AudiUDew

Hey guys,
My car has been written off as a total loss. I was wanting to know if anyone here knows how to best go about the negotiation process with an insurance company. This is my first totalled car in 20+yrs of driving.


Thanks

Austin

P.S. Know of a deal on a 2007-2008 A4 ?

DarkSideDE

I'm sorry about your loss - how did it get totaled?

I had a car that was totaled on the track, and went through months of negotiation. It was a defective left front tire that popped and caused the car to be totaled.

One thing a friend of mine did, was he was t-boned on the highway - and before he accepted a check he also made sure they put in the appreciation. He had a Cayenne that was only a few months old... and they wanted to give him about 65%. He refused and kept having them come back with offers, till they were close to what a new one would be costing him.

Good luck and good luck with the new A4 in your future.

BluDemon

If you have 45K to spend there's plenty of RS4 deals to be had on pre-owned

AudiUDew

Brief description of the incident is described here:
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/sho...light=audiudew

So, buy what you (DarksideDE) are saying, you can negotiate back and forth until they give me the amount I am looking for (equivalent to buying a replacement car)? Since I am a single guy (no wife or gf whose car I can borrow), I need a car soon to commute to work, so that may limit how long I can bear to negotiate.

Does the insurance have the option of saying "take it or see you in court"?
I don't have the time to drag this into court, and the insurance is a really great company, that I want to stay with.

I owe 30k on the beemer, and an equivalent A4 would be about 35K.

Thanks for the advice.


A

AudiUDew

Wish I was a Wall Street CEO, bro.

BluDemon

No problem there.... I sold a kidney

But really the finance rate at most of the dealers are right were you want to be if buying a pre-owned or even new.

DarkSideDE

In the case of our Boxster, our insurance company's first offer was acceptable. It took several months to get it, but it was top dollar for it. It covered what we still owed on the vehicle plus more.

In the case of my friend's Cayenne, they made one offer. He made one counter offer and then they settled. He was only out a few thousand, and fortunately, could well afford to be out the funds.

Did you ever see this about a man who makes his own speedbump?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5ZwbDj7sQM

It's all I could think of when I was reading the other thread.

AudiUDew

Thanks for the tip.
Actually, I could use that speed bump in my neighbourhood too.

Quick question for you, since I owe 30K for the car, and I ask for 33K a ssettlement, the insurance company asks where did you get that number ? what would my response be?
I had purchased extended warranty from BMW, to protect the car bumper-to-bumper for 100k miles. I want to see if I can recoup some of the warrant cost as well.

Your thoughts DarkSide?

DarkSideDE

Have you sat down with Kelly's Blue Book and see what they say the car is worth - for 1) trade in 2) resell and 3) private sale? Also, have you found any ads that show what it is being sold for now?

Thank you for asking my advice - all I can add is let the insurance company give you a figure first. Then you can accept or reject. If you reject - come armed - meaning with the ads and the research you've done. In a calm negotiation you could easily bring up the car was worth more to you because of that warranty.

Glad you liked the speedbump, it's been one of my favorites!

AudiUDew

Thanks very much for your advice dude. I really appreciate your help.


A.