[jnj2455]

Looking for some who have experience with auto repair estimating to chime in. I've seen these kinds of threads completely devolve and that is NOT what I am seeking, so please leave your ego at the door. The insurance adjuster is going to be looking at it next week, I'm just seeking some opinions for my own edification.

An 18 wheeler evidently abruptly swerved into my fathers lane and he slammed into the edge of the box trailer + what appears to me to have been the Mansfield bar based on how the bumper/radiator was pushed back. The lorry did not stop and kept going. I don't necessarily agree w/ how he handled it, but he was able to drive it back home some 15 miles away before calling the police from our driveway and telling them what happened. I also don't necessarily think it was a hit & run per se because I'm willing to bet the lorry driver didn't even feel the collision. Thankfully, he was completely unscathed which was all that matters.

The van is in great condition for being 19 years old as it only has 90,000 miles and garage kept. They held onto it as a work horse and for sentimental reasons that I won't go into now. In short, they will try to repair this if possible. However based on my general knowledge and just eyeballing it, this is going to be pretty extensive work as the whole radiator, front frame (non-structural I believe), air intake, left HID lamp, hood/grille/bumper, are various % of damaged. There appears to be a slow coolant leak and a mild shudder at idle but air bags did not deploy. What I'm getting at is I think this will be totaled given the age/value but I'm happy to be wrong for my parents' happiness. Also if it's deemed totaled, does it automatically gain a salvage title?

[Efthreeoh]

19 years old at 90,000 miles...

It will be totaled by the insurance company. It looks to be repairable. It will be a buy-back situation and your parents pay the difference to repair. My estimate based on core support removal and replacement plus cooling system components, $8,500 minimum. Expect to be quoted used parts for the repair.

Salvage title depends on the satutes the State has regarding salvage titles. You can find such information from either the State DMV website, or ask the insurance broker. For example, my State only issues salvage titles on vehicles 5 years old or newer and depending on the value of the repair.

[10"]

Will be totaled—-and no they shouldn’t repair it IMO—for safety reasons if anything. Owning salvage titles are a bit of a pain too, so wouldn’t encourage that!

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by 10"

Will be totaled—-and no they shouldn’t repair it IMO—for safety reasons if anything. Owning salvage titles are a bit of a pain too, so wouldn’t encourage that!

What safety reasons?

[jnj2455]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

19 years old at 90,000 miles...

It will be totaled by the insurance company. It looks to be repairable. It will be a buy-back situation and your parents pay the difference to repair. My estimate based on core support removal and replacement plus cooling system components, $8,500 minimum. Expect to be quoted used parts for the repair.

Salvage title depends on the satutes the State has regarding salvage titles. You can find such information from either the State DMV website, or ask the insurance broker. For example, my State only issues salvage titles on vehicles 5 years old or newer and depending on the value of the repair.

Originally Posted by 10"

Will be totaled—-and no they shouldn’t repair it IMO—for safety reasons if anything. Owning salvage titles are a bit of a pain too, so wouldn’t encourage that!

Shocking to no one, it was deemed totalled today. The quote for the insurance buyback was actually on the high end of the private party sale listed in KBB, which I was a bit surprised by but the adjuster was apparently impressed at how clean we kept it (patting teenager me on the back for all the times I washed and waxed it over the years as I honed my detailing abilities). My 2 second search into NJ DMV seemed to yield that totalled cars immediately gain a salvage title so def not worth that headache in the future.

Now begins the arduous task of making mid-size SUV suggestions to them Considering how my mother can barely use her iPhone, I'm thinking something more old school buttons and way less screen-heavy. Thinking an LCI X3 would be appropriate before next gen rolls out. Or a lightly used pre-LCI X5.

[M5Rick]

That's a big whack, high miles and 19 years old, looks a write off to me.

[jnj2455]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

The buyback situation seems odd. I'm not sure how every insurance company processes it, but when my E90 was totaled by a deer strike, I had to first make the insurance claim as a buyback, then I was sent to the department that settles buybacks and that is when I learned what the buyback amount was. So, in my case I had to make the buyback decision without knowing the buyback price. Based on the salvage value of my car at $450 (it had 350,000 on it at the time) and the repair estimate, I ended up paying about $1,765 out of pocket. A buyback quote that is on the high end of the KBB value does not seem anywhere close to being correct. Are you sure the number the insurance adjuster gave you was not the insurance company's estimate of the Toyota's retail value rather than the salvage value? The buyback value is based on the insurance company's salvage value estimate, which should be thousands of dollars less than the used retail private sale value (value).

I would double check with the adjuster. Something does not seem right; I think the number he gave you was the settlement price for the Toyota the insurance company is going to pay your parents for it. Most buyback situations end up like mine where you pay a few thousand dollars difference between the repair estimate and the buyback price you paid to buy the vehicle back from the insurance company.

Apologies, I may be using the terms wrong.

I was only forwarded an email from the adjuster and it said:

Full Settlement = $X
Owners Retain = $Y

If you take the full settlement, I will send you directions how to get the title to us and set the pick up of the vehicle from your residence.

If you keep the vehicle, you can text me a photo of the title, front and back. Collision and comprehensive is dropped from the policy. Liability remains


The full settlement $ was what I was led to believe would be the amount they would receive in exchange of for the car. I was using buyback in the sense of the insurance buying back from us but I think you were using buyback as in buying back from the insurance company?

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

That's a big whack, high miles and 19 years old, looks a write off to me.

Sure . Repair costs exceed the value of the 19 years old vehicle .

So , too bad . That's a RIP ..

[jnj2455]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

The amount of the check the insurance company pays your parents is "settlement of the insurance claim". You said the insurance adjuster valued the Toyota at slightly higher than KBB private sale value, so if your parents decide to settle the claim at full value, they will get that (KBB+) price for the car. Your parents sign the title of the vehicle over to the insurance company and the company comes to pick up the vehicle.

Yah I believe that is what $X is. And to clarify, it was on the higher range of the KBB private sale but not over. I also want to confirm that the $X shown was after the deductibles and whatever fees have already been accounted for.

I'm not sure what "owners retain" is. Buyback is the generally used term for when the insured settles for a lesser amount and retains the vehicle and has it repaired out of pocket. Assuming "owners retention" is the difference between the full claim settlement and what lesser amount your parents receive from the insurance company and they keep the Toyota, that delta is the buyback amount.

Yah I'm not sure about this part either. The way I read it, is that they issue the $Y amount (which is a few grand less than $X), the insurance coverages are dropped, and we retain the car and figure out the repairs on our own.

I admittedly know absolutely nothing about insurances and the mechanics/nuances of coverages & deductibles so we need to do a bit more digging around.

All that said, we all know what the smart thing to do is when we remove the emotional factor.

[evomike]

front frame (non-structural I believe)

a weld in radiator support is 100% structural, this will be a total loss all day long and you should walk away from it.

[chassis]

Originally Posted by jnj2455

Shocking to no one, it was deemed totalled today. The quote for the insurance buyback was actually on the high end of the private party sale listed in KBB, which I was a bit surprised by but the adjuster was apparently impressed at how clean we kept it (patting teenager me on the back for all the times I washed and waxed it over the years as I honed my detailing abilities). My 2 second search into NJ DMV seemed to yield that totalled cars immediately gain a salvage title so def not worth that headache in the future.

Now begins the arduous task of making mid-size SUV suggestions to them Considering how my mother can barely use her iPhone, I'm thinking something more old school buttons and way less screen-heavy. Thinking an LCI X3 would be appropriate before next gen rolls out. Or a lightly used pre-LCI X5.

We have a pre-LCI X3. Great car but iDrive could be trouble for someone who has trouble with an iPhone.

[jnj2455]

lol i'm sharing these quotes from my parents over the last 5W shopping as I was amused at how fussy & opinionated they have been throughout the whole process. And no surprise, there are so many god damn options to choose from.

X3 30i - Fine but a bit tight. B48 is a bit louder/coarse than I was expecting (??)

X5 40i - Love this interior & space, but feels kinda porky/heavy. Same engine as your 440i? Yours feels faster. (well no shit dad, that's physics for you)

Q7 55 - Why does the leather feel so hard? Too many screens.

Q5 45- This somehow feels roomier than the X3? Smoother/quieter 2.0L even at WOT. Moves very quickly & feels light on its feet.

RX350h - This is nice but the Germans have better materials. What's up with that angry mouth/face thing?

RX500h - $73K??

CX90 - For how big it looks on the outside, this is still a bit tight on the inside. We "hate" this caramel suede interior (pretty sure they're the only persons on earth who have ever said that, I was charmed by that interior)

Highlander - Fine. Is a car.

RAV4 - People pay $32K for this plastic shitbox of nothing?

XC90 - This is quite lovely (I actually steered them away from Volvo since they keep their cars for a very long time and I worried about the super/turbo charged electrified 4 banger being a reliability mess)

In the end, it boiled down to the X5 and Q5, which obvi are different classes. It would've been the X5 if the dealer they were talking to wasn't being a dickhead & playing games. They actually increased the price of the X5 they specifically wanted by $1300 after they expressed serious interest. Knobs. Parents told them to go pound sand.

Audi won their hearts this time around.