It will depends on your insurance company, of course. I had an car accident about 5 years ago and the car was totaled. My insurance company (21st Century) paid me fair market value plus tax and any medical charges that incurred. I was satisfied with the number. I agree with TLAE5NAV. The ideal of insurance is that you can buy another car just like yours with almost the same conditional at the current market with the insurance pay out. However, I believe they do not cover any after market equipment that you have on your car since those are not insured, unless you called them up and ask for insurance on those items prior to the crash. Of course, no one really do that since it will increase your premium on insurance.

Good luck with you and God bless!

 

I would go look at Edmunds.com and AutoTrader to see what the TMV (true market value) is for your car. Try to find your exact model with about the same mileage in your area and see how much it sells for, that'll give you an idea of how much you SHOULD get. In theory you should be able to get the same car and the same mileage with the same options with the money they give you, plus they should pay you for all the after market stuff. I had a 95 accord EX-L that got totaled and Geico paid me out for it, the way they figured out the value for my car was they would give me what the car was selling for in my area, using the exact options and model with about the same mileage. They pay you the retail price for all the after market stuff, I had some on my car, which wasn't much, an intake exhaust and foglights, which I had no extra coverage for, so I don't know how that worked exactly. I noticed that when the insurance rep came back with the first offer, it was really low for what I expected and researched. WHAT THEY OFFER YOU IS NOT WHAT YOU HAVE TO TAKE. This is just an offer, which you work off of. It took me 3 weeks to come to an agreement, but gave me a rental car of equal caliber for my car and i just had to pay the tax on it. If you have a copy of your insurance contract go through it because it has all the information on how they handle it and how much time you have to come to a settlement with them. With my insurance I had 30 days or it would go to a mediator who decides on the settlement, which they won't do in most cases, so by the 4th week, they'll be more willing to come to a better offer.

 

You have insurance so that you will be "made whole" or put back where you were (minus your deductable if you are claiming on your collision insurance).

IT IS NEGOTIABLE! They will try to low-ball you and get you to sign a release quickly. They will bring a check to you. TAKE YOUR TIME.

Do your homework. Check www.cars.com and www.kbb.com. Print out the stuff that supports your position. Have pics of the car before?? Have receipts for mods?? Argue that it was a cream puff and in excellent condition. Have ads for comparable cars in the paper or on Internet.

Even if they total it, you can bid on the carcass. You might be able to buy it back for a few thousand if you want to.

I repeat: IT IS NEGOTIABLE. Fight for top dollar. If they are rediculous, tell them you want to speak to a supervisor or go to arbitration (depending on your policy- most call for arbitration rather than court). Lean on them as they will lean on you. They will attempt to intimidate you because of your age and lack of experience. If you have an older, more experienced person, you might enlist their help and support.

Good luck.

XP

 

Sorry to hear about your lost, you had a sweet ride.

Anyway, my car was recently totalled. So I think I can help you out a bit.
I had the 2002 TL-S with Navi, same color as yours.
My car had 47k miles, and they paid me $25k for it.

So consider your mileage was alot less, and it is 2003, I say you would get at least $28k. Don't take it if it is any less.

And yes, they will pay for your after market stuff. (Well, at least some of it)
They paid partial for my spoiler and tinted windows.
So if you want, take the after market parts off your car if you think you can sell them for higher price. Otherwise leave it on the car and ask the total adjustor about it. He will be able to tell you what adds value to your car, and what doesn't.

I think your exhaust, body kit, tinted windows, rear spoiler should all add to the value of your car. But how much it adds I can't tell you.

Hope your insurance company treats you well!

 

i would say strive for in between trade-in value and retail value. trade-in value is abut 23k and retail is about 28.5k, so i would say settle for no less than 25k!! when my brother wrecked his 02 4runner, retail was about 27k, and they paid him 25k. which isn't all that great, but isn't all that bad either! so... like i said earlier, don't settle for anything less than 25k.

just my .2 cents!

 

I just signed papers today on mine so hopefully this will help.

Mine was a 2003 TL-S w/ Navi, 37,000 miles and in perfect condition. I was told that they cannot go by blue book to value. They do a search and check ads to find out replacement value. You don't get additional value for most mods exept for things like tinted glass and wheels. My Comptech axlebacks, headers, springs, struts meant nothing to them. We finally agreed on $26,350 plus DVM fees plus sales tax. The total was around $28500 by the time we were done.

The insurance company makes the determination if it's totaled or not. Once you settle, you can ask to buy back the car and do what you want. If you decide to fix, it's a salvage value vehicle that has lower value and is insured differently.

Good luck and hope this helps.

 

I had a similar accident where they fixed the car, which was around 16 worth of damage instead of totalin the car. Usually they use that 70% of the cars worth. But you never know, insurance will go with what it thinks will be less costly for them. But you have some major frame damage so, i wouldnt suggest getting your car back afterwards or anything like that, best bet is try to get the most from them and get your self a new car. you had a sweeet ride man, sorry to hear about all of that. Im interested in your sways and exhaust also, i pm'ed you so, if you dont want to deal w/ shippin, im in LA near you.

 

Yeah it's better to get rid of the car. Honestly, you don't want to fix the car and have it look cosmetically perfect, then when you go do some mod or general maintenance, you find something misaligned. Or worse, you're driving and you lose the handling. The frame damage is never the same. A mechanic or body shop, no matter how skilled, cannot match factory formed/machined parts.

With that said, take em for the KBB price. Say you won't take any less. Say that people on the forum, have a near identical TL that sold for that much. We'll vouch for you. Otherwise demand the same car with comparible mileage since they say "that's the worth of your car." Better yet, go find comparible cars and tell them to buy it. Be an ass to them - you've been paying them for years.