Insurance wants to total car

[Captain_Hook]

Hey all. I could use a little help. We had a minor accident where someone hit my wife in a round about. The damage seemed fairly minor but insurance is saying they will total the car.

The body shop quoted $24,600 to fix everything. The main item that is causing it to be so expensive is one of the connectors that goes behind the headlight apparently can only be purchased along with the entire wiring harness.

So what would normally cost maybe $200 now cost 8,000 plus labor to remove the entire engine harness and reinstall the new one. I was wondering if anyone could share the part ID on the little box behind the headlight or if anyone has run into a similar issue. I planned to keep this car forever but now it seems I stand to lose 25k.

Also, if anyone has some advice on how to deal with insurance it would be appreciated. I’ve never totaled a car before so I’m trying to learn as I go.

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[Wavedave]

Quite alot , sorry about your loss.

 

[BonRunner]

What do u mean cost $800? From the images of the damage, that assessment seems correct.

Total loss means insurance will give u a check for the value of the car. They have their methods to get the number. It will be close to higher than KBB's estimate. I totaled by car 3 months ago before I got the 6th gen 4Runner.

Do u still finance the car? If yes, dod u purchase GAP insurance on your loan? How much is the balance on the loan? Insurance will buy back the car from your bank then resell it in auction. You can also buy it back too but wouldn't recommend.

 

[Steveg203]

Why would you lose 25k, did you roll negative equity from another vehicle?

 

[horbit]

That is not a minor accident. You can get a second opinion on the damages, or take the check and get a new vehicle, hopefully you have equity in the vehicle and are not upside down. If your wife is not at fault you should be filing this under the other persons insurance.

Something else to keep in mind this will probably show up on this vehicle history as a major repair and hurt resale value if you fix and keep it.

 

[Captain_Hook]

What do u mean cost $800? From the images of the damage, that assessment seems correct.

Total loss means insurance will give u a check for the value of the car. They have their methods to get the number. It will be close to higher than KBB's estimate. I totaled by car 3 months ago before I got the 6th gen 4Runner.

Do u still finance the car? If yes, dod u purchase GAP insurance on your loan? How much is the balance on the loan? Insurance will buy back the car from your bank then resell it in auction. You can also buy it back too but wouldn't recommend.

I mean they have to replace the entire wiring harness for one little connector that’s not hard wired to the harness. It makes no sense to me.
I also don’t know how insurance works very much but to total a 65,000 car for 24,000 seems off to me. Maybe I’m just too emotionally invested.
We have gap insurance so we won’t lose money in that sense, but can’t exactly buy one for 65k either after all the BS add one and taxes.

 

[Captain_Hook]

That is not a minor accident. You can get a second opinion on the damages, or take the check and get a new vehicle, hopefully you have equity in the vehicle and are not upside down. If your wife is not at fault you should be filing this under the other persons insurance.

Something else to keep in mind this will probably show up on this vehicle history as a major repair and hurt resale value if you fix and keep it.

We were not at fault but the other persons insurance has a 25k maximum payout for property damage. So I was told I needed to file under my insurance because the remaining balance would be covered under under insured drivers coverage on my policy. The total will be over 25k when you factor in rental car, car seat, storage fees etc.

 

[Captain_Hook]

Why would you lose 25k, did you roll negative equity from another vehicle?

If I buy a used one with similar miles for 65-70k, I’ll still have taxes and dealer fees and Ad Valorum tax which adds up to ~15k, so maybe 25k was an embellishment but that’s about what we have paid into the current one

 

[HVLA]

Georgia has 15k in added cost to a new vehicle purchase? This seems wrong.

 

[mcd_ovrlnd]

Not a big fan of litigating but assuming all the damages you incurred were caused by the other driver, then they need to make you whole regardless of how much insurance is offering you. Go talk to a lawyer. You might be able to get the other driver’s ins to cough up more money.

 

[Captain_Hook]

Georgia has 15k in added cost to a new vehicle purchase? This seems wrong.

I kind of thought the same. As valorum was 5.5k alone.

 

[Captain_Hook]

Not a big fan of litigating but assuming all the damages you incurred were caused by the other driver, then they need to make you whole regardless of how much insurance is offering you. Go talk to a lawyer. You might be able to get the other driver’s ins to cough up more money.

Yeah the 25k limit on damages seems strange to me. I always thought their insurance pays me the total amount and if they only elected for 25k then the insurance makes their person pay the difference. In general I think most insurance is a scam.

 

[mcd_ovrlnd]

Said another way, insurance will only pay you for what they are insuring you for (FMV of the car), the other driver however technically needs to make you whole. They are responsible for all your damages (assuming accident was their fault) whether their insurance covers it or not. At least that’s how I understand it.

 

[BonRunner]

I mean they have to replace the entire wiring harness for one little connector that’s not hard wired to the harness. It makes no sense to me.
I also don’t know how insurance works very much but to total a 65,000 car for 24,000 seems off to me. Maybe I’m just too emotionally invested.
We have gap insurance so we won’t lose money in that sense, but can’t exactly buy one for 65k either after all the BS add one and taxes.

I see. You're concerning about finding a replacement. I can say that you're definitely too emotionally invested in the situation. It just money. The big thing is no injury or live loss. You can always find another car.

Get the pay out, pay off old loan, then start fresh again. There's many resources out there to find a similar model again (or even better). Check www.visor.vin

Shop out of state to save on tax.

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