skaterdude888

iTrader: (1)

About three weeks ago I was in the left lane on the highway and found a pile of snow/slush while in a right turn... The rear wheels went out the left, and as soon as they re-gained traction it shot me back around, rear wheels out to the right, and into the center concrete divider. Thankfully nobody else was involved in the accident besides me and the wall. I pulled it off to the left shoulder (or what very little shoulder there was) and turned it off to check out the damage. I was ok, the airbags deployed, and I had become the proud owner of a new 'compact' Evo.
The good news was, she started right back up and I was able to leave my environmental impact from the crash site to a nearby parking lot, as the coolant drained out driving it off the highway. The drive train seemed to be ok

And so begins the next chapter. The appraisal was for about $6000 in repairs, but the adjuster totaled my car as it was deemed unsafe to repair. Originally they quoted it at $9,791. I was amazed, as this was about $5k less than I had expected the car to be worth. I was down in Alabama for about a year and a half and insurance had used that area to start their search for a "comparable" car. They had used another 2003 evolution that went for $10,400 with 101,000 miles. I believe that is a very low price for an Evo to sell for. I had them re-assess my car's value based on my current location of Rhode Island. This time, they used the NADA Value of $12,300 giving an adjusted value of $11,805.

Now I need some help. I haven’t accepted any of the settlement offers yet. I’m looking for some input from anyone who’s had this situation. From what I’ve heard, insurance won’t care about any add-ons, but I do have about $4000 worth of **** on the car when you add it all up. I had 123,655 Miles on the car. Also, anytime I look for another 03 Evo with 100k+ Miles, they are priced between $14k and $16k. I know Insurance won’t pay out that much for the car, but I do want a fair settlement.

Thanks in advance for any help! (and pics to follow)
-Steve

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newbieEVO8

iTrader: (9)

Hire an atty to get the settlement you want.

digger70chall

iTrader: (3)

good luck with that one....those insurance companies use a database with the cheapest deals in the world on em. When they showed me comparables for my totaled evo (dumb jeep rear ended me at a traffic light) they gave me ones from the south that were sold basically at auction for thousands less than a normal person with a reasonable amount of time could find one for.

I eventually got them to come up a few grand by holding out and showing them receipts for some parts installed.

Hiring an attorney would probably quickly become more expensive than it is worth if you are haggling over a few grand and they usually have a third party litigation written into the policy so you can't take em to court. If there is a dispute they get to pick a neutral party (you can pay to do the same) and they come to an agreement on price.

The insurance company has most of the power in this cases unless you have another vehicle you can drive while you wait for a payout....they only gave me a couple weeks of rental car while we worked out an agreement. This was all from the other guy's insurance company too.

newbieEVO8

iTrader: (9)

Not all attorneys make you pay up front. Many will take it on contingency. Sometimes just a letter from an attorney to the insurance will get them to give you what you want.

Either way good luck, it is never a good situation to be in.

evotuner04

iTrader: (45)

Sounds low as hell, I've had two friends in MN total their Evo's and one guy had an 05 AS VIII with 60K miles and he got $20k. My other friend had roughly 100k miles on his 03? VIII and got around $17k.

cmspaz

iTrader: (1)

As per Tuna^

The '03 I stuffed at an HPDE last fall appraised at $17,600 with a built bottom end, some headwork, and a few bolt-ons... Body was clean except for a few spots of rust and suspension was stock.

Tell them to send it out to a real and reputable appraisal company, mine was appraised twice to arrive at that amount. If they won't, talk to a lawyer and see if they think there's a case. And even so, if they value it higher, say $12k, then they shouldn't be totaling it either.

skaterdude888

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the reply guys. I updated the original post to include photos.

I have yet to make a counter offer on the settlement. I'm hoping I can get them to come up in price. Its the "what if they don't" that I'm worried about, so I'm glad to hear the input. I'll keep an open mind to anything, since they initially wanted to give me next to nothing for what its worth.

RuskiEvo

iTrader: (1)

So are you gonna part the car afterwards?

superbovine

iTrader: (23)

meh, thats a scratch. I'd fix it. Whatever you settle on, make them leave the car with you (either salvaged or COD'd). They won't give a shiat and that will add thousands of value to the settlement.

evobros

iTrader: (25)

I got 23 for my AS 9 with 67k

yellowevo82

iTrader: (100)

my suggestion is fix the car! that really is not to bad at all!!

shak2300

iTrader: (1)

i agree with them both, but honestly i really does seems like the insurance company trying to rip you off badly, repair cost of the car to be road worthy is much less then the value of the car!! if i may as what insurance company do you have? also, check to see if you insurance company accept modded cars. base on your picture it look like main things that need to be replace , is bumper , hood, rad, intercooler/piping and rad support

skaterdude888

iTrader: (1)

I have Liberty Mutual Insurance. And I agree, the damage doesn't seem that bad to me either. I would love to just have them fix her up, but they stated the reason for totaling the car was because it was "unsafe" to repair. Whatever their standard for that is, I don't know. I will be getting the car back, and either parting it out or selling it as is. Unless I can get it appraised again and the second person doesn't see it as a total loss. That may be my next step.

ShadyLTD

There saying it's unsafe to repair because it's costing them too much, so they want to try to offer you less money saying the car is totaled then to just fix it. You should get a lot more then that honestly, they are trying to low ball you.

shak2300

iTrader: (1)

honestly after that all said and done and they give you a decent amount for the car, i would get a different insurance they really seems like they low balling you honestly , since you have the car in your procession, take off the mods you want to keep for your next evo and part out the car you will get more for it that way, but if you really want to keep it see if it repairable