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So, my 2001 LS430 UL (Blue over Ecru) with about 150k miles got rear-ended. I'm really bummed about it because I planned to keep it for at least another 100k miles. The other guy's insurance company doesn't want to pay me what it's worth to me, so they're talking about totaling it, which sucks.
I'm trying to decide whether to break it up and sell by parts or, alternatively, just sell the entire car to someone looking for a parts car. I'm in Atlanta, GA, and am mechanical enough to pull easy to reach parts, but I'm not inclined or equipped to do major surgery on it to extract hard to reach stuff. It's been a great car, so I'd rather it go to someone who can really get the value out of it.
Bro honestly if you can bolt and unbolt stuff buy a new bumper and trunk and get a salvage title or whatever they have in your state and drive it that is really minor amount to total the car out for. That and if you let the insurance company total it you can buy it back for dirt cheap and just repair it like I said above.
It doesn't look like the quarter panels were damaged but the panel that supports the trunk, possible trunk hinges, inner trunk panel, etc.. There might be more damage than you can see. I'd wait to see what the offer you if you keep the car. You will have no problem selling it as / is for more money than the insurance company will give you.
I would fight with the insurance company for more money. They will low ball you with the first offer and you will have to go back and forth with them producing receipts, used car sales, etc... After awhile they will be anxious to close the claim and offer you more money. At least that has been my experience.
Good Luck!
Parting it out should net you more money, but can be a real hassle. If you have the time and a place to keep during the process, it would be the way to go if money is your object.
One thing that is sometimes overlooked in dealing with an insurance company is that you are entitled to both the value of the totalled car plus sales tax on top of that.
Parting it out should net you more money, but can be a real hassle. If you have the time and a place to keep during the process, it would be the way to go if money is your object.
One thing that is sometimes overlooked in dealing with an insurance company is that you are entitled to both the value of the totalled car plus sales tax on top of that.
I've fortunately never had to go through this, what do you mean when you say they gave you the sales tax?
It's a matter of simple fairness. If the totaled car is valued at say $10,000 and your sales tax rate is 7%, you would be entitled to receive $10,700. The presumption is two-fold: that you paid sales tax when you bought the car and you will have to pay sales tax on any replacement vehicle.
The damage doesn't look that bad at all - I've had worse rear end damage and my vehicles were always like new after the repairs. What's the repair estimate?
I don't deal with other people's insurance companies. I go through my own insurer. For example, when my still-like-new 2000 LS400 was rear ended worse than that in around 2012 at around 140,000 miles, I took it to one of my insurer's preferred provider collision repair facilities which, comically conveniently, was on the corner of the intersection where the A-hole hit my car while he was texting and I was stopped at a traffic light.
I had the damage repaired through my insurer and then my insurer recovered the total cost of the repair and my car rental expense from the other insurance company. The other insurance company complained about that and about my renting a higher cost car than they wanted to pay for but they backed down when I threatened to rent an even more expensive car for them to pay for and reminded them that I had been injured but did not seek medical attention.
Maybe I get pissed more than most when someone hits one of my vehicles which has happened way too many times over 50+ years of driving - the last three by people playing with their phones. And maybe I've become just another cranky old geezer.