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advice-car was hit and there insurance doesnt want to

90volvo

Active member
Joined
May 27, 2017
Location
Eldorado Springs Mo.
My newest member of our 240 family got hit in a parking lot. My car was parked and a truck sled into it. The driver had insurance thank goodness. It bashed in my driver side rear quarter panel. I took it to 3 places; 2 of them acted like they didnt want to mess with it. The 3 rd one said he would match the paint and fix it right. It was a 3500 estimate. Now his insurace company claims they wont pay that much and I will have to pay 1000 out of my pocket.
Im asking on here because I know you guys have probably been down this road. So I am looking for advice.
Im super busy and dont have alot of free time to deal with them. But my 240 is slick and has 90000 original miles. That why I bought it. Today Im going into there main office to talk to them face to face. Thanks for any advice here.
 
I think they're saying that at $2500 in damage, your Volvo is totaled. And they're not going to pay you any more than that. Cars are totaled at 75%(IIRC) of their market value.

You could try to get an appraisal if you think it's worth a fair chunk over what they think it is. Like around $5K to support them paying $3500 to fix it.

And you don't have to accept their offer. Say no. In some cases, you'll be offered independent arbitration, where they present their facts, you present yours, and an independent person makes a decision. In other cases (possibly depends on the state?) they have some leeway to make higher settlements, but if push comes to shove they might let you try to take them to court.

Sad fact is, you're just not likely to get much in the way of sentimental value (i.e. none at all), and very little int he way of 'collector car' valuation, even thoush a few 240's end up selling for $10 - $15K.
 
The documentation to show the car is in superior conditioin. Receipts to show parts replacement and repairs. Service records. All this may show the car is a more valuable car than the average car. That said they are still going to stick to their guns and only go so far.

Last time I dealt with this on a nice 1990 wagon my friend had. It wss totaled to the insurance co. He kept his car and they gqve him $800. The repair estimate was $3400. Was hit on the driver side rear door and rear wheel arch. Lots of unibody repairs there.
 
The $1000 difference/deductible is the responsibility of the crasher. Not the crashee.

You were hit due to no fault of your own, you should be made whole.

Your insurance company might want to total the car, that is a different negotiation and covered by the post above.
 
About 10 - 15 years ago I went thru this. The details are a little fuzzy but I did dispute the ins. co. low valuation. They told me where they got their numbers from-- a local used car dealer. I called up the dealer and asked them if they remembered talking w/ the ins. co.

They did. I asked them if their valuation took into account all the above average features my car had (better engine, great condition, rare options, etc.); they had not. I asked them to re-estimate the value, which they did. I presented the new valuation to the ins. co., and they upped their payout to a more reasonable amount.

It did take a lot of time and patience. I stuck with it mostly based on principle. Guy spends extra effort and money maintaining a good older car in excellent condition and the ins. co. always tries to cheap out.
 
I would check your local laws. If it were me I would send by mail/fax the insured and their insurance carrier a nicely worded demand that your vehicle be repaired at a repair shop of your choosing. Voice conversations are difficult to prove in court. If they declined, I would sue the insured in small claims court for the full value of the repairs. Their insurance company would probably represent the insured. Try and get a second quote at the very least.

Remember the insurance company for the person that hit your car wants to pay as little as possible, but they have the responsibility to make you whole.

For the future you might want to look at collectors car insurance from a company like Hagerty where you can have an agreed upon value that your insurance company will insure up to in case of an accident.
 
The insurance company of the party at fault have no authority to declare a vehicle 'totaled'. They are responsible to restore the vehicle to the condition it was in before the damage.

Ask to speak to the 'ajustor's' supervisor. Document the conversation or get a statement in writing and then contact your State Insurance Commissioner if you are not satisfied.
 
I was in an accident last November. The damage and repair aspects were really messy. I took my car to the Volvo dealership. They have someone on staff that is a registered/certified/whatever appraiser who wrote a document stating that my car was worth $5000. Maybe you would have better luck if you have the car appraised?
 
I was in a similar situation about 20 years ago with my 242. About $3500-$4000 worth of damage to both rear quarters. Clearly the other party's fault. HIS insurance company was easier to work with than mine was. They foot the entire bill for the repair --- AND the adjuster was a car guy who was having a '68 Camaro restored. He recommended the same shop that was restoring his car. They did a dynamite repair -- had 'em paint the entire car while doing the repair. Testpoint will tell you - paint still looks pretty decent.

As others said -- stick by your guns. Be respectful, but firm. I'd also aim my conversations at the person who hit you. In my opinion HE'S the one who has the obligation to keep you whole --- he's the one who hit you. His insurance co is simply there to minimize his loss. I would work on him to get his insurance company in line -- make it clear you're coming after HIM, not his (never ending reserves of cash and lawyers) insurance company.

I just dropped USAA insurance after 42 years. They didn't even ask why I was leaving. I swear they're all the same -- NONE of them seem interested in taking care of their clients. They're focused on taking care of their shareholders.

BTW - my situation was a little easier because it happened on a public roadway and the cops ticketed and found the other driver at fault. You were on private property -- so it's really between you and the other driver. If you had witnesses -- be sure you get them on board with their version of events documented and notarized.
 
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Update: they tried to total the car for 2500. I refused and told them they could buy me a replacement 240. I told them I didn’t want to be a pain but can be if they wasn’t going to fix the car then I was ready to go to extreme measures. So as of now they agree to have the body shop to replace the quarter panel. The body shop agrees that the panel needs replaced. I’ve been digging and don’t think there’s a new one out there.
So I’m going to search junkyards. I can’t believe as popular as these cars that there’s no NOS panels. If anybody has any thing let me know. Thanks
 
Update: they tried to total the car for 2500. I refused and told them they could buy me a replacement 240. I told them I didn’t want to be a pain but can be if they wasn’t going to fix the car then I was ready to go to extreme measures. So as of now they agree to have the body shop to replace the quarter panel. The body shop agrees that the panel needs replaced. I’ve been digging and don’t think there’s a new one out there.
So I’m going to search junkyards. I can’t believe as popular as these cars that there’s no NOS panels. If anybody has any thing let me know. Thanks

Stay after them.....keep letting them know you know their client is obligated to fix your car. FWIW - nothing wrong with a used quarter panel as long as you get a clean one. The repair on mine was made with entire back half of a junkyard 242. Try finding a replacement 242 quarter....
 
I too found it is more productive to deal with the other guy's insurance first.

There are no aftermaket body parts for the 240?
 
The $1000 difference/deductible is the responsibility of the crasher. Not the crashee.

You were hit due to no fault of your own, you should be made whole.

Your insurance company might want to total the car, that is a different negotiation and covered by the post above.

Yep. When my tractor got stolen, the dealer's insurance company tried that bull**** too.. valued the tractor at whatever, and then said they were going to send a check for that less the deductible. Had to squelch that.
 
Welp I’ve been round and round with them. They finally agreed to pay 100 percent to have it fixed. But then a check showed up the other day. I’m not cashing it. By the way I found a new quarter panel. I list a link here after I order mine. Thanks will keep you posted.
 
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