Advice needed - Update

[bullroc3]

Thanks for the replies to this post. We received news today that the insurance company has totaled the car. In a way, this a relief as we will not have to deal with all below stuff.

In September of 2015, my son and DIL purchased a new Chevrolet Traverse. It had 5000 dealer miles.

A week ago Sunday, they were on their way on the interstate to drop it off for routine maintenence at the delaership. A woman in front of her exited the driving lane into the exit lane. She encountered a vehicle that had stopped on the ramp. She immediately swerved back into the driving lane and hit the passenger front fender/tire of the Traverse with the rear driver side of her car. She hit hard enough to send my DIL up on two wheels. Her car then slammed down onto the road digging into the road surface pretty much stopping her dead. She was not injured. She was checked the next day at the hospital. All the side curtain air bags deployed. No deployment of the front bags. The right front wheel and framework was almost completely detached from the vehicle. My son was right behind her with both grandkids and witnessed the whole thing. The car that was stopped on the ramp drove off. The woman's car was damaged but drivable. Police determined that the woman was at fault.

The car was delivered to a local body shop that we have been using for over 30 years. I went over to see the damage. Aside from the front fender and wheel damage, there was severe damage to the front framework and engine compartment. Both passenger doors were pushed back so they would not open. I noticed that the space around the rear hatch was unequal meaning that the body was twisted. The estimate of damage was over $18,500. We were hoping for it to be totaled but body shop stated that State Farm (our insurance) will have it fixed.

Both my son and I are in uncharted waters. I have never experienced an accident where the vehicle is totaled. We have a conference call scheduled with the body shop tomorrow morning as we have some questions for them the biggest being will it be safe enough for the family to drive. Will it be fixed to original factory specs with genuine GM parts? Anything else we should question?

I did read years ago on this site about claiming a dimished value payment. We have read up on this. Does anyone have any advice on perusing this payment?

Thanks in advance for any comments and suggestions.

[mlh]

The one way they will total your car is if it cost more to fix than replace. They can fix it so good you can't tell if it has been wrecked. We had a Nissan Murano. A tree fell on it less than 30 days after we got it. The top, hood, 3 $800 seat covers a $400 head light the top of the dash and more was replaced. 12 years later you still could not tell the car had been repaired. I always joked the repaired part was the only part that had a lifetime warranty on the paint.
Oh the joys of living in the woods.
Lynwood

[oceandansar]

Insurance totals at 80%. I have owned a collision repair facility for 35 years with that much damage make sure the shop has everything torn apart and inspected good. Once repairs have begun insurance companies are very hard to get to total loss. I have had them do it maybe 4 times in 35 years. With that much damage I always try to get them to total loss it because the vehicle still has very good salvage value. Good luck hope it works out for you.

[Razrbk]

First thing I would do is request and review a copy of the written report that the insurance company has based their decision to not total
your vehicle as well as the $18,500 estimate. Then I would do my homework on the Traverse's value. Check to see whether or not your
policy allows for an independent appraisal. Gather your info and contact your insurance to problem-solve. Remember, if you settle
then you have no further recourse. Sorry about the accident, glad all are well, and good luck.

[JABURKHOLDER]

Depending on options, a dealer could sell a 2015 Traverse for around 30k. Trade in value would be less. Your damages are less than the vehicles value. The repair facility will find more damage as they take apart your SUV. Whether it will be enough to total the vehicle is uncertain. Some insurance companies in the past would total a car if both front air bags deployed. No matter how great a job the repairs are, you will never feel "right" about your SUV again. Not all replacement parts will be genuine GM oem parts. I would try to negotiate with the insurance company for some sort of settlement and look for a replacement vehicle.

[stengels]

Things have changes much in the 36 years I've been handling/supervising claims. Generally, 75% of value will total the car unless the salvage value is higher. You will want to be sure that the shop has state of the art frame equipment and technician. Once the frame is returned to the correct position, everything else should fit. If they sub out the frame work, be sure to check out that shop. Ask for references. All good shops have them. Take a look at some vehicles that are just getting finished up. That will tell you much about how seriously the shop takes their work/reputation. They may be able to make a claim for diminished value if they are going through the lady's insurance. You can sometimes recover 10-15% of the estimate in diminished value. Check diminished value for the state where the accident occurred. let me know if you have any other questions.

[dhenry3]

Keep in mind also that if you were to sell or trade , you have to sign a document stating it has had that much damage; thus you will probably be stuck with it.

[Razrbk]

[quote]Originally posted by bullroc3

[red]Thanks for the replies to this post. We received news today that the insurance company has totaled the car. In a way, this a relief as we will not have to deal with all below stuff. [/red

Congrats! Glad it worked out for you.

[stengels]

Good news, I suspect. Most insurance companies don't want to agree to repair a vehicle, only to find out that the shop drops a $7,500.00 supplement for legitimate damage. These things are complex and have many little costly items attached to them.