I got rear-ended on the way home from work this past Wednesday. Quite a bit of damage to my X-Fire, none to me. I got hit, while stopped, by a '91 Blazer going around 35-40.

I had it towed to the Chrysler dealer's body shop as they were only 5 miles from the scene of the accident.

The body shop manager called me Thursday and said the damage was around $10,600 and the "book" value is around $19,500. 2005/Roadster Limited/32,000 mi. He says that the insurance company (State Farm) would probably "total" the vehicle.

I checked E-bay and found similar mileage Crossfires in the N.C. area going for $26 to $27,000. I have not heard yet from the other guys insurance company.

I have followed the FORUM since May 2005 and see that alot of times members reply with speculation on a question that was asked. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I need factual answers to deal with my insurance company (Allstate). Let me ask that you reply only if you have actual answers to the either of the two questions below.

1) How do they determine if a vehicle is "totaled": a percentage of Wholesale, Retail, Trade-in value, Tax Value? A "$ value" the insurance companies use?

2) This is a leased vehicle, I have 16 more months left in the term. How do the insurance companies handle this if the Crossfire is considered a "total"?
I put a sizable down payment to lease this vehicle so that I would have small monthly lease payments. Does the insurance company factor this in?
Do they just pay Chrysler for the vehicle and kiss me off? Do they lease a vehicle for me for the remainder of the term? Does my down payment value get considered?

Thanks.

 

Forum member 'Steve Hellums" (I think) just totaled a leased Crossfire. You may want to PM him for more information.

 

Yeah I just don't know what it is about these people who have to drive in your *** - constantly, its friggin annoying. Everytime I go out in my XF there is always some huge Lexus SUV or Ford Expedition with its giant chrome grill blocking my side mirrors.
What can you do???

 

The formula for totaling a car can vary slightly between companies, but a good rule of thumb is that if the damage is between 80-90% of the book retail value of the car, they will total it. If your Crossfire can be repaired for $10,600, i doubt they will total it. The key phrase in insurance is to "make you whole". To do that, if the insurance company totals the car, they have to pay you the retail value of that car so that you can go out and buy another one, that will in effect "make you whole" again.
If they would in fact total the car, they would pay the lessor the retail value of the car. If the total of the remaining payments + the residual value of the car are less than the retail value, then you will get a refund from the lessor. If the opposite occurs, you will be responsible for the shortfall.
Hope this helps.

 

Agree Blackbelt, I too doubt they'd total it with those numbers.

Pat

 

~ like this guy on my bumper today...

DSC01409.jpg

 

Hey gang, new to the forum, and I just bought my new coupe. Love the car, hate the tailgaters, that being said. I had a ford f150 that back in '03 got t-boned. The damage was $13,000 and the truck was $15,500 in value. You would have thought they would have totaled the truck. Nooo. Stripped it down to the frame. Put a new frame on the truck and rebuilt it from the frame up. Now the good news is I still have the truck and no rust and no problems, but I got to tell you, at least with Nationwide, if they can repair it they will. I probably should have at the time pushed for a new vehicle. But then again its all new sheet metal and frame.

 

When I totaled my leased coupe I called Chrysler Finanical and they had me to get Farm Bureau to call them. Farm Bureau took care of everything, since the car was probably totaled they sent one of their adjusters to where it was towed to and the adjuster said "yep it's totaled". The Insurance company paid the last four payments that I owed, then Chrysler hit me up for the deductable.

 

Insurance companies work on a ACV (Actual Cash Value) basis... Which means the value of the vehicle is based on the market for that particular vehicle. If the payoff on the lease or buy is less than the ACV the left over amount goes to you. If it is the opposite and you owe more than it's worth then you have a problem. Some folks will roll that into the new vehicle but then you are in the hole to start. Anyone who has negative equity to start or is leasing a vehicle should look into GAP insurance it is relatively inexpensive and is great in these situations.

 

When Farm Bureau got back with me after working things out with Chrysler, they mentioned something about GAP insurance and that I had it and it would end up saving me a little $. It ended up saving me $100, I only paid $400 of my $500 deductible.