maniax

iTrader: (3)

So Geico decided to total my 05 legacy gt due to hail damage. (which I think is ridiculous when there's not even glass damage, just dings and dimples all over)

I'm in the middle of fighting geico for the settlement.

At the same time, I would like to buy back my vehicle from geico because I know that even though it's gonna have a salvage label, it's a damn good car, never been in accident before(orig. paint), only 50k miles and i did all maintainence.

This my first time dealing with totalled car. My car is registered in NEW YORK. So my question is how long would this process take to get a salvage title and be able to drive my car again? Does the salvage exam only look for structural damage and safety? Do I have to fix the cosmetic damages in order for me to get a rebuilt-salvage title?

Would I have any problems getting insurance for the salvage? What happens if a third party hits my salvage title vehicle and it's clearly their fault, how much would their insurance compensate me?

Maybe some of you have been through this and possibly shed some light. TIA

mmarshall

First, a couple of questions. You picture shows a garage at your house, but your car was outside in a hailstorm? You keep another car in the garage instead? Or did the storm hit your car someplace else....away from home?

Of course, that will probably not affect your claim or settlement......I was just wandering from curiosity, since most people who have garages keep their cars inside them for protection.

As far as the damage-settlement goes, did you (or GEICO) also get an estimate from a dent-removal company like Dentworks, Dent-Wizard, etc..... instead of a conventional body shop? Those companies don't have to operate big, expensive shops, and often send a service-van with a technician around to handle a job anywhere. They may (or may not) be able to undercut an estimate from a regular body-shop. Whether an insurance company totalls a vehicle or not is usually based on the comparison of the Kelly-Blue-Book value http://www.kbb.com/ vs. repair-estimates the company would accept...whichever is lower. Sometimes mitigating circumstances are involved in judging the car's value, like custom-parts, add-ons, etc.... on the affected vehicle (your wheels, for example, do not appear to be stock), but with GEICO, they expect you to declare on your policy whether or not you have any aftermarket/custom parts (that can affect your rates).

If you are not satisfied with the judgement that GEICO claims-adjuster is giving you, ask to meet with a GEICO supervisor or zone-manager. He or she can overrule or make adjustments to the original settlement if they feel it is justified (and they sometimes do). I've been with GEICO myself since the early 1980s (in fact, I got my original GEICO premium-rate directly from one of the company's Vice-Presidents) , and I have found them to generally be an excellent company to deal with.

maniax

iTrader: (3)

Yes it was in the same spot. Unfortunately, my family's garage is loaded with so much junk that it takes weeks to clean out. Believe me, I would've put it in the garage if I could.

As far as bodyshops, I went to a PDR shop even before I called insurance. He just looked at it, shook his head, and told me no way this is PDR work. Too many dimple dents, not worth the effort to try. So I brought my car to MAC(Martino Auto Concepts), very reputable shop that works on Ferrari's and Lambos on a regular basis. They told me the adjuster from geico just came and totalled the car after a few min.

Geico's adjuster supervisor is gonna come look at the car himself tomorrow and make a decision. He said he may not total the car but he try to talk me into a cheaper shop. Is that even legal?

I'm hoping we can come to an agreement on settlement for totalling the car because I still owe about 10 grand in loans. This would pay off the loan and then if they allow me to buy back the car for cheap, I would like to register it as a rebuilt salvage and drive till it dies with cosmetic damage. Although I'm hearing from alot of ppl that I would have to fix the cosmetic damage before New York State would pass me for Salvage Exam. And the whole ordeal can take months.

Quite a headache this hail storm

mmarshall

Good. That shows that the company considers the settlement still flexible.

Well, of course, there is nothing illegal if you and the company can come to an agreement with a shop that will do acceptably good work at a lower price.
But I'd be leery of nickel-and-dime places like Earl Sheib...they offer ultra-cheap bodywork/ painting for people driving old clunkers who don't care much about their car's looks. I've never used Maaco....but I understand that they are also into some barely-acceptable cut-rate jobs.




Next time you buy a car, consider "Gap" insurance (you can get it at the dealership when you buy the car, or shop around somewhere else). Gap-insurance will solve the upside-down-finance problem faced if the car is totalled while more money is still owed on it than it is worth.....the gap insurance pays off the difference for you. But, of course, it adds to your car payment, so it's not a free lunch....but it will help prevent another potential debt.


You're not alone with storm-related car-headaches. Hurricane Irene brought down a lot of trees on cars up and down the Eastern Seaboard in the last several days.

maniax

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for the advice on the gap insurance. I already have it. I'm also lucky this time the payout is definitely gonna be higher than what I owe on the vehicle

Good news is that I just got off the phone with a lady from Junk and Salvage(Got transferred by the DMV). She said if you buy the car back from the insurance company, as long as the name on the title stays the same, the insurance company will mail out a letter to the dmv stating that the car has been totalled. The DMV will then sent you a salvage title(MV-907a) in 7-10 days. All the while the car can be driven legally as long as it has registration and inspection stickers. She told me the only drawback is that you won't be reminded to renew the registration every 2 years if it's turned to a salvage title!

I asked about the salvage inspection program. She said that program is only for if you want to transfer ownership or changing names on the title.

I hope it's as hassle-free as it sounds.