What was your settlement?

Did you wreck your MK4 beetle? If so, what was your odometer reading and how much did you get awarded for damages? I'm trying to see what to expect from the insurance company on my totaled 2003 TDI Beetle w/ 102,380 miles on it. 2 owner. NO mechanical issues. NO previous accident reports. What should I expect in regards to insurance pay out? I was not at fault, and it is going on the other drivers policy with Progressive. I'm trying to prepare for battle and the more statistical data that I can acquire.... the better. Aaaannnnd go! TIA!

Not a NB, but when I was rear ended in my wagon they valued it at $4200 at 125k. Your best bet is to tell those insurance junkies that you can't replace the car because a NB with that sort of milage doesn't exist anymore. Good luck on this adventure my friend.

My 1999.5 Jetta ALH sedan was totaled a year ago and Progressive offered me $2200. It had 150K on it. I sent them a bunch of evidence from the Internet that it was worth more than that and got them up to $3500. Maybe I could have got them higher, but I was tired of dealing with it.

Progressive will low ball you. Just say no to Flo!

Me and Flo gone go toe to toe! Hahahaha. To hell with Flo! I have already threatened magistrate court, and my agent with State Farm says we can always file it on my uninsured motorist with him as a non listed driver, then, they will pursue Progressive legally for whatever money that they (state farm) have to pay out. I'm preparing for battle my friends. I'm sick of Corporate America shi##ing on us little folk.

Nero Morg said:

Not a NB, but when I was rear ended in my wagon they valued it at $4200 at 125k. Your best bet is to tell those insurance junkies that you can't replace the car because a NB with that sort of milage doesn't exist anymore. Good luck on this adventure my friend.

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you're so right! I have yet to find a NB Tdi with so few miles. This was a one in a million car that is now sitting in a scrap yard waiting to meet its final fate. It makes me sad every time I think of my little Doodle sitting there.... not knowing where her Daddy is and not knowing any of the other cars sitting beside her. Can you imagine! We JUST got back from a 900 mile trip and she never skipped a beat. 45+ mpg the entire time. Turbo pulling me up those mountains like it was nothing!

Have you thought of buying it back and swapping the drive train into another?

NurseGuy1987 said:

you're so right! I have yet to find a NB Tdi with so few miles. This was a one in a million car that is now sitting in a scrap yard waiting to meet its final fate. It makes me sad every time I think of my little Doodle sitting there.... not knowing where her Daddy is and not knowing any of the other cars sitting beside her. Can you imagine! We JUST got back from a 900 mile trip and she never skipped a beat. 45+ mpg the entire time. Turbo pulling me up those mountains like it was nothing!

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Life is unfair, things like this suck but you need to abandon your emotional attachment to your totalled 16 year old vehicle. Did you take the trouble to get it appraised as a classic prior to getting it insured?? If not, you are stuck with whatever market value is determined to be. Yes market value is subjective, but if you want more than you're offered, its upto you to provide documentary evidence to justify your expectations.

NurseGuy1987 said:

you're so right! I have yet to find a NB Tdi with so few miles. This was a one in a million car that is now sitting in a scrap yard waiting to meet its final fate. It makes me sad every time I think of my little Doodle sitting there.... not knowing where her Daddy is and not knowing any of the other cars sitting beside her. Can you imagine! We JUST got back from a 900 mile trip and she never skipped a beat. 45+ mpg the entire time. Turbo pulling me up those mountains like it was nothing!

Click to expand...

Life is unfair, things like this suck but you need to abandon your emotional attachment to your totalled 16 year old vehicle. Did you take the trouble to get it appraised as a classic prior to getting it insured?? If not, you are stuck with whatever market value is determined to be. Yes market value is subjective, but if you want more than you're offered, its upto you to provide documentary evidence to justify your expectations.

I bought my Jetta back for $160. My daughter is just getting old enough to drive it now. I have been saving it for her.

miningman said:

Life is unfair, things like this suck but you need to abandon your emotional attachment to your totalled 16 year old vehicle. Did you take the trouble to get it appraised as a classic prior to getting it insured?? If not, you are stuck with whatever market value is determined to be. Yes market value is subjective, but if you want more than you're offered, its upto you to provide documentary evidence to justify your expectations.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure about your state, but in Georgia, a vehicle must be 20 years old or more in order to be a "classic". So no, I did not. As far as emotional attachment to a "16 year old vehicle"..... sounds a bit harsh. I'm more attached to the amazing fuel mileage rather than the vehicle itself. Insurance companies are all dicks. They initially gave me a BS value of "$1,000". After my lawyer spoke with Progressive, they quickly came back with an offer of $4,000 plus an extended rental agreement a their expense. They are also now paying for lost wages as well as I missed a few days of work with all of this mess. They wan't consumers to ask ZERO questions and take the first offer. NOT ME!!! Their driver was at fault, there was no shared liability (reference Georgia's 50/50 law) and as such, I WILL NOT COME OUT OF POCKET FOR ANYTHING. If I do, they already know we will be going to court. If you let someone walk over you then they will. I'm not the one. There were threats, there were hostile phone calls, and there were ultimatums given by Progressive. Once Flo spoke with my attorney, her tone quickly changed. Seems like they failed to realize that you cannot replace a vehicle with chump change.

Yeah, funny how that works -- insurance companies make money collecting premiums, not paying claims. But what I find especially galling is that the sort of tactic you see from these guys is organized and meets the legal definition of racketeering, especially considering the requirement to carry insurance. It's a Guido operation, basically -- the only real difference is that as soon as you show up with a landshark they suddenly get a *LOT* more reasonable.

Gee, is that an admission that they were trying to rob you? Looks that way to me...

Nice one!
Flo,
I propose this thread results in a class action law suit against progressive for racketeering and preying on weak consumer protections for those who drive and pay insurance for vw vehicles.

This also ties into Healthcare. As a medical provider, I know for a fact that the Healthcare System is stable, however, the insurance companies are what need reformation! Many of the surgical procedures that you know of cost less than what the insurance companies demand we charge! They pick and choose what they will or won't pay for, even though they have never laid eyes on, or assessed that patient in question. I literally shake my head. Back to progressive..... they can kick rocks as far as I'm concerned, and Flo can lead the way!

This is all good for reading and such, but, as far as health care goes, you have a totally worthless CEO and others at the top which are paid millions (locally 3.4 million) a year to do absolutely nothing. Occasionally, they exit their office and walk the wards to make employees nervous and see who and who won't stand around and kiss a$$ as they pass by.

Second, in my part of the world, an attorney will not cut a fart for less than a $5000 retainer. You fail to tell us what your attorney bill is going to run for this. If your life has had other legal messes....you might already have an in-road with a local att. and that helps a little bit.

Third, where I live, you can't give away a diesel Beetle no matter how few miles are on it. I know, I have two of them.

I realize the insurance companies play for keeps. It is not a question of that.

There are places like autoloss.com that will write up an official valuation based on actual market conditions (for a price) that will help if you are having issues with an insurance company (I've used them for diminished value claims). I've had a couple fights that I was able to win on my own - if they can't find the identical car for the price they are offering, it's too low. Go through something like www.autotempest.com and bring up that exact car with similar miles / options and send the insurance company links.

My 99.5 low mileage Jetta was totaled a year and a half ago. They gave me $4200. The guy said they go by seat condition as a general condition indicator.

So note to self, keep a good seat, and install it after getting into an accident.

Look at cars.com and autotrader.com (maybe they're one and the same now). Do a full nationwide search for your year, features, and mileage to get a true market estimate. My daughter totaled her 97 Corolla in 2012. Nationwide did a 1000 mile search to find enough 97 Corollas with similar mileage to base valuation. After deductible, we walked away with $250 over what we paid for it in 2005.

Prairieview said:

This is all good for reading and such, but, as far as health care goes, you have a totally worthless CEO and others at the top which are paid millions (locally 3.4 million) a year to do absolutely nothing. Occasionally, they exit their office and walk the wards to make employees nervous and see who and who won't stand around and kiss a$$ as they pass by.

Second, in my part of the world, an attorney will not cut a fart for less than a $5000 retainer. You fail to tell us what your attorney bill is going to run for this. If your life has had other legal messes....you might already have an in-road with a local att. and that helps a little bit.

Third, where I live, you can't give away a diesel Beetle no matter how few miles are on it. I know, I have two of them.

I realize the insurance companies play for keeps. It is not a question of that.

Click to expand...

My attorney was free. He is my Uncle. So.....

Prairieview......

My attorny is my Uncle, so, he didn't charge me.