kane1111

Bodyguard911

The BS CCC valuation that my insurance company uses has my car valued at $18889. Cars with upwards of 10k more miles than mine sell for more. I have the navigation, sport package, cold weather package, premium sound package, SMG transmission, sunroof, auburn leather, excellent mechanical condition and quality inside and out before the accident with 68544 miles on it. NADA value is over $22000 if I'm not mistaken. I need to go for more considering cars with my packages/options and in similar condition to mine sell for $22000-$23000. Hopefully I dont have to get my lawyer involved. Thoughts anyone?

Bodyguard911

Damn all these funny responses definitely lightened the burden of losing my BM lol. Still lookin for another one to replace it...

PrimeTimeTSA

Sry to hear man, glad you're ok.

sanjsanj

Bodyguard911, you're obviously being low-balled, and like I mentioned in my previous post, even though you're the paying customer, insurance companies never work for you, they just want to minimize their payouts.

Find 3-4 cars of identical spec and similar year & mileage. Use these to demonstrate that that's how much you'll have to spend for a like-for-like vehicle, and therefore that's how much you are expect them to value the car at AT A MINIMUM. If you find one that has a higher mileage, then obvioulsy mention that and push the potential valuation of that particular car, UP to make up for the difference. Do the same with the any difference you find in Model Year.

Insurance claims adjusters do exactly this- make sure you get what's fair...

p.s. Why did you mention YOUR insurance company? Isn't the valuation supposed to come from the person who hit you's insurance company?

borderchris

Very well put. Don't settle for ACV- Hit craigslist within the 100 mile radius and get every price you can document. I went through this before on an SUV my wife wrecked, and won in the end. Just make sure that you formalize your concerns in a certified letter, with at least 10 market-based pricings of similar cars. Good luck!

Bodyguard911

Sanjsanj, you were absolutely correct and I greatly appreciate your advice. Thank you also Borderchris. Between what you two told me, I should be able to get a few thousand more out of my insurance company like I was figuring. I found out in New York City when you get into an accident it's no fault so we each file claims with our respective insurance companies. Oddly enough, my 6 month quote dropped $100 to $1650 after this accident. Guess I'm a fortunate guy.

AchtungE60

Here's the best advice I can give you. Knowing the law (varies by state to state, but speaking in general) and knowing insurance companies and also having been through two total accidents:

Take your time. Obviously you weren't at fault. Let them pay for a rental for the time they take to get with the program. Stand your ground. Get at least 3 high estimates off Craiglist or AutoTrader for bmw 545 550 the same year as yours and a year above. They have to be within 50 mi. radius and have to be personal owners. they'll take the mean of the 3 so get some high ones. I am sure some members here live close to you and have advertised their cars for a very high amount. Let them work on numbers while you work on yours. When you are satisfied you meet in the middle. In the meantime start wheeling and dealing.... get some members to get their tools and head your way upgrade parts and put theirs there. Take out all your trim. swap wheels, lights, seats etc etc. Get some engine parts you know people need. So they pay you what you want and people also pay you for parts. You'll make good on the car brother. Sorry to lose your baby but one day she's going away anyway regardless if you like it or not. So might as well be now at a time when you can make out good on it. Everything happens for a reason. Trust me. You can get your 22K plus probably an extra $4K If you play your cards right. Good luck

Bodyguard911

That sounds very logical. An extra 4k is always enticing lol. I'm not sure what the parts in my car go for. Considering I'm heading over to the salvage yard to take my beyern wheels off, I see no reason why I coudn't head over their with a member and have them take what they need. I would be willing to let parts go for a fair price on the cheaper side since something is better is nothing. Hey if i can help someone else out in the process then why not. I should probably post something on the matter, just not sure exactly which sub-forum I should post it on. Thanks for the advice by the way. If you are in the NJ/NY and need something by all means let me know.

AchtungE60

Post in classifieds. Always take these tools 8mm, 10mm, 11mm, 12mm, 14mm and 16mm...both sockets and wrenches and also take both a metric set of allen keys and standard set. Go get your CCC out of there and the screen and replace it with someone's MASK and screen. Or don't. lol..just wait until they come look at it. hey while you're at it take your instrument cluster as well that's a nice $250 alone. I'm sure someone would like to swap your seats and door interior and maybe your trim and give you a nice $400 too. The price reflects supply and demand. Always know what you have. Do you have something that is desireable and yet at the same time rare? Of course, look at your interior bro! Someone wants that bad I'm sure and is willing to pay. If you know what that stuff goes for you'll shit. But if someone comes and can swap it all out in a few hours they save $1000 to get their seats re-upholstered and get OEM stuff. Lights and tails are big here and so is your light module (LM2) and your wiring harness.

Someone handy help this kid out (sorry you're still a kid to me ) go with him and swap out/strip down. Of course you have to replace wheels with other wheels but they can be nasty cracked OE 124's!

I got an idea...take off you hood and trunk emblems and make a G necklace. LOL