In need of assistance!

[Rockinthe4lug]

Ok so long story short. A girl ran a red light and totaled my s14... Can't load any pictures right now but ill try later.

I'm trying to find proof of this car's value for the appraiser from State Farm.
If anyone is able to provide me with a few photos of their car and what they paid, it would be highly appreciated.

By the way, my car was a 96 s14 ka24de 5 speed. Mostly stock with coilovers and all the suspension arms. Straight piped as well.

[KendallH]

Craigslist/autotrader is your best bet for proving actual value

[silviasandbeer]

CL/autotrader is your best bet

does your kneck and back hurt? the correct answer is yes. J/K??
me and my gf went thru something similar except her car didnt get totalled
what we did is found a lawyer who worked our case for free until a settlement was reached at which point she, the lawyer, would get a percentage

i think that would be a good idea since statefarm is a big company and they might try to pull a fast one on you.. happened to me with farmers.. farmers can suck a fat one

best of luck

[Kuma]

you mean your ex girlfriend, right ? as they said, Craigslist... sadly your coilovers and exhaust don't mean shit to the insurance company unless you agreed on a pre determined amount before hand. which you didn't or you wouldn't be asking. it's not about what we paid, it's about how much it would cost for you to replace it today locally... meaning cars that aren't for sale won't help your case. don't accept the first offer, and if they try to play games or drag ass, lawyer up.

[Rockinthe4lug]

Thanks for the help guys. Ive gathered quite a few examples. I just hope that they dont try to say " Anyone can ask anything they want" which is true but i dont see any other way to prove the value.

[Kuma]

if they do try to say that, get a lawyer. Our cars hold a higher value than kbb/nada shows. They should give you what it would cost to replace, not the kbb value. also take a moment to read the paperwork/ agreements you signed when insuring your car. try to find any loop holes they might try to use so they don't blind side you. I know it's boring and it sucks, but you need to do as much legwork as possible to get what is rightfully yours, and to save you some money if you do need to get a lawyer.

[Rockinthe4lug]

well this accident is being completely handled by the girls insurance. She was also driving a 2012 Wrangler with leather so I know shes got some damn good coverage

[silviasandbeer]

http://www.edmunds.com/auto-insurance/confessions-of-an-auto-claims-adjuster.html

hope that link helps

[Rockinthe4lug]

^This was pretty helpful.

[ksharp]

I dealt with this a couple months ago when I got rear ended on the freeway in my S13. Car was totaled and I spent a couple weeks haggling with the adjuster. They were really nit picking on certain criteria when considering an ad. It was my first major accident and didn't really know what to expect or how to handle the insurance. Looking back at it now I should've lawyered up right away and had them deal with the car appraisal and injury claim in one swoop.

Things I learned about while trying to get maximum value:
- Adjusters do have a certain amount they can play with after the car is appraised, like the article silviasandbeer posted
- They require the ads you find to be for cars of the same year and conditions/features (questionable tactic, not a lawyer so I dont really know any workarounds)
- Mileage is the biggest factor in the car's value. If your car is pretty low mileage, find cars in similar condition to yours that are selling at a high price with high mileage.

These are probably the biggest points I learned from my experience. They might seem obvious to some people but for me it wasn't. I thought I could handle the appraisal part of the claim by myself but they always find ways to weasel out of your attempts at a higher valuation. If you're injured, I would say lawyer up now and have them deal with the whole situation.

[koukikat180sx]

I just dealt with this not too long ago with State Farm. Some idiot girl side swiped my car because her idiot passenger told her it was clear to go. (obviously not...) The guy tried to blame it on me saying it was my fault. Last time I checked if you're in a lane already, you have the right of way. I went back and forth with State Farm about my claim. They ended up totaling my car. Keep in mind that they base the value of your car off of surveys (both private party and dealer resale). The surveys are supposed to be based off of cars found within a certain mile radius of your location. (I forgot what the radius is...) I was given an opportunity through my agent to find cars in my area with a higher value. (You will have some time to research this... But don't take too long.) I did some research and ultimately gave up because I was busy doing other things... So my poor car has a salvage title. :(