Vehicle Appraiser

[Stephen]

Long story short, I was in an accident with my Suzuki Kizashi and Progressive has declared it a total loss. I call BS on that because they are comparing the price of mine to other Kizashi's that are not the very rare GTS Sport package (less than 3,000 sold in North America). And that there is damage that I don't see being possible (a-pillar).

I can dispute this, but I'd need to find an independent vehicle appraiser. Anyone know someone who does that?

 

[TurboMinivan]

Wait, wait--I'm confused. You crashed you car, and the insurance company declared it a total loss... but you'd rather they rebuild it?

(Normally, this argument is exactly the opposite.)

 

[Stephen]

Wait, wait--I'm confused. You crashed you car, and the insurance company declared it a total loss... but you'd rather they rebuild it?

(Normally, this argument is exactly the opposite.)

The vehicle was involved in an accident, I did not crash the car. Important distinction.
If you want to keep the car, why would you want a salvage title? That makes no sense unless its something like a beater trail rig. And I've paid the insurance company tens of thousands of dollars for no services rendered for a decade, so yeah, I feel like they need to buck up and pay for the car to be repaired. Thats kinda the prime reason they exist. Not to give me a ridiculous number and say that they won't repair it. At the very least I'd like them to total it out for what the vehicle is actually worth, not half its value!

 

[Greg]

Not to dig into personal details, but is it your insurance company that you're dealing with or was someone else at fault? Having dealt with a car that was totaled recently, the at-fault drivers insurance company that wanted to lowball me and ignore the stack of receipts for recent work, then not wanting to pay real-world replacement values, I totally understand the frustration. I had to be a DICK, get mean, be aggressive and put the pressure on them to make things right and do it NOW. Provide documentation about the rarity of the car and try to find another one that has the same package for sale, comparing it's price to their valuation.

I don't personally know any appraisers, but I would try find someone that specializes in valuable vintage cars.

Unfortunately, repairing an A pillar isn't the easiest fix.... it needs to be done right, by someone that knows what they're doing. I'm not too surprised they want to total the car.

 

[Stephen]

Not to dig into personal details, but is it your insurance company that you're dealing with or was someone else at fault? Having dealt with a car that was totaled recently, the at-fault drivers insurance company that wanted to lowball me and ignore the stack of receipts for recent work, then not wanting to pay real-world replacement values, I totally understand the frustration. I had to be a DICK, get mean, be aggressive and put the pressure on them to make things right and do it NOW. Provide documentation about the rarity of the car and try to find another one that has the same package for sale, comparing it's price to their valuation.

I don't personally know any appraisers, but I would try find someone that specializes in valuable vintage cars.

Unfortunately, repairing an A pillar isn't the easiest fix.... it needs to be done right, by someone that knows what they're doing. I'm not too surprised they want to total the car.

It's my insurance. I hit a skateboarder who decided to cross into traffic on the U campus at an inopportune moment. Shitty situation all around; but not my fault.

I'm no expert, but I'd be shocked if the A-Pillar is damaged. I looked the car over pretty good before it went to the body shop, no dents, door opened and closed fine, and he didn't hit near there. I'm having the shop (Schneider Auto in Salt Lake) look it over and give me an estimate for the repair. I trust them more than the Progressive guy who just eyeballed it.

I'm gathering as much data as I can so I can go back to them and try to get this righted. Sadly, because the rarity of the car I'm probably just going to have to take the hit and have them total it if I want to keep it. Just like to get a little more if I have to do that.

 

[Greg]

It's my insurance. I hit a skateboarder who decided to cross into traffic on the U campus at an inopportune moment. Shitty situation all around; but not my fault.

I'm no expert, but I'd be shocked if the A-Pillar is damaged. I looked the car over pretty good before it went to the body shop, no dents, door opened and closed fine, and he didn't hit near there. I'm having the shop (Schneider Auto in Salt Lake) look it over and give me an estimate for the repair. I trust them more than the Progressive guy who just eyeballed it.

I'm gathering as much data as I can so I can go back to them and try to get this righted. Sadly, because the rarity of the car I'm probably just going to have to take the hit and have them total it if I want to keep it. Just like to get a little more if I have to do that.

Yeah, if the insurance guy just eyeballed it you're wise to get it into a professional shop. Being that you didn't hit another car, I also doubt that it's not totaled. Hope it works out for you Stephen!

 

[jeeper]

That would have to be a seriously LARGE dude on a skateboard to damage an A-pillar

 

[Tonkaman]

I had a similar disputes with a car value once. I had to provide comps for 3 similar cars listed for sale. Once I did that they owned up to the real price

 

[moab_cj5]

I had a similar disputes with a car value once. I had to provide comps for 3 similar cars listed for sale. Once I did that they owned up to the real price

When I had a car wrecked, it was definitely totaled. The insurance put it on me to find the comps, so I found 5-6 and sent them that. I was able to negotiate toward the higher end since my vehicle was better than average. Sorry you have to go through this. I would do your own research and submit that to the insurance adjuster.

 

[smartass_kid]

maybe reach out to the suzuki dealership? they could verify the rarity of the car

 

[Stephen]

maybe reach out to the suzuki dealership? they could verify the rarity of the car

Problem is Suzuki left the US in 2014.

 

[Tonkaman]

Problem is Suzuki left the US in 2014.

Ooh it’s so rare, there isn’t even a dealer! Now that should double its value [emoji6]

 

[Stephen]

Ooh it’s so rare, there isn’t even a dealer! Now that should double its value [emoji6]

I'm not asking them to double the value, I'm just asking them to recognize that a GTS Sport is worth more than a base model S. Its like comparing a base Civic with an SI, its just not the same.

Update, though. Progressive called me and said that they are going to expand their search parameters and get dealer estimates for what they'd list a similarly optioned vehicle for. So I guess they actually listened to me! Surprising.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

I had the same thing happen to my 1987 Mercedes 300TE. It was in perfect condition. Some moron ran a light and I ended up T-Boning his POS Ford. After a long heated battle and a low ball offer of $1000 for a rare well taken care of car I came away with replacement cost of $5000.

The short of it, the insurance guys are always going to try to get away with the cheapest possible solution. Put up a stink, fight, don't settle until you are happy. If its not your fault, you deserve to get what the vehicles replacement cost is.

Not to dig into personal details, but is it your insurance company that you're dealing with or was someone else at fault? Having dealt with a car that was totaled recently, the at-fault drivers insurance company that wanted to lowball me and ignore the stack of receipts for recent work, then not wanting to pay real-world replacement values, I totally understand the frustration. I had to be a DICK, get mean, be aggressive and put the pressure on them to make things right and do it NOW. Provide documentation about the rarity of the car and try to find another one that has the same package for sale, comparing it's price to their valuation.

I don't personally know any appraisers, but I would try find someone that specializes in valuable vintage cars.

Unfortunately, repairing an A pillar isn't the easiest fix.... it needs to be done right, by someone that knows what they're doing. I'm not too surprised they want to total the car.

 

[Stephen]

Update:
Progressive blinked! They "revised their estimate based on new information" and determined that the car is actually worth repairing! The guy at Schneider said they should be able to get it done by the 28th, even if they have to get parts from Japan.

[video=youtube_share;BtqqLMI-olw]https://youtu.be/BtqqLMI-olw[/video]

 

[Tonkaman]

Love the clip ha ha!

 

[moab_cj5]

Awesome news!

 

[skippy]

I got rear ended about a month ago and cant get progressive to even call me back. I am not impressed with progressive up to this point, i am glad you got it resolved

 

[RogueJeepr]

There's a service (claim) center in Murray. Take it in there and they get the paper work started.

I never wait for calls.

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