I live in LA and my 2011 Prius IV, ~40k miles, with nav and solar sunroof package, was totaled about a month ago. Insurance is offering me $20831. Does this sound reasonable? I'm trying to research similar cars, but a 2011 Prius with that trim and packages is really hard to find. I'd love to talk insurance up a bit, but I'm wondering if it's even worth it, since I've been having no luck finding a similar car online. The only ones I've found are: Used Toyota Prius For Sale - CarGurus (that pages says that price is ~3k over what it's worth) 2011 Toyota Prius IV *NAVIGATION, SOLAR ROOF PKG, LEATHER, HEATED STS, BLUETOOTH at Austin E Autos in Round Rock, Texas I'd love any advice anyone can offer!
Honestly , I think it sounds like a great number for a 2011. I totaled a car once and was given very close to the KBB used car purchased at a dealership price. I looked up your car and it gave me a range of $15,992- 19,227 with a typical of $18,710 . I think I would be happy with that offer but you can definitely negotiate with them which a lot of people don't bother to do.
Yeah, either way I plan to negotiate. But that offer seemed legit to me, too. I just didn't wanna get all starry-eyed and jump on it if it turned out to not be as wondrous as I first thought it was... Thank you!
Grab the 20K, put it as a down payment for a brand new 2015 and finance the balance for a very low, low, low monthly payment of probably $75.00 a month at 3 years. You can't go wrong
I'm actually not sure what car I'm going to buy yet, though I do know if will be used. I'm not looking to finance. JC91106 and mrbigh, sound like you both think what insurance offered is reasonable.
There's a member here in Simi Valley selling a 2012 Prius plug in ADVANCED model for $20k with 37k miles on it. Surely your car is not worth as much as that car, and he's "asking" for less than what you're getting as a pay out for a 2011 with 40k miles.
I was actually driving for Uber at the time. It was my first day, my 4th ride! I got rear-ended at a red light and pushed into a Porsche SUV. The Porsche had a scuffed bumper. My car was an accordion. My insurance (Geico) wouldn't participate in the claim, since I was ridesharing at the time. And unfortunately, the driver who hit me was driving a rental car, whose company only has the CA minimum of $5,000 coverage. But Uber's insurance, James River, has been legit.
JC91006: you're totally right. Sounds like I have a great offer. I'll still try to negotiate them up a bit, but that's just the arguer in me. :-P
take the money before Uber changes their mind, I always knew the insurance companies would void the polices if ridesharing was involved..hope your passenger dose not sue you.
Is that offer for the car only or does it include allowances for sales tax, title fees and licensing? Generally, when a car is totaled, the insurance company gives you the value of the car and also additional amounts for sales tax and the other fees. That is essentially what is needed to make you whole since you will pay those taxes and fees when you replace the car. Where I live, we have about a 6% sales tax so the taxes and fees on a $20k car would run about $1400-1500 here. Your numbers will vary based on where you live. So realize that if that number includes taxes and fees, you are actually getting paid quite a bit less for the car than the raw number would indicate.
I don't see how Uber is left on the hook for this one considering the fault is clearly with the person who rear-ended you. Why isn't their insurance picking up the tab? Anyhow, as the excellent post above points out, you have to factor in all expenses, not just the expense of the vehicle. Try to find comps, then add up taxes, title, and registration fees to arrive at a fair compensation. I once argued with insurance for 3 months before they finally agreed to pay a reasonable amount for my vehicle. They offered $1,000, and I told them I would accept no less than $2,500 and gave them loads of comps as evidence.
I don't remember how CA does the valuation -- Many states now have it built into the insurance law. It's a blended number and most now farm it out to a valuation company. There is no wiggle room .. in all honesty they are incredibly accurate. The protection is to pay a bit more and get agreed value -- you can normally get 1/3 more valuation upfront. Only the better companies write this insurance. It particularly important with low mile older luxury vehicles -- My company writes the policies so I have it on them all.
