Any Tips For Dealing With Insurance Adjusters?

[PitViper]

Hey Guys. Looks like as of today there is one less VX on the road. Guy blew a red light, I gunned to avoid him hitting my driver side door (I was turning left), he ended up clipping my tail end and sent me into a tree and telephone pole. No doubt she is totaled. Only a broken finger, bruised shin, and disappointment is left behind.

So as the title states, I know I'm about to get screwed... any pointers?

Also what are the thoughts @ buying it back as salvage? Single owner, daily driver since 2002 :,( She's in rough shape now. I don't have the time to part her out but I have a friend who owns an auto body shop that I may be able to recruit.

Oh, and no, I didn't have a roof rack X)

[PitViper]

Truck was valued at $5800 according to the insurance adjuster. The comps used were both in the low $5ks. I'm going to dig around and see what I can come up with for compairable sales.

Truck was in excellent condition. Tires and rims were just over a year old which wasn't taken into account. I got a copy of the invoice from the shop that did the work to submit.

Amazingly she had the original PV muffler that I installed 13 years ago lol. Tail pipes were redone 3 years ago but the muffler was still surprisingly alive and kicking!!

[VXNOVA]

Are you on the Facebook group - probably better response there.

[CatFish]

I think it would have been worth $6k-$10k depending on the condition of the paint and how many miles it had on it. I am sure you could find some comps that have sold but it might take some digging.

I also agree that posting this on Facebook would get you a lot more responses.

[Mile High VX]

http://www.vehicross.info/showthread.php/27304-Preparing-my-insurance-response-in-advance?p=309617#post309617

[CatFish]

I totally forgot about that thread, thanks Earl

[PitViper]

Thanks all. That link is helpful. In my situation at least the other party has claimed fault so I can get an attorney if push comes to shove.

They refused compensating me for rims/tires which were only a year old. Their reasoning was that when they did the appraisal it was done with the original alloy wheels - that my upgrades were customer choice and did not affect the value. I argued that the original rims and tires would have been 15 years old and is in no way comparable to set that was installed a year ago.

Digging for comps is getting harder and harder.

I'll check out the facebook group and report back.

[ipd]

This situation is my worst nightmare. If I ever own a gun, I'll probably be carrying it in my VX, and if this situation happens to me, it would be the last day I spend as a free man. The other driver wouldn't live.

[CatFish]

You can opt to keep it for a slightly less settlement amount, if you plan to get another VX you can put all the good stuff on it and sell the good parts to the VX community, or just sell it for parts to someone after you get what you want off of it. I do hate to see VXs with good stuff on them get junked. Maybe someone could even save it if you do not let the insurance company take it. If the insurance company takes it all hope it could be fixed or the parts saved for others are slim to none and that would be a terrible shame. :(

[PitViper]

Ended up getting $7500 for the truck - The key is the adjuster HAS to use private sales. Otherwise the "official" list of sold vehicles are mostly auctions and are few and far between. I crossed over to the dark side and picked up a new (leftover) 2016 Wrangler Willys. While it'll never be the same I'm having a blast with it.

[Mile High VX]

I got $10,790 for my '01 Dragon with 147K on the clock. State Farm was great to work with. They use a 3rd party company that uses private seller sales and for sale vehicles to set the value. Was very happy with it all.

[CatFish]

That is good Earl, but where do people need to look for your crashed VX so they can salvage the good parts still on it?

[Mile High VX]

I'm not sure where it ended up. It went to auction through IAA in Dale, TX which is just south of Austin.

[PitViper]

That's awesome @Mile High VX. Was this recently? Unfortunately for me the comp list from 2 companies didn't list anything over $8k - and I'm sure this will be even tougher in time.

[Mile High VX]

Yes, just a few weeks ago.

[eternal21]

I got $10,790 for my '01 Dragon with 147K on the clock. State Farm was great to work with. They use a 3rd party company that uses private seller sales and for sale vehicles to set the value. Was very happy with it all.

Wait....what? What happened?

[Mile High VX]

I-35 near Austin, TX...construction zone...guy cut me off...the rest is a totaled Dragon that was the best vehicle I've ever had...:(

[eternal21]

I-35 near Austin, TX...construction zone...guy cut me off...the rest is a totaled Dragon that was the best vehicle I've ever had...:(

And the sad thing is that we're in the same city, and I never ran across you, and you've been here for a year now. Replacement dragon coming?

[Mile High VX]

I loved my VX and spent way too much time and money to get it just right...so I know that another would be the same drain on my time and my back pocket. I just couldn't in good judgement do it again.

I bought a 2015 Xterra Pro 4X with a 6-speed in Night Armor (dark grey). I've really enjoyed it so far and it's not going to break the bank trying to keep it in pristine condition.

[CatFish]

Earl, if you ever feel the need to get another VX you could just get one that is a little rough and trail ready and just have fun with it and not worry about the condition next time.

[ipd]

I think i'd rather opt for the ability to fatally shoot someone on the spot for totaling my VX...rather than having insurance money. I can't get my VX back; idiot's family should have the same fate.