So...my S13 is going to be totalled/salvaged. :-(

[Animosity]

The following is a post I made on another forum. This happened about 1 month ago. The story is below. Basically I was rear ended. For the lazy, scroll to the next post for today's update.

As a few of you know I just had a swap done on my S13. Anyhow, of course now having more money invested in it I'm more worried of something happening to it. And, for some reason I sometimes get these feelings like "I'm going to get a ticket" or "I'm going to get Herpes, again." and guess what, these feeling are always fucking right.

Tonight my woman and I went to Mt. High to get some amateur Snowboarding in and you guessed it, I got a feeling that someone was going to hit my car, I even visualized it. Well, go figure...some fuck rear ended us in an F-150. Fortunately, no one was hurt but my woman was very freaked out and my lower back felt strained instantaneously. Turns out this fucking idiot who seemed to be either drunk, high, or a combo of shit was not paying attention to the road and in turn, completed fucked his Honda Element. The explanation he gave to causing a 4-car chain reaction accident was, "I was looking for my CDs then next thing was like Whoa!".

Fortunately, no one gave me shit in getting their information. I have all the information of the guy who caused the accident and got the guy's insurance who hit me just in case I would somehow need it. Everyone was cool and the guy was dumb enough to consider driving his car, or trying to at least as they watched the rest of their coolant drip on the floor.

Also, the guy has Mercury insurance, same carrier that I gotssss. Now, the damage is very negligible which is seriously, fucking amazing as that guy in his F-150 slammed into the back of the s13. As I sat there after being hit...all I could think was...."Fuck, I don't even want to look back there" but luckily this was not the case.

Cliffs:

1. Just got S13 back from a motor swap (2 weeks in shop)
2. Gets rear-ended by an F-150 2 days later.


So, basically just needs new paint, maybe a new bumper. But...if this is the only damage I will be shocked! Cause that 2 ton truck didn't just tap us.

http://www.guapozx.com/1337/crap/Rage/DSCN0523.JPG

[Animosity]

So, I just spoke with the adjuster today and after some haggling, the guy who hit me finally accepted liability, this is good news...But with that comes this:

The adjuster informed me that my car is being claimed as a Total Loss. I have the option of taking money and giving them the car or keeping the car, taking less money, and putting a salvage title on the car. Now, the obvious decision would be to keep the car since I have an SR, Z brakes, RP01s, custom exhaust, engine mods, suspension mods, etc. Just an awful situation. I may part out the car depending on how much they offer me. Which would be a bitch but it may be worth it....I'll have to wait and see.

Anywho, just wanted to vent and advise you guys out there....if you get into an accident, try to give the guy who hit you a chance to settle outside of insurance. Unfortunately, for me this was not an option since he claimed it was not his fault.

[ALTRNTV]

Sorry to hear, but it doesn't take alot to have s13's "totalled," since the true value of them isn't pretty high.

[Animosity]

Yes, indeed. I couldn't agree more. Just goes to show why and how a car is a horrible investment. It is why there are known as money-pits. So, this is a very unfortunate aspect of the 240sx but nothing surprising. It is ridiculous that the only thing it needs is some paint and maybe a new bumper.

[EchoOfSilence]

keep the car. keep detailed happenings of what happened to car in order for it to be deemed 'salvaged' (pictures, report(s), etc).

That way, you keep the car, and if/when you want to sell it, you'll actually be able to.

[Animosity]

I'm thinking the same. Everyone knows how bad the term "Salvaged" sounds to any potential car buyer. Fortunately, the car isn't worth a lot anyhow...heck, the engine is worth more than the car. Hopefully they'll offer me something decent (I don't expect much) for the damage.

[sideview_180sx]

even though you were hit and it appears like minor damage, take out your trunk interior to see if the floor of your trunk has beeen crumpled. Usually that is was takes the hit, rather then exterior damage.

[blue109]

my car got hit and totaled. they gave me a few grand and the car back. turned out to be a pretty sweet deal. killed the resale value of the car, but hell, my wheels are worth more than the chassis, so who cares. as long as the car is straight, buy it back. dont be afraid to argue with insurance. i threatened to go to court and seek money for all the aftermarket stuff on the car and they pretty much just gave it back to me.

[IAM_SO_sLOw]

so...the insurance takes your car and resells it?

[Omarius Maximus]

Well a 240 isn't worth jack(S14a sole exception). Yes by branding your car "salvage" you did lose some resale value, but not much. Especially if you document everything and show whomever is buying the car. Remember that the consumer determines market value, not the insurance company, or the stinking blue book. Blue book on a 98 kouki is like 5500. In reality the price is much higher. The same with your car. Yes it is salvage now, but there is a vast difference between what the insurance company thinks your car is worth and what the actual street value is.

[ramblux]

Dude, that sucks! I would seriously suggest doing what my old boss did. His '90 Suburban got stolen, and when he got it back the insurance company wanted to give him about $3000 as a settlement. The problem was, he had about $20,000 of aftermarket parts into it.

So, he went to an appraiser who specializes in customized vehicles and got an appraisal of about $26,000. The insurance company changed its mind and gave him $21,000, which was enough for him to go out and buy a brand new truck free and clear.

[floodshark]

I may be wrong about this but I believe that if you repair the damage later sometime down the line you can get the salvage title removed. Not completely sure about this, my mom just bought a miata that was salvaged because it's airbags had been removed and my dad was going on about how they got new airbags for it so they could get the salvage title removed. I'm not sure it works the same if your car was actually in an accident though.

[blue109]

^nope. you can get a restored salvage, but it will never be a clean title again.

[!Zar!]

I've had a car the had recieved a salvaged and then was removed. And to this day it's still a clean title.

[sblack13]

if i recall correctly, you can make a salvage car and clean title car again. You have to go to a body shop. The person that was buying my neighbor's car was from a body shop and was telling us about it.

[ManoNegra]

This may be a very ignorant question but: aside from re-sale value, what's the big deal about having a salvage car? This sort of stuff is happening more and more often and most people don't really care as long as the car drives fine. One thing I heard was that you can't get full coverage on a salvaged car but who cares since the insurance company won't really give you much for it when it gets wrecked anyway. Anyone knows exactly why a salvage title, as long as you know how it became salvaged, is a bad thing?

[Wei240]

if it wasn't your fault, you don't need to go to your insurance,
you needed to get a lawyer, especially if you are feeling pain, that's claiming medical from the 1st mofo that caused the accident (i'm talking about legitimate pain, whiplash, not "oh, emotional distress, now give me money")...

dent your fender, and the value to fix/paint = salvage, 240's are worth nothing, good and bad, this situation is the bad, (good is you can pick up another one for cheap)

i don't see much from the pic, you need more pics, yeah, lift up trunk well to see if it's crumpled, even still, you can get it pulled, get a new bumper support and bumper cover, can't tell what else is fucked from that 1 pic..

keep the car, no way in hell you should give to insurance company, they are paying out on the value of your coverage of a regular 240 which = 500 bucks, you can part out for a lot more...

so yeah my advice/summary/cliffnotes:
- notify whoever's handling your case about medical
- 240 = worth nothing
- keep the car

[aznpoopy]

buy it back for a few hundred. take what his insurance gives you. clear up the title. even if its a restored title, who cares? you can still drive it. replace the bumper. pocket the difference.

you just got a few thousand for free! mod your car or buy alot of hamburgers. congratulations. :)

[Wei240]

well, a lot of people will NEVER buy a salvage car even though it could be something lame as it being taken for a joy ride/theft recovered and nothing more, nothing stolen, no collision

so that in itself means salvage title = less potential buyers overall, to some it'll mean something, to others it'll mean nothing

[Irukandji]

my car had a JUNK title because it didnt pass smog and was going to be crushed. Luckily the lady changed her mind and decided to pay a lot to get it to pass... so I got upgraded to salvage after smog... dunno why... it should be clean now...

oh well... i'm not selling my car ever.

[MEisGQ]

buy the car back from insurance, find a new car with the money, move everything over and part out the rest then sell it back to the junkyard or someone here for the same amount that you paid to get it back. if u have a lot of time and some extra money for the fees, go through the salvage title process.

[drift freaq]

you do not have to accept the car as being totalled. They are basing the total strictly on the Kelly blue book or bone stock current market value. If you can give them proof of what the cars go for equiped like yours and the damage does not come to 80% of that value then its not totalled. All you have to do is show the guys Insurance company what SR swapped 240's are selling for . Which means just print out a bunch of Autotrader Adds for SR cars. There is always a fair amount of them in the 7k range here in socal. If you do that they will give you a draft for the damages to your car. If your afraid to do that get a lawyer to do it for you. Remember your the victim and he is at fault you have certain inaliable rights due to that. Do not let them walk all over you like most peoples Insurance companies try to do. I know I have been hit before and had to duke it out with the other peoples Insurance companies.

[Animosity]

SR engines are illegal, that is a big problem and I'm not willing to admit to them I'm running an illegal engine in the care. Anywho, thanks for the advice everyone. Having the title as Salvage won't be so bad, I have other alternatives but I don't have the time for them. I'm going to talk to the person in charge of this claim and told her I recently replaced the suspension, engine, wheels, etc...see if I can get a little more money.

Also, good point someone made out earlier of the potential buyers evaluating its worth, this is very true. I will give an update on the situation Friday and that is when I should get some figures thrown at me.

[drift freaq]

SR engines are illegal, that is a big problem and I'm not willing to admit to them I'm running an illegal engine in the care. Anywho, thanks for the advice everyone. Having the title as Salvage won't be so bad, I have other alternatives but I don't have the time for them. I'm going to talk to the person in charge of this claim and told her I recently replaced the suspension, engine, wheels, etc...see if I can get a little more money.

Also, good point someone made out earlier of the potential buyers evaluating its worth, this is very true. I will give an update on the situation Friday and that is when I should get some figures thrown at me.

duh no!!!, I know SR engines are illegal and a Insurance adjuster not only does not know, but does not care!! They are not cops!!If your afraid of an Insurance adjuster seeing your SR you should not even be running it. If they even ask you say you bought it like that, but like I said earlier all you have to do is show them the proof of value. Man I give you a little simple helpful advice and you ignore it, out of fear.
I have a RB under my hood and I am comprehensive i.e. theft, fire etc... because of it.

I guess your screen name animosity rings true.

[Animosity]

LOL, settle down there slick. For some reason people on this site are always on the defense. Anywho, I'll consult this with a few others.

[drift freaq]

LOL, settle down there slick. For some reason people on this site are always on the defense. Anywho, I'll consult this with a few others.
two things, One, don't call me slick. Two, I do not need to be told to settle down, I was totally chill to begin with. You coming back and saying the SR is illegal, was kind of I am not thinking of the fact, that these guys already know this situation. We were not born yesterday, we are trying to help you. You are choosing to ignore it when you asked for help. take the cotton out of your ears and put it in your mouth.
You need to learn how to listen to good advice , it can help you. Not start telling people to chill out when you make blatantly obvious statements that border on dumb, and they call you on it.
You are new here and your fitting your screen name well. I suggest you read and learn. Rather than trying to tell people who are giving you good advice the perfectly obvious and telling them they are on the defensive.

[Animosity]

two things, One, don't call me slick. Two, I do not need to be told to settle down, I was totally chill to begin with. You coming back and saying the SR is illegal, was kind of I am not thinking of the fact, that these guys already know this situation. We were not born yesterday, we are trying to help you. You are choosing to ignore it when you asked for help. take the cotton out of your ears and put it in your mouth.
You need to learn how to listen to good advice , it can help you. Not start telling people to chill out when you make blatantly obvious statements that border on dumb, and they call you on it.
You are new here and your fitting your screen name well. I suggest you read and learn. Rather than trying to tell people who are giving you good advice the perfectly obvious and telling them they are on the defensive.
LOL, thanks Slick.

[axiomatik]

damn drift freaq, between this thread and the ebay/TCS RUCA thread, you weren't in the best of moods yesterday, were you.

[Animosity]

alright guys, I just want to take a second to share my appreciation. Thank you goes out to everyone, I'm going to gather up some receipts and send them in, hopefully this will increase the amount they will offer.

[airsoft]

the 240sx I have is salvaged due to the same reason...

had to do a buy back from INS. company... not like ur gunna settle for 1800 or something and let them take ur everythign else in teh car...

sucks... but WeeeeeeeEeeEEE!!

[sideview_180sx]

animosity the best thing to do is swap in your KA, not full emissions legal but motor and trans so it run, then present for sale ads of other 240s with SRs installed and such, along with the price they are going for. drift freaq the adjuster could come out and look at his car, notice the engine isn't factory and write it off and a salvage and not pay him anything to due illegaly modifying the car. My friend thought his gsr powered EG would be fine. Then the adjuster noticed what wasn't stock, and wrote it off saying the company would not pay for an illegally modified car.

[Animosity]

I'm glad we have an intelligent person here, thanks Side. You are exactly right. They could go ahead and void the claim if they find out that the car has an illegal running engine in it. I think I'm just going to be safe and take the settlement that has been offered....Was offered today and its 100 less than I paid for the car.

[aznpoopy]

I'm glad we have an intelligent person here, thanks Side.

drift freaq was only trying to help you out, no need to call him dumb.

his plan can and has worked. usually it takes a little back and forth with the adversarial insurance company, but at the end of the day 7 or 8k is really a drop in the bucket for them.

when people get denied payout, it's usually because they were trying to claim under their own policy. most insurance companies nowadays have special programs for modifications that hike up your rates. if you're not enrolled, you are SOL.

on the other hand, you're claiming under the other person's policy, so you have a pretty good chance of getting payout for your modifications.

[Animosity]

See....this is where I butt heads with people on this board...Otherwise, I function greatly on boards.

I never said anything about drift freaq intelligence, so thanks for coming to that conclusion on your own. I appreciate having an intelligent response by the person I reffered to and is it, no inferences made.


I'm still looking into this but really...an extra $1k would not be worth them dropping the whole claim. So....if you could please provide evidence as to how this would work instead of simple rhetoric, that would be greatly appreciated, otherwise the input is insignificant. Information as to how the legality of modifications MUST play some sort of role and must also serve as a variable amongst different companies.

[SiI40sx]

ambiguous aint it?

[prang11]

Zombie from the grave. Rawwrrr

[aznpoopy]

random premie bump? lol

[Animosity]

lol thanks for the free bumps guys

[StaticX27]

Your comment was insinuating quite a bit about Drift freaq, thus why you're getting flaq from other people. Honestly, I've never heard of an insurance company denying a claim because a car was illegally modified. Most insurance companies I've dealt with are more than happy to deal with anything aftermarket, because well, its still money you've paid into the car, and thereby adding value to the car. Whether it's illegal in that sense is largely irrelevant. Its still money you've invested that wasn't maintenance or labor, and the insurance companies have an obligation to pay that value if the car isn't deemed a loss.

Salvage titles actually will affect the value and the ease of sale of your car quite a bit. Yes, some people don't care, yet other people go "You got in a rear end collision and got a salvage title from it, thanks but no thanks." The automatic assumption is that there's frame damage, and as we all know, cars that have frame damage are never the same. Your only saving grace is that your market of potential car buyers all think they're pro racers and a little frame damage won't hurt them. Don't believe me? Just drive around LA/OC area and see how many people rev at you like morons.

In dealing with the insurance company, don't be dicked around by them. If you feel like you're getting screwed, get yourself a lawyer to fight this battle for you. Most of the time a lawyer will scare insurance companies to paying the full amount, just on principle. The cost of them getting a lawyer to fight you back is more than they'd pay on the value of your car: plain and simple.

To sum it up, don't just bend over and take what the insurance company is giving you.

[FaLKoN240]

Dave is offering you some solid advice, I think you should respect him for even trying to help you out.

Did you post up pics in this thread? I looked through the entire thing, and saw nothing.

You really should fight it. Fight it BEFORE you get the check. Get a lawyer, you won't regret it. We're talking about well over 3 THOUSAND dollars you could potentially get back if you decide to sell or keep the car. THINK ABOUT IT.

[Animosity]

rofl! you guys are damn hilarious.

Hey guys.....look at how old this thread is.