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My Step Daughters totaled Car?

Waco WaltzWaco Waltz Member Posts: 10,836 ✭✭
edited July 2013 in General Discussion
Well it's Driving around town now after being repaired by the body shop guy friend of the family.

Not sure how I feel about this and probably don't know all the facts but here is what I do know.
We were told it was a total loss, totaled. The Wife would be given 500 dollars for it when anyone else would get 350 to 400 for it. That it would be parted out.

Weeks later it's seen operational in the guys front yard.

The guy put some money into it and fixed it. Now I know for him or anyone else to do this for us it would cost additional labor charges. I don't know how much that would have been but I also don't know how much the guy really had to put into the car either. 14,000 dollar car new, the used replacement car was 5,000 dollars how much more would a guy like the guy who took it off our hands be willing to put into it before just buying a new or used one?

How would you guys feel about this? I don't like the way it smells personally.
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Comments

  • spasmcreekspasmcreek Member Posts: 37,717 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    no second evaluation ??? insurance company ??...EX body shop guy "friend"
  • reloader44magreloader44mag Member Posts: 18,783 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    "Totaled" cars are sold by Ins companies...the cars are repaired in some cases...and in some states require a "salvaged" title after repair and prior to being sold.
  • Night StalkerNight Stalker Member Posts: 11,967
    edited November -1
    Waco, my friend.... you have more drama in your life than both of my teenage daughters.

    In the immortal words of Charlie Brown "good grief."

    You surely are paying for something you've done in a previous life. [;)]

    NS
  • Waco WaltzWaco Waltz Member Posts: 10,836 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Night Stalker
    Waco, my friend.... you have more drama in your life than both of my teenage daughters.

    In the immortal words of Charlie Brown "good grief."

    You surely are paying for something you've done in a previous life. [;)]

    NS



    Oh I know I am paying for stuff from a previous life but this is not my payment it's on the wife. There was no insurance, and no I was not aware. I think a second opinion would have required a tow truck but ya.....

    This car is going to said body shop guy's wife is what I heard.
  • shilowarshilowar Member Posts: 38,811 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Well if he is a body shop guy, and has his own equipment then it costs him a lot less to put it back together than it costs a customer. First off he's not charging himself an nearly the hourly rate for labor, shop supplies are at cost, and parts are wholesale. Not only are they wholesale he can use salvage parts where the insurance company insists on new parts to repair. There are probably quite a few body shop guys across this country that buy totaled vehicles, slap them back together and sell them for a tidy profit. There are also plenty of folks willing to buy a salvage title car, especially luxury or sports car for a 1/3 of the price for a clean title car.
  • lpaalplpaalp Member Posts: 951 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Smells like a conspiracy to me....
  • KnifecollectorKnifecollector Member Posts: 3,267 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Its a common thing in my area for totaled cars to be rebuilt. The insurance companies have a sale ever so often just for that purpose, its not open to the general public though, only licensed dealers. Its illegal to resell the repaired car without a salvage title and disclosure to the new owner that the car was once totaled. If the seller forgets to do this and is caught he can be forced to buy the car back at 3X the price he sold it for.
  • nmyersnmyers Member Posts: 16,892 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I don't think you understand the meaning of "totaled". All that means is that it would cost more to repair the car than the book value at the time of the accident. It doesn't mean that the car can't be fixed, or can't be fixed economically. A lot depends on the age of the car, & the availability of parts needed to fix it.

    Salvage title? Don't bet on it. By the time a flood damaged car passes through several dealers, auctions, body shops, & states, no one can track down where it's been.

    Neal

    "Some folks look for the cloud in every silver lining."
  • Horse Plains DrifterHorse Plains Drifter Forums Admins, Member, Moderator Posts: 40,233 ***** Forums Admin
    edited November -1
    You DID NOT have to sell the car. You could have got the insurance check, and had the car fixed yourself. You apparently took the insurance settlement, and "sold" the car to the insurance company. They in turn sold it to somebody else. The new owner is free to do whatever he wants with said car. Insurance companies are all about money. When the estimate to repair a car reaches about 70% of the car's value, they start totaling them. "Totaling" a car does not mean it is impossible to fix it, or even that it might be unsafe after repaired. It just means the car is not worth fixing. In this state, cars have a "salvage" brand on the title if they have been declared a total loss. I see lots of cars here for sale with salvage titles. Personally I would not buy one.
  • JustCJustC Member Posts: 16,056 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    here is the hitching point for me, at least if I understand you correctly....

    you say there was no insurance?? if so WHO TOLD YOU it was totaled?? if it was the body shop guy, who is now driving the "said" totaled vehicle, I would be having a major issue with the guy, and seeking legal advice as to whether he committed fraud by telling you that, and then keeping it for himself[8]
  • shilowarshilowar Member Posts: 38,811 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Flying Clay Disk
    This thread is a perfect example of why CARFAX sucks!

    I had a 1999 Honda Accord. Got rear ended by a Cadillac Seville going about 60mph. I was stopped in traffic on a freeway ramp. He never even braked. It's a tribute to Honda that I'm still alive even. Multiple agencies responded including the local Sheriff and State Police. The guy hit me so hard the drivers seat broke, the back end of the car was completely...gone! When I say 'back end' I'm not talking about just the trunk, the emblem on the back of the trunk wound up just behind my head...it was a 4 door. The floorboard between the back and front seats was accordian-ed from 1 foot down to 3". The back doors were...gone, just twisted crumpled metal and broken glass. In short, the car was half as long as it was originally (maybe even less). Needless to say it was "totaled".

    A couple years later we put my wife's Saturn up for sale. Carfax showed it as a "red alert", said the odometer had been rolled back (which it hadn't). The problem was due to the differences between the way MI and CO record mileage on titles. For grins I went and checked the VIN on my wrecked Honda (because I was mad). The CARFAX report showed nothing wrong with the Honda. It only showed the car had been resold from me to another owner in OH 7 months after the wreck. The insurance company owning it for 7 months didn't even show up. It didn't show the wreck, the total...nothing.




    Carfax is not fullproof, they can only report what is reported to them. I bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee from a dealer and checked both Carfax and Autocheck. Both showed clean, no accident history. Once I owned it for a little while I started to notice little things and eventually came to the conclusion that it had been hit hard on the driver front corner. No wonder it was such low mileage, it probably sat for a year or so waiting to be repaired and then auctioned. I should have taken more time to look it over before I bought it, live and learn! Buyer beware!
  • select-fireselect-fire Member Posts: 69,529 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    No Insurance.. If I am not mistaken it is required.. and now the problem is someone might have screwed the pooch and not told the truth if the car was totaled. Looks to me like they accepted the money , so it is no concern what happened afterwards. Body shop guy could have spent thousands repairing it.. but that makes it still no ones concern.
  • tneff1969tneff1969 Member Posts: 6,682 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Call Don, pay for flight, take him to body shop and all will be well.
  • drobsdrobs Member Posts: 22,620 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Two adults enter an agreement, an offer is made and agreed upon, cash changes hands, the deal is done.

    I fail to see the problem here.
  • Waco WaltzWaco Waltz Member Posts: 10,836 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Horse Plains Drifter
    You DID NOT have to sell the car. You could have got the insurance check, and had the car fixed yourself. You apparently took the insurance settlement, and "sold" the car to the insurance company. They in turn sold it to somebody else. The new owner is free to do whatever he wants with said car. Insurance companies are all about money. When the estimate to repair a car reaches about 70% of the car's value, they start totaling them. "Totaling" a car does not mean it is impossible to fix it, or even that it might be unsafe after repaired. It just means the car is not worth fixing. In this state, cars have a "salvage" brand on the title if they have been declared a total loss. I see lots of cars here for sale with salvage titles. Personally I would not buy one.


    READ READ READ: No insurance, I did not sell the car. Again READ before you comment.
  • Waco WaltzWaco Waltz Member Posts: 10,836 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    For those of you who did not READ my posts,

    We were told the car was a loss to the point it WOULD BE, not might, or could but would be parted out.

    As for the added costs of having this guy do the job for us and retain ownership of the car well he said it was a loss and only good for parts. He never offered a figure on getting it running for us.

    NOW tell me how you would feel if looking at this from personal experience?
  • Waco WaltzWaco Waltz Member Posts: 10,836 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by select-fire
    No Insurance.. If I am not mistaken it is required.. and now the problem is someone might have screwed the pooch and not told the truth if the car was totaled. Looks to me like they accepted the money , so it is no concern what happened afterwards. Body shop guy could have spent thousands repairing it.. but that makes it still no ones concern.


    LIABILITY? (sigh....)
  • woodhogwoodhog Member Posts: 13,115 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Waco, you must have some sort of bad karma magnet attached to you...
  • Waco WaltzWaco Waltz Member Posts: 10,836 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by woodhog
    Waco, you must have some sort of bad karma magnet attached to you...


    I do but that is neither here nor there. I had no financial dog in this thing.
  • dcon12dcon12 Member Posts: 32,040 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Waco Waltz
    quote:Originally posted by woodhog
    Waco, you must have some sort of bad karma magnet attached to you...


    I do but that is neither here nor there. I had no financial dog in this thing.



    But mentally, you can not let it go! Don
  • cpermdcpermd Member Posts: 5,273 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Who stated it was "totaled"?
    I am still missing that part.
  • Waco WaltzWaco Waltz Member Posts: 10,836 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by cpermd
    Who stated it was "totaled"?
    I am still missing that part.


    Body shop guy did.
  • Waco WaltzWaco Waltz Member Posts: 10,836 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by dcon12
    quote:Originally posted by Waco Waltz
    quote:Originally posted by woodhog
    Waco, you must have some sort of bad karma magnet attached to you...


    I do but that is neither here nor there. I had no financial dog in this thing.



    But mentally, you can not let it go! Don


    Seeking opinions is all. Be nice is they were based on what I said and not what people want to think when it becomes obvious they did not even read my posts.
  • select-fireselect-fire Member Posts: 69,529 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Waco Waltz
    quote:Originally posted by select-fire
    No Insurance.. If I am not mistaken it is required.. and now the problem is someone might have screwed the pooch and not told the truth if the car was totaled. Looks to me like they accepted the money , so it is no concern what happened afterwards. Body shop guy could have spent thousands repairing it.. but that makes it still no ones concern.


    LIABILITY? (sigh....)


    Liability? Again.. not your concern. Big deal the guy said it was totaled. He can do WTHeck he wants with the car afterwards. BTW.. If the folks had NO insurance..common sense would say they didn't have the money for repairs. I hate folks driving around with NO insurance.. and then to complain.. geesh
  • Waco WaltzWaco Waltz Member Posts: 10,836 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by select-fire
    quote:Originally posted by Waco Waltz
    quote:Originally posted by select-fire
    No Insurance.. If I am not mistaken it is required.. and now the problem is someone might have screwed the pooch and not told the truth if the car was totaled. Looks to me like they accepted the money , so it is no concern what happened afterwards. Body shop guy could have spent thousands repairing it.. but that makes it still no ones concern.


    LIABILITY? (sigh....)


    Liability? Again.. not your concern. Big deal the guy said it was totaled. He can do WTHeck he wants with the car afterwards. BTW.. If the folks had NO insurance..common sense would say they didn't have the money for repairs. I hate folks driving around with NO insurance.. and then to complain.. geesh


    Liability is not driving around with no insurance. After the deal was done a loan was made for a replacement car, 5,000 dollars. Still we were told the car was totaled and it was going to be parted out.

    That kinda precludes any ideas of asking for an estimate of repair I'd think.
  • select-fireselect-fire Member Posts: 69,529 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Your the one that printed this..There was no insurance, and no I was not aware. Liability doesn't count.. Full coverage does. So in reality there was NO insurance. Just let it go.. Folks make deals and then want something else. Let it go.
  • Waco WaltzWaco Waltz Member Posts: 10,836 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by select-fire
    Your the one that printed this..There was no insurance, and no I was not aware. Liability doesn't count.. Full coverage does. So in reality there was NO insurance. Just let it go.. Folks make deals and then want something else. Let it go.


    The issue was never insurance in the first place so why don't you stop nit picking and let it go?
  • select-fireselect-fire Member Posts: 69,529 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Waco Waltz
    quote:Originally posted by select-fire
    Your the one that printed this..There was no insurance, and no I was not aware. Liability doesn't count.. Full coverage does. So in reality there was NO insurance. Just let it go.. Folks make deals and then want something else. Let it go.


    The issue was never insurance in the first place so why don't you stop nit picking and let it go?


    Nit picking is someone who complains and puts something on a forum about something they disagree with. You did that. However , it didn't turn out like you wanted and bingo... complain. Instead of complaining here.. uh.. did you ever consider asking the guy what was actually wrong with the car?
  • select-fireselect-fire Member Posts: 69,529 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Maybe the step daughter got a good lesson... how about full coverage insurance?
  • lpaalplpaalp Member Posts: 951 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I still think there was a conspiracy....
  • Waco WaltzWaco Waltz Member Posts: 10,836 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by select-fire
    Maybe the step daughter got a good lesson... how about full coverage insurance?


    It was the wife's lesson she was the one who made the call. How about telling me how you would feel if you were told your car was a total loss and would be scrapped out for parts then you saw it driving around town a few weeks later?
  • neacpaneacpa Member Posts: 2,711 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have been reading this and I know realize that you had no full coverage insurance on vehicle. you state you did not sell car but how did body shop come to own the car? Did your wife sign title over to them for the tow and storage fees? Not busting your chops but have not read how they own it without insurance or someone signing title to them. just call me dumb if you have stated it.
  • select-fireselect-fire Member Posts: 69,529 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Waco Waltz
    quote:Originally posted by select-fire
    Maybe the step daughter got a good lesson... how about full coverage insurance?


    It was the wife's lesson she was the one who made the call. How about telling me how you would feel if you were told your car was a total loss and would be scrapped out for parts then you saw it driving around town a few weeks later?




    I wouldn't care what the guy done with it. Maybe next time a second opinion from another body shop before signing off the title and taking the cash? As I said before who knows how much labor and how much money he spent to make it back on the road. Ask him if it for sale if you want it back. You are assuming he took advantage of a situation when maybe he didn't and paid a fair price for it.
  • reloader44magreloader44mag Member Posts: 18,783 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Waco Waltz
    quote:Originally posted by select-fire
    Maybe the step daughter got a good lesson... how about full coverage insurance?


    It was the wife's lesson she was the one who made the call. How about telling me how you would feel if you were told your car was a total loss and would be scrapped out for parts then you saw it driving around town a few weeks later?
    See red....I guess I would feel like a TOTAL IDIOT[:D]
  • Horse Plains DrifterHorse Plains Drifter Forums Admins, Member, Moderator Posts: 40,233 ***** Forums Admin
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Waco Waltz
    How about telling me how you would feel if you were told your car was a total loss and would be scrapped out for parts then you saw it driving around town a few weeks later?


    I would feel like a dumb *.
  • Night StalkerNight Stalker Member Posts: 11,967
    edited November -1
    Time for one of those infamous Moderator "preemptive locks"!!!! [:D][:D]

    preemptivelock2_zpsa24ca4cc.jpg

    NS
  • ForkliftkingForkliftking Member Posts: 4,907 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by neacpa
    I have been reading this and I know realize that you had no full coverage insurance on vehicle. you state you did not sell car but how did body shop come to own the car? Did your wife sign title over to them for the tow and storage fees? Not busting your chops but have not read how they own it without insurance or someone signing title to them. just call me dumb if you have stated it.


    Maybe the rest of us could understand what he is complaining about if he answers the above questions.
  • JunkballerJunkballer Member Posts: 9,309 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    A car owner with just liability on a vehicle accepts the risk of potential loss if a accident occurs, your wife accepted that risk and accepted the body shop owners offer. 2 accepts here = End of story [;)]

    "Never do wrong to make a friend----or to keep one".....Robert E. Lee

  • cce1302cce1302 Member Posts: 9,555 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Waco Waltz
    For those of you who did not READ my posts,

    We were told the car was a loss to the point it WOULD BE, not might, or could but would be parted out.

    As for the added costs of having this guy do the job for us and retain ownership of the car well he said it was a loss and only good for parts. He never offered a figure on getting it running for us.

    NOW tell me how you would feel if looking at this from personal experience?


    I would feel like I should have asked a lot more questions before accepting a lot less than the car was worth.
  • cbxjeffcbxjeff Member Posts: 17,637 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I rebuilt totals for 25 years as a side-line. Some were recovered thefts but most were accident damaged. Cars are "totaled" many times with little actual damage because, as a pal told me 20 years ago (that was an adjuster), that the insurance company wants to get these claims off their log. Plus, with dealer shop rates approaching $100/hr, it doesn't take much to "total" one. With some knowledge and basic equipment I could rebuild and sell them w/ a margin of maybe 40%. Did your insurance pay you? It sound's like maybe not. You received $500. and took it from an individual. You could have asked for more offers but don't think badly about someone that has the equipment and skill to bring the car back to the road.
    It's too late for me, save yourself.
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