Car Accident

I recently got in a car accident where i was at falt. I have yet to hear back from the insurance company to see if the car will be totaled. Im not sure if anyone can answer this for sure but my car already has a total loss claimed on it from another owner, and i was wondering if that would affect the amount the insurance company would give if the car is in fact totaled.

So the car already had a salvage title? If so, in most cases, insurance companies will offer you less compensation based on that fact.

I’m not sure if the title is salvaged, i just know on my registration has total loss claim on the bottom. I got finacing with a bank and was told that they would not give a loan on a car that was salvaged. I was young when i got this car so i didnt do the best job check on this kind of stuff.

Why would you want to finance the purchase of a salvaged car? If you can’t pay cash, stay away from the deal.

Was the car repaired the last time it was totaled or was it left damaged? If it was left damaged, yes, it probably will affect your pay-out. You are only due the value of the car before the collision.

If indeed the car was totaled this time, is still drivable, and you want to keep it, you might be able to negotiate a deal with the insurance company where they pay you what the car was worth, and you pay them the salvage value in order to keep it. I did this once a long time ago. The car was worth $850 and the insurance company said the salvage value was $50. They agreed to send me a check for $800 and let me keep the car.

Do you have collision insurance??

What’s the Forum’s consencus about when to drop the collision part?

Who in their right mind would carry collision insurance on a salvaged beater?

If the car is financed the company financing the loan will REQUIRE you to get collision insurance.

I usually drop collision when my vehicles reach about 8/yrs or 250k miles (which ever comes first). After that it’s usually NOT worth paying the extra cost for collision. But each persons vehicle and situation will be different.

Insurance companies are very good at determining the true value of a vehicle, and they are unlikely to give you any more than that. The VIN will tell them everything they need to know.

If it was totaled once before they will know, and they will factor that into their calculations.

My advice to my kids is that if you can’t afford to go out and buy a replacement car tomorrow, with cash, then you probably need to retain collision insurance.

My daughter has done that. She lives in Wichita and has had more not at fault accidents in ten years than I have had in 30.

My son has generally eliminated collision on his older cars. One grandson’s car (liability coverage only) is sitting at my son’s place, waiting time and money to do DIY repairs from an at fault accident.

I retain collision coverage for my 95 F350, even though it is 14 yrs old. My wife side-swiped a light pole on a slick road, and I received 8K in body repairs two years ago. That expense alone more than pays for a lot of collision coverage on it.

In Kansas, with hail/wind/windshield rock damage, all of my comprehensive coverage pays off, over time.

It’s really all in what level of risk do you want to take, and I think the younger and less economically stable you are, the more you should mitigate risk through full coverage auto insurance.

You are assuming the insurance company knows things from their lack of response. Maybe, maybe not. DON’T volunteer information, such as the statement on the registration form. If pressured, and if they already know, you may as well admit it. If you repaired the car, or had someone repair it, its pre-accident worth is the same as any as any other car of same year, make, model, etc, and state of repair.
The insurance company’s vehicle damage estimators will make a determination of any pre-existing damage. They won’t, necessarily, know if it had damage which was repaired, and in the current accident, was damaged again.
Call your insurance and ask them what the hold up is. You have paid for their services. If they won’t talk to you, call your State Insurance Commission, or State Attorney General for Consumer Affairs. Be a wheel, Squeak!!

Thanks so much for your replies. I still haven’t heard back from the insurance company and im about to call them for the 3rd time today. Also I will add that the car was repaired and in great working condition I’ve never had a problem with it. It was a 2001 Honda Civic with 90,000 miles on it. Also i do have collision on it as it was required by the bank.

In that case, I estimate you are due between $3,000 and $4,000, but don’t hold me to that. I was wrong about the collision insurance. You were wise to keep it. I thought your Civic was a beater when you bought it.

Why would you want to finance the purchase of a salvaged car? If you can’t pay cash, stay away from the deal.

Am I missing something? I don’t believe the op stated anything about financing this.