Some dude ran red light and hit my 04 LR G35 10 days ago, and now my insurance company gives me the estimate repair cost: $11,000. and want to declare it as a total loss giving me $16,000 after tax.

I bought my car only half a year ago with only 19k mileage. I paid $20,000(inc'l all tax, fees) .

Can anyone give me some suggestion what I can do now????
I really want them to just fix it and give it back to me, I love my G

G35, Red coupe, all standard configuration with rear spoiler. only 24K mileage now.

 

I don't think your car should be totaled since your car should be worth more than the repair cost. If anything you could always buy the car back from the insurance company and repair it but your car wont be a clean title anymore i think.

 

maybe post some pics of the car so we can see how much damage there is. it might not be worth repairing if there is damage to the frame or such.

 

Fight for it! make them pay for the repairs. Plus it's the other guys fault anyways so he should pay for everything.

If you can post pix. Want to see the damage.

 

Why not get another G? I have to say that driving a wrecked car (frame damage present) will never drive the same as before. Too much that can be damage or not repaired to factory spec.

Even if it can be aligned correctly, there are things that won't be the same. Maybe the slight mismatch of paint, body panel gaps, or odd noises.

Do as you wish. You can buy it back and fix it, but just know it may not be the same as before. I would say that $4k you lose sucks, but if you fix the car you'll be in about the same boat: losing $4k of the value or more. I would try to renegotiate with the insurance company.

 

the damage is not that bad as you can see from the picture
I got T-boned, rear wheel is bent inwards, and side rear panel is dented. suspension frame is probably bent as well.
From the estimate paper the insurance company filed me, the major repair cost is the airbag fix 2-3K, and seat cushion for almost 2k( I didn't even notice any seat cushion part broken myself after the accident)

 

and i just found out I actually paid $21,700 half a year ago. So basically I am going to lose $5000+ if they decide to total it

 

I have purchased crashed cars all my life but decided once I started y family I needed to stop. Reasons many but mainly peace of mind. Have them total ur car and let some else worry about it. You just don't know how hard it gets to try to sell a salvage vehicle. Plus you are still going to lose the money it all depends when, now or when selling plus all issues that can arise till then. Just my opinion.

 

I'd so some research for what other cars of similar miles/options are going for in your area. Provide that to the insurance company.

Also, is the other party's insurance company substandard that you decided to deal with yours instead? Finally, it may not hurt to consult with an attorney. Were there any injuries, medical bills, trips to the ER, etc...

What's the exact year/model? There's several coupe variations available.

 

Loosing 5k+ is tough. It's up too you really.

 

There are special circumstances where you can convince your insurance to let you buy the car back... but from the looks of it, I would take the $$ (try to get more from your insurance... if there were any mods/upgrades done to the car, show receipts/invoices... although they may not cover it if you didn't report them to your insurance prior to the accident) and purchase another one. Sucks the car had such low mileage... but since airbags were deployed and the frame looks like it suffered some damage, it would be worth it to find another G in the price range that you get from your insurance.

 

You should be able to argue that you paid market for the car at 20k, they should only be able to depreciate it the 6 months and 4k miles.

Get some comps to show them of other cars with smiliar years and miles.

It's up to YOU to prove to them the value of your car, so you're not out so much.

 

Thanks guys. after negotiation they offer my car value of 19k minus prior damage 2.3k (i believe it's overestimated). so I will get 18.5k back inc'l all tax and fee.

Losing 3k from an accident isnt my fault is ridiculous. and I've only drove <5k miles on it

 

That still doesn't seem right. Do more research and present them with what other cars of similar mileage/year/model are going for.

Just because they made an offer doesn't mean you HAVE to accept it.

 

I'd just take the money and get it over with. They won't give you the full amount you paid 6 months ago, 18.5K is pretty good for a crashed car. They're still going to lose money on that car when they sell it at auction, they might get $10K for it.