The total loss threshold varies by the state. In California: "Total Loss – Damage or destruction to an automobile, to the extent that it cannot be repaired or restored to its condition prior to the date of loss, without unreasonable costs to do so. If the repair costs exceed or are within a certain percentage of the fair market value (see ACV) the vehicle will be totaled. Percentages established by the insurers generally range from 70% to 80% of the ACV (actual cash value). An unrecovered stolen vehicle is always a total loss." Automobile Claims Mediation Program Note that the actual cash value or fair market value is the used car sales value, not the wholesale trade-in value. If you still owe money on a loan or lease, we hope you bought gap insurance to cover the difference between what you owe and the market value. "ACV – Actual Cash Value (ACV) unless otherwise defined in the policy, is defined in California, as fair market value. The fair market value of an automobile is the amount at which a knowledgeable buyer (under no unusual pressure) would be willing to buy, and a knowledgeable seller (under no unusual pressure) would be willing to sell." ibid. I agree with the posting above about repairs. If the car needs that much work, you don't want it. Add the possibility that there is something they don't find on the first or second repair try, and the car is in the shop more than you have it. In any case, good for you to bring yourself and your passengers out of this without injury.
The vehicle had 13.3k miles and was about 1.3 years old. I'm thinking the ACV would be about $25k? Hopefully more than that. Hoping I can get my tints covered ($900) plus my extended warranty transferred as I hadn't actually started using it. I assume the extended warranty doesn't kick in until the 2 year Toyota coverage on a new car expires? Hopefully the extended warranty would be transferable to a new vehicle - if anyone has experience dealing with Toyota on this your input would be appreciated.
The basic Toyota bumper to bumper warranty is 3 years or 36,000 miles. The hybrid battery factory warranty in California is 10 years or 150,000 miles, and 15yr/150k on the rest of the electric power system. The 2 year thing from Toyota is just free (actually prepaid) oil changes, tire rotation, and towing to the nearest dealership. (Toyota pays the dealer, and we pay Toyota as part of the purchase price. There ain't no free lunch.) I think the extended repair contract (they legally aren't a warranty) can be either refunded or transferred to the new vehicle. Read the fine print in your contract.
There are some features of the Extended Repair Agreement that kick in immediately. Housing reimbursement if you are away from home is one that comes to mind.
I would doubt it. You will get the low-ball offer. Things you added that are not personal property don't really add value to a used car. Especially not an extended maintenance insurance policy. That probably had near zero value when you purchased it.
Any word back from insurance on this? As for new part/repairs and stuff, when we got totaled, Geico gave us about 30% of what we paid for A/C repairs 6 months before and a new Toyota 12v battery the day before the wreck.
Still waiting. Adjuster showed up when the mechanic who did the repair estimate at Toyota had his day off (of course). So their quote was way below what Toyota says the repairs will start at. They are trying to get the adjuster back to do another estimate when the mechanic is there plus have the vehicle up on a rack. Not sure what you mean by 30% of what we paid for A/C repairs? Wouldn't that be covered under the first 2 year warranty?
For you, yes. For us with our 12 year old car, not so much. It was just to illustrate that insurance is likely to give you back some of what you spent on improvements, but don't expect much. Thanks for the update. Sorry this is taking so long.
@jerrymildred Sorry, been a little radio-silent on this while I've been working with my insurance company and Toyota. When the vehicle was first inspected by Toyota, the mechanic who did the inspection felt that even with $20k+ worth of repairs, he would not trust driving it again. So of course the first assessment by my insurance company came in at $12k which was much lower than Toyota's initial estimate. Toyota had to get another assessor out there and he only upped it to $14k. Finally, about 3 weeks into this saga, Toyota was directed to put the vehicle up on a rack and it turns out the sub-oil pan assembly (above the oil pan itself) was severely damaged. Add another $4k to the initial estimate as that part of the vehicle includes the oil pump and only comes in one piece. So finally, after talking to my insurance company yet again, they finally agreed to total the vehicle. At this point, we were looking at $18k damage just to start. If any engine damage had occurred (can't be determined unless you replace the oil pan and sub-oil pan assembly first and then fill the engine with oil) then you'll add on another $10k or so on top of $18k. We were in the "ridiculous zone" at this point, so thankfully the insurance company finally decided to total the Prime. So, now I'm set to pickup a new 2018 this week. Same color (Blizzard Pearl, black interior). Never thought a white car would grow on me, but it did! Almost picked up a Titanium Glow model, though. With all of the Federal, State and SCE rebates, I'll probably break even. Just lucky the rebates were there otherwise I would be out about $5.5k.
Things I'm going to do differently this go around: First, I'm gong to apply for my California HOV sticker in January, 2019 so I can get an extra year of HOV sweetness (expires on Jan 1, 2023 instead of Jan 1, 2022). Second, I'm going to get the Toyota dealer-installed aftermarket paint protection film instead of the Toyota factory-installed film which only covered a small portion of the front end of the hood and a section of the front and left side quarter panels. The new film will cover most of the front end and hood and also will include the mirrors. Costs over twice as much as the Toyota option ($400 vs. $950), though, but comes with a Toyota guarantee. Concerning the extended warranty. Absolutely no problem transferring the extended warranty (8 years) from my 2017 to my 2018. I just paid a small pro-rated difference of about $400. Interestingly enough, there was an option to convert the warranty to cash and apply it to the car. It was tempting, but I passed on that.