surgeon0

Glad you are ok. Swap what you can but you need to leave default items in there unless they were expensive aftermarket parts. When my car got totaled years ago not-at-fault, I also took out a few things. I had to leave it in working condition and with basic accessories that came with it so that it is not undervalued. Swap battery and tires for sure if you can replace them. I took out my aftermarket radio and put back the factory one. We had to argue to get the right amount though there were no accidents, dents, or engine work ... and then used it to get another vehicle of equal value, we did not want to put in more to get a new one. We switched from suv to van at than time and used it for over 6 years. You might find another good ES.

speedkar9

You could probably find a set of used rims and tires off craigslist for <$200 and swap them out pretty easily.
Anything off a Camry, Solara, Avalon or ES will work, as long as it holds air, who cares about the condition, it'll be scrapped anyway.

You'd be surprised, a lot of people do this at a write off especially when they've got a nice set of winter tires or summer rims on their totaled vehicle.

WILLYumD

The insurance company is offering me $2,263 for the ES (factoring in the new tires and brakes). Sending in some maintenance receipts while I look at used 8th gen Honda Accords haha.

jaredmac11

$2250 feels almost fair, but there is likely some wiggle room there. Ask to see the Market Valuation Report that they generated. Now, the insurance themselves don't perform this report. They basically send out an appraiser and then send the details of your car in a system that is not their own. That system basically looks at the purchase price of cars with similar years around your area, list all the options, and base your car against the cars that they have on their valuation. Its usually 3-7 cars that have the same model, similar year, mileage and options. You can look at the report and see if there are any glaring issues. Maybe their cars didnt have a certain feature that your car DOES those it was under appraised, or maybe only 2-3 cars are on the report and you want to see a report in a larger area.

You cant just say 'I want $200 more' and expect to get it, you have to explain why they undervalued your car. Also, they arent going to hear any Craigslist ads or other local area sales lots to value your car. These are signed deals, etc. I fought insurance til I was blue in the face, but where I got more money was providing receipts for recent repairs, finding an issue with one of the options they had my car listed as, and oddly enough, re-installing the stock stereo (despite being broken, and I asked) bumped the check up $50 for that alone.

One final note, you cant say that your car has nice chrome or aluminum wheels and then throw on some cheap Camry wheels. They sent someone out to appraise your car with the features it had on it; and that valuation you received was based on that initial appraisal. You cant change stuff out after the fact and expect to get the same check. That's insurance fraud and they WILL catch you on it. Stereo, wheels, whatever. If you start yanking that out, they will send someone out to re-appraise the car and give you a new appraisal. It may be worth keeping the parts on to keep the appraisal up, or it may be worth taking em off and keeping them for the next car or to sell independently.

At least that's how it is in Texas. Florida is its own little special world. Hope this helps.

WILLYumD

The comps they chose were the ones I had lined up. They picked from older to newer models with less and more miles. The appraisal I got seems pretty fair. Would have been nice to get more for the new parts, though. (The way they accounted for the $600 worth of tires was by giving me $100 more; $170 worth of brake parts gave me $21 more)

And as expected they didn't budge for a new timing belt kit, valve cover replacement, oil pan gasket since those were maintenance and accounted into the car's engine condition.

jaredmac11

I put $100 worth of brake parts, all they gave back was 30% of the price of the parts, not including labor.. So they will job you there.

You got to pick your own comps? Thats different for sure. They used something called CC One or something for my appraisal. If the timing kit, gaskets, etc were recently put in, I'd ask if they could at least cover for the parts, but it sounds like you have already tried.

WILLYumD

Oh no, they chose their own comps but I had some lined up in case the ones they chose were shoddy. And yep, CCC One was what they used.

speedkar9

See in this case it might have been worth pulling the tires for yourself and selling them back (or reusing them on your next ES), than taking $100 for $600 worth of them.

This is the unfortunate world of insurance - they'll only pay fair market value for your car. That's why on a car that's not worth much, its not usually wise to spend 25%+ of its worth on new parts (especially all at once), you never know if you'll get the full use out of them.

I guess you'll have to take it and move on for now. I don't think an 8th Gen Accord would be a good replacement for the ES, they're different cars. The ES is more upmarket, quiet, smooth, comfy riding, while the 8th Gen Accord is a full sized family car, that isn't as refined, smooth or luxurious. Have you considered the Toyota Avalon?

WILLYumD

There's a lesson I learned the hard way. Really thought I could keep this car running through college, but it is what it is.

For me I don't need a smooth ride or luxury at all. The ES was a graduation hand-me-down gift from my parents that happened to be extremely reliable. I drove my friend's 8G Accord a few times and the way it pulls for a full-size sedan had me giddy. But I'll definitely look out for Avalons considering the similar space and comparable acceleration, thanks. Either way, they're both reliable cars with a lot of space.

OceanView

sucks what happened to you but that's why it's called an accident.
Get another ES if you can as they are still cheap and of course reliable.
Good luck