New (used) Van totalled 48 hours later

[Hank]

Well, Michelle and I finelly were able to get a 2001 Oldsmobile Silhouette van. It was in perfect condition and the van of our dreams.

Then some jerk slams his brakes on in front of me while I was answering a question from my son in the back and we slammed into him.

We had our dream van for 48 hours and now it is totalled

We did not buy the gap insurance. Paid $12,000 for the van, and will find out how much the insurance is going to pay on Monday. Edmunds.com blue book value is around $7500 I think.

I went from being the best weekend to the worst weekend in a matter of 2 seconds.

Has anyone had experience with totalling a vehicle - If so how did you haggle it out and what was the experience? I need all the advise I can get..

 

[Harrybaby666]

I am so sorry Hank...

I am so sorry Hank...

I don't know too much about this, but I just wanted to say I hope everyone is OK and not hurt. I was blinded by the sun and rear ended a truck in front of me with my brother's car back in 1999 and as I recall, the remainder of the loan still had to be paid after the insurance paid. If you paid cash for the van, you will have lost the difference between the book value (or what the insurance paid) and the 12000.00 that you paid for the van. I hope this helps. Harrybaby

 

[LUVMyBirman]

Hi Hank,

Gosh, I am so sorry to hear it. I hope you all are physcially ok. Did the air bag pop out on you? This is a fear I have always had. Being on the Coumadin and all.

Give my best to the family and take care.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Then some jerk slams his brakes on in front of me while I was answering a question from my son in the back and we slammed into him.

Yeah, if that "jerk" hadn't have been on the road while you were not paying attention to traffic conditions everything would have been OK.

He probably noticed that you weren't watching and deliberately slammed on his brakes just to 'get you'.

 

[Yaps]

Last year my daughters brand new van (12500?I think) as they were leaving the hospital (one of my stents,visiting me), a young lady in a jeep ran a stop sign and broadsided my daughter, van was 200 <> from totaled, it took her 3 months wrangling tween 2 ins cos, but she finally got it done.But in this case, it was the OD 's fault. What was on the accident report Hank? If its you as Car # 1 , then they say its you who are at fault. But comprehesion insurance should still cover ,if blue book states an amount you do have to pay the difference.But isnt there a way you can prove it more valuable than bb? Any extras you can add into the value?Some have dvd's for example? Wish you luck, and am so sorry to hear this happened.Love yaps

 

[Karlynn]

Hank, so sorry to hear of your accident. What do you mean by Gap Insurance? I know that our auto insurance covers newly (whether new or used) purchased vehicles for X amount of time (certainly for 48 hours) and I don't believe we have anything specific stating that, and I know it wasn't an addition.

 

[hensylee]

If your insurance won't cover your costs (and they will try to get out of paying the full cost), haggle with them and if all else fails, one visit to an attorney will tell you what your rights are. They need to pay.

o/w you'll probably lose if you don't fight for your rights. My bro refused our advice (sister and me), wouldn't go to a lawyer - and lost.

 

[Ross]

When I got Steve the loan for his car, the bank more or less made us take insurance for the value of the loan, so that if anything happened, we had that loan paid off at 100%. They wouldn't give us the loan otherwise. I'm sure you've looked at all angles when financing, so I'm sure this doesn't help one bit.

I think Karlynn is right though, 48 hours--they should pay 100% but you may have to get medievel about it.

 

[Glenda]

Hank, sorry to hear about your van but I'm so thankful that none of you was hurt. Can't help you with your questions.

 

[Georgia]

Hank, I'm so sorry to hear this - I trust you and Michelle and kids are OK? Which of course in the long run is the ONLY important thing. However, as far as value of the van - Arizona has a law that specifically precludes insurance companies from using blue book values for valuating vehicles - the companies MUST look at the local market values (get at least two estimates for what that car would retail for) for replacement costs. The company I used to work for got tagged for nearly a million dollars for using blue book values. Arizona is the only state in the US where this requirement applies as far as I know. So don't get too upset about the blue book value; the law in AZ is because certain vehicles are more valuable in certain areas than others (for instance, pick-ups sell for more used in rural areas than in metropolitan areas).

Good luck - you have a lot of wiggle room in AZ that the rest of us wouldn't have.

 

[epstns]

Georgia - Arizona may be the only state with a law precluding the use of blue-book (wholesale) values, but I am sure that some insurance companies have also stayed away from the practice. I haven't lost a car due to accident, but I have had theft claims settled, and they were settled for actual replacement value of the car. If I had paid more for my specific car than the local market would support, I would have had a loss. Having paid a reasonably market-valued price, I did fine.

Hank -- Do all you can to apply pressure if your insurance company tries the blue-book value approach. As a last resort, if they do that, ask them to replace the van for you. After all, you are supposed to be able to come out "whole" in this sort of transaction.

May luck be with you.

 

[Georgia]

Steve, insurers will try to pay as little as possible - most places that means either blue book, local market value, etc, "whichever is least". AZ doesn't allow that - it's an extremely consumer-oriented state for insurance (unlike IL which is owned by State Farm, Nationwide and Allstate!!!!).

Hank, IF your company doesn't get local quotes for the replacement of the van, call the insurance department - they'll straighten them out pronto.

 

[gadgetman]

Hank,

See if Jim (jayaresq) will take your case. Based on his track record y'all would probably get two brand new vans as replacements .

Sorry to hear y'all are having to experience this. From your post, I assume no one was hurt. Good luck on dealing with the insurance company. Based on our experiences, you will have to turn aggressive to get what you deserve.

Good Luck and,

May God Bless,

Danny

 

[hensylee]

Hank, when this is all over, please give us a rundown on how it all went so we'll have it for future use - if any of us ever needs it.

 

[warrenr]

Gap

Gap

Unfortunately the amount you pay for a vehicle has nothing to do with how much your insurance company is going to pay. For those of you that finance your vehicles and don't put 15%-20% down it is essential that you purchase GAP protection. GAP will pay the difference between what your insurance pays and the payoff to the bank or lending institution. GAP normally runs between $200 and $300 for the entire term of the auto loan.

 

[Lisa in Katy]

Hank, hope everyone is okay. I know that this must be a very sad day for you and Michelle to have had your dreams literally smashed, but remember that people are always more important that cars.

Someone stated that gap insurance is usually associated with leased vehicles, not purchased vehicles. In Texas, at least, we found that it is the opposite when we leased our Durango. Leased vehicles are automatically covered for the payoff because it protects the finance company, who actually owns the vehicle, so gap insurance is not necessary. Once the vehicle is no longer "upside-down" the value is covered. In the case of a purchased vehicle, no one cares about protecting your wallet so you have to purchase gap insurance to cover an upside-down vehicle.

Hank, if you paid $12,000 for the vehicle, there must have been a reason that you paid so much over the book value, or is that the wholesale value you quoted? It is my impression that insurance companies have to pay the retail value, which is the highest number. We had a wreck in a 6-month old truck that was not our fault and the insurance company (GEICO) would not total the vehicle. The payoff was about $18,000 and the bills for repairs and the rented vehicle ended up to be about $14,000, although they probably paid less. The frame was bent, which caused terrible wear on the tires, and the windshield leaked every time it rained, so we traded it in 2 years later and lost $2000 on the trade-in value because they felt that the truck was totalled. We've learned our lesson and next time (hopefully it won't happen) will either insist that the vehicle be totalled or sue for depreciation.

 

[OldManEmu]

Hank sorry to hear about the new van.
Glad no one was injured.
Can't give you any advice on insurance as I am sure the insurance situation is very different in the US to Australia.
I do however look forward to you getting a positive outcome with the insurance claim.

 

[Hank]

Van Fiasco Update

Van Fiasco Update

Well the story has improved....

Our insurance company - Which I will publicly mention is Met-Life has taken care of us.

The have settled the claim and we are 95% taken care of. We are very happy with the way they ended up handling the situation and as long as they don't raise my rates too high, we will continue to use them.

Now we have to do it all over again and go look for another vehicle - only bad thing is that now we don't have a down payment whereas before we had a paid off Suburban as a trade. Now we have a couple of bicycles and a skateboard

Thank you all so much for your advice and encouragement.

And one final note ---- GET THE GAP INSURANCE!!!!!

 

[Harrybaby666]

Hey Hank......

Hey Hank......

By the insurance paying off this car for you, it should reflect on your credit rating in a positive way therefore, I would think that if you explained the situation when you go to buy another car, that you should get financed even without the downpayment. I hope this helps you, and once again, I am so very sorry that this happened to you, and I am soooo glad that you guys were not hurt. Harrybaby

 

[gadgetman]

Now you can go down and buy that brand new Mustang convertible . Wait a minute, Cort might have a few MCs available . Sorry to hear that you are now hitchhiking to get around and good luck on your search for your NEXT dream vehicle. JUST KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD AND LOOK OUT FOR THE JERKS NEXT TIME .

From all the ads on TV right now, it sounds like they are just about giving the new ones away .

Good insurance company.

May God Bless,

Danny