Car Was Just Hit; Insurance Question

[Neurotic Guy]

In the middle of dinner -- about an hour ago -- my daughter's car, a high mileage VW Jetta, was hit while parked in front of our house (my neighbor's mother).

The front door and rear door are damaged and the car was pushed about a foot sideways -- so some significant impact.  Impossible to tell if there is frame damage, but with a quick look in the dark there doesn't appear to be any damage other than to the front and rear driver-side doors.

This car has been a disaster since we bought it only 6 months ago.  I would be thrilled if it is totaled. The value of the car is probably 4-5 thousand (?).  

Do any of you know how the determination is made that a car is deemed totaled?  Without doing anything illegal or unethical, is there any way to influence the decision?

[Big_Dave31]

Not sure about the US, but, I know in Australia, a car is deemed a write-off when the repairs cost more than half the cars value?

Probably doesn't help you at all, but, yeah.

[slamtheking]

In the middle of dinner -- about an hour ago -- my daughter's car, a high mileage VW Jetta, was hit while parked in front of our house (my neighbor's mother).

The front door and rear door are damaged and the car was pushed about a foot sideways -- so some significant impact.  Impossible to tell if there is frame damage, but with a quick look in the dark there doesn't appear to be any damage other than to the front and rear driver-side doors.

This car has been a disaster since we bought it only 6 months ago.  I would be thrilled if it is totaled. The value of the car is probably 4-5 thousand (?).  

Do any of you know how the determination is made that a car is deemed totaled?  Without doing anything illegal or unethical, is there any way to influence the decision?

I find it depends on the insurance adjuster that evaluates the damage.  I've found most to be reasonable when it comes to evaluating damage to older cars and comparing the repair costs to the value of the car.  Many are open to discussing how they evaluate the damage including any particular concerns you may have about structural damage. 

I haven't met one yet that would falsify damage to write off a car.  I don't see that as a negative though---I prefer to deal with someone who's honest and reasonable

[Neurotic Guy]

In the middle of dinner -- about an hour ago -- my daughter's car, a high mileage VW Jetta, was hit while parked in front of our house (my neighbor's mother).

The front door and rear door are damaged and the car was pushed about a foot sideways -- so some significant impact.  Impossible to tell if there is frame damage, but with a quick look in the dark there doesn't appear to be any damage other than to the front and rear driver-side doors.

This car has been a disaster since we bought it only 6 months ago.  I would be thrilled if it is totaled. The value of the car is probably 4-5 thousand (?).  

Do any of you know how the determination is made that a car is deemed totaled?  Without doing anything illegal or unethical, is there any way to influence the decision?

I find it depends on the insurance adjuster that evaluates the damage.  I've found most to be reasonable when it comes to evaluating damage to older cars and comparing the repair costs to the value of the car.  Many are open to discussing how they evaluate the damage including any particular concerns you may have about structural damage. 

I haven't met one yet that would falsify damage to write off a car.  I don't see that as a negative though---I prefer to deal with someone who's honest and reasonable

I wouldn't want or expect anyone to falsify damage, but I do wonder what leeway adjusters have if the damage costs are close to whatever the standard is for 'total loss'. 

Do repair costs need to be 100% of value for it to be deemed totaled? 
Do you have any idea what the repair cost is for replacing 2 door panels?

[Eeyore III]

Every insurance company is different in terms of how it handles near-total-loss situations.  Yes, adjusters have leeway.

However, here, "your" insurance adjuster (you should call your insurer) and the old lady's insurance adjuster will correspond and work it out.  They've done this a million times.

Paradoxically, the best way for you to have the vehicle declared a total loss is to tell the adjuster "Yep, it was a total piece of crap, not worth $500."  The less the insurers understand the car to have been worth, the greater the chance that the prospective repair costs will result in the car being toalled and sold for salvage by the (old lady's) insurer.

[action781]

My advice to you is to be careful how you value your car.  Your insurance company almost certainly won't value it that high.

In 2009, I owned a 2001 Infiniti G20 with about 130,000 miles on it.  It was in good condition, ran well, and I felt it was probably worth $5,000-$6,000 (which was the rough kbb value).  I had bought it about 2 years earlier at a bargain price of $6,500.

I got hit and I didn't even think the damage was TOO terrible.  The back of my car got smooshed in a bit.  I, shockingly, found out the car was deemed a total loss by the adjuster.  Then my insurance company called me to tell me that a check would be coming to me for.... $2,800!  I was absolutely shocked and told them that I would not accept that.  I argued for about a half hour why I felt that was unacceptable on so many levels, they called back a few days later to offer me something like $3,500-3,700.  I still found it completely unacceptable and told them I couldn't find a replacement car for that price.  They then made me go look up other cars in my area for sale that are similar to the make, model, year, and mileage of my old car.  I spent over an hour doing so, sent an email with about 10 links to these cars for sale, and finally they gave me something like $5,500.

In summary, having a car being declared a total loss may not be as nice and easy as it sounds.  At least if you have Amica auto insurance that is.

[JSD]

In the middle of dinner -- about an hour ago -- my daughter's car, a high mileage VW Jetta, was hit while parked in front of our house (my neighbor's mother).

The front door and rear door are damaged and the car was pushed about a foot sideways -- so some significant impact.  Impossible to tell if there is frame damage, but with a quick look in the dark there doesn't appear to be any damage other than to the front and rear driver-side doors.

This car has been a disaster since we bought it only 6 months ago.  I would be thrilled if it is totaled. The value of the car is probably 4-5 thousand (?).  

Do any of you know how the determination is made that a car is deemed totaled?  Without doing anything illegal or unethical, is there any way to influence the decision?

Stay away from european cars, my man. Way too expensive to maintain. Go Asian or American after your car is declared totaled, which it probably will be.

[slamtheking]

In the middle of dinner -- about an hour ago -- my daughter's car, a high mileage VW Jetta, was hit while parked in front of our house (my neighbor's mother).

The front door and rear door are damaged and the car was pushed about a foot sideways -- so some significant impact.  Impossible to tell if there is frame damage, but with a quick look in the dark there doesn't appear to be any damage other than to the front and rear driver-side doors.

This car has been a disaster since we bought it only 6 months ago.  I would be thrilled if it is totaled. The value of the car is probably 4-5 thousand (?).  

Do any of you know how the determination is made that a car is deemed totaled?  Without doing anything illegal or unethical, is there any way to influence the decision?

I find it depends on the insurance adjuster that evaluates the damage.  I've found most to be reasonable when it comes to evaluating damage to older cars and comparing the repair costs to the value of the car.  Many are open to discussing how they evaluate the damage including any particular concerns you may have about structural damage. 

I haven't met one yet that would falsify damage to write off a car.  I don't see that as a negative though---I prefer to deal with someone who's honest and reasonable

I wouldn't want or expect anyone to falsify damage, but I do wonder what leeway adjusters have if the damage costs are close to whatever the standard is for 'total loss'. 

Do repair costs need to be 100% of value for it to be deemed totaled? 
Do you have any idea what the repair cost is for replacing 2 door panels?

I don't have figures for replacing 2 door panels but it's not a drop in the bucket.  one door panel has cost me around $500-$600 in the past.  Eeyore summed it up pretty well in the post after your reply.  it's not illegal but provide the adjuster with an honest value of the car, perhaps the low end of the range you'd think it's worth.  that won't necessarily have it declared a loss but it would increase the odds.

[Celtics4ever]

Impossible to tell if there is frame damage

Did you get down under the car?  That is the best way to check a unibody frame.

[apc]

In the middle of dinner -- about an hour ago -- my daughter's car, a high mileage VW Jetta, was hit while parked in front of our house (my neighbor's mother).

The front door and rear door are damaged and the car was pushed about a foot sideways -- so some significant impact.  Impossible to tell if there is frame damage, but with a quick look in the dark there doesn't appear to be any damage other than to the front and rear driver-side doors.

This car has been a disaster since we bought it only 6 months ago.  I would be thrilled if it is totaled. The value of the car is probably 4-5 thousand (?).  

Do any of you know how the determination is made that a car is deemed totaled?  Without doing anything illegal or unethical, is there any way to influence the decision?

I find it depends on the insurance adjuster that evaluates the damage.  I've found most to be reasonable when it comes to evaluating damage to older cars and comparing the repair costs to the value of the car.  Many are open to discussing how they evaluate the damage including any particular concerns you may have about structural damage. 

I haven't met one yet that would falsify damage to write off a car.  I don't see that as a negative though---I prefer to deal with someone who's honest and reasonable

I wouldn't want or expect anyone to falsify damage, but I do wonder what leeway adjusters have if the damage costs are close to whatever the standard is for 'total loss'. 

Do repair costs need to be 100% of value for it to be deemed totaled? 
Do you have any idea what the repair cost is for replacing 2 door panels?

if you give me more details on the car, i can give you the parts cost.

[indeedproceed]

In the middle of dinner -- about an hour ago -- my daughter's car, a high mileage VW Jetta, was hit while parked in front of our house (my neighbor's mother).

The front door and rear door are damaged and the car was pushed about a foot sideways -- so some significant impact.  Impossible to tell if there is frame damage, but with a quick look in the dark there doesn't appear to be any damage other than to the front and rear driver-side doors.

This car has been a disaster since we bought it only 6 months ago.  I would be thrilled if it is totaled. The value of the car is probably 4-5 thousand (?). 

Do any of you know how the determination is made that a car is deemed totaled?  Without doing anything illegal or unethical, is there any way to influence the decision?

I find it depends on the insurance adjuster that evaluates the damage.  I've found most to be reasonable when it comes to evaluating damage to older cars and comparing the repair costs to the value of the car.  Many are open to discussing how they evaluate the damage including any particular concerns you may have about structural damage. 

I haven't met one yet that would falsify damage to write off a car.  I don't see that as a negative though---I prefer to deal with someone who's honest and reasonable

I wouldn't want or expect anyone to falsify damage, but I do wonder what leeway adjusters have if the damage costs are close to whatever the standard is for 'total loss'. 

Do repair costs need to be 100% of value for it to be deemed totaled? 
Do you have any idea what the repair cost is for replacing 2 door panels?

I work in insurance, and in my experience, the adjusters have a fair amount of leeway. It depends on the company, and the nature of the adjuster's relationship with the company (are they employees of the company or sub-contractors?), but in strictly general terms without knowing anything else about the loss, if the loss is close to the adjuster's assessment of the value of the vehicle, and if they know you think it is a total loss, it'll generally go your way.

For example, I've never seen a loss where the repair costs were within $500 of the blue-book value and it wasn't a total loss.

[JSD]

So what happened?