I currently owe about $14,000 to the credit union on my ‘good condition’ 07 Honda CR-V. Recent major hail damage threats that I MAY have a ‘totaled’ vehicle on my hands. If NOT totaled then they est. repair time to be 6-8 weeks. I find out by the end of next week. In the mean time, I want to be prepared for what is ahead and am looking for advice on how to proceed. I do have gap insurance. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! 
I’m not sure what kind of advice you’re looking for. You are in the hands of your insurance companies. Regardless of what their television commercials tell you, they aren’t in business to serve you or coddle you or make your life better. They are in the business of producing value for their shareholders but they will pretend to serve you while they low ball everything. Don’t be afraid to dispute whatever they come up with if it looks like it isn’t going to restore you to pre-disaster status.
I used paintless dent removal for my minor damage but sounds like you have major damage. They can replace hoods, glass, even roofs, so you just need to see what the estimates are. Some areas of the country seem to have better body shop services so you may want to look at work done for others if you have it fixed. Gap insurance will cover what you owe versus what the vehicle is worth if you are upside down so at best you just end up even. If the car is worth more than you owe, you’ll just get the difference. Hail damage is not the same as a collision so don’t be afraid to get it fixed if that looks like the best way. Otherwise its just between you and the insurance company to come to a resolution.
Agree with painless dent removal. They will charge much much less them a body shop and get the crb looking as good as new again. The good ones are true magic workers.
This is totally different then a car that was in a accident. Little chance of there being mechanical damage.
If it is totaled…Then I’d get the insurance money…buy it back from the insurance company (this will be at the highest bid price they received from salvage yards). Then fix it so it’s drivable. If it’s just body damage (i.e dimples) then just leave it. Put the insurance money in a bank account. (Actually I forgot…Pay off the truck or pay down as much as you can)…then drive the CRV until it drops.
One thing to think about is if you can take the money and have fixed any damaged glass. The money thats left over pay down the car. Then just live with the dents.
Hey it makes the car more aero-dynamic… Well it works for golf balls at least 
Myth busters actually did that to a car.
The advice I seek is indeed vague. I am just pretty clueless in this department and hope to get some general or specific insight. So thanks everyone!
Unfortunately, the hail was the size of baseballs and larger so the damage is horrendous! It smashed all the chrome trim and the windows/doors/hood/roof are goners. The back interior is soaked. It honestly looks like someone took a sledgehammer to my car for upwards of 100 blows.
I owe just a tad less then the worth so I may break even but it is good to know that the final payout is negotiable. At least that is what I am interpreting from some comments. Any advice on how to negotiate in my favor? What is the leg I have to stand on? Is it their job to return me to ‘pre-disaster status’?
& lol @ gsragtop
If it still runs you could just keep driving with the bonus that all of the damage greatly reduces the chances that anyone will want to steal it.
I just re-read your first post… if you have gap, then you are guaranteed to walk away even… Not that it does much good in getting you into a new/used car. The whole idea behind GAP is that it makes up any difference in the value of the car VS what you owe… So if you owe 14,000 but the car is worth lets say 12,000 the GAP will pick up the $2000 difference and you walk away clean… However you will not have any money to put towards the purchase of a new car…
From they way you just described it, I would say the CRV is a gonner… The wetness alone on the interior can cause all kinds of electrical issues to say nothing of oders the car may have for ever…
From the damage you described my bet is it will be totaled out. I can’t imagine sticking the kind of money these repairs will run into a 5 soon to be 6 year old car. Start figuring out the worth of the car, check want ads in your area for similar cars and Kelly Blue Book.
I beleive that for a car to considered totaled the the cost of repairs have to be at least 75% of the value of the car. That what I was told when I hit a deer 6 years ago.
To totaled a car it can be up 125% It depends on more than just the value of the car. It rare that it will be more than 85% but I have wrote the check for 125% of value. That happens most offend after its in the shop and most of the repairs have been done. Then something is found and fixing it will not cause a safety issue. On hail damaged cars I have seen many fixed so they are drivable and the insured takes the rest in cash.
The only down side is it comp and liability only have that. No collision.
In order to get the most out of your vehicle if the insurance company tries to tell you it’s totaled try to find other vehicles of the same make, model, condition in your area and collect selling prices. If your’s has low mileage don’t forget to adjust the price up for this. A couple years ago my son was hit by a lady in one of my cars and the insurance company said the car might be totaled. They believed they could buy the car cheap. I had already researched the asking prices of cars the same make and model as mine, many were 1-3 years older, much higher mileage and in much worse condition than mine and were selling $1K-$3K more than my estimate. I let the insurance adjuster know I’d done my home work and knew what it would cost to replace my car, this was the last I heard about the car being totaled. Use this information in order to negotiate a settlement with the insurance company. Look on used car lots, craigslist, auto trader publications and classified ads. Since your vehicle is a Honda it’s likely to have a higher resale value than the book lists so don’t let them get away with paying book price, they are responsible for paying fair market value for your car. When you start your negotiation start asking for more than you really expect to get then hopefully you’ll get a fair price. Don’t be afraid to say no to the insurance adjuster and let him know you’ve done your homework.