Value of Totaled Car

[KF6LVR]

What is the name of your state? LA Not Sure about Jurisdiction but I think it is TX. States Involved, CA, TX, LA.

The car is registered in CA and owned by my parents. I live in Louisiana. The accident happened in Texas an I was the driver. The police report indicates, by the issuance of citations, that the other driver was at fault. Car was taken to a body shop for estimates and they say the car sustained damage of ~ $3000.

My insurance company also determined that the accident was NOT my fault but I figured I'd let the other insurance company go through all of the hassle.

The other persons insurance company says it is a total loss and wants to pay me for my car. They value the car in CA, as that was where it was registered. They value the car for $4212.39 but they say I had previous damage to the car totalling $1629.47. They are offering to pay me $2582.92 for the car.

The "previous" damage was to the right front fender, which would cost about $300 to replace. I figure about another $3-400 for labor and painting but I think they are bending me over on the amount of previous damage so they can get away with paying less. I believe that I should be receiving more for my car than the ~$2600 offered by the other insurance company.

I'm going to contact my insurance company to see if they can get me more but what other options do I have? Do I have to settle with this insurance company? Do I have to settle right away or can I complete this later? I think Statute of Limitations is 1 year in Texas, but what does that mean I can do?

Basically, I'm wanting about $3200 for my car because that is what I think it is worth. What can I do to get the extra money? Can I just force the insurance company to fix my car to how it was before the accident?

I assume that I can take my car to another place and get estimates, but does that have any effect on the amount offered by their insurance company? The autobody place is one that the insurance company recommended and I think they did it so they can rip me off on the final value. BTW, the insurance company is State Farm and my insurance is Triple A.

Low quality animation of my accident. I am the red car.
http://www.datesteven.com/gallery/accident/Movie1.swf

Pictures of the damage that they say is totalling my car
http://www.datesteven.com/gallery/accident

And no laughing at my webpage. All advice taken with a grain of salt.

 

[stephenk]

Is the $3200 value you place on the car include the pre-existing damage? If yes, on what basis did you come up with $3200?

 

[KF6LVR]

My basis for the 3200 is the original 4200 valuation, less my guess on what it would take to fix the front end. It basically consists of replacing the fender, $200, and then the labor to install it and paint it at about $40 per hour. I figure that it should take no more than 15-20 hours to do all of that, so roughly $600-$800 plus whatever tax.

So on the high end, I figure it should be $1000 for the previous damage. Not $1600. I haven't had a chance to get another estimate but that is what I am doing today. This one body shop, theirs, has had the car the whole time.