Long story short, an old lady in an expedition, on the prettiest of pretty days, on a 4 lane highway with no traffic about, decided to pull out infront of me right as I was coming by. While I was able to avoid a head-on collision, she still got the passenger front pretty badly, pushing the frame a bit, and bending the A-Pillar ever so slightly right above the passenger mirror.

Anyways, i'm in it for the long haul with this insurance company. Their initial offering was actually a little higher than I thought, but not high enough (just over $2000). It's a true GT-S hatch that I've owned for near 10 years now. Bought it a complete untouched factory car.

Care to believe it or not, their "comparable car" on their evaluation sheet was an '86 Corolla Deluxe. Yes, the AE82 fronter sedan. I'm disputing that immediately. Basically what I'm asking for is advice / help that will give me the best results in getting the proper settlement for the car. We all know she's worth more than that, I'm just looking for the best ways to prove that to the adjuster. I'm not parting her out, and I'm not junking her. She's getting bent back into shape and fixed. Thanks guys!

How she sat bout 2 weeks before:


At the accident:

I am not sure about Tennessee, but in Texas the insurance company only has to pay "market value" for the car ... which comes from an "independent" group of insurance agencies. Essentially you will never get the replacement value of your car in Texas unless you specifically have replacement value insurance (which is almost always included in GAP insurance fyi).
If you have any family, friends etc who are lawyers, you may want to ask them for advice on what specifically to say to the insurance company. You may also want to contact your states insurance division to see what the insurance company is liable for covering. http://www.tn.gov/insurance/

It seems like all of us TN members don't have good luck with the cars :S
hope you get it sorted out

Its Obama's new bill "Crash for Clunkers" where the Gov pays old ladies in Gov cheese and free bingo tickets to smash anything pre OBDII.

Kidding aside, I dont know how you can dispute the adjuster unless he/she was a car person. They really do go by the books when handling claims.

Request an appraisal from a third party. I'm not sure how it will play out depending on your situation, state and the insurance company your'e dealing with.

I went through a full loss on a '86 gts 2 years ago. The other guy was determined to be at fault and his insurance company (state farm) initially offered roughly $1600. I explained that there offer didn't reflect real market value based on supply, demand, condition, etc. and to my surprise they offered to get an appraisal from a third party. It worked out great because they valued my car at $4500 and that's what I received (they couldn't even factor in aftermarket stuff because I didn't have receipts). The real funny part is that the car didn't appear to be good condition. The paint was completely shot - terribly faded and uneven. It looked like it hadn't been washed in 2 decades .

Were you allowed to keep the car?

yukesrevolver wrote:
At the accident:

OMG! Mason, sorry to know this happened to your 86, but I'm glad you're okay brother!

I was able to buy the car back for $200.