about a month and a half ago an idiot ran a redlight hitting the car next to me and pushing that car into my 66 mustang. Well i just found out a couple of days ago the at-fault insurance company is totalling my mustang and trying to lowball us on the settlement. So i wont have a mustang for awhile until we negotiate a higher settlement out of them and then we will have to wait for the payout to get a new stang.


but i will still linger around here and help out with my limited knowledge and still try to persuade people to keep their Inline 6's

 

Oh man I'm sorry, at least you'll be able to get another one huh?

 

I had a pick up truck stolen from me a couple of years ago, it was only a few months old. The insurancecompany at first came in with a really low-ball offer. Over the next couple of weeks we "worked things out". Do not let them think you are in a hurry for a settlement, and do all that you can to establish a fair market value for your car. This is very important. It is the adjusters job to get you to accept as low an amount as possible. He will try to establish a low fair market by selecting as many low cost "comparison" cars as he can, while disregarding mileage and condition, whensuchdisregard works to his advantage.

Do not take anything personal, stay cool, if the guy / lady likes you, you will be more likely to get a better settlement, but, you will still need to establish the value of your car by pricing other similar vehicles of like condition and equipment. All this said, you will have tostand up for what is right, but in a nice way, without going way over the top with unreasonable demands, or threats of legal action. (at least early on)

A point of leverage for you might be that you have had to do without your car for several weeks, they should owe you something for your inconvenience or at the least, rental charges. If you have not been provided a rental car, tell them that you really need one until settlement is completed. As the rental costs accrue, this will tend to speed things along.

Also, you can negotiate to purchase the car at "salvage value" if you want to keep the car. (Cheap Parts, Etc. ?) Save this for last, after the company has already given you a low ball salvage value.

 

I'm sorry, man that sucks. Just stay cool and try to work it out calmly like JMD said. Good luck, and again I'm sorry for your loss.

 

You might tell the adjuster that you have been having to do a lot of walking since the accident, and the more you walk, the more your neck hurts,,,,,

(Just Kidding)

 

Yeah, my neck would be hurting like hell unless a fair price was offered.

 

As funny as it sounds, don't treat a medical situation lightly. Go get checked and have a paper trail of your docotors notes. The more serious you are about it the more the Ins. company will want to get you out of their hair.

I'm only speaking from my experience with simular situations. The mere mention of an attorney will normaly get things going in your direction. Ins. companys have deep pockets and normaly try to scare the consumer off with a first reply and quote. However, they'd rather not get into a pissin match with attorneys because that's money out of their pockets.

Do your homework and get a wide range of estimates. Take the middle of the road ( or where you think your vehicle lands ) and submit them. If they come back with a less than fair offer, then go get the advice of an attorney. Don't sign, agree or accept >any< offer until you're satisfied.

 

I had a guy rear end me in my 76 Bronco. Insurance company wanted to total it and I refused to. They gave me the money to fix it. If it is not too bad don't let them total it.

 

well we have as much time as it takes to get the amount of moeny we want and we have hired a lawyer and i they recommended me to a doctors clinic for treatment of devere headaches and dizziness since the accident so ive been getting massages, electro thingies on my back, ultra sound, and neck and back adjustments 3 times a week for the past 2 weeks and for awhile to come

and we are charging them for a rental vehicle i had to rent from my mom's boyfriend's son for the first month until my lil bro got a car from our aunt for his 16th B-day and since he doesnt have a license yet im driving it

and my mom works for an insurance company(and is also the owner of the mustang) and she wont let us get lowballed on the settlement cause she has put almost as much money into it as i have and we are getting the car back this weekend

and my uncle is also making about a grand off this too cause i used his towing company to tow my car and store it while the insurance company was doin their BS and he is charging them for the tow and storage