Insurance Money

[az_u_kan_c_]

Hey ppl, Recently i got into an accident with my 2000 Toyota Corolla VE (88,000Km) and the insurane wrote my car off for $10,000 + tax = $11,500CD(minus $500 deductable since it was my fault, so i really get $11,000). I saw dealer adds of Toyota corollas of the same year and kms for around $11,000 but then u have to add tax and that certainly doesnt cover the cost. I told the insurance company about this and they told me they'll increase the offer if i show them 6-8 corollas with roughly the same kms which sold for more than what they offered me. Is there any way i can find out a list of corollas sold in Toronto from some were?

[Mdxtasy]

The black book on the car is:
Low: $6,050.00     High: $7,550.00

I'd say $11,000 is fair.

[az_u_kan_c_]

im not gonna give up there...the guy said if i kan show some corolla sold for more then $11,000(canadian)..then i get more money. Even if the black book says that its worth $7,500, ull barely find a corolla for that low from dealers. Most of the corollas on auto trader with my kms are around $12,000

[Mdxtasy]

Black book is wholesale value.

[inco]

I doubt that dealers will be too eager to show you their books to help you prove your case.

I think you got a good price but if you want to persue this you might go to a Toyota dealer and tell them you want a new car from them and ask them to help you proove the value of your old car.

This way they have an incentive to help you, but you might have to sign first in order to let them give you that info.

[Accordingly]

Try searching AutoTrader...I did a search for 2000 Corolla using keyword VE and came up with 52 ads, several of which were over 11K. Here's the link and good luck!

http://search.trader.ca/Results.asp?BFROM=1&BAD=N&BPRICE=N&BTYPE=B&BCAT=1&BOREGI ON=100&BYEAR1=2000&BYEAR2=2000&BPRICE1=&BPRICE2=&BKEYWORD=VE&BMAKE=768&BMODEL=CO ROLLA&q1==+1&c1=@category&q2==+100&c2=@region&q3=768&c3=@makeid&q4=18968&c4=@modelcode&q5=VE%2 A&c5=@adcopy&q6=>=+2000+and+<=+2000&c6=@year&q7=&c7=@askprice&SortBy=ask price&SortOrder=d&DisplayType=pictures&DisplayRowCount=48&mknm=768&mdnm=COROLLA& q14=&c14=@subcategory&subcategory=&CAT=1  

[Sterling]

It's fairly easy to find out what people are asking for them. Finding out what they sell for will be a different matter.

(Message edited by Sterling on October 06, 2004)

[az_u_kan_c_]

I printed out a bunch on adds of Corollas with my kms and sent it to them and they added $1,600 to my intial amount and now im getting $12,600(canadian) for my car. Thanks for all the help guys. Now all I have to do is get another car. Im thinking of slaping on another $1,500(canadian) to get 2000-2001 Camry or an accord. I know the accord looks better and stuff, but i hear people say Camrys are way more reliable. What are you guys opinion?

(Message edited by az_u_kan_c_ on October 14, 2004)

[ovr50]

Looks are subjective so nat material to your query. As to reliability, both are tops in their class for reliability and resale. Go after the one you prefer but try out both first (little harder when buying used but still can usually do it). Be sure to have an independent mechanic that you trust check out your intended purchase. Good luck and BTW, way to go on getting a better insurance settlement. Most they could say was "no" and it worked.

[Accordingly]

Where's my cut, Az_u_kan_c_ ?

Kiddin...

[toolatecrew]

eDIT: I missed the post where you got an extra 1600 $. Wow that's some good negotating. That insurance company sounds like a good prospective customer for MY company.

I work for a company that is in the business of producing total loss values. Ask the insurnace company HOW they came up with their values.

Many use our product. They send us detailed information about the car, VIN number conditon (everything from stains in seats door dings etc.) KMs etc. We use a minimum of 30 comparable cars in your area and then adjust for milage etc etc. This is THE most accurate value you can get We collect MILLIONS of auto ads to use. If they used our product or one like it you'll have a hard time convincing them that your car is worth more.

For companies that don't use our product often they will call 3-4 local dealers describe the car and say what's it worth.  

Dealer ads are not necissarly a good indication of YOUR car's value. Do the dealer cars have the same  equipment, transmission, mileage options etc. Are they in the same condition your car was BEFORE the accident. be honest with yourself on this question. there is also a difference in ASk to Take pricing. If a dealer advertises the car for 11 K he'll likley take 10,500 . (We actually have information on askt to take ratios for differnt regions and different types of vehicles. They fluctuate widley).  

The insurance is there to "restore you to pre accident condition". You should be provided with enough money to aquire a car equal to what you had.  


i show them 6-8 corollas with roughly the same kms which sold for more than what they offered me.

The key word here is SOLD. It is more than likley that dealers will give the insurance company a SELLING price not a retail price. I mean after all you wouldn't walk on the lot an say how much for the Corolla? 11K? Sure OK let me get my checkbook - you'll say what's your best price or I'll make you an offer.  

I'm not trying to defend either side here just some "insider" information.  

If you feel that you can't negotiate 500-1000K off  of an "equivilant" used corolla challange the insurance company to 1. Tell you how they got their value and 2. Show me the ads of vehicles that i COULD REPLACE MINE WITH THAT YOU USED TO GET THE VALUES.

If you still are not happy and you PM me I could run a value using Vin, mileage, model, options and some info about conditoning (oh and postal code.) But you'd have to take my word for the nimber (I can't give the reports away for free) and I'll bet you won't be HAPPY when you see the number. (speaking from expereince.)

(Message edited by Toolatecrew on October 15, 2004)

[az_u_kan_c_]

In the first offer, the insurance company offered me $9995(canadian) + TAX = $11149. With that offer they also mailed me a package containing 20 adds of corollas around the same price as mine. In that I've seen cars similar to mine with the pricetag around the same (i.e most of the cars in that was around $11,500) My car's condition was excelent, the accident that happened was the first (and the last.) and the milage wasnt that bad 87K somehting kms but they took it as 88K.  

I didnt loose out on the first offer but I didnt give up then and there. I heckled them over the phone for a couple of days and then they said they'll give me an extra $1000 if i show them Corollas sold for more then what I was offered.

I had no idea how to get a couple of final prices as i though those are inside information in dealers. So, i went out looking for Adds that was rediculusly high. For example i found a 2000 Corrolla VE with 103,000 Kms selling for $14,999 in a dealership. If i were to buy that, there would be no way the dealer would cut off more than a $1000. (i say this from experiance) even if i get a thousand off the price is still gonna be way more then what they offered. I said these things to them over the phone and finally they got sick of me and added another 1000 in the base offer. So it was $10,995 + TAX = $12,650.

In the end, my stubborn behavior payed off well and now im thinking of a Camry or an Accord.