The '98 LS got rear ended at a stop light on 8/2.



Itemized repair estimate (parts/labor) is $6,320.10. The big ticket items are the trunk lid, bumper cover/reinforcement and the tail lights. Valuation estimate of the car is $9,989.00. I expected a lot less.

I'm not going the retention and payout route. I've done this with another vehicle and I really don't want the hassle. Letting the insurance company have the car, the payout will be more; the amount hasn't been determined yet. They're going to collect from the perps insurance company.

I'm not too broken up over this; but it was a one time find. Purchased in 2007, 36k miles for $12k. The replacement will likely be another low mileage Lexus ES, GS or LS.

 

Sorry to see this paulo... It's quite sad, but glad you're ok. The damage overall doesn't look too bad all things considered

What's the mileage on the car now? With the service you've had done over the years, I'd almost say it might be better than a lower mileage example that needs attention.

Good luck with the process

 

Damn dude that sucks. Never nice to see, especially cars like that.

I'd like to discuss the insurance valuation if you could - I have been worried about under-insurance on my car for many years. Was it difficult to get this 10k number? What was the process like? I don't think I'll ever have a better comparison than yours as my car is identical to yours.

Good luck as well deciding what to do

 

Current mileage is 99,978. I'm going to let this one go. It's low mileage, but as the years go by, it's only going to get tougher finding parts for things that we all know go south with these cars. It's already showing signs of electrical issues; faulty fuel gauge, radio display not readable...

The damage is bad enough to where the trunk lid won't latch (after I opened it). I haven't looked behind things, but it's what's underneath that's concerning. The trunk lid is wrinkled on the right side (you can't see this) and the back panel of the body is pushed in across the opening. No cost for replacement on the itemized list, so I'm assuming it can be pulled out. Regardless, anytime metal gets bent, it also stretches so it no longer fits as it should.

As for valuation, here's the process that my insurance company uses. They farm the process out:



As far as valuation, the process was seamless for me. Valuation is performed as above, sight unseen. Because the car is garaged in California, I suspect it's value is going to be higher than most other parts of the country. There's a check list of vehicle equipment; I checked off every box here. They evaluate vehicle condition of each category as "average", which equates to $0 adjustments to the value. I suspect "average" reflects the mileage and age.

The two comparison vehicles (actual cars) that they used for valuation:




They averaged the two amounts to come up with the $9,989 value for mine. I don't know what the threshold for repair vs. total is.

I don't know what auto insurance laws are like in Texas, but looking at my policy coverage, there's no "declared" value that's insured (none that I can find). It's just blanket collision coverage with a $500 deductible. I'm paying for full coverage ~$800/year. IMO, full coverage only makes sense if you consider location, condition and mileage. Otherwise, I think full coverage is like throwing money away. I was planning to drop full coverage and only carry liability.....I'm glad I'm lazy (in this case).

I don't like posting time sensitive links, but if you're around Oregon, here's one of the LS400's that they used for valuation:

https://fastlanemotorsmedford.com/39...8-Lexus-LS-400

 

Thanks a bunch for the info. I'm gonna add this to my notes - I've (thankfully, knock on wood) never had to deal with insurance for a major thing like this.

At the end of the day, it's a car so I'm glad you're alright. Still sucks to see something nice get wasted. But I think your analysis is clear and thoughtful, I agree with it.

 

wow sorry to hear but glad you're ok. you seem very level headed and wish you all the best with the replacement. hope it's another LS but i won't blame you for getting another chassis altogether.

 

oh no paulo

aww man this is so sad to see... while i'd like it if you kept this car with you as long as possible i can't fault the thinking here

hopefully you'll still post every now and then!

 

It is WELL KNOWN that CCC undervalues vehicles, which is why the insurance companies like to use them as "their" research. I manage a body shop and see it all the time.

Depending on how far along you are in this process, you can challenge the insurance company on the valuation if you feel you're being lowballed. However, you must file through YOUR insurance company to initiate your right to appraisal. There are several companies out there that specialize in these total loss valuations, and one I recommend from experience with our customers is Collision Safety Consultants. I've seen them get our customers thousands more than what the insurance company said they owed using "their" CCC evaluation. You may be happy with their offer, though, so just something to keep in mind if it happens again.

 

I live in So Cal and I went out today and twice I got approached about my car. I went into a store this morning and and the guy that works in there points at me and said, "you have the best car in the whole parking lot". And there was a lot of cars in the lot lol. Then the second time towards noon this guy walks over from a construction site where I park regularly and he told me he sees my car drive in and he told one of his family members about it and they want to buy it. I politely told him its not for sale, its hard to sell a good car. So that's a good thing of course. You have one with what's considered quite low mileage for the year that unfortunately got hit. I am not seeing them for sale here as much as I used to, they seem to sell fast here on the local listings. Here's one on Craigs. 11K dollars 124K miles. But that's about all I see for my area right now. It looks like really nice condition to me. Here's the listing while its still up. https://sandiego.craigslist.org/esd/...773001854.html fixed

 

Salvage yard picked up the car and title on Monday, 8/26. While I was cleaning out personal belongings, I noticed that it still smelled new inside.

 

Found a replacement for the wife's LS400; a 2002 LS430; not a lot of options, other than an out of date navigation system. Which is good. Too nice to pass up.



Sat for a month at local MB dealership. I was told around +30 people were interested in it, but no bank would finance a car this old. The employees at the dealership called it the "unicorn".

 

1100 miles per year.

 

congrats! my brother bought a 430 a while back it has close to 300K miles on it now with original components, other than routine maintenance, the thing just keeps going.

 

Nice find!

 

well that looks like a suitable replacement! sad it won't have those classic sleek 400 lines though