My '06 MCS was totaled on 1/28/11, (other driver crossed center line). Anyway, the insurance company called today and gave me their assessed value at $16739.00, which seems to be trade-in value (about $14700) plus additional for low miles, and some add ons.
When I do a blue book on my vehicle, I get $19,350.00 for my vehicle. It seems to me if I was going to try to replace the vehicle, that is what I would have to pay, correct?
Just curious what others may have experienced, or how others understand the way they value the vehicle.
Annette

 

I've had one BMW and one MINI totaled by my two sons, and State Farm gave me high NADA retail value both times, with no haggling involved at all.

 

Talk to your insuance agent. It can make a difference.

gary

 

Sorry to hear about your breakage. Hope you're alright.

Insurance should be whatever it would cost you to replace it -- i.e., retail. If they really give you crap about it, just get an estimate from your dealer on how much they'd get for your car with the same options and miles.

 

$16739 is a pretty good value for an 06. I fully understand that you are looking for the most $$$ that you can get. I only got $8k for mine on trade-in. With just shy of 100k miles. Depends on how much time you are willing to put into fighting this.

 

Most local laws require the insurance to pay LOCAL value of the vehicle. KBB does not apply here.

My state requires that the insurance company find the value of the vehicle based on an average of several "for sale" ads from used car dealerships and private sellers. You should find out what your state law requires. It will vary depending on where you live.

 

I agree NMgokart, 19K is more like 2008 territory.

To me it appears they gave him about retail price or what a dealer would have sold it for off the lot.

BTW, glad to see you were not too badly injured BoCRon

 

Mine only had 39000 on it. Also I had close to $3500 of mods on it. Of which I insured, they have receipts and everything. Oddly enough when she called today, she totally "forgot" about the duplicate receipts that she got only last week. I had to send them again, good thing I have them I guess.
Luckily I'm willing to put all kinds of time into fighting this . I guess it's one of those principal things, I'm just tooling along minding my own business and wham, some ignoramus almost kills me AND my daughter and then is going to totally screw up the next 6 months of my life. I'm just trying to get me back to where I was, not looking for a big settlement just what I had before.
Annette

 

i would definitely fight it, but with that being said 19.3 is a lot for a 06... not that your car isnt worth that but they usually dont give you what you possibly could sell it for... 16 does sound pretty good, but its also good that you have receipts for your mods so you hopefully could get some out of that... i had 50,000 miles on my 02 when it got totaled in december and i had loads of mods and a lot of add ons from the factory and i barely got 12,000 for it... but then again it was a 02... i dont know insurance companies just suck when it come to giving you the quote... good luck

 

I would agree with everyone else, in that you can expect the insurance company to settle for the cost to replace with a similar vehicle. When my daughter totaled my wife's car last summer, it was explained to me that the insurance company searches a database of vehicles recently sold and currently for sale on dealer lots, looking for a sampling of similar vehicles. In our case the totaled vehicle was a 2002 Chevy TrailBlazer EXT, very common and not difficult to obtain sales data on. In your case a 2006 Mini Cooper S with many mods, which translates to very rare and thus difficult to place an appropriate value on. Keep fighting, my guess is you'll end up settling somewhere between the insurance companies perceived value and your perceived value. BTW, the settlement should also include the cost of any potential local or state sales tax on the agreed value.

 

I just bought an 06 MCSc with 38,000 miles,brand new run flats, and all options for less than $15,000 and it's a convetible. Came from a dealer too.
Based on that I dont think they are too far off the mark.

If your not happy with the offer, just tell them to replace the car.

 

Ok, I'm going to step back and do a bit more research. I'm still not settling for their first offer (which is what I was advised by "counsel"), but I'm not going to be crazy about it either. As I sit here typing, my upper back and neck are stiffening up because of this, which is probably making me a bit cranky .

 

My understanding is you pay for NADA prices and that is what you should get.

 

I paid $21K and change for my 08 this past October.

 

The should give you replacement value. Now that value as previously stated is negotiable and takes lots of things into consideration. I went through this when my wife's car was totaled by a lady who was doing a u-turn slammed into the side of us but pinned the gas thinking that she was still going to make it in front of us...long story. Our final settlement price was nearly $2k more than the initial offer. I was offered low $4k then ended up haggling and such and got $6500 or so at the end. I told them I would give them the keys so it was not immobilized and still had an entirely sell-able, running drive train, the sunroof was good, rear hatch was good, all 4 tires and wheels, etc. We just had a totaled driver's side A. B. and C pillar. I also offered to turn in the rental an week early. There were also not a ton of 2004 Pontiac vibes with the amount of options her had but still with 170k miles and perfect mechanically (her dad used it for 130k to commute 100 miles each way before us).

So long story short I told the insurance guy he was crazy but explained why his comps were not the same car we had, smaller motor, stick not auto, less options etc. So with no real comparable I gave a value I wanted for it and then reminded him I would be paying tax on the replacement car so I got our sales tax added to it (6%). Anything where you can justify your car is worth more than the comparable cars and where they can make money (reselling parts) and save some too (rental) they will negotiate.

 

Thanks for that! I went back and looked at one of the cars I was initially looking at that was as close to El Kabong as I could find and when I added the 7% tax I got $18775. Since I can't be bothered with haggling, I'll tell them they can talk the seller down if they want but I don't have time to do anything more than write a check! At this point I have spent so much time on this I feel like I should charge them my hourly work rate for the time I'm missing away from earning my income!
What is really irking me is that no one lists whether the car had the factory Limited Slip Diff, which mine had and cost $500 on the original invoice so I would have to call each one and have them run the VIN to see if it's on there or not .
I just want El Kabong back . I had to go yesterday and get the remaining stuff out of the back and while I was removing the license plate I just burst into tears. Poor guys at the wrecker yard, they thought they had a nut case in their place .
Annette

 

as an agent myself i see the way the companies handle this sort of thing. a lot of the time (with the companies i use) they get some quotes from kbb,nada etc, then look at local info such as what dealers have or private party listings. there are some formula and such that help them determin "market" value and so on. unfortunatly for those of us that love our cars and mess about with them, the insurance companies don't care. to them it's a car and it has a value. think of them as a crappy dealer who doesn't appreciate that you have paperwork on everything, oil changes every XXX miles, and so on. it sucks but it's how it is. just dollars and sense to them.
usually they're pretty fair and just. that said, it's worth talking to them about the situation. and no offense, but don't use the "they owe you" mentality. you'd probably do best with the sympathy approach.

the thing i tell people all the time is that, if you have a loss it's going to suck but the insurance company can help. just don't think it's going to be ALL better like it never happened. and if it does, be thrilled.

 

This might seem crass, but was El Kabong an organ donor?

If you don't mind working a little at it, you might be able to squeeze a bit more money out of them. See how much they sell it as salvage for. I can't tell from the pics if there was damage any further inward than the driveshaft. Someone could probably make a good amount parting the thing out. Once you have a number for salvage cost, see if shops like Way would give more for it. I'm sure someone would give a good amount for the LSD.

 

JRC said it well. You would be lucky to be made whole to the point where it was like it never happened. And getting made whole often will not happen. For example, if you lease a car often Gap insurance is something to consider. When you drive a new car off the lot it depreciates. If it gets stolen or totaled on day 2, the insurance company is not likely to give you the price you paid 48 hours earlier. Thats what Gap Insurance covers. Your best bet is to work with your agent and see if you can get the insurer to agree to a higher number. The claims department wants to pay out as little as possible i would think, and your agent along with any documentation justifying a higher value may make a difference.

 

I'm sure you will (and have!) get a ton of great stories about similar experiences. Mine may be in the less relevant category because the cars are not similar. It's just that I was really surprised at what could be accomplished with very little homework, and push back.

When my Mom's car was totaled, we were able to get the payout for her older car increased by over 50%!! Documentation is everything. We gave the adjuster the following, easily available information:

Pricing for comparable cars (every day), local AND national.
A letter from the guy that serviced and maintained the car for most of it's life, saying what great care the car had received and the great condition. (This alone would have done it!)
Every receipt for every dollar they spent on the car, including tires, oil changes, and windshield wipers (My Dad was a stickler for maintenance, and he LOVED this car!).
The window sticker.

The adjusters have surprising discretion, and it is easier to just pay the money than fight someone willing to fight for FAIR value. Just don't try to take advantage of them . Not that you would, they just need to know you won't. It turns out they don't like it any more than the rest of us!

Best of luck. We look forward to hearing about your cool new car!

 

I went through this very situation a couple of months ago, but my previous car was a Miata - but it also had many thousands in upgrades... As mentioned earlier it depends on your states laws and the pressure you put on the insurance company.

Any upgrade they can classify as maintenance instead of upgrades they will not count - like brakes or clutch or air filter upgrades (even an FIPK). I can somewhat understand that too... but get proof of local prices for an equivalent car and present your reciepts and that is all your going to manage without spending some money on legal representation (and that would be going backwards I think!).

Myself, I bought an '06 MCS Convert for under $14000 with a quite a few mods on it in Austin area in December. That doesn't speak to your area though.

Rgds,
John

 

My insurance explained that they do a formula. Appearently, they search prices of your car within a a 50 mile radius of your home address and get an average and then add stuff like options, mileage, etc. I sent them averages based off of AutoTrader and Cars.com as well as NADA, KellyBlueBook prices, and copy of "Re-Sale Awards" MINI got. They gave me $19,664 for a 2003 with 111,340 miles, that was in 2008. Progressive Insurance btw.