[quote=spdrun]…They ponied up for book value + rental reimbursement + 14 add’l days of rental within a few days. Book value, incidentally, was 2x what I had actually paid for the car! I told them that: they insisted in paying.
They took $250 off for scrap value, let me keep the car, and I sold it on Craigslist to someone who wanted to make a track car.
Guess they knew they couldn’t have won in court, and wanted to cut their losses.[/quote]
Actually, this has happened to me a few times as well. I always paid the salvage value ($250 or so) out of my “settlement” and found a “cheaper” way to fix the car. A little known fact about insurance companies is that they will pay for all the repairs and replacements that were made in the last 12 months (not counting oil changes, etc) on top of offering the blue book value of the vehicle, if their insured was at fault. The “victim” must present his/her receipts.
And I’ve always carried full coverage for the reason given above and to have UM and UIM (close proximity to Mexican drivers who carry $3K liability or none at all). I only pay $747 anually for an 19-yr old Lexus.
It’s ALWAYS wa-a-a-ay cheaper all around to drive older vehicles purchased from a private party. I’ve run the numbers back and forth, even taking into acct 0% (new) and 1.9% (used) mfr financing, cash rebates, discounts for cash and the fact that older cars often need major (over $1K) repairs.
My issue is that I got used to a lot of “bells and whistles” and the ride of a “luxury” car and could never afford to purchase anything like it even “near new.” My next one will be off Joe Sixpack’s driveway.
And spdrun is absolutely right. The “devil you know” is much preferred to the “devil you don’t know.”
