their business model and assessment of the situation.

If the accident wasn't your fault then you can easily negotiate and get a fair price for your replacement vehicle.

you can have totaled cars completely rebuilt or ask for a huge check and keep the car....you name it. i've seen and done it myself and never needed a lawyer yet and hope to keep it that way. no big deal. the thing is - a state law was broken - they are culpable and liable. this is really easy and simple. just ask and see where it goes - you absolutely do not have to take whatever they offer you. in my experience it's always been a casual conversation and really simple. they've responded really well, conversationally and we worked it out like people. maybe some day i'll get some hardballer, but i doubt it and it doesn't matter anyway because they can't 'win' so it's easy no matter what.

as to replacement:

Buy the least desirable one so you can get the Ascent as soon as it's available.

Honda Pilot? I'd never even think of a Traverse over Pilot.

 

[eagleeye]

glad your family is OK.
finding the sweet spot for mpg is a real trick with 3 kids inside.




you can get something good enough as a temp fix too,....such things do not have to be permanent. maybe trade it for a Ascent if you like it better in a year.

what to look at:

Tahoes/ Yukons,= same as a subaruban but without 40" of room from 3rd row to the tailgate.
suburban hatch space= much room is typically not needed daily driver (that is like 7 passengers and their luggage going to the airport for a week ).
. subarubans with their LONG body have long wheel bases which make them a pig to park, and turn around on small driveways,...= push the 4wd button as the grass gets soft, and the titanic sinks fast.. (like push that 4wd button before you hit the grass)

another Traverse variant (...the butched up minivan).

_________

what I would think they will give you for the wreck: the price of the vehicle you had if you bought it used, including taxes.

I lost a 40,000 mile 2000 subaru wagon in a wreck in 2002. it was worth 24,000 new with zero miles on it, and my insurance company gave me $20,000 for it. .=.about what I would pay for it, including taxes and fees as a 2 year old used subaru with that many miles on a subaru lot.

my carrier was a local carrier in my state, that is known to be good for payouts in my state,
...and not Geico/progressive advertising machines that want to nickel and dime their own customers to the point they get sued all the time for increased payouts.

 

[Flat6Brick]

Wow, so get this! The entire motor needs replacement along with the $12k of damage that was already there. They are taking it to the dealership where we initially bought our Traverse to put either a A.) new or B.) reconditioned motor in it. Why the heck are they doing all this work and putting money into not only replacing the entire car (seems like it), and paying the dealership AND the body shop?

I can see where they assumed there was no motor damage after they initially repaired it, but this is getting ridiculous! I wish they'd just total out the car and give us the cash. Now we'll have a salvaged title (I'm assuming since $12k + new aluminum motor will cost almost the value of the entire car.)

Any advice?

We have Geico, by the way.

 

[eagleeye]

Wow, so get this! The entire motor needs replacement along with the $12k of damage that was already there. They are taking it to the dealership where we initially bought our Traverse to put either a A.) new or B.) reconditioned motor in it. Why the heck are they doing all this work and putting money into not only replacing the entire car (seems like it), and paying the dealership AND the body shop?

I can see where they assumed there was no motor damage after they initially repaired it, but this is getting ridiculous! I wish they'd just total out the car and give us the cash. Now we'll have a salvaged title (I'm assuming since $12k + new aluminum motor will cost almost the value of the entire car.)

Any advice?

We have Geico, by the way.

getting a newer expensive vehicle to "total out" at more then 75% damage is hard.


the insurance industry has a term for what the cost is of going from clean title to rebuilt from salvage. (I forget what it is).


and in theory they should cover that. but Gieco is not that great of a company. ...its a ad agency that does insurance on the side.

if you are making payments, does its value as a rebuilt title put it under what you owe on it. = "underwater' ?

talk to a attorney. maybe you need someone to twist those companies involved for more money.

someday try Amica, Liberty Mutual, as a comparison.

 

[Flat6Brick]

getting a newer expensive vehicle to "total out" at more then 75% damage is hard.


the insurance industry has a term for what the cost is of going from clean title to rebuilt from salvage. (I forget what it is).

and in theory they should cover that. but Gieco is not that great of a company. ...its a ad agency that does insurance on the side.

if you are making payments, does its value as a rebuilt title put it under what you owe on it. = "underwater' ?

someday try Amica, Liberty Mutual, as a comparison.

The car is paid off in full, so luckily we don't have to worry about car payments to a bank. I just got off the phone with the body shop and total costs with the new (used) engine with 11k miles, and the grand total will be $19k. So my car is worth about $25, and 75% of the value would be 18.5k. Not sure why they are going to just put the newer motor and give it back to us, but we'll see.

If this is the case, I will definitely hit them hard when we ask for diminished value claim. The car won't be worth much after such substantial damage.

 

[Tishers]

You can bet that it will run higher than $19K. For that extensive of damage there are other things that they will find once they start to pull things apart.

 

[Danver]

Wow, so get this! The entire motor needs replacement along with the $12k of damage that was already there. They are taking it to the dealership where we initially bought our Traverse to put either a A.) new or B.) reconditioned motor in it. Why the heck are they doing all this work and putting money into not only replacing the entire car (seems like it), and paying the dealership AND the body shop?

I can see where they assumed there was no motor damage after they initially repaired it, but this is getting ridiculous! I wish they'd just total out the car and give us the cash. Now we'll have a salvaged title (I'm assuming since $12k + new aluminum motor will cost almost the value of the entire car.)

Any advice?

We have Geico, by the way.

There is no reason that you would end up with a salvage title, even if the repairs cost more than the car is worth. However, as you mention in another post you should definitely pursue a diminished value claim. The success of that may depend on the laws of the state you live in. You could possibly come out pretty good if you can get a settlement on the diminished value as long as the repairs are satisfactory. If you get rid of it soon after the repairs the value will be hurt significantly, but if you keep it for quite a while the impact will be smaller since it is continually depreciating anyway as it gets older and more miles.

Let them fix it and get what you can from a diminished value claim and then keep it at least until the Ascent comes out, if not even longer.

 

[eagleeye]

The car is paid off in full, so luckily we don't have to worry about car payments to a bank. I just got off the phone with the body shop and total costs with the new (used) engine with 11k miles, and the grand total will be $19k. So my car is worth about $25, and 75% of the value would be 18.5k. Not sure why they are going to just put the newer motor and give it back to us, but we'll see.

If this is the case, I will definitely hit them hard when we ask for diminished value claim. The car won't be worth much after such substantial damage.

get that $19,000 vs. the $25000 in value in writing,

and then ask Gieco to take the thing off your hands.

 

[Danver]

Hard to say why insurance companies do what they do. But that 75% number is at least partially determined by what the salvage value of the vehicle would be if they scrap it. Being that the engine is no good the salvage value is going to be significantly lower than normal. That may be why they are okay with going a little higher on the repairs.

 

[idosubaru]

Wow, so get this! The entire motor needs replacement along with the $12k of damage that was already there. They are taking it to the dealership where we initially bought our Traverse to put either a A.) new or B.) reconditioned motor in it. Why the heck are they doing all this work and putting money into not only replacing the entire car (seems like it), and paying the dealership AND the body shop?

I wish they'd just total out the car and give us the cash.

That repair story sounds nutbag.

This is really easy.

The accident wasn't your fault. If you want the car totaled, or don't want it back - you can get that. I've seen adjusters inflate or reduce estimates/assessments at the prompting of the claimant - this is not rare or hard to navigate. You can't just expect them to be your servant but if you know the system this isn't a big deal.

They would much rather settle fairly than you get a lawyer and sue them for $25,000 above the value of the car.

1. Discuss and ask nicely. Tell them you have no desire for this compromised car back in your possession and you don't want this to be difficult or challenging since none of it was your fault. Taking hours of time for something that wasn't your fault doesn't work out in anyone's book.

2. If they balk - start politely dropping hints "I'd really rather settle this fairly person to person and not get third party involvement, isn't there a way to move forward without me getting help?"

3. Eventually you get to the point where actually mentioning a lawyer or just getting a lawyer involved moves things really fast.

The easy way is to just let a good lawyer handle it but i've so far been able to avoid them and hope to forever if possible.

 

[Danver]

Thinking about it this would have been a vehicle I would have been interested in buying wrecked when I was working in a body shop, depending on what the damage actually looks like. Going with the vehicle being worth 26K, let the owner keep the 19K insurance money and then buy it from the owner for 7K. I would be into the wrecked vehicle for 7K. Title would still be clean because it is just being purchased from the owner and the insurance company didn't total it out. Transfer the title and only pay the sales tax on the 7K. Then without having to pay shop labor rates, using either used parts and getting new parts at cost, that 19K worth of repairs quickly drops. Maybe even find a replacement engine a little cheaper and get the costs down to 10K or less and be into the 26K vehicle for 16K or so. Drive it for a couple of years and sell it and buy another one.