Recently, I was in a wreck in my '02 Beetle, and I had it taken in to the body shop for repair. I got a phone call from the insurance company today, and said that it was considered totalled because the shop ran the computer in the car and the computer registered it as ‘totalled.’ The body shop then stopped looking at damage estimates so I don’t even know what the total damages and cost are. The car is low mileage (30K) and I’m sentimentally attached to the car (long story) so I would prefer to keep it. Should I get a second opinion, maybe pay to fix it if it’s not too expensive, or take the settlement?
Take the settlement. You can buy the wreck back from the insurance company and keep it if it’s a sentimental thing. Several good pictures would suffice in my opinion but that’s me.
“Totalled” in insurance lingo means it’ll cost more to repair than it’s worth.
Take the check.
Take the settlement. Kiss it goodbye and think of happy memories.
Repairs that significant would make me worry about how well it would make me worry about its future reliability. Take the check.
Depends on how much the settlement is and there are 2 kinds of total. One is physical damage total/send it to the crusher total and the other is an economic total; meaning the monetary cost to repair is more than the real value (not the normal retail value).
If the settlement is a lowball offer then I’d sit on it a while and tell the insurance company you’re in no hurry to close out this claim.
However, that’s just me; I’m a patient person and don’t mind letting someone sweat it out a bit.
Any chance of posting a pic of this thing to gauge how bad the damage really is?
Yep take the settlement. A car like that can have a lot of hidden damage. Never fall in love with something that can’t love you back.
The COMPUTER says “totalled”??? The computer knows the current replacement value of the car??? Either you misunderstood or someone is having you on.
That’s what I was wondering - I don’t know if it meant there was serious damage to the frame or what. I’m going to go by the shop after work today to talk to them and see what they meant as I’ve only talked to the insurance adjuster.