Snow tires... and total lose?

[crosscountry]

Due to a trailer owner not properly maintaining their equipment, my car was hit by something fallen off the trailer.

The repair cost estimate is astronomical. It's now a question of whether the repair cost exceeds the value of the car. i.e. potential "total" lose. The trailer insurer is contracting an appraiser to look into making that determination.

I've bought a set of 4 snow tires, with rims, only a couple years back. That's well over $1000. Add to that the ski rack that's also car specific. So I'm looking at a substantial cost that isn't part of the usual appraisal.

Does anyone else having had to deal with similar scenario? Can (or how) the cost of all those car-specific equipment be justified as part of the compensation if the car is "totaled" due to the fault of the other party?

 

[Philpug]

Sadly some "upgrades" are not covered by insurance. Cars are expected to have tires on it and insurance won't take into account that they are more expensive snow tires. I will say $1,000 snow/wheel combos from a couple of years ago are worth no more than the stock tire/wheels. If the wheels are not damaged, put the OEM wheels back on and keep the aftermarket wheels.

The only bright side to your situation is that used car values right now are through the roof. Do your research to replacement values and their offer is negotiable, you can ask for more.

 

[crosscountry]

My snows aren't more expensive than the OME. Just in addition to it. So we're talking 2 sets of wheels and tires, not a more expensive set.

As I'm not dealing with my own insurance. This is the trucker/trailer company which I kind of expect them to "make me whole". (initially, I thought it's straight forward, they fix the car. That would have make me whole. But the car is 5 year old so the residual value isn't super high, whilst the damage is more extensive than everyone thought)

 

[Philpug]

My snows aren't more expensive than the OME. Just in addition to it. So we're talking 2 sets of wheels and tires, not a more expensive set.

As I'm not dealing with my own insurance. This is the trucker/trailer company which I kind of expect them to "make me whole". (initially, I thought it's straight forward, they fix the car. That would have make me whole. But the car is 5 year old so the residual value isn't super high, whilst the damage is more extensive than everyone thought)

If there is that much damage...ideally you want to get it totaled. Watcht the body shop's practices..they make zero dollars if the car is totaled, they want to do the work. Avoid addendums to the repair...they start with an estimate to get the job that is under the total percentage then they add addendums and often will end up needing more work when it could have been originally totalled.

 

[djetok]

Due to a trailer owner not properly maintaining their equipment, my car was hit by something fallen off the trailer.

The repair cost estimate is astronomical. It's now a question of whether the repair cost exceeds the value of the car. i.e. potential "total" lose. The trailer insurer is contracting an appraiser to look into making that determination.

I've bought a set of 4 snow tires, with rims, only a couple years back. That's well over $1000. Add to that the ski rack that's also car specific. So I'm looking at a substantial cost that isn't part of the usual appraisal.

Does anyone else having had to deal with similar scenario? Can (or how) the cost of all those car-specific equipment be justified as part of the compensation if the car is "totaled" due to the fault of the other party?

a pic would help

 

[crosscountry]

If there is that much damage...ideally you want to get it totaled. Watcht the body shop's practices..they make zero dollars if the car is totaled, they want to do the work. Avoid addendums to the repair...they start with an estimate to get the job that is under the total percentage then they add addendums and often will end up needing more work when it could have been originally totalled.

I'd like to have it totaled at this point, for the very reason you mentioned. But the "additional equipment" I have are in not insignificant if I end up having to pay out of pocket to repurchase them to fit a different car.

 

[crosscountry]

On a separate note, why are used car price sky high?

If it's a total write off, I'm planning to buy another pre-owned one (as all my cars are). So that's not exactly in my favor, is it?

 

[djetok]

On a separate note, why are used car price sky high?

If it's a total write off, I'm planning to buy another pre-owned one (as all my cars are). So that's not exactly in my favor, is it?

covid money, gpu chip shortage, shipping and parts shortage due to covid

for example. My business partners dads 2013 F350 caught fire and totaled. The insurance settled with him for 49k. This was a platinum level truck with 300k miles on the diesel. Diesels are super high right now.

 

[DanoT]

If the appraiser "totals" the car, then as part of the agreed settlement I would get them to Not include the car specific roof rack as they will likely give you way less than you could get for it on Craiglist or wherever. As for the extra wheels and tires, they are yours to keep and sell as the appraiser will give you nothing for them.

 

[crosscountry]

If the appraiser "totals" the car, then as part of the agreed settlement I would get them to Not include the car specific roof rack as they will likely give you way less than you could get for it on Craiglist or wherever. As for the extra wheels and tires, they are yours to keep and sell as the appraiser will give you nothing for them.

But that's exactly what I'm trying to avoid:

- having to sell the snows and then buy new one at a net lost to me. Not to mention I had to spend time doing that when it's not my fault in the first place.
- the rack won't fit the new car, whatever that is. It will need new fitting at the minimum. The roof may not even be the same width, then even the cross bars are unusable. Again, why should I be paying for a new one when the old one would have worked?

All in all, a financial lost to me if they only pay for the car alone. After all, it's the trailer owner's fault. The insurance company is only a 3rd party acting as an agent of the trailer owner.

 

[Snowfan]

@crosscountry Stuff happens. Bad timing to have to buy new or used cars. If I were you I would stop speaking to the trailer owner or insurance adjuster and hire an attorney to write a letter or two in hopes it raises your settlement to what you believe makes you whole. Selling your extra wheel/tire combo and roof rack is not the end of the world.

 

[Seldomski]

Document everything that was lost and include it in the report to insurance. If other guy was at fault, his insurance should provide a check for value of whatever was lost at the time of the accident. They don't provide $ for *new* everything. They provide enough to pay for the same used car and used snow tires/wheels/rack/box etc. If they don't (ie underinsured motorist), that's when your insurance would step in and pay you some supplement (depending on your coverage). Some auto insurance have plans that increase the check to you by some % over the valuation at loss. I forget what that addition is called. Sounds like you may want that coverage selected in the future. That additional money can help you get a slightly better setup than you had at time of loss.

If you very recently had the car serviced, or tires had most of their wear life remaining, that may increase the settlement check amount. But you have to be specific and work with your insurance to make sure the state of the vehicle at loss is complete and accurate.

 

[DanoT]

As a former insurance claim adjuster, I would never approve of payment for someone's extra tires and wheels in the case of a total loss. The insurance company is paying for the loss of a vehicle not the impact on a claimant's part's bin. That said, it is possible that a letter or two from a lawyer could up the claim payout but at what cost to the claimant in lawyer's fees?

Edit: Everything IS negotiable, which is why I included the part about the lawyer, but really the best course of action that will net the most $ is to keep and then sell on your own whatever parts that you can.

 

[François Pugh]

Insurance companies always low-ball the first offer on a totaled car. They will usually come up from there. Sometimes they will up the offer by the amount of extra cash you put into the vehicle to show that it is not "average condition", but prime condition or whatever, conditional of course upon you having receipts showing the money you have invested over the last two years.
Yeah, they won't cover extra tires and rims.

 

[Tony S]

I am totally sympathetic to the OP, but as others have pointed out in different words, the highest realistic expectation you can have about any kind of insurance is that it will make things less bad than if you didn't have it. Once in a while people have better outcomes than that, but they are the exception, not the rule.

 

[Atomicman]

Insurance companies always low-ball the first offer on a totaled car. They will usually come up from there. Sometimes they will up the offer by the amount of extra cash you put into the vehicle to show that it is not "average condition", but prime condition or whatever, conditional of course upon you having receipts showing the money you have invested over the last two years.
Yeah, they won't cover extra tires and rims.

Never use the word Never or Always or Every! You will be wrong every time!

 

[François Pugh]

Never use the word Never or Always or Every! You will be wrong every time!

My bad! Almost always!

 

[Tony S]

Never use the word Never or Always or Every! You will be wrong every time!

That's pretty rich considering that you are the king of absolutist proclamations.

 

[In2h2o]

@crosscountry sorry you are dealing with this. Are you in the US? The value for the totaled car should include any extras and is based on the FMV value of the vehicle on the date it was totaled. Unfortunately I have gone thru this process and it was pretty easy to negotiate additional compensation for several upgrades, including more $$ for recently purchased tires, trailer hitch and roof racks. I also provided local comps in my area for similar vehicles which were higher than the national average. You may also have the option to (1) "keep" the totaled car with less of an insurance payoff vs (2) taking all the $$$ and giving them the car which they will then sell at auction.

 

[Philpug]

I might have missed it....what year, make, model and mileage are we talking about?