There is some talk about a total loss! WHAT!!! It needs trunk lid, rear panel and bumper so far.There still inspecting for further damage. This car looks like a new car, with beautiful paint (garage kept), and it has only 34,000 miles. I would'nt take $20,000 for it. I'll take the insurance co. to court if they want to total loss it! I've had it 3 years, I've put $2500 in it for preventive maintenance, and just bought 2 new tires. The car was not hit that hard.

 

What year is your car?

 

Frame damage can be a game-changer regarding to total or not to total, especially with older vehicles. Are you certain that no adjuster has cited any frame damage?

 

Sorry to hear about the accident. Any photos of the damage?

Graham

 

Sorry to hear about your accident. I don't know what year your car is, but it doesn't take much to damage to add up to big bucks with these cars. quarter panels 1500.00 to 2000.00 20 to forty hour (75.00 to 125.00 an hour) replacement time plus paint. 800 bumper covers etc... You can be looking at a total real quick. You do have the right to buy back the car. Then the title never leaves your possession.
Good Luck dealing with the insurance companies.

 

Car is 1999. There was no frame damage. I did'nt know if you could still keep the car if totaled. If so, how would I go about getting it fixed? Do you usually work something out with that same body shop?

 

In Ohio you can keep it if it is totaled, but it goes to a Salvage title (in Oh you can not drive a salvage title car on the streets) and from there to get a clean REBUILT title it is a pain in the *** and not worth it. Got to keep reciepts for everything you do, you HAVE to fix EVERYTHING that is on the est to fix it, parts used from other cars you must show proof of purchase and vin# of car it can off off. It is not worth it to have a rebuilt title car anyway, if you want to sell it you will lose value just because of the status of the cars history. If it is totaled, fight the insur for the best price and go get another.

 

Problem with these cars is that the parts and labor is HIGH to fix against a low value that they bring, there is the kicker right there thus a easy total when you would think it would not.

 

I'm glad nobody got hurt but it sucks about the car. Its a real shame to lose one of these.
In VA if your car is deemed totaled you can also buy it back from the insurance company but it will get a SALVAGE title that will always follow it even if you get it repaired good enough to pass state inspection. Most insurance companies here will only insure a Salvage title care for just liability and most banks will not do a loan on them either here in VA. Then of course it will also be hard to sell it if you need to later. I thought about buying my Alfa back when it got totaled but decided it just wasn't worth it even though they didn't offer enough for me to buy another in the same shape mine had been in.


Dave

 

Sorry about your accident, glad no one was hurt. If they total your car and you have the space, buy it back. If you decide to buy another you have a great parts car and can easily make your money back selling the rest of the parts

 

Mick,
Sorry to hear about the incident. I just had a little deer related incident with my 97 coupe. It was totalled, bought it back and it is just about getting done. Make sure receipts are provided to your insurance for condition. Mine tried to give me 2k less than what I finally accepted (which was still less than what I had in it. Just had the tranny replaced, all the coolant lines done, front wheel bearings and suspension rebuilt. Anyways, my body shop is about done with it. In PA you buy it back, get a salvage title, work is completed then inspected for safety by an authorized garage, then you apply for a new title. Most smaller body shops will know the procedure.

That said, I actually bought a parts car for the front pieces I needed so I will soon have a complete car with a bad tranny a missing fender, radiator compressor, rad support and front clip. The rear is intact and available. It is a 97 green coupe so if you have a conv. you'd need to check into what parts you'd need. I would also be willing to part with the whole car minus some interior bits and engine bits. If you do decide to keep it feel free to pm me.

Ben

 

Mick, that is a generous offer and not so far away a large pickup would hold your parts.
Well done Ben.


Wayne

 

Generous? Just trying to get some of my investment back and if it keeps another one on the road all the better. Not in a huge hurry Mick so once you get things sorted let me know. The down side is I'm not likely able to remove the bits for quite a while. Having shoulder work done in Oct.

 

Sadly, the car is most likely totaled (as per insurance company standards).

If the quarter panels are damaged it's considered FRAME on a unibody car.

Now where you will really start to cry is what they try to value your XK8 at. To them it's just another car, and sadly most do not appreciate the values we put on them.

I would do TWO things. Under NO circumstances or any settlement would I relinquish the car. Tell them you want to keep it, and to deduct salvage value from any claim offer.

I have a shop in NJ - albeit not a body shop, but I have friends in this business.

I don't know how DE works, but in NJ if the owner keeps the car it doesn't go to a salvage title - bc the title NEVER changes hands. The carfax report WILL be tarnished though, and may show a total loss.

Second I would present any and all receipts that you have as far as what you have put into the car, and just refuse and push for a higher settlement. Eventually though the bottom line is that you are going to have to reach some sort of settlement, and it will not be in your favor or in the ballpark of what you think the car is worth.

I have had several discussions with people regarding these cars, and the bottom line is if they are not daily drivers they NEED to be insured with a collector car company. Haggerty, American Collectors, etc. Which allows you to insure the car under a stated value policy. You and the insurer agree to the amount, and if something happens THAT is the value of the car, period.

These policies are also cheap compared to conventional auto insurance but they have a few caveats. Most require you to store the car in a locked garage when not in use. Secondly they restrict your driving - mine does 5k miles a year, but for "pleasure use only". I am not supposed to take the car to work, or use it for day to day activities.

Take care,

George

 

may also want to look at local salvage yards for a car with front end damage and buy it for use as a donor car maybe make a deal with the yard that what ever isnt used they can have if they bring it to the shop and pick it up after. may be cheaper than buying the parts one at a time not sure.

 

Can you post a pic of what the car looks like?

The problem is if the quarter panels are warped, there is a ton of cutting / pulling / welding to replace the skins - moreso if the trunk floor is deformed.

This is all part of the chassis shell. All the front end components are bolt on / bolt off. Even if you have to pull the front frame rails or aprons. The rear of the car is a whole different ball game.

Take care,

George

 

I've got an 02 rear bumper in my basement if ya want it!! Perfect condition. :-)

 

Mick99,
As I posted a couple of days ago, last Wednesday while driving home from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles, I ran over a large metal object that could have been the rear bumper of a truck, it was very dark and I had no time to react as the car in front of me had also run it over and pitched crosswise across the lane. I was able to drive the hour home by pulling off a large plastic piece from under the car. I called my insurance agent in the morning and arranged for their adjuster to look at the car at the body shop to which I take all of my cars. That afternoon, I had a conversation with both the adjuster and the shop owner. The adjuster told me that although there weren't any leaks from the oil pan, trans cooler or a/c condenser, they were all dented pretty badly. In addition, tie rods were damaged, wheels would need balancing, front lower valance and substructure were torn away and would need replacing, and since they're connected to the front bumper that would need to be replaced as well. The estimate to repair was over $7000! Now, my 2002 XKR looks nearly new, but has over 150,000 miles on her. There was no body damage from the accident, but $7000 represents about 80% of the value I could ever hope to get with that amount of mileage. I would have thought that they would have totaled the car, but they did not. Make sure you have a discussion with the adjuster and get the estimate of repairs, first.

 

tberg if your ever looking for parts ive dealt with quality and quick auto wreckers somewhere in that area so far everything has been in execelent shape except for a little dirt on them.

 

Check this out...

I've a 1999 XK8 convertible that I paid $8100.00 (U.S) for back in February. Runs perfect,, new tensioners, good transmission, great body. Well, a rock popped up and hit the passenger headlight lense on the bottom edge, cracking the lense "semi-spiderweb". I looked into a new one and at $2700.00 I decided "No". I called my insurance and over the phone (I love these guys) they looked up the value of the car and the cost of replacement. They then told me that the likelyhood of having to total the car was high because...

THE HEADLIGHT WAS OVER 25% OF THE VALUE OF THE CAR!!!!!

SO if I put it through my insurance my car would be totaled because of the headlight. I'll keep searching for a replacement lense assy...