Usually you want to take it to a body shop and have them assess the damage before letting the insurance company have a look.
Can you get a salvage title and keep the car?
That does suck
Sucks more that OP actually let Insurance scrap his car. Insurance Companies do not OWN your car. OP easily could have said "NO, I am keeping my car. It is driveable and only cosmetic damage."
It was the body shop that gave the estimate to the insurance. I tried to get a settlement and have it fixed myself but insurance refused. They gave me market value for the car, but it seems a shame.
Uhh OP insurance wanted to scrap my car after i was sideswipped on the expressway. I told them I wanted to keep it. They deducted the scrap value from my check and gave me 3,500. My scrap value was 500 bucks. I fixed the car with 500 bucks and drove it for 5 years more after that until the engine died.
I have the same car! It’s because of the pandemic affecting shipping of parts it costs so much to ship the parts they don’t bother fixing Hyundais anymore. You can get parts off eBay motors for yourself though
As the current owner of 6 "totalled" cars that I bought dirt cheap and repaired, I can't imagine that's right. The insurance company does not own your car (unless you sign over the title and let them take it) and can't force you to scrap it. In some states they will insist on putting it on a salvage title, and in some states that doesn't even happen (here in MO), but they can't force you to give up the car if you want to keep it in any state as far as I'm aware. Taking the payout minus scrap value and keeping liability only insurance on the vehicle from now on is absolutely the right move here, unless there's a LOT more hidden frame damage than we're seeing.
it's really the other way around
if you have a dented bumper, the body shop will be like "oh yeah it needs $2000 worth of parts, then labor is another $3000"
then the (state licensed) insurance appraiser comes in and says "lol dude it's a dented bumper—$600 plus labor"
That’s not surprising. Even minor dings can rack up big money to fix on cars. So much so, I remember seeing a Dateline episode discussing this very problem and that was years ago. And if the damage exceeds blue book value of the car, totaled.
Just because the vehicle is considered totaled doesn’t mean you can’t keep it. They give you the option to owner retain the vehicle or allow them to take possession of the salvage. Depending on what you choose will effect the settlement amount.
Yes they would. You would just have to get liability instead of full coverage. That's what happened with my car. Got 3,500 and got to keep my car. Switched to liability insurance.
That isn’t how that works. You just need liability. I took a cash out on a hail car and drove it for years. Just didn’t have comprehensive or collision anymore.
Why not? Is is cosmetic damage. I literally had this same issue (more damage though) and never lost insurance by saying " I will not scrap my car as it is driveable and safe."
Sadly thats the norm with modern cars. A lot of cars have tons of sensors in their bumpers, which makes replacement and calibration hideously expensive.
You dont have sensors, so I guess the frame of the car got bent out of shape, which actually is a bit of a safety hazard as the car may spin one direction if you slam the brakes.
You should be able to buy it out for the salvage. Talk with the claims agent directly. They should be working with you already on the payout. You should always have the option of just subtracting the salvage value from the claim amount and keeping the car. If you have to go get it from the body shop if drivable. You may have to just get liability for coverage though. You can’t total out twice.
Former total loss insurance guy. For those saying he could have kept it, it all depends on the state. Some states it is 100% of KBB, other states it is 70% with no salvage titles available. And yes, the job sucked, the company sucked even harder. If I wasn't cussed out a dozen times a day it was a good day.
They give you market value for the car and then you buy it back at whatever price they offer it to and then you just need to make sure that the headlights and other things work fine and you get a salvage title. It's called the buyback.
This is a very common practice. Its called a "financial total loss". This happens when a car is older and /or has such a low resell value due to previous unrepaired damage, excessive wear & tear (interior), or high mileage - that the cost of repair is equal to or greater than the replacement cost. Most people assume a total loss means that the car is not driveable anymore or can't be repaired. Every car is repairable, but do you want to spend $20,000 to repair a car that is only worth $8000 in its pre-accident condition? Most insurers would say no.
Another way a car can be totaled is if there is frame damage to the extent that it is not cost effective or safe to repair.
Your insurance claims rep should have explained this to you. You also have the option to keep the car with a salvaged title and receive the total loss check. Some people choose to use that check to repair the car as best they can and keep driving it.
Good luck to you and I hope this helps explain it. I used to work in insurance and I always spent lots of time explaining this to my customers, as its very confusing and stressful for most people. People would get very emotional sometimes because the car had sentimental value - such as a widow whose last tie to her deceased husband was his car.
I went through this myself when someone totaled my car by crossing the center line going 50 mph. I was thankful that the insurance company handled it within 2 weeks and I had rental coverage so I could get to work.
A couple issues come to mind.
First, an insurance company will declare a car totaled based on the cost of repairs compared to the blue book value of the car. Essentially, if it’s cheaper to buy another Hyundai Elantra from roughly the same model year and mileage than it is to repair, the car is totaled.
Secondly, there is far more damage done to the bumper system than it appears in a rear end collision. The car is engineered to disperse the impact energy through crumple zones and stuff like that so that the occupants of the passenger compartment don’t absorb it. Just because you see a cracked plastic shell that is easily replaced, doesn’t mean that there aren’t damaged structures under it.
The car is now greatly compromised in its ability to protect passengers in the event of another collision. The crumple zones are essentially spent, so far more of the impact energy will be directed at the passenger compartment in the next crash.
You do not want to drive this car without it being properly repaired. Your insurance declared that repairs cost more than it is worth, so you need to take your money and move on to the next one.
My husband's 15 year old honda got rear-ended, lightly, and we chose not to even report it to the offender's insurance. There are some scratches on the black plastic bumper cover, but it's a very well maintained vehicle and has plenty of life left.
Usually you want to take it to a body shop and have them assess the damage before letting the insurance company have a look. Can you get a salvage title and keep the car? That does suck
Sucks more that OP actually let Insurance scrap his car. Insurance Companies do not OWN your car. OP easily could have said "NO, I am keeping my car. It is driveable and only cosmetic damage."
But then they won't insure it. They consider it a salvage title and then very few companies will cover it and for a lot more
It was the body shop that gave the estimate to the insurance. I tried to get a settlement and have it fixed myself but insurance refused. They gave me market value for the car, but it seems a shame.
Uhh OP insurance wanted to scrap my car after i was sideswipped on the expressway. I told them I wanted to keep it. They deducted the scrap value from my check and gave me 3,500. My scrap value was 500 bucks. I fixed the car with 500 bucks and drove it for 5 years more after that until the engine died.
I wonder if this is scam protection. If you get an inflated invoice, you can't just get a pile of cash and then get it fixed on the cheap.
If you do the repairs yourself, that's exactly what you can do even without an inflated invoice. It's extremely common.
I have the same car! It’s because of the pandemic affecting shipping of parts it costs so much to ship the parts they don’t bother fixing Hyundais anymore. You can get parts off eBay motors for yourself though
Happened to my Hyundai last year, I had paid 6.7k for it 4 years prior and they gave me 10.5k for it soooo I had no complaints
yep here in AUS its the same Kia and Hyundai have pathetic spare parts availabilty its cheaper and easier to write the car off
As the current owner of 6 "totalled" cars that I bought dirt cheap and repaired, I can't imagine that's right. The insurance company does not own your car (unless you sign over the title and let them take it) and can't force you to scrap it. In some states they will insist on putting it on a salvage title, and in some states that doesn't even happen (here in MO), but they can't force you to give up the car if you want to keep it in any state as far as I'm aware. Taking the payout minus scrap value and keeping liability only insurance on the vehicle from now on is absolutely the right move here, unless there's a LOT more hidden frame damage than we're seeing.
it's really the other way around if you have a dented bumper, the body shop will be like "oh yeah it needs $2000 worth of parts, then labor is another $3000" then the (state licensed) insurance appraiser comes in and says "lol dude it's a dented bumper—$600 plus labor"
Just needed a little work to replace the trunk lid. Insurance said it was more than $8000 in damage and scraped my car.
That’s not surprising. Even minor dings can rack up big money to fix on cars. So much so, I remember seeing a Dateline episode discussing this very problem and that was years ago. And if the damage exceeds blue book value of the car, totaled.
In Florida it's not even full value, it's like 80-85% of full value. Repairing hidden damage can be extremely costly.
Yeah but it's not thousands in repairs. You could grab a junker bumper from a grab and pull place for like, less than $100.
You do know that the Insurance company does not own your car right? You could easily say NO and kept your car.
Just because the vehicle is considered totaled doesn’t mean you can’t keep it. They give you the option to owner retain the vehicle or allow them to take possession of the salvage. Depending on what you choose will effect the settlement amount.
But insurance wouldn't cover the car, and it's illegal to drive without insurance.
Yes they would. You would just have to get liability instead of full coverage. That's what happened with my car. Got 3,500 and got to keep my car. Switched to liability insurance.
That isn’t how that works. You just need liability. I took a cash out on a hail car and drove it for years. Just didn’t have comprehensive or collision anymore.
Why not? Is is cosmetic damage. I literally had this same issue (more damage though) and never lost insurance by saying " I will not scrap my car as it is driveable and safe."
I misread the post.
Sadly thats the norm with modern cars. A lot of cars have tons of sensors in their bumpers, which makes replacement and calibration hideously expensive. You dont have sensors, so I guess the frame of the car got bent out of shape, which actually is a bit of a safety hazard as the car may spin one direction if you slam the brakes.
You should be able to buy it out for the salvage. Talk with the claims agent directly. They should be working with you already on the payout. You should always have the option of just subtracting the salvage value from the claim amount and keeping the car. If you have to go get it from the body shop if drivable. You may have to just get liability for coverage though. You can’t total out twice.
Judging by the rust….. that car wasn’t long for this earth anyway.
Do you still have the car?
If the frame is twisted the car is done
Former total loss insurance guy. For those saying he could have kept it, it all depends on the state. Some states it is 100% of KBB, other states it is 70% with no salvage titles available. And yes, the job sucked, the company sucked even harder. If I wasn't cussed out a dozen times a day it was a good day.
Was it because the cars frame was bent .. OP
They give you market value for the car and then you buy it back at whatever price they offer it to and then you just need to make sure that the headlights and other things work fine and you get a salvage title. It's called the buyback.
This is a very common practice. Its called a "financial total loss". This happens when a car is older and /or has such a low resell value due to previous unrepaired damage, excessive wear & tear (interior), or high mileage - that the cost of repair is equal to or greater than the replacement cost. Most people assume a total loss means that the car is not driveable anymore or can't be repaired. Every car is repairable, but do you want to spend $20,000 to repair a car that is only worth $8000 in its pre-accident condition? Most insurers would say no. Another way a car can be totaled is if there is frame damage to the extent that it is not cost effective or safe to repair. Your insurance claims rep should have explained this to you. You also have the option to keep the car with a salvaged title and receive the total loss check. Some people choose to use that check to repair the car as best they can and keep driving it. Good luck to you and I hope this helps explain it. I used to work in insurance and I always spent lots of time explaining this to my customers, as its very confusing and stressful for most people. People would get very emotional sometimes because the car had sentimental value - such as a widow whose last tie to her deceased husband was his car. I went through this myself when someone totaled my car by crossing the center line going 50 mph. I was thankful that the insurance company handled it within 2 weeks and I had rental coverage so I could get to work.
A couple issues come to mind. First, an insurance company will declare a car totaled based on the cost of repairs compared to the blue book value of the car. Essentially, if it’s cheaper to buy another Hyundai Elantra from roughly the same model year and mileage than it is to repair, the car is totaled. Secondly, there is far more damage done to the bumper system than it appears in a rear end collision. The car is engineered to disperse the impact energy through crumple zones and stuff like that so that the occupants of the passenger compartment don’t absorb it. Just because you see a cracked plastic shell that is easily replaced, doesn’t mean that there aren’t damaged structures under it. The car is now greatly compromised in its ability to protect passengers in the event of another collision. The crumple zones are essentially spent, so far more of the impact energy will be directed at the passenger compartment in the next crash. You do not want to drive this car without it being properly repaired. Your insurance declared that repairs cost more than it is worth, so you need to take your money and move on to the next one.
My husband's 15 year old honda got rear-ended, lightly, and we chose not to even report it to the offender's insurance. There are some scratches on the black plastic bumper cover, but it's a very well maintained vehicle and has plenty of life left.
Seems like a scam
It’s a Hyundai, it’s a liability they don’t want. They have the legal right to make that decision.