View Full Version : Hail Damage - Insurance Co. wants to Total it out!!!
theonlyrealperson
08-30-2006, 07:05 PM
I can't believe this. I just bought my car, a 1995 525i, a month ago. It's only got 88.6 thousand miles... It's my first Bimmer, and I love the car.
A week ago I was caught out in a hail storm. It didn't break any windows, but theres dents all over the hood, roof, and decklid. I was really upset - this thing is my baby - and I had just dropped about $1,500 in getting the car the way I like it.
I took it in to let the insurance adjuster look at it - and they want to toal it out. I am really pissed. I just want my damn car fixed.
My question is: Do you guys have salvage titles? Have you successfully converted it from a salvage title back to a regular title? Or, should I just cut my losses and get a new car?
I don't have the figures yet on how much they'll offer me, or how much it would cost to buy it back from them. I'm supposed to know by the end of the week.
angrypancake
08-30-2006, 07:07 PM
post some pictures
632 Regal
08-30-2006, 07:34 PM
they wont total it if you dont force them to fix it. Maybe you need to settle with them, they pay a portion of the body repairs or something. Some good body shops can remove most of the dents without sanding, filling or whatever. What was the estimate they gave you or did you take the can in for your own estimate?
theonlyrealperson
08-30-2006, 07:40 PM
Really? If you don't force them to fix it they won't total it? Hmmm... that's an option.
They haven't gotten me an estimate yet. I tried to get an estimate from the two BMW dealerships in the area before I took it in (for ammo, if I needed it) but both refused. They said that they don't give out estimates for hail damage, they work it out with the insurance company. I didn't have time to try an independent place.
I'll try to post pics tomorrow morning... I'm in class now...
Robin-535im
08-30-2006, 08:06 PM
I'm in class now...
See - when you graduate and get a job... you can do this from work instead!!
Ins Co has a $ value in mind for your car (close to blue book) and will authorize repairs up to ~80% of that value. If it costs more to fix, they give you the "blue book" value, take the car, and auction it / scrap it to recapture the 20% difference.
If you want to keep the car, do not let them total it, as then it will have a salvage title which makes it hard to re-insure and harder to sell.
You can accept the ~80% value of the car as cash and keep the car, and probably find a bodyshop to cut you a cash deal that is MUCH cheaper than what they quote the insurance companies. Ask who the dealer takes their cars to / ask indy mechanics who specialize in BMW's who the best local BMW guy is for bodywork. Chances are good there's somewhere local known for doing a good job on BMW's. Tell him the story and see what he would charge to fix it for cash... I bet you can be fixed up for a few grand.
- Robin
How much are they willing to give you for the car? Let us know and then decide what you can do...
Exactly. What are they basing the car value on?
I'd say your car is worth about $5000 assuming it's all good after you fixed it up. So, they're claiming $4000 worth of damages? That must be some freaking hail! Hello paintless dent guy! ;)
saconnect
08-30-2006, 09:29 PM
it's worth fighting for. Take your time and don't be in a hurry. Insurance company's want you settle fast.
Same exact thing happened to my 90 miata about three years ago. The book was about three thousand dollars then, and hail damaged the rear plastic window, hood, trunk and all four fenders. They wanted to total it for $3,000, but it was highly customized for auto-crossing and I did not want to loose all the customization...they don't pay for that unless you pay extra to insure it. Since the car was still operable, I was able to convince them to settle with me and not total it out. Remember you have to give them the title in order for them to sell it back to you.
I settled with them for around $2,100 something I found a guy that completely disassembled the car body to repaint every part, even taking care of some rusty wheel wells and pinstrping in a little over two weeks. He charged me $1,600 cash. He wanted to charge me $800 more to replace the top, so I had to replace the top myself which cost a whopping $275 and about six hours on a Saturday, and it looks fantastic!
Point is, Try not to let them salvage the car. Work it out with them. Don't be in a hurry either especially if the car's still drivable. If it's still perfectly drivable, then there is really no reason for them to send it to salvage. So what if you drive it around with dents for a while, it's still an e34, and dents in the hood do no affect the drive!
Look around for a good body person that's not BMW...you may be surprised what you find. You won't get the whole value of the car, but you should get enough to get it repaired better than it was before....heck, it's 12 years old, and could probibly use a good paint going over anyway. :)
It makes me sad to hear this. :( Good Luck
632 Regal
08-30-2006, 09:37 PM
when they totalled my 4x4 I bought it back from them. they did not take my title and I fixed the truck. No cops involved just insurance BS, I couldnt stand the inflated charges and changed to AAA for a year. AAA didnt see any insurance claims because there was no police involvement. Insurance was cut in half with the truck on full coverage again....then AAA jacked the F_ck out of their rates and had to switch again and now its 1/2 of what AAA charged.
it's worth fighting for. Take your time and don't be in a hurry. Insurance company's want you settle fast.
Same exact thing happened to my 90 miata about three years ago. The book was about three thousand dollars then, and hail damaged the rear plastic window, hood, trunk and all four fenders. They wanted to total it for $3,000, but it was highly customized for auto-crossing and I did not want to loose all the customization...they don't pay for that unless you pay extra to insure it. Since the car was still operable, I was able to convince them to settle with me and not total it out. Remember you have to give them the title in order for them to sell it back to you.
I settled with them for around $2,100 something I found a guy that completely disassembled the car body to repaint every part, even taking care of some rusty wheel wells and pinstrping in a little over two weeks. He charged me $1,600 cash. He wanted to charge me $800 more to replace the top, so I had to replace the top myself which cost a whopping $275 and about six hours on a Saturday, and it looks fantastic!
Point is, Try not to let them salvage the car. Work it out with them. Don't be in a hurry either especially if the car's still drivable. If it's still perfectly drivable, then there is really no reason for them to send it to salvage. So what if you drive it around with dents for a while, it's still an e34, and dents in the hood do no affect the drive!
Look around for a good body person that's not BMW...you may be surprised what you find. You won't get the whole value of the car, but you should get enough to get it repaired better than it was before....heck, it's 12 years old, and could probibly use a good paint going over anyway. :)
It makes me sad to hear this. :( Good Luck
ricola
08-30-2006, 10:14 PM
Were you in Southern MN? I just wrote $ 8200.00 on a 05 Caravan. It's about 95% (of 80%) now. The hail damage was not like your used to seeing. There were baseball size hits that even bent the roof rack. No small nickle or dime size hits anywhere.
I had a converation with another rep that was down in Northfield MN. He was totaling anything with glass damage. Sometimes it's easier for the insurance company to total cars out when there is the huge volume of claims. Customers get new cars without the hassle of being without their cars while repairs are being completed, there are no calls from shops wanting more money. This involves a rep having to take time to validate the request. And there are no rental car payments made.
To most people cars are for getting around. There is very little passion for the driving experience. So to most the offer to total is the best solution.
As others stated, take your time, evaluatate the offer, and do your homework. Be prepared to counter. Tell the rep that this is not just car to you. Ask him to keep an open mind.
Oh, BTW: Most of the reps I know don't even know what a Bugeye is. They are not car guys. Sometimes they just need to take a breath if their company will let them.
BillionPa
08-30-2006, 10:55 PM
sounds cheaper just to get a new hood and trunk lid, and have the remaining dents fixed?
Michael999
08-31-2006, 05:07 AM
Im not sure what happens where you are, but in Australia it becomes better to let them pay you out, and you have purchase rights on the "wrech" for about $300.
If i had hail damage i would be happy, they give me the cars value, i get a new one, buy my wreck, Bingo then you have a car full of spares ready to keep your new car maintained for many years.
SharkmanBMW
08-31-2006, 11:50 AM
sounds cheaper just to get a new hood and trunk lid, and have the remaining dents fixed?
Ditto,
replace what you can, and repair only the un-replaceable!
PICS PLEASE
theonlyrealperson
08-31-2006, 02:05 PM
I'm in the Twin Cities Metro area. They aren't very good pictures (and the Bimmer needs a wash pretty bad). I had to use my camera phone because my wife is off with the good camera.
As you can see, the hail damage is really minimal. I'd say a total of 14 dents or so - and only a couple bad ones.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n106/theonlyrealperson/08-31-06_1106.jpg
[URL="http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n106/theonlyrealperson/08-31-06_1105.jpg"]
[URL="http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n106/theonlyrealperson/08-31-06_1103.jpg"]
[URL="http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n106/theonlyrealperson/08-31-06_1102.jpg"]
theonlyrealperson
08-31-2006, 02:06 PM
One more:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n106/theonlyrealperson/08-31-06_1104.jpg
Russell
08-31-2006, 03:29 PM
Get an estimate from dent Wizard. They are a national PDR chain with trained workers. In the past, they have done hail repair work for the local Toyota factory. If they can reach the damage from inside, they can fix it. On the roof, the headliner may need to be removed.
Perhaps even offer the insurance company the option after you get an estimate.
Jon K
08-31-2006, 03:41 PM
PDR will remove those dents - in the meanwhile, depending on your insurance company and how many cars you have insured, I'd tell them that you took it to a bodyshop yourself and they said the insurance co is nuts for attempting to total the car. Sounds like your agent/appraiser is an asshead - a '91 BMW with 88k and 14 minute hail dents and he wants to total it? You should see my reaction when dealing with insurance companies. Like when I got rear ended and my radiator cracked and trans mounts broke... and the insurance agent tried to tell me that it was due to pre-existing damage on an "older" car. I said "So you take my money every 6 months and pat me on the back saying 'We've got you covered' and then when I have an issue after paying FULL COVERAGE, you say it's because i have an older car that may have had existing damage!? How come you didn't base my premium on this OLD car of mine!?"
RichO
08-31-2006, 09:04 PM
Just to give you a point of reference. My car has about 3 times as many hail dents on the hood/ roof/ trunk. I got a quote from a local PDR ( who all the local new car dealerships go to) for about $800.
It also included fixing all my door dings (one on each door).
danzee
08-31-2006, 09:05 PM
When I was in a similar undervalued situation after a T-bone accident to my 1985 E30, I got several BMWCCA members to submit letters certifying what they recently sold or paid for similar cars. I also argued that the car was at the high end of the scale based on its maintenance record and what it looked like in the undamaged portions. The insurance company reconsidered and made me a new offer that was in line with my estimate of the car's value. It pays to do a bit of homework and to have a cooperative adjuster.
My ins. co. "totaled" our van because damage from a minor hit exceeded book value. I took the cash, they sold me the car for salvage value($100) and I fixed it myself.
Don't see why you can't do same.
They wanted to verify the repair before they would cover it again though.
Most ins. cos. are *******s so may need to be firm.
Their obligation is to restore you to the pre claim status.
My title is same as before, no taint.
If the damage was caused by the recent storm near the Twin Cities area, then the insurance co's are prolly swamped with work. Many times they will hire temporary claims adjusters to keep up with the volume of claims. They don't always get along well with the ins. co. & claims will get botched. The numbers the adjuster comes up aren't etched in stone. When I had an accident 2 years ago, I had to arm wrestle the other at-fault driver's insurance co. to keep them from totalling my car. The body shop owner (Manny) went to bat for me & was able to convince them to use a higher valuation number for my car to keep the 80% worth of the car above the total claim dollar amount.
Take it to a body shop & let them do battle with the adjusters/ins. co. That's all in a day's work for them & they're used to haggling & know most of the adjusters quite well. If the hail damage is light enough it can be handled by Dent Masters, etc. then go that route. Call the local BMW CCA club chapter & get a reference. We had a monthly club tech session at a local dent specialist shop and they can work magic if you get a skilled tech.
theonlyrealperson
09-01-2006, 02:40 PM
Well, it came close but if I find a body shop to do it within their price range they will be willing to fix it and not total it out. I'm glad they've decided not to just total it out automatically.
They valued my car at $7,650, with a salvage value at $2,395. The repair bill, they estimate, is at $4,956. State Farm calculates it as the salvage bill + the repair bill cannot be above the value, else it's totaled.
So, I'm $301 dollars below the limit. Close, real close.
Honestly though, I can't believe the repair bill is estimated at $4,956! They are replaceing the hood, decklid, left fender (I guess I missed that dent), upper winsheild mold, tail light, and fixing dents in all four doors, and spraying the whole thing.
I'm going to have a brand-new exterior, assuming I can get someone to do all that for just under $5k. :D
They did give me the choice of totaling it out and taking the money, since it's so close. Like that's even an option!
How much are they willing to give you and then how much for you tu buy it back?
How much are they willing to give you and then how much for you tu buy it back?
That's a good question! Of course, if they're going to pay for it, might as well go for paintless dent repair and a full body respray ;)
theonlyrealperson
09-02-2006, 01:05 PM
Sorry, I should've been more clear.
They would give me the $7650 if I totaled it (minus my $500 deductible), and I could buy it back for the salvage value of $2,395.
I don't want to do that, however, because if I just were to fix it it's cheaper to have them do it rather than buy it and then have it done. I don't want a salvage title either...
Unless your car is really F'ed a good dentless guy can fix it.Find a guy to do it for cash, pocket the dough from S.F. Then get a good ins. co.
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