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Insurance claims for Totaled vehicles

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Blitzeclips

15+ Year Contributor
1,571
6
Aug 5, 2004
Bear, Delaware
Hey guys/gals, first of all I haven't been on here in a while but it's great to see the boards so active, alot of new and also fimiliar users here. Awesome.
I was rear ended today while en route to work. Called insurance companies, did the whole dance. Set up an appointment at the local shop, but I have a concern about the possibility of getting the "Totaled" stamp.

If this does happen, what can I do to protect myself from losing my built motor and turbo? I just don't want to lose $5000 worth of parts alone, for a $3,000 check. Could I send them reciepts of the swap and/or request to remove the items before handing the car over to them? Or hey, even better- can I keep the totaled car? Hah, doubt it but it's worth a shot.

Alrighty I appreciate it. Thanks in advance for any replies. :thumb::thumb:
 
Insurance will give you a chance to buy it back for cheap. Depending on the year it could cost less than 1k to buy complete
 
i love how insurance companies own your car after it's totaled? that makes zero sense at all....you shuold be able to keep the thing if you want it...you just dont get a check from them.
 
When I totaled my ralliart I went to the junkyard they had it stored at and switched all the parts I could back. And some stuff I didn't even swap out, I just took and left LOL.
I still got a check for the value of the car + parts that were still installed. Just fax them receipts, you don't get what you paid for, but it's something.
 
when my civic was totaled you have to tell the insurance company you want the car and they will deduct the amount for the car from the check they give you, so say the car is worth 5000 or so before it was totaled and its only worth 500 when it is totaled they will just deduct 500 from the 5000 and cut you a check for 4500 and you keep your car, then you can take all the parts you want out and sell the scrap car to the junkyard after your done taking what you want
 
^^
What he said is accurate. It is very likely that your car is going to get totaled. It depends on your insurance company, but the general rule of thumb is if the repairs cost more than 80% of the cars current value they total the car. So for example. A 95 Eclipse GS, all options + premium items, 120,000 miles in Excellent conditon will blue book at $2780. That means if repairs are around $2200 they will total your car. However, you can buy your car back for cheap probably around $300-$500. So they give you $2400 plus your car. You buy a new car swap in the new motor, turbo kit, etc. And you are back to at least having a decent car. You can also sue the guy that hit you above the cost of the issurance check in some states.


Sorry about your luck.
 
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Do they really sell the cars back for that low of a costs? I realize these are just examples here. But from those who've bought their cars back (regardless if it's dsm) what's the average cost vs check amount
 
When I totaled my '95 GST the check was something like $2700 and the buy back was somewhere around $1200. This was about 10 years ago.
 
also if you decided not to keep the car and you have all reciepts for your build you can give them to your insurance company and they should reimbuse you for it, atleast the company that the guy hit my car did if i didnt want to keep the car, youd have to ask the insurance company about that one
 
When my '97 AWD was totalled, I asked for the chance to buy it back and was told that I could either have the car or a check. They said they had no interest in selling the car back to me. So I asked if I could swap out some of the aftermarket equipment I'd installed and they emphatically said "absolutely not". I had never even heard of an insurance company doing this until it happened to me, and I was so dis-satisfied with their service as a whole that nobody in my entire family will be a Geico customer ever again. I'm still clueless as to why they refused to sell the car back to me, the AWD trans case was shattered and the shell was definitely not worth it to repair.
 
Do they really sell the cars back for that low of a costs? I realize these are just examples here. But from those who've bought their cars back (regardless if it's dsm) what's the average cost vs check amount

Back in 2005 my 90 gsx flooded from Hurricane Katrina. I told them it had a new turbo and I had done a ton of repairs(which it did). They offered me $3650. When I inquired about buy back. They said I could buy the car for $450 but would also loose $300 for tax title and lisence b/c I was not buying a new car. In the end I bought back the car and recived a check for 2900 I only had $2000 in the car, in the end it was a mistake I ended up scraping the car. But its all good. I lost 4 cars (3 DSMs and a Mirage I was going to use for parts) and one motorcycles in that hurricane and only had two of the cars insured which were both dsms. I got more from the two dsms than I had in them so it paided for the other two cars. Only lost my shirt on the bike. Thanks goodness my 5th car (also a DSM) was at my mothers house and only sat in 6"-8" of water
 
It all depends on what insurance co. you have. With American Family Ins. they offered me two different checks.

When I totaled my Spyder they offered me $3,000 if I surrendered the car and $2,100 if I kept it. The difference is what they think they can get for it at salvage.

They have done the same thing on two different cars, once when my son wrecked his and once when some suv slid into my side.

BK85
 
You do have the ability to argue the price with them. It's not like you have to take what they give you.

For example, my friend and I T-boned a lady who ran a stop sign 2 years ago in his 95 sebring. The car was definitely totaled and beyond repair. Blue book value of it was just under $3,000, but 6 months prior he bought the car for a little over $5,000 (Don't ask me why, as it was a piece). Insurance told him they'd give him 2800 for the car. After a little while of arguing and sending it paperwork showing the price he paid for the car as well as the few aftermarket things on the car, CAI, sound system, etc he ended up with a check for about $5500 and we were able to take some parts out of the car.

It all depends on how much effort you want/can put into getting your last dollar out of the claim. You could get a lawyer, but that'll cost more and is your choice if it's worth your time and money, or you could fight it out until an agreement is come to. Most times just mentioning the world "lawyer" is enough to scare them into working with you.

Also, they offered the car back to him for $400 if he wanted it.
 
I actually work at a body shop and deal with insurance companies everyday, and ive totaled a car. More or less the way it works is you get in a wreck, if 70 % of the cars value is done in damages (e.g 97 gsx around 3-3.5k) its totaled. Not trying to ruin anyones day but 3k is not a huge number in the auto repair world, thats a 10-15 hour job. If it does total the insurance company does not own your car, the check they cut you is an exchange for your car. This is why you can haggle with them on the price because you are more or less selling them your car just as if it were still running and you were selling to a private buyer. They are by law however forced to cut you a check for at least the value of the car so haggle the shit out of them. They have to pay you and if your contrary theyll eventually pay you out. Buyback on dsm's is normally between 450 and 700 depending on your insurance company. Someone pulled out in front of me and totaled my car a month after i invested 250 hours of paint and body in my gs (yes a gs, and im not ashamed) and i got 4500 and my car back because i was contrary as hell. Do i feel bad for making the insurance people pay me more, hell no. If theyre willing to take anyones money regardless of how stupid they drive they should be willing to part with it. All in all your best bet is to buy the car back because im sure you have more than 500 invested in it and keep what you want and part out the rest, then everyone benefits. Hope the car's frame is ok man, good luck.
 
Wow thanks everyone I appreciate the info and kind words.

It's not looking good from what I'm hearing. The rear bumper was a one off Blitz, which is smashed right now- actually held up pretty well.

The driver's side quarter panel mount had broken completely off, so the actual bumper is only held my mounts under the taillights and conversely, passenger side mount which isn't snapped. My muffler actualy stamped through the bottom of my rear bumper. Driver's side taillight is pushed about 1/2" inward past the center piece almost wedged it seems. So, that's the damage really.

Could turn out to be "totaled" but it's good to know I have wiggle room with compensation. I bought a house a couple years ago and have a big garage I just finished (for my bikes reall) but have been looking for a shell to swap everything into. So I'm okay with taking the car back, I have a fiberglass dash I'll be abe to instal too and will just buy truck for DD and for my bikes.

Would car registration make me exempt from all this? I don't have one but when I got insurance they said it's not a problem as long as I get one eventually. Been very very busy with work and wasn't able to do it. Can anyone give me some info about this? Or would it not matter since it was entirely their faultin the accident?
 
Wow thanks everyone I appreciate the info and kind words.

It's not looking good from what I'm hearing. The rear bumper was a one off Blitz, which is smashed right now- actually held up pretty well.

The driver's side quarter panel mount had broken completely off, so the actual bumper is only held my mounts under the taillights and conversely, passenger side mount which isn't snapped. My muffler actualy stamped through the bottom of my rear bumper. Driver's side taillight is pushed about 1/2" inward past the center piece almost wedged it seems. So, that's the damage really.

Could turn out to be "totaled" but it's good to know I have wiggle room with compensation. I bought a house a couple years ago and have a big garage I just finished (for my bikes reall) but have been looking for a shell to swap everything into. So I'm okay with taking the car back, I have a fiberglass dash I'll be abe to instal too and will just buy truck for DD and for my bikes.

Would car registration make me exempt from all this? I don't have one but when I got insurance they said it's not a problem as long as I get one eventually. Been very very busy with work and wasn't able to do it. Can anyone give me some info about this? Or would it not matter since it was entirely their faultin the accident?

The registration may be a bad thing man. If its not registered their insurance company may try to weasle you out of the equation.... im not sure on that part but i do know normally if its not your fault the other insurance companies will take good care of you. State farm is normally pretty good about paying a decent price, and although somene above posted that geico screwed them over ive personally seen geico do things no other insurance company would do. We got a car in this week and repaired it and the stupid teenage girl brought it back and said the mirror was hanging off and that it just fell off on its own, then she sat down on out waiting room couch and called a friend and talked about someone jumping on her car and ripping the mirror off. Yes she was insanely stupid but i told our insurance claim adjustor and he more or less said he diddnt care, that customer satisfaction was worth the price of a mirror. Also the bumper and exterior parts arent what your concerned about in a wreck, its the parts that those external parts bolt to that run the bills up.
 
Yeah I am concerned about the registration thing, but my thinking is that it wouldn't be fair to deny me a claim for not fitting the faulted driver's insurance policies. If mine (Heh- Geico) is okay with it, I shouldn't have to fit every other insruance companies policy, as long as I fit mine. Probably a biased ay of looking at it but hey I'm trying to think positive here ya know LOL.

I had registration on it, but it just expired. I would hope the other driver's insurance company wouldn't base it off no registration. No insurance I can understand but registration would seem a little ridiculous.
 
Yeah I am concerned about the registration thing, but my thinking is that it wouldn't be fair to deny me a claim for not fitting the faulted driver's insurance policies. If mine (Heh- Geico) is okay with it, I shouldn't have to fit every other insruance companies policy, as long as I fit mine. Probably a biased ay of looking at it but hey I'm trying to think positive here ya know LOL.

I had registration on it, but it just expired. I would hope the other driver's insurance company wouldn't base it off no registration. No insurance I can understand but registration would seem a little ridiculous.

Well good luck man and keep us posted.
 
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