Hi guys—not a huge poster but have logged unhealthy amounts of hours on nam.

Got into my r53 yesterday morning and was hit from the side before i was even able to start it. long story short, an ml 350 hit me going 40 right on the wheel. insurance is claiming total loss and i'm beyond bummed and also frustrated.

other driver admitted they were 100% at fault and wanted to make sure that i do everything possible to make sure that i'm able to get the same car.

it was real clean, grey on black with x-lites and sunroof. kbb is saying $8K max at 75000 miles. but $8K will only get me an r53 with similar mileage or more from the looks of it.

seeing how i'm unequivocally not at fault here, any tips out there that would help push the insurers to makegood on this? i'm pretty upset about my mini and really just wanted to say it somewhere.

 

Ouch!

I feel for you. I have lost a bundle on cases like this, where I have more into the car than it is worth. Only to take a double loss, the emotional loss and the financial loss.

But with time the pain fades and is replaced by the new thrill ride you are pampering.

Good luck.

Motor on!

 

You are owed fair value. That is not necessarily kbb. Do as much shopping as you can. Build a file, keep notes. Clip ads, copy auto trader ads, ebay ads, talk to Mini dealers and describe your car as best as you can asking them what would they well a car like that for if they had it on their lot. Again keep a log of everyone you talk to and when. With as much ammo as you can get you will have a better idea of what the true value of your car is. Then if the adjuster makes you an unfair offer you can whip out your file and show him/her why you're entitled to more. I handled auto claims for 25 years and that's the best advice I can offer. The worst case scenario is when an adjuster offers a person a settlement offer and they say that the offer isn't fair. When the adjuster asks why the response is: "just because'. That won't get you anything.

 

thanks for the info/support, guys.

@whaap: took your advice--scouring for everything i can find.

re: QUOTE]When the adjuster asks why the response is: "just because'. That won't get you anything.[/QUOTE]

since you worked insurance before, any advice on how i'd quantify the serious love i put into the car? not with fancy shiny parts necessarily, but in keeping in pristine, 91 gas only since day 1, meticulously timed tune ups. dono if i'd be able to produce receipts for all of those, especially since much of the tune ups were done by me.

 

Ouch!! Worst nightmare! Sorry!!

 

Did you have any modifications? Were any of them relatively recent? My (former) 2009 MINI was totaled by a texting ****** (who subsequently got ticketed for "distracted driving"). It was utterly heartbreaking. When I spoke with my insurance company, I told them about the modifications I had also made to the MINI. I still had the receipts. Since it was 100% their fault, my insurance company was able to tack on the amount to my insurance settlement (at least a healthy portion of the costs anyway) for those items, which at least was a nice gesture. There was still a considerable amount that came out of our pocket, but use your insurance company to your best advantage. If they are a good insurance company, they will fight on your behalf to get the best settlement possible - that's their job. Ours certainly did battle with the other insurance company and it at least reduced the pain in our pocket a little for a new MINI. Good luck finding your new MINI!

 

Lawyer UP, and then find similar cars for sale and make a list showing actual values they want for them. Had another customer do this and he ended up getting about $5k more than the original offer they gave him. Insurance co. usually just want to settle and be done so fighting will take some time, but will pay off.

 

do you have renter's insurance or home owners insurance? If you had modifications, it can be covered under that policy or if you had the extra value add-in through your auto policy.

 

And after the lawyer took his 1/3 how much did your customer end up with?

 

since you worked insurance before, any advice on how i'd quantify the serious love i put into the car? not with fancy shiny parts necessarily, but in keeping in pristine, 91 gas only since day 1, meticulously timed tune ups. dono if i'd be able to produce receipts for all of those, especially since much of the tune ups were done by me.[/QUOTE]

The pristine shape your car was kept in has a strong influence when it comes to rating your car average, poor, above average, etc. You'll have to consider it a love lost but fortunately there are many cars out there to love. Good luck.

 

in a 10 mile radius of your house what price are equivalents minis listed for? That's all that matters.

 

My 04 R53 was totaled @ a stop light Mar 22 this year, I followed the advice of building a folder of like cars, I found on the net, that were in some what the same condition or better, not very many, as mine. 1st offer, $8100, after refusing that, saying "I can't replace the car with one in the same condition as the one your client hit for that." Showing the comps I had found for sale locally, and walking out. Next call 2 days later, " We have reconsidered our offer, would you except $ 9850. I did my homework and got almost 2k more. The rental from the insurance company got 2900 miles put on it looking for another R53. I was getting ready to go the Chicago the next day, saw a 04 Black R53 clean and stock, 36k miles, options 1&2&3, for $11K @ a BMW dealer 2 miles from my house. Bought Stella for $10500 as soon as GIECO cut me a check. Do your homework it pays off. Foo

 

@joylove do you happen to know why the zip code is taken so much into consideration?

 

What about $$ for emotional distress? You were in the car, right?
I don't know where you are, but in CA at least you could make a claim. You were ALMOST seriously hurt.
(I'm a lawyer).

 

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