katzjamr

remember this person had only 1000 miles on the odometer, had only driven it 5 times, and not even made a car payment yet. this accident diminishes the value of the car forever, it can never be sold as certified pre owned and there will be a permanent record of the accident on file when any search of the vin number is done. i would get as much as you can for the vehicle, and if that doesnt cover a new one it is becoming more common to sue for the diminished value to your new suv that you have suffered. you deserve a new suv, that is what you were driving at the time of the accident. it still had temporary plates on it. i know that once driven off the lot, with 1000k its a used car, i just would not be happy with anything less than a full replacement.

32kcolors

Unfortunately, katzjamr, that's not how insurance works.

krchoudary

"Unfortunately, katzjamr, that's not how insurance works."

can you please advise me what I may be facing from the insurance ?
thanks

32kcolors

Insurance decides what to do with the car, not you. If you wanted a total control over the car, then you need to self-insure.

krchoudary

"Insurance decides what to do with the car, not you. If you wanted a total control over the car, then you need to self-insure."

hmmm..can you suggest me what can I ask for at least..your suggestion that I should have insured it with self-insurance is like crying over split milk. I can't do anything now with what has been done already.

if I can't get anything in my favor..at least it would be better for me to know it before hand so that I can live with it.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

You can ***** and moan to your insurance company but that may or may not work. It really is up to them. I doubt they will total an RX though. If this was a different type of car like a Corvette, or an NSX it would be totaled fairly easy with the frame damage.

Anyway, the feeling I get is you will take a beating either way. Like I said, chances are your insurance wont total the car, so you will be left with a repaired car at diminished value. Trying to sell it now or later will result in you getting less money for it than any other comparable non accident RX. If it were me though, I'd rather not drive any car with a new front clip welded on. Not that there is anything wrong with that if done properly, but I just rather have an intact frame. So I'd try to get rid of if sooner than later. Body and cosmetic damage doesn't bother me that much, but frame damage is a no no for me personally.

krchoudary

The repair shop gy has pulled up the estimates to a total of 18k. I am not sure how much would the insurance be willing to honor. The appraiser/adjuster is yet to come and take a look at the supplemental charges.

Meanwhile, the pre-owned lexus shop guy offered me 13k for the wrecked vehicle as it is. even if the insurance guys accept to pay me 18k thats a total of 18k + 13K = 31k

wat I paid on the car is 37k + taxes=40k pay off with lexus financial.

Pre-owned guy is asking me to trade-it off. if I trade off at this price, I will outrightly take ahit of 9k and have to pay another 1500 tax on the new one.

what do you suggest ? if I go via this route, will my gap insurance cover me ? or no ?

jfelbab

You have to weigh the lesser of all evils here. Consider you will have a repaired Lexus. The repair will come with a warranty, and in many cases the warranted repair will be for as long as you own the car, depending on the repair shop. That said, the car will never be the same. You will find issues as time goes on. The repaired areas will most likely exhibit rust where the welds are made. The fit and finish will not be the same. You will most likely have rattles, wind noise and the handling will not be perfect. You will likely experience abnormal tire wear if they haven't straightened the frame perfectly. You will notice a difference in the paint smoothness and depending on the quality of the shop this might even be very obvious.

If it were me I'd dump it to the dealer and get the insurance to cough up as much as possible to make you whole. You might want to look for a dealer demo to save some cash if that is an issue. I would not keep the car. You will also have problems trying to sell the car. Anyone who does a carfax will see that the car was severely damaged and won't touch it. I know I wouldn't.

My advice, FWIW, is to get rid of it even if it costs you $9k.

BTW, I see I hit the repair estimate on the head.

lexusbeth4

Sorry to read about your wreck. The pics look awful. I am also in Texas, in fact, I bought my RX 330 from Sewell so in my opinion your vehicle is in the best hands possible. As far as Texas insurance goes, insurance companies are not required to pay diminished value, only the cost to repair and make your vehicle in the same shape it was prior to the loss. Some will pay the diminished value and some won't. I would fight for it because the fact is, your Lexus is not worth what it was "pre accident".
In Texas insurance laws are basically written for the insurance companies and not for the consumer. You will get your vehicle repaired sooner without the hassle by going though your own insurance carrier. They have to live up to their part on the insuring agreement. You can recover your deductable expenses if your carrier can sucessfully subrogate the adverse carrier. It sounds like they should be able to but stay on them for your deductable recovery.
In Texas all policies are the same, written on the "Texas personal auto policy". Usually if the vehice is less than 2 years old they will use the more genuine parts so you may be in good shape there. Things to watch out for, supplements that will take the repairs into the "total" range. With that extensive of damage there will likely be supplements. Be a pain in your insurance company's side...squeak like a rusty wheel and when all else fails bring out the big guns and talk about and DO complain to the Texas Department of Insurance. They are the "800 pound gorrilla" that the companies hate. Get the name of your adjuster, first and last. Ask for his or her adjuster license number and look it up on the website www.tdi.state.tx.us/ . Just letting them know that you KNOW about TDI will get their attention.

It may all be ok but sometimes you gotta fight fire with fire and you have to know how to light one.

Good luck