Texas drunk driver

[momg1126]

What is the name of your state? Texas--My daughter was recently driving on I35 in the left hand lane. A drunk driver merged onto the interstate and hit the car in the middle lane which then hit our vehicle. Our car (1997 Dodge Ram Conversion Van) has been estimated to be worth @$2900 and the damages- all cosmetic to the passenger side - come to roughly $4000, therefore our van was deemed totaled. The insurance company of the drunk driver has accepted responsibility and has agreed to pay us $2300 because we would like to keep this van (we use it to tow and obviously cannot replace it for this amount.) HOWEVER, we were informed tonight that if we take this offer we MUST repair the vehicle completely and pay the difference ourselves, and we will STILL have a salvage title. We were also told that we have approximately 2 weeks to relinquish our registration to the state of Texas. There was a police car that was behind the three vehicles involved and his camera was on, the drunk driver was ticketed and arrested. It does not seem right that we are the victims of an accident that was clearly not our daughter's fault, especially someone drunk, and that not only will we have to pay @$2000 out of pocket, but also will lose a good title on this van. All the damage is cosmetic, my daughter thankfully was not injured beyond some stiffness and aches. Do we have any recourse? What if I were to locate a body shop that can fix the damages for $2500-could I then ask that the van not be deemed totaled? I do not have as much of a problem with the salvage title as I do with being made to fix the damages in full and that we will have to pay for a large chunk of it. Thanks.

 

[alnorth]

Lets get back to what you want here - a usable van in roughly the same condition, age, make, model, etc that you had before the accident. I assume the insurance company will pay you more if you accept the total and let them have the wrecked van.

It is almost never a good idea to refuse a total, because then the insurance company will need to reduce your payment by the salvage they would have gotten back, and you may have to spend the difference to repair the van, depending on local laws and policy. (You cant just pocket the money and drive the damaged car)

They are paying you the value (less deductible) of a used van with the same year/make/model as you had. Look around in your area, can you buy another van with the same year/make/model, or very similar used vehicle? If you can, you may want to just buy a used van with the insurance money plus deductible and be done with it. If you cant buy that kind of car with the money plus deductible, then you need to argue that they arent offering you enough, and present some proof that they should pay more.