My car totaled...can I make them fix?

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? INDIANA

My car was rear ended and the dealership contacted me to let me know that it would cost more to repair than to total it out. My question is with only 18 payments left til car was paid off and I would have a $5000-$6000 car to show for my investment can I make them fix my car instead of just clearing my balance owed and me losing the car? I mean come on I'd be much better off if they fixed it and I got to keep the car. Oh it was their fault 100% and their insurance is doing the claim. I'm suppose to hear from the insurance adjuster Monday but I'm nervous about what they can force me to accept. Please give me some advice.

they only owe you the value of the damages or the value of the car, whichever is less.

No, they can't be forced to pay repair costs if it is reasonably estimated to be above the value of the car. How much you currently owe on the car is not factored into the equation at all. It is based on the cars value and on the expected repair costs.

However most insurance companies will give you the option of buying back a totaled out car before scrapping it or otherwise getting rid of it. You can then repair it out of your own pocket if you wish to.

ih8idiots said:

No, they can't be forced to pay repair costs if it is reasonably estimated to be above the value of the car. How much you currently owe on the car is not factored into the equation at all. It is based on the cars value and on the expected repair costs.

However most insurance companies will give you the option of buying back a totaled out car before scrapping it or otherwise getting rid of it. You can then repair it out of your own pocket if you wish to.

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True, but to explain a bit further...the car would then have a salvage title. As such, the value is GREATLY decreased.

Zigner said:

True, but to explain a bit further...the car would then have a salvage title. As such, the value is GREATLY decreased.

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Yes, and I'm sure that there are other stipulations and issues that come along with doing that option. I'm not personally aware of all of them or even a small amount of them, why I chose to not give any information at all versus risking giving bad information. If op chooses to take that option obviously they would have to look into what's all involved prior to making their decision.

ih8idiots said:

Yes, and I'm sure that there are other stipulations and issues that come along with doing that option. I'm not personally aware of all of them or even a small amount of them, why I chose to not give any information at all versus risking giving bad information. If op chooses to take that option obviously they would have to look into what's all involved prior to making their decision.

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OP feels that he'd be much better off with a repaired car that he gets to keep. That is simply not true.

They are not legally obligated to, but depending on the difference in amount between the cost to repair and the value of the vehicle they MIGHT pay for repairing it. You would need to make a good argument to them based on your personal investment in the vehicle and its necessity to you.

This personally happened to me, where my parked car was hit from behind as a result of an accident involving two other cars. The damage to my car was $18k, the car was worth $14k. The insurance company paid to fix the car, although to be fair, part of the damage was interior damage as a result of conveyance from the accident scene (tow truck driver through my rear bumper into the interior through the broken rear window scraping up most of the leather and vinyl.)

davew128 said:

They are not legally obligated to, but depending on the difference in amount between the cost to repair and the value of the vehicle they MIGHT pay for repairing it. You would need to make a good argument to them based on your personal investment in the vehicle and its necessity to you.

This personally happened to me, where my parked car was hit from behind as a result of an accident involving two other cars. The damage to my car was $18k, the car was worth $14k. The insurance company paid to fix the car, although to be fair, part of the damage was interior damage as a result of conveyance from the accident scene (tow truck driver through my rear bumper into the interior through the broken rear window scraping up most of the leather and vinyl.)

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I suspect there were other circumstances at play...
If the car was worth 14k, you can get it replaced for 14k. The insurance company isn't going to pay 18k.

I actually have some experience in this area. My dad was an insurance agent for many years and I worked for him some when I was younger...and I listened well as I got older.

When the other party is at fault, sometimes you can ask for damages above and beyond the value of the car and succeed. The jargon is "making you whole". In other words, putting you back exactly where you were before their client caused you damage. However, you have to be willing to sue their client and willing to follow through if the insurance company will not cooperate. My brother did this a couple of year ago and the insurance company stalled hard, but then settled on the steps to the courthouse. He got what he needed to cover his costs and they paid his attorney to boot.

I once negotiated a deal where the insurance company provided me an amount of money equivalent to what it cost me to purchase the same make, model, year and similar mileage to the car that their client totaled...on the basis of "making me whole".

What the insurance company has to give you (if the other party is at fault) honestly depends on what a judge would order if it came before a judge. It is the policy of insurance companies to give you only the cost of the repair or the value of the car, whichever is lower, but unless you are dealing with your own insurance company, based on your contract with them, the other party is honestly obligated to "make you whole" and their insurance company is obligated to make that payout, if you are willing to push it to court.

As far as buying back the car is concerned....

If the insurance company is willing to give you say, 10k for the car, and the salvage value of the car, for the insurance company is 500.00, then most insurance companies will allow you to buy back the car for the salvage value, and therefore they give you only 9.5k instead, but you get to keep the car. However, this is usually only a good deal if you know you can find someone to repair it for less than the insurance company is willing to shell out, or at least enough to make it driveable, or unless its still driveable as is, even though its totaled. That kind of deal is also problematic if the car is not paid off.

We had monumentally serious hail in our area a couple of years ago and many people got hail damage payouts that allowed them to buy back cars for salvage value. However all of their cars were still driveable.

It almost never makes financial sense to keep a totalled car.

You are owed the fair market value of your vehicle in the condition it was in immediately prior to the accident, not a penny more. Depending how much you owe, they will pay your leinholder for whatever the balance on the loan is and the rest will go to you. You can use that money for a down payment for a similar vehicle and end up with a new loan for about the same amount that you owe now, OR you can buy a newer/nicer car and have a bigger loan, OR you can buy an older/not as nice car and have a smaller loan or no loan. Either way you will be financially in the same position you are in now.

Zigner said:

I suspect there were other circumstances at play...
If the car was worth 14k, you can get it replaced for 14k. The insurance company isn't going to pay 18k.

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Well they did....and although another party was at fault, the initial claim went through my own company. They paid the $18k less the $500 deductible. The responsible party only had $10k of property damage coverage (teenaged girl) and that amount was split between my company and the other person who's car she damaged. I did get my deductible back when the final subrogation was completed.

davew128 said:

Well they did....and although another party was at fault, the initial claim went through my own company. They paid the $18k less the $500 deductible. The responsible party only had $10k of property damage coverage (teenaged girl) and that amount was split between my company and the other person who's car she damaged. I did get my deductible back when the final subrogation was completed.

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As I suspected, YOUR situation was absolutely different than our OP's

Just to throw my 2 cents in... it CAN happen that insurance pays out more than the car is WORTH, it happened to me, but there were extenuating (sp?) circumstances. The adjuster called after the estimate was assessed and said that the truck was worth 14k and the cost of repairs was going to be 8k, so they "...were going to fix it up, and it should be ready by the end of the week." 10 days later, he calls back and says all the body work is complete....BUT while in the shop, it jumped time (& some other mechanical engine related stuff that may as well have been Russian to me), and they were going to have to replace the whole engine block and yadda yadda, ANOTHER 8k.

So, yeah, it CAN happen. But those cases are few and FAR between and if the original estimate is to total it out....

I haven't seen where anyone has asked, but OP--have you, or are you allowed to, have a different mechanic check out your ride? Like a second opinion? Most insurance companies (that I know of) will often support the suggestion of more than one estimate to determine the lowest possible out-of-pocket expense for them. I didn't check carefully your post, but did you say the SHOP told you it was totalled, or the ADJUSTER told you? If it was the adjuster, I'm sure the above has already been done, but it never hurts to ask...

And I agree with some of the other posters about having repairs if it truly IS totalled. A salvage title makes ur car worth pennies in a resale situation. But most importantly--if the frame is ruined, it can never be truly safely repaired. It might be driveable, but that doesn't mean you'd wanna drive it!

AND, next time you buy a car, please look into buying G.A.P. insurance if it is available to you. This will cover you in case something happens to your car, and the payout is less than you still owe on the loan. It may be called something else there, but it is very worth the money IMO.

armywife33 said:

AND, next time you buy a car, please look into buying G.A.P. insurance if it is available to you. This will cover you in case something happens to your car, and the payout is less than you still owe on the loan. It may be called something else there, but it is very worth the money IMO.

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Especially when purchasing a new vehicle as they depreciate quite a bit as soon as you drive it off the car lot after purchase. Used vehicles aren't quite as bad but it is definitely still a good idea to look into. When I purchased a new vehicle about 5 years ago it cost (approximately) an additional $450, it is included in your loan (at least with mine it was) so there is no need to come up with the money up front and it can potentially save you thousands of dollars paying for a vehicle that is totaled.