Insurance and total loss?

Who does everyone use for insurance, and have you ever had a total loss?

Thankfully this was not the Tacoma, but now I'm scared to drive it.

I had an old Cherokee in perfect condition and just replaced the tires. Insurance has found comps with seats made out of duct tape, paint is gone, large rust holes, etc... You get the idea, complete piles used to value a vehicle that was in excellent condition.

Why I'm scared to drive the truck is that all the work that went into the Jeep totaling $15k is being ignored. Insurance asked for all receipts including oil changes, then refused to pay based upon this is basic up keep. Work done to the Jeep is being called personal preference so it add zero value....

Has anyone ever dealt with this BS before? I'm not in a rush to settle given the second vehicle. I just feel that the insurance company is attempting to take advantage of the situation. BTW the insurance company is USAA.

 

I have read conflicting reports that usaa covers 5000 in aftermarket parts and recently had a friend that was in a accident and has usaa, fame is bent but they are fixing it but not covering aftermarket suspension parts and such.

 

Unfortunately most insurance companies don’t care how much time and effort you spent personalizing an older vehicle. It’s just a numbers game to them...

 

Find comps in similar condition and use them to counter, search further distance if necessary, forums, etc, and put together a report with reasons to show why your vehicle is worth more than the appraised value and also worth more than the comps they provided.
I had a 2007 Tacoma TRD Off Road that was totaled recently and this is what I did. I only owned the Tacoma a few months and the accident happened 8 hours from my home. The appraiser rated my vehicle in worse condition compared to the 3 cheapest similar local sale ads he found (they use an app to find them). I had brand new KO2s my truck with less than 1000 miles on them and they rated the extra value of the tires as +$120 since maintenance items don't mean much value to the appraisals. I wish I could have gone and picked up the wheels/tires but I would have had to swap them and the weather was bad at the time, 16 hours of driving to get them, etc. When the appraiser sent pictures of my truck, it was obvious he never cleaned off the foot of snow covering it in the tow yard so there was no way he could have gauged condition accurately. I found it odd they were able to to say the comps (which they have only seen in an ad) were significantly better. The comps could have had frame rust issues, etc when mine did not.
It does makes sense for the insurance companies to try and settle for lower and rate the vehicles conditions worse since they really don't know the condition, etc and if paid max value on all, rates would increase. From my experience, mileage seemed more important to value than year (aka 12,000 mi equals $4k in value vs 2 years newer only equals $700).
In the end, the report we made worked and they came up a decent bit, I still lost a small amount on the vehicle but was happy with the settlement considering the circumstances. Good luck.

 

This website kinda explains it, but it's more oriented towards performance vehicles though.
http://www.4autoinsurancequote.com/learning-center/insuring-aftermarket-parts/
Edited:
This one goes into better detail:
https://www.carinsurance.com/aftermarket-parts.aspx

 

My mother had a total loss with USAA and they treated her great. Gave her a fair deal with little fight (accident was her “fault” liability wise too).

I’m confused as to why you are upset.

Insurance comlanies use black book value for replacements. They determine what it would cost to buy you the same vehicle with similar miles today.

The only time you will ever get money for modifications is when you take out ryder policies on them. They may pay up to a certain percentage of the cars total worth to cover personal items and mods but outside of that... lifts, wheels, roof racks, toppers etc are NOT covered without additional coverage. Thats your fault for not checking on that ahead of time.

How well maintained your Jeep is or how shiny the paint was and the treadlife on your tires has nothing to do withblack book value.

USAA has something called car replacement assist. You will get black book value plus 20% if your vehicle is a total loss. I have this to help replace mods if my truck is totalled. Also to help me get back into a 2nd Gen since they maintain value so well.
Get this on your next car (add it to the Tacoma), it’s cheap.

I don’t think they are ripping you off. Go search for used Jeeps with same year and miles and see what they are being sold at. Just make sure they get you that.

 

I fought State Farm over my 99 tacoma when I crashed that. They only wanted me to give me 1000 bucks for it because it had 600k miles on it. I just put a brand new set of destination mud terrains on it that costs me 1200. I fought them for 2 weeks and eventually settled at 5500. I bought it back for 1000 and resold it on Craigslist for 4500 a week later with a clean title

 

This... USAA is not going to try to pull one over on you.

 

gotta fight until they give you some grease. i had to fight one. forget how many calls it took. try to find some realistic comps

 

This ^ Insurance go by year of the vehicle,they could careless about anything else you added,and they don't have too pay you for the extras either.I have classic car insurance of my 65 Falcon,they charge you for the amount of insurance you want on your old car.

 

Searched Jeeps using same year and similar miles averaging 6 comps show a value 3 times what USAA tried to settle for.

An argument that condition of paint, tires, condition having little to do with value has no basis. When looking at cars are you going to pay the same price for a vehicle in good condition v one that requires paint, new interior, missing parts? I think any reasonable individual would pay more for a vehicle in good condition.

 

The OP didnt tell us what USAA was offerring him...

So how do you know the Jeep is worth 3 times more??


He also didnt tell us the year or trim of the Cherokee....?????


I also doubt a Cherokee would be worth much too many years down the road. Wranglers hold their value but thats about it.


I bought an ‘04 Grand Cherokee a year or so ago in darn near mint condition. This vehicle was owned by a rich guy who restored muscle cars. Paint was flawless! For the same exact price as a plain one. $5,000.

Vehicles don’t wrack up values for mods or fancy oil changes.

 

Sorry that you're having a tough time. The truck in my avatar was totaled by USAA, and they gave me nearly 4K more than I paid for it- and let me keep my wheels, tires, bedcover, and steps. I've been with them for more than 20 years, and would not leave for anyone else. They valued my truck above market value for it's condition. A few pictures was all that it took to verify it for the adjuster.

They also have a new program, "vehicle replacement" or something like that. It pays 25% above market value for your vehicle when it's totaled. I wish I had know about that earlier... It's only a few bucks a month, based on the value of the vehicle you assign it to. Great stuff!

I hope your next call to them gets a different adjuster. They've always done me right.

 

That is 180 from my experience. USAA stated within the first 5 minutes the vehicle would be totaled due to age. USAA failed to inform me the duration of the rental car, presented salvage condition vehicles as comps, claimed I must sign their settlement, stated I must sign over the title, all stacked on top of delay after delay. USAA communication center you keep getting different individuals responding with zero continuity. I'm questioning if I will retain USAA for insurance, banking and retirement after this experience.