Car Wreck-Depreciation? Sell or keep?

[AnonyBliss]

So as ive posted before I own an 03 Ford Explorer xlt 4wd with the third row seats. Its a 4.0 and its been a BAD-A vehicle.
Well- until last tuesday when a baby driver mistook mine for her bumper car arch rival.
We hit while I was at 40 miles an hour- she was turning Through oncoming traffic as I was mjust driving on by. I hit her front end with the front corner driver side of mine. Her bumper went just under my vehicle and I went over hers. her 1990 Subaru legacy was toast. My car sustained minimal body damage. Didn't even crack a headlight. But the front end suspension took a hit. Both wheels on my baby triangling inward toward the hood. The sway arms bent (as they are designed to do) the steering linkages and steering box went bye bye along with some other issues pertaining to my suspension in front end.
Needless to say- I wasn't at fault but I have a few concerns.
The vehicle isn't an amazingly high line car, with this being its first wreck I'm concerned about the value of it significantly decreasing.
Its at the ford dealership getting the fro t end suspension redone and the body work ( again its minimal) fixed.
With this vehicle should I sell it when I get it back?
Do I demand depreciation for my car?
Should I worry about its future performance given the types of repairs?
What if any suggestions should I take into consideration.

 

[CT8]

Seems you need to get a repair estimate first.

 

[AnonyBliss]

The suspension repair so far is 3300
Body 1200
They are replacing the fender and bumper due to the locations of the dent
They said there will probably me more once they do tear Down For suspension
Blue book in mint is 5k
Nada in mint is 4-5 k
The average is about 3k value
I'm just worried I won't be able to retain any value and wasn't sure if anyone driving a similar ford knew more?

 

[dlundblad]

Don't take this the wrong way, but its an 11 yr old vehicle. Realistically, how much was it worth before the wreck? I wouldn't sell it after getting it back. You just said how much you loved it. Thankfully its getting fixed at a dealer rather than Joe Blow. Make certain the repairs were done correctly and keep documents and you should be golden.

I'm just a dumb kid, but I have never heard of getting money back on depreciation. My dad was in a wreck with his 6 month old Tahoe back in 2002. Wasn't his fault and their insurance wanted to put used non GM parts on his truck. His bumper had to come out of pocket. It was the Z71 package so that just added to the cost.

 

[AnonyBliss]

True story bro- that sucks for your dad- total [censored] I hate that for him
The car has been fabulous other than normal ford repairs.Cat converters, bearings at 130k the normal intake replacement at 130 and adding ceramic brakes all around.Not that the brakes saved me this time but I see your point.I definitely want to keep the car - unless any ford guys know about any post collision issues I may find. Thank you !

 

[JayhawkRoy]

Talk to the insurance company first, and don't commit to any repairs. From what you have indicated, you are over 80% and closer to 90% of the cost of the vehicle at this point in time. The insurance company may total it. Find out first before you do anything else.

 

[CKN]

If the OP has all the info correct-the insurance company WILL TOTAL IT. Ask about the option of buying it back under a salvage title if you know where you can get it fixed for less than the estimate and want to keep it. Otherwise, like someone said it's an 11 year old vehicle.

 

[AnonyBliss]

I got the estimates from the dealership- if they total it what does that mean for me? The ins companies have not stated they are totaling out my car(the at fault teenagers ins or my own). I'm still awaiting notification.
That's kind of a scary thought -what does that mean for me?

 

[AnonyBliss]

Not to sound incompetent- but this is my very first accident and im pretty nervous about being played by insurance or not asking the right questions to protect myself.

 

[dlundblad]

How long ago did you get the quote? I'd assume the insurance company would be in touch with the dealer. If you don't hear anything from them by 5:00 Monday, call them Tuesday mid day.

 

[NHGUY]

There are tens of thousands of these out there.Take the insurance money and buy a good one that hasn't been in an accident.

 

[Cujet]

The repair quality really depends on the shop doing the work. Good shops do great work, obviously. And, you can expect a vehicle with a good number of new suspension parts and an accurate 4 wheel alignment. This is a good thing on an 11 year old vehicle.

If you've maintained the vehicle well, and you have chosen a good shop, then keep it and enjoy the new suspension.

 

[AnonyBliss]

I got the quote when I called the dealership Friday around 2 pm. I was getting worried about the lack of information so I called them.
I'll give them Monday and call Tues if I haven't heard anything.

 

[Panzerman]

Good luck with that. My wife's car is a 2002 Lincoln, nice car yet, but I only carry Liability insurance at this point. The car's value simply isn't there. Any time a car is over 10 years old, your just not going to come out ahead. My wife wrecked the car when it was about 5 years old and I had full coverage. They put used Lincoln parts on it. A lot of parts even come from older interchangeable Lincolns. I went rounds with them and even had a insurance rep come to the dealership. He informed me , they were not insuring the car for new parts but to return it to the " same" condition. Regardless, it didn't go well. Insurance companies are the devil, no doubt. You just have to be careful. There is no way I would insure a car and more than I have to if its over 10 years old. Remember insurance is only to cover a loss you "CANNOT" afford to replace.

 

[JayhawkRoy]

If it is totaled, the insurance company will make you an offer to buy the vehicle from you. You should be reimbursed the value of the vehicle before the accident. My insurance company uses NADA retail value, after considering the mileage on it and options that may still have value. That is their offer, plus sales tax.

You can then use the money to either purchase the car back and repair yourself (minus some salvage value), buy a new one, etc.

Every insurance company works a bit differently, so you need to talk to the insurance adjuster who is handling this case to find out what they want to do: repair or total.

You don't have to accept their initial offer, but make sure you do research to figure out the value of the vehicle and be able to defend your counter-offer if needed.

I would also ask the dealer if they have been in communication with the insurance company, to determine if the adjuster has seen any estimates so far.

 

[JHZR2]

Sounds like they may total it. Insurance will do whats best for their profit line, not for your best interest, though you pay them an arm and a leg for that. Don't expect your and their idea of being made whole to match. You may need to turn this into a bleeding match by invoking substantial legal processes... So be prepared to learn the legal system, and even up to needing to have jury trial (a common tactic). In the end you don't need to go that far, but you need to go the length to bump up their profit optimized offer for one more to the reality of the situation.

In the end, if totaled, you can likely buy it back for pennies on the dollar, and then do as you wish. Sometimes the pricing on repairs is different for a cash payer.

Good luck.

 

[Mr Nice]

JHZR2,

Wasn't your classic Benz totalled by a woman a few years back... or do I have the wrong person ?

 

[C1KLTX]

If it is totaled by insurance (which I'm sure it will be) you can buy it back from them (IIRC its what its worth to a salvage yard) and you can use that money to fix it, or like someone else said use that money to buy the same model of car again.

My 97 rodeo was totaled due to hail damage. I bought the car back from them for the salvage price, and pocketed the remaining amount, lets say I made out (you aren't obligated to fix it if it's totaled), also in TX they don't Salvage your title for total loss on hail.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
JHZR2,

Wasn't your classic Benz totalled by a woman a few years back... or do I have the wrong person ?


Yep, thats how I learned to take insurance head on and use the legal system. And why I have such a distaste for lawyers - the monopoly keeps you out of some legal libraries and other things that should be available to the people, and yet, in the end all, I did a better job than the formally trained lawyers working the case.

 

[C1KLTX]

All the insurance lawyers want is you to say it was your fault so they don't have to pay. Well at least the other person company lol.