[streethawk]

I just came to know from my insurance company today that my Elise was totalled.
It is a 2005 Elise with 25k miles in mint condition.
Is 30k fair price (offered by insurance.)?
I asked them to show comparable vehicles in my area (Houston,tx).
The adjuster says there are none and they got the assessment from an independent appraisals company.

What do you all think is the fair price ?

Thanks in advance.

 

[R4Racin]

I don't know about fair prices for your area, but I would ask to see the "independent appraisal" and do research on the companies to see who owns who. Last time an insurance company did something like that with me, they provided the comps. Since this replaces the comps, they should be willing to give you all of the related documentation.

 

[Boony1968]

30k seems low. If you spent 30 minutes looking for a "like to like" replacement for what you lost, it would be a challenge at 30,000. Then there's the travel or shipping cost to get it to you.

I just bought my Elise a few weeks ago in San Antonio for 32k with 30,000 miles. Not a screaming deal but I think it was fair. I had a deal on another Texas car for 31,500 that was kinda sold out from under me - probably for a higher offer.

I'm with Allstate and they would not cover the Elise but they helped broker coverage with Hagerty. My agent recommended stated value coverage of 38k based on her research. I went with 35k.

You should push back - HARD.

 

[MConte05]

Yea, $30k sounds like they are low-balling you hard. Might have been fine 2 years ago, but the values have been shooting up quite a bit over the past year or so.

 

[streethawk]

How should I go about that ?

Is there a rule in Texas that the insurance appraiser should show me at least three comparable vehicles in the price range they suggested ?

 

[me73]

How should I go about that ?

Is there a rule in Texas that the insurance appraiser should show me at least three comparable vehicles in the price range they suggested ?

What does your contract say?

With these cars, agreed value coverage avoids alot of headache.

 

[streethawk]

I will lookup the contract.
But it's not an agreed value coverage.

 

[derrek1280]

I would say that $30k doesn't sound totally unfair, but is definitely on the bottom end of what would be "fair" ... I think if you push back you could get more out of it. It's just hard to get a comparative value for the car, which is why I have mine under agreed-upon value.

 

[DominusFL]

The "independent appraisals company" is a scam that Insurance company's use. I think Liberty Mutual came up with that first. This IAC does the appraisal by looking at insurance company settlements (which mostly lower anyways). Your insurance, regardless of legal wording, is for "replacement value". That should be your approach. Who cares if they can't find a comparable car. You challenge them back and find some yourself. Go to wire wheels web site or similar dealer and find a comparable 2005 low mileage car and show that to your insurance. I would even suggest that if they cannot find another one, to have them buy you that one and deliver it.

I had the SAME EXACT situation with a Mazda Miata many years ago. I got frustrated enough I wrote a letter to the state's attorney general and insurance supervisor and indicated that I felt the insurance company was trying to violate my agreement with them by not providing a reasonable replacement value.

Within two weeks of that letter they called me and offered 10% higher than the prices I was seeing for comparable cars... about 150% higher than their first offer.

Don't settle until you feel it is fair. Not telling you to gouge them, but there are enough comparable cars in the market nationwide to find the reasonable replacement value.

P.S. I say all of this with NO IDEA if the $30k offer is fair... google "2005 Elise for Sale" and arrive at your own conclusions.

 

[streethawk]

Thanks a lot , Dominus. That is very helpful.
I will talk to the appraiser and ask him to show me a comparable replacement vehicle in that price range.

I am not able to find any in that price range.
I'm looking at some ads on craigslist etc to show them some examples.

 

[rwbronco]

heck even the spreadsheet from the Elise section shows that average price paid in 2014 was 30k and those had an average 40k miles on them. It's only under $30k because there was one or two with nearly 100k miles on them sold for mid-$20k. Yours is likely in much better condition than the average if you consider it "mint" and it's got half the mileage.

I'd be looking in the neighborhood of $33k-$35k

(said spreadsheet is in my signature, has slight "look how cheap I got mine!" bias, but that's evening out with more and more data)

 

[streethawk]

heck even the spreadsheet from the Elise section shows that average price paid in 2014 was 30k and those had an average 40k miles on them. It's only under $30k because there was one or two with nearly 100k miles on them sold for mid-$20k. Yours is likely in much better condition than the average if you consider it "mint" and it's got half the mileage.

I'd be looking in the neighborhood of $33k-$35k

(said spreadsheet is in my signature, has slight "look how cheap I got mine!" bias, but that's evening out with more and more data)

Thanks for the response.

I sent a few similar mileage examples to the appraiser on eBay that are listed for 40k.

Their appraisal is given as 29k plus tax (which is clearly lower than current prices).
I mentioned that I will have to approach attorney General of the state if he thinks that will be the final price.

I will let you all know on what happens.

 

[4380r]

A few years ago I had an immaculately restored Europa S2 that I bought from WireWheel.

Had the car shipped from Florida directly to the shop that works on my cars. They had it for a week just going over it nose to back.

I picked it up and drove it for the first time that Friday night. Saturday morning a woman in a Mercedes ran a red light (I had green arrow) and totalled my car. I had driven it a total of less than an hour.

You can see it here.

http://www.wreckedexotics.com/europa/europa_20040125_001.shtml

May not look too bad, but the market for Europas was very low at the time, and the parts/labor to fix totalled about twice the market at the time.

Insurance appraiser looked at it, and gave me a low ball offer. I said no way. He referred to an ad in Hemmings for an S2 Europa. He said "Look at this ad, you're asking to be reimbursed for the same amount as this car is selling for, and your car wasn't as nice as this one."(there was no picture in Hemmings, just the text)

I looked at him and said..."That IS my car."

He said, "Yes, it's like your car, same model, same year, but..."

"That IS my car." "That ad is for the car I just bought, that IS my car."

"Oh."

Had the check for full amount in hand in a couple of days.

 

[rsamani]

A few years ago I had an immaculately restored Europa S2 that I bought from WireWheel.

Had the car shipped from Florida directly to the shop that works on my cars. They had it for a week just going over it nose to back.

I picked it up and drove it for the first time that Friday night. Saturday morning a woman in a Mercedes ran a red light (I had green arrow) and totalled my car. I had driven it a total of less than an hour.

You can see it here.

Lotus Europa Crash Pictures

May not look too bad, but the market for Europas was very low at the time, and the parts/labor to fix totalled about twice the market at the time.

Insurance appraiser looked at it, and gave me a low ball offer. I said no way. He referred to an ad in Hemmings for an S2 Europa. He said "Look at this ad, you're asking to be reimbursed for the same amount as this car is selling for, and your car wasn't as nice as this one."(there was no picture in Hemmings, just the text)

I looked at him and said..."That IS my car."

He said, "Yes, it's like your car, same model, same year, but..."

"That IS my car." "That ad is for the car I just bought, that IS my car."

"Oh."

Had the check for full amount in hand in a couple of days.

That is a good story..

To add on, Is it unreasonable to negotiate your other expenses such as, shipping, shop expenses , tax/title etc.

 

[4380r]

That is a good story..

To add on, Is it unreasonable to negotiate your other expenses such as, shipping, shop expenses , tax/title etc.

You can always try. But remember, the insurance company wants to write the smallest check possible, and if the policy does not expressly state those types of expenses will be covered, they likely won't be very receptive to the idea.

Look at it this way, they are reimbursing you an amount of money for your car, they are not buying you a car.

You can take the check and do anything you want with it, you are not obligated to buy another car with it.

Why would they pay you up front for title/tax fees for a car you might not even buy?

But again, by all means try. They just want to get to the lowest number you'll accept, you want to get to the highest number they will accept.

 

[addertooth]

Caveat to last posting. If you bought your car local (and didn't have to pay shipping), and the nearest equivalent car is far away, they should pay shipping for exceeding XXX miles to find an equivalent. I bought my car in Phoenix (about 220 miles away), I would likely have to go much further to get a similar car. Shipping would likely be involved.

 

[streethawk]

Caveat to last posting. If you bought your car local (and didn't have to pay shipping), and the nearest equivalent car is far away, they should pay shipping for exceeding XXX miles to find an equivalent. I bought my car in Phoenix (about 220 miles away), I would likely have to go much further to get a similar car. Shipping would likely be involved.

I bought my car 250 miles away.
I'm not able to find a replacement in 500 mile range.
I'll mention this to the appraiser and see what he says about what exactly replacement value should cover.

 

[CarSalesman]

Hawk, I sell a fair number of these, and that sounds low. I might be able to help with Allstate. Send me a PM.

 

[streethawk]

Hawk, I sell a fair number of these, and that sounds low. I might be able to help with Allstate. Send me a PM.

Pm'ed you Don. Thanks.

 

[Firefighter577]

Not sure about your state but in Indiana they owe tax and license plate transfer fee as well.