Accident/Totalled...Wait to get check or open a new loan

[crazydebt]

Hello guys. Just to give you a short description, I wrecked my car last weekend. Insurance company has classfied it as totalled. Here are some details:

I have capital one auto. I have 15k left on the loan. The insurance guy is telling me if I want to see how much my car is worth, go to autotrader and see what the average is with the same year and milage around my area. Well S2000 is hard to find especially finding a particular year and milage. I extended the search to 300 miles and only came up with 40 choices. Anyways, the average is 18k or so. Lowest was 15k and highest was 25k (really low mileage).

Should I open up another car loan and start looking at buying another car before they give me the final numbers. I know it will be 15k and up for sure. They are saying it will take 7-10 business days. What do you guys think? I was thinking of getting another S2K around 25-28k (05-06 year).

what do you guys think? should I wait or should I go open another loan and buy another car? Seeing that the current loan will be pay off.

[chpxiii]

I don't know about whether you should get another loan ... but other places to look up car values are N.A.D.A. http://www.nada.com/ and Kelly Blue Book http://www.kbb.com/.

[crazydebt]

well i need another car so that is why i'm thinking of applying for another loan. This time my fico is 680 so i should get a pretty descent interest rate. let me know what you guys think. thanks

[CindyLou]

go to edmunds.com and look at appraise your vehicle and you can plug in all your values. I would probably consider renting a car until you get your check. your policy may cover rental. Many times you may get much less than you expect. The will try and give you as little as possible. REMEMBER, it is always negotiable!!!!! The amount is never final. Personally, I would rent a car and wait for the check, but that's just me....

[crazydebt]

yeah maybe i will rent a car and wait for the check. I am just anxious to get another car ASAP. No matter what, I will be getting another loan right? because if the insurance do pay me 16k or 17k, they will pay the 15k to capital one to clear the balance and give me 1k or 2k back?? Yes I do know its negotiable and on top of that, they will have to pay me tax and registration fee so additional 1500 to 2k. Anyways, with 6.5 percent from cccu, i would be getting a great deal and pay the same monthly charge that I have been with capital one.

[dscurlock]

yeah maybe i will rent a car and wait for the check. I am just anxious to get another car ASAP. No matter what, I will be getting another loan right? because if the insurance do pay me 16k or 17k, they will pay the 15k to capital one to clear the balance and give me 1k or 2k back?? Yes I do know its negotiable and on top of that, they will have to pay me tax and registration fee so additional 1500 to 2k. Anyways, with 6.5 percent from cccu, i would be getting a great deal and pay the same monthly charge that I have been with capital one.

even if it was a brand new car, it would have already lost
a big value, expect a small check, your insurance is not
going to fully pay off the car, unless you have GAP insurance, then your full loan value would be protected....

I have a 2006 and I still owe $13,000 if i was in a wreck, the insurance would come up with what they think the car is worth...they would never pay you full value on a used car, people pay into car insurance all their lives, you will know reality soon enough...

why do you think you will be getting a check? the payment your insurance will make should
be to your auto finance, and if you had gap insurance, then they would pay the remaining balance,
if you dont have gap, your going to get the balance. I dont know what type of insurance you have, most
people do not have gap, much less heard about it, I would not be surprised if you are the one that
will be owing them in the end.

I guess i should ask whos fault it was? if it was the other persons fault, you may
or may not get the full value paid back if he has insurance, you would have to file
a claim against his insurance company, if this was your fault, then
what i stated above would be correct...

im at a loss on why your insurance told you to go look....

[dscurlock]

I don't know about whether you should get another loan ... but other places to look up car values are N.A.D.A. http://www.nada.com/ and Kelly Blue Book http://www.kbb.com/.

Im sure the insurance companies have their own system on
coming up with amounts, and they will pay the least they
can away with.

[crazydebt]

i disagree, insurance will try to get the lowest amount however they will need to pay you for what it would cost to buy another car that is the same year and mileage. So if it takes 18000 to buy the same car then thats what they will pay. Hence the difference in what I owe and what I will get back. In addition, they will have to pay me for tax and car registration. I'm have done my research so :-p thanks for your input though but you are completely wrong

[crazydebt]

it also depend on what kind of car you have. if you have a car that depreciate its value like an american car and what not then yeah you will not be getting the full amount. Its all about what it cost to replace the same car you currently have in the same market. I have a s2000 so it retain its value pretty good.

[dscurlock]

i disagree, insurance will try to get the lowest amount however they will need to pay you for what it would cost to buy another car that is the same year and mileage. So if it takes 18000 to buy the same car then thats what they will pay. Hence the difference in what I owe and what I will get back. In addition, they will have to pay me for tax and car registration. I'm have done my research so :-p thanks for your input though but you are completely wrong

oh I so disagree...he owes $15,000? (if he is at fault) the insurance may determine that the true value of the car is $8,000 that is what they would pay, if he has gap insurance, then gap would pay the other half, that is what gap insurance is for...if he does not have gap, he he would become responsible for that other half....if the fault is on the other driver and he has insurance, then yes, his insurance will pick up the full tab...

If you think for a second that you can take your car and run it into a pole and think your insurance is going to pick up the full tab, you are the one mistaken, if this was the case, most of us with bad cars would be running them into ditches and poles so we could get better cars from the insurance compaines...


I have yet to hear him say who was at fault, from the start of his story, sounds like he is... its not going to bother the insurance company to pay off what they think the car is worth, and leave him with the balance...he should have had gap insurance...and we still do not know if he did or not.

call your insurance company, since your car has been totalled ask them how much
you will get back.... they know everything about your car, im still puzzled on why
he told you to go look someplace else, why would an insurance adjuster say that?

and i dont care what kind of car it is, all cars go downhill
once you buy them, your said your car loan was $15k, yes you keep holding
that pipe dream that your insurance company is going to give you $18k

Ive had to many cars over the years to know better... no insurance company would
ever pay the full loan value of a car, unless something has changed that I have
not heard about, that could be possible.

There is one car insurance I have seen on TV that claims they will pay off the full
loan value of the car, i can not remember who it is with, im sure their rates would
be fairly steap, if you did not have that insurance, or gap coverage, Im afraid
you are going to be in for a shock when you get that phone call.

[CindyLou]

It all depends on how much was put down on the car too! If a large down payment was made or if they car was only financed for 3 years or if they loan has been paid for over half the term then it is possible that the car is not upside down. This is a pretty expensive car that does hold value well. If it is not upside down then gap insurance is not necessary to get the full payoff. However, I have never heard of being reimbursed for taxes and fees on the new car??? I am sure that you will still have to pay the taxes and fees on the new car. Basically the amount they pay you is completely independant of the amount of the loan. You could owe 2.00 or 2 million dollars and your payout will still be the same based on the value of the car and what you negotiate. The insurance company is in the business of making money. They will try and get away with paying you AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. IF you do not believe this you will get ripped off. Do not take their first offer. Again, do to www.edmunds.com and click appraise my car. put in your specific info. This will give you a good reference point. Keep us posted.

[crazydebt]

i agree cindylynnsmith, thank you. From the price that I have research, the car is not upside down. The tax and registration is for the totalled car. Some insurance companies will do it willingly and some don't so you have to fight for it. I already went on edmund and priced the car out. Thank you. I will definitely not take their first offer. I will negotitate until i am comfortable with their offer.

PS.

I just applied for the Christian Community Credit Union so we shall see what they come back with. Thank you again.

[crazydebt]

and i dont care what kind of car it is, all cars go downhill
once you buy them, your said your car loan was $15k, yes you keep holding
that pipe dream that your insurance company is going to give you $18k

Ive had to many cars over the years to know better... no insurance company would
ever pay the full loan value of a car, unless something has changed that I have
not heard about, that could be possible.

There is one car insurance I have seen on TV that claims they will pay off the full
loan value of the car, i can not remember who it is with, im sure their rates would
be fairly steap, if you did not have that insurance, or gap coverage, Im afraid
you are going to be in for a shock when you get that phone call.

well I just got the final numbers for what the insurance is going to pay me out. They are writing a check for 18.5K which minus 250 for my ded and it comes out to 18,250. I have 14.5 k left of the loan so I will pay Capital One out which leaves me with 3750 in my pocket. Not bad of a deal if I say so myself. I bought the car for 22k and have driven it 2 years. So yeah, I'm and Now I put that money back into the new car that I just finance and it will make my payment go down further. OKay, just a little excited. hehe.

[crazydebt]

you will know reality soon enough...

why do you think you will be getting a check? the payment your insurance will make should
be to your auto finance, and if you had gap insurance, then they would pay the remaining balance,
if you dont have gap, your going to get the balance. I dont know what type of insurance you have, most
people do not have gap, much less heard about it, I would not be surprised if you are the one that
will be owing them in the end.
..

i guess my reality came and i like it haha

[CindyLou]

crazy,
congrats on the outcome. You will have to refi to decrease your payment, right? I guess its time to give CCCU another call

You are lucky. most people do not come out so great in a totaled wreck, but that is the benefit of buying a car that holds value and making sure you don't get upside down, I guess. I am surprised they gave you the check, however. You could, in reality go out and spend that money and not pay cap one at all. (not that I am suggesting you do that ;) ) I thought for sure insurance co. were required to pay the lien holder first......