Insurance issues with accident

gquenstedt

Veteran Member
Joined
May 26, 2006
Location
San Antonio, TX
TDI
'06, '03 x 2, '00
That is really unfortunate about your car, and I feel your pain on dealing with Progressive. One of their insureds hit my mom in her '06 and totaled it and they were not the easiest to deal with. We were told by others they have a reputation for being that way.

Anyway, I think you've made good progress so far of getting the adjuster to realize you have a more unique vehicle here.

I think the best thing to do at this point would be to consider all the options, as you do have quite a few.

1. Keep insisting that they fix it. This could work.

2. Take the full price they pay you, let them have the car and walk away.

3. Take the price minus the buy back cost and you get your car back and are free to do with it what you want. There is obviously more than $800 worth of value in parts on the car, so this seems like a good choice. From here you have more options.
a. find a body shop that you trust and use the money you got to pay them to fix it.
b. part it out and put that money with the money you got and buy another one.
c. buy another one, automatic or even gasser and swap your engine/trans into it.

I don't think the repair cost that the adjuster quoted you sounds out of line. You could always get another estimate to give you more information to base your decision on.
 

belome

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 8, 2010
Location
Mid MI
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
First off, welcome to having cut rate car insurance.

Secondly, they came back with a more than legitimate price. Take the money, fix the car on your own and motor on.

Oh yeah, and slow down in icy roads.
 

KLXD

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 22, 2009
Location
Lompoc, CA
TDI
'98, '2 Jettas
You need a written quote on the repair.

If it's 5k and they were going to give you 7.8k, sell it to you for .8k, minus .5k deductable seems to leave you 1.5k ahead.
 

Crankous

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2009
Location
Wildomar Ca
TDI
2003 Jetta wagon GL 5speed w/Panzer FMJ, 2005 B5.5 passat auto, 2000 Golf 4 door 5 speed
You need a written quote on the repair.

If it's 5k and they were going to give you 7.8k, sell it to you for .8k, minus .5k deductable seems to leave you 1.5k ahead.
X2 they would be over paying you by 1.5k... I would jump on it. I made a profit from our accident this exact same way.

Also really sorry to hear about your accident, and your poo poo experience... :(

Edit:Also if you part it out there is a minimum of 2k in value on the car so... That could leave you with at least 9500 to go pick up a non salvaged one.. As I'm sure yours will be after. I know that's not ideal. But it's a better outcome than it could have been... I mean they could have been super dicks and stuck with the first number..
 
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turbocharged798

Veteran Member
Joined
May 21, 2009
Location
Ellenville, NY
TDI
99.5 black ALH Jetta;09 Gasser Jetta
Let them total it out, buy it back and fix it yourself. $7800 was pretty fair, $3800 is not. I would take the $7800 minus the buy back price.
 

wmgeorge

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2012
Location
Central Iowa
TDI
2000 New Beetle GLS 1.9L TDI
Having done a buy back with another car, a Honda CRV and then paying to have it fixed. Once the insurance company is out of the picture the body shop will take forever to get it fixed, and the cost will go up. Lesson learned.

Take the money, buy the car back and part it out.

Oh, I almost forgot. In Iowa anyway once the damage exceeds a certain percent of the cars value It will have a salvage title, forever. You will take hit when you go to sell and it more than likely never be taken in on a trade.
 
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dremd

Veteran Member
Joined
May 31, 2007
Location
South Louisiana
TDI
06 sprinter. 03 jetta wagon premium with 6 speed ALH swap, 14 JSW
I just went through a 6 month version of the same thing, what you are way ahead on (from me) is buy back, I could only pocket $1900 if I wanted to keep my car (which was way up from before negotiating similar crap as you). They hauled it off and I'm piecing a swap together now. That said, I should have just kept my car, nit picky stuff adds up. That said my car had lots and lots of goodies that went away with the car, so every situation deserves different paths.

Lessons I learned.
1) when in a hit and run chase down the offender until they stop.
2) if you hit someone in my area run, the fine is $400 if you admit, if you don't admit you will not be liable even if you have matching damage+ parts of other vehicle attached to yours after having 6 weeks to repair issues.
3) Geico sucks
4) Get rental car coverage, it speeds the insurance company along when it is costing them $ every day they haven't resolved your problems. (I didn't have it).
5) dash cam dash cam dash cam. I have 1 now, I want a second for the rear.
6) have your car aligned someplace that gives print outs with mileage on the print out or else geico will claim your car was always like that.
7) don't change your own tires, and be sure that the official invoices state mileage when you buy tires otherwise Geico will claim your tires are many years old even when the production date is this year and you have matching tire rack invoices, only thing they care about is mileage on official tire shop invoice.
8) geicos website eats any info you upload that they don't like, send everything to them in Macon ga certified mail with video of you putting everything in the envelope otherwise they will not get it.
9) avoid wrecks especially in cars that are worth more than similar cars (aka tdi).

Very best of luck to you.
I thought about going to minimum coverage and putting difference in bank, but I went ahead and got State Farm with a low deductible and rental coverage. I hope I never need it.
 

wmgeorge

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2012
Location
Central Iowa
TDI
2000 New Beetle GLS 1.9L TDI
You are right about having a rental car in your coverage. The insurance company looks as it as a constant drain on profits and will do anything to get it settled in a hurry. I just insured my TDI at the value I paid for it plus sales tax of course. The skid plate and all can come off for my replacement, if any.
Often said, If I could not repair my own TDI, I'd never have one the dealer would do. That includes a new one. Sorry VW, but your dealer service sucks, in most cases.
 

eb2143

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 26, 2005
Location
Rhode Island
TDI
None
In January 2008 I crashed my 2001 Jetta TDI 5 speed manual with about 180,000 miles on it (yes, also with upgrades--they don't care), and was offered something like $7,900, very close to the Nada guide value, but a few hundred below KBB. The insurance was purchased through a local insurance agent who was my contact; very painless process.

I was happy enough with that offer. My buy back price was $500, which I took and subsequently repaired the car (RESEARCH SALVAGE TITLES if you intend to do this). My car was just barely totaled by their criteria (I think repair estimate was $7000). I had another shop do the repairs who was willing to let me organize the part purchasing (i.e airbags from VWvortex for $40 rather than $500) and ended up pocketing about $1500. I did have the convenience of being in school at the time and not needing a vehicle in the interim. The car has been flawless since, with no repair-related issues.

My first instinct was that your damage looks like more than 4-5k, but I had airbag deployment. I had very isolated damage to only the front of the car that outwardly looks much less severe than yours.

So yeah, I'd take that latest offer, seems pretty reasonable. Good for you for sticking with it after the initial mistaken offer.

You'll need a detailed repair estimate from that "4-5k maximum" shop if you want to argue that.
 
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mohawk69

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2005
Location
Richmond Hill, GA (Savannah)
TDI
1996 B4, 1996 B4V, 2000 Beetle TDI
Offer to take the settlement as last offered except you want to keep the car for parts and pay nothing on it. At this stage you're only $800 apart. It may be worth that just to make you go away and it costs nothing to ask.
 

Steve-o

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 13, 1999
Location
Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon
Sorry to hear that this happened and that you're getting the insurance you've been paying for. :p

I would take the money and the car, if you can get it, and call it good. No insurance company is going to care that you added aftermarket stuff to the car; you can't fight on that. They'll treat ads for cars as largely disposable. I've been on craigslist; I see the prices people ask for junk. The price they ask for an item is immaterial; it's what it sells for that's important. No body shop is going to commit beyond verbally to an estimate for damage like your Golf suffered -- there's too much they could discover once things are apart. And no insurance company minion is going to want to get yelled at. You ran into some real idiots and bureaucrats. But they're still human beings and pissing them off really makes your life harder. I've found a slow steady droning noise is far more effective. :D

So if they're up to $7800 and especially if you can handle buying the car back and fixing it/parting it out and can get it for next to nothing, chalk it up to experience and get it out of your life.
 

Bob702

Well-known member
Joined
May 13, 2011
Location
Las Vegas, NV
TDI
99.5 Jetta GLS ALH 5 Speed
x11! Take the $ & buy another one. Keep it as a project or part it out. Good job fighting it! Now take the $ & run! $7,800 minus your deductible sounds good to me.
 

Mass. Wine Guy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 21, 2001
Location
Ipswich, Massachusetts
TDI
5-speed, 2015 Golf S 6-speed manual; 2015 Golf Sportwagen SEL 6-speed manual
I think that first you need a good editor. That post is way too long.

I agree that you should take the settlement offered by Progressive. For what its worth, and not that you need to be talked out of using Progressive again, my auto body shop hates Progressive because it takes them forever to pay claims.
 

Shizzell

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2010
Location
US
TDI
2000 Golf 1.9L GL 2dr
I sent in all of my receipts for the aftermarket parts: suspension, clutch, rims, etc. They ended up giving me the most they could for the parts: $1000. At the end, they valued my car at ~8800$ which is not terrible. I ended up settling with them yesterday, and they are overnight Fedex'ing my check here today.

Minus the 800$ and 500$ deductible, I should have a check for me outside my door today for 7500$.

I am going to go into the collision repair place tomorrow and see what they can do for a price now that they will have green cash sitting in front of them. I am going to have them replace the body parts needed, and bondo/repair the rest most likely. Then a new paint job, the same color of course.

I think I will do the axle replacement, as that should just bolt on. I think I should be able to simply pump up my tire and limp it home to put it on after.

Hopefully it turns out looking better than it did before, and I should be left with some extra cash. The car's vin will most likely be listed as salvaged, and I was told by the rep that I may need to pass an inspection afterwards. However, I have my title and MN will never be able to get that title out of my hands to stamp it with salvage.
 

belome

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 8, 2010
Location
Mid MI
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
Of course, if you sell it 5 years down the road as having a clean title, and it in fact is a salvage title you will be looking some pretty severe fraud.
 

Shizzell

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2010
Location
US
TDI
2000 Golf 1.9L GL 2dr
Of course, if you sell it 5 years down the road as having a clean title, and it in fact is a salvage title you will be looking some pretty severe fraud.
This is understood; I have no intentions of being crooked, and will be upfront with the buyer if I decide to ever sell this car. Thanks for your input
 

Ron22

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2012
Location
Forest Lake, MN
TDI
2002 Jetta
I sent in all of my receipts for the aftermarket parts: suspension, clutch, rims, etc. They ended up giving me the most they could for the parts: $1000.
You know the option "Custom Parts and/or Equipment value" on you progresive account. Did you have anything entered there? If not I would think you are lucky they gave you anything for you aftermarket stuff.

The car's vin will most likely be listed as salvaged, and I was told by the rep that I may need to pass an inspection afterwards. However, I have my title and MN will never be able to get that title out of my hands to stamp it with salvage.
My guess is MN will mail you a new title with the salvage already on it stating it voids your old title.
Or maybe not sell you tabs untill you hand over the title.
Then again this is only an issue if you sell so who really cares :)
 

Shizzell

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2010
Location
US
TDI
2000 Golf 1.9L GL 2dr
You know the option "Custom Parts and/or Equipment value" on you progresive account. Did you have anything entered there? If not I would think you are lucky they gave you anything for you aftermarket stuff.
I didn't have any custom parts on it when I purchased the car and policy a few years ago. The parts were added in the interim.

JD Power didn't want to give me the full 1000$ for the parts, even though I provided over 3000$ in receipts. I know this is typical, but Progressive couldn't find a vehicle exactly like mine (Manual, TDI, 2DR) in the United States at any dealership so they gave me the "maximum" for parts.
 
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