Hey All,
I messed up my bumper in an accident this week (image below). It only needed towing because wheel well liners were detached and rubbing on the tires when the bumper squished. No airbags deployed, car runs fine. Long story short, the shop stated that the headlight housings were damaged so I needed two new headlights ($1,500 each), fog lights, bumper, and grill coming to about $7,500. Insurance company says my car is only worth $4,500 and wants to call it totaled. Thoughts?

Do ins companies negotiate in situations like these? Is it worth getting quotes from another 2 or 3 shops? Should I just bring her back home and Frankenstein her together whenever I can find replacement parts?

Thanks for the advice in advance
Jess

Extra info: the shop says they weren't able to locate any junkyard GS's in the area (I'm in Tampa, FL) to pull a bumper or lights from, only OEM parts were quoted.

 

I’d call the junkyard below and ask about this gs, looks same color as yours 22 miles away.

if you want to Frankenstein and are comfortable with diy may be able to take insurance $$ and put salvage parts on maybe even without painting.

yes should be negotiable, especially with current high price of cars. If totaling ask insurance to give you comparable vehicles they are using for value and search up your own.

found using

https://www.car-part.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi

 

Thank you so much for this!! I will look into it ASAP.

 

You can't find a 2007-2008 GS350 for $4500 in today's market. Challenge your insurance company.

Also, talk to other body shops...

 

you could get those parts cheaper than the shop quote check online buy all your parts and oay a shop to do the work

 

They are low-balling you on the car value. Do a market search and show them the data. This car should be fixed.

 

TBH, I don't think they are low balling. When I sold my '06 GS to a friend, the tax office taxed her on the Black book market value which turned out to be $3500 back in 2020. I don't have access to the Black book value but the value the insurance company is giving sounds about right for an '07.

 

i think the point folks are making is that the market for used vehicles is at an all time high and using book value based on 2020 or 2021 data is not accurate and not able to cover the loss and should be contested.

 

I’m work on all my cars. This would be a no brainer for me… negotiate with the insurance company. Get a fat check. Buy used parts and put them on yourself. Lastly enjoy your free car!

 

Thank you all for your suggestions. I ended up frankenstein-ing her back together but I still need to find replacement headlights at some point because both of the housings are cracked.

I have my eye on local junk yard inventory but any ideas or suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks again,
Jess

 

I have a 2010 GS 350. 220,XXX miles. Insurance total. Gave me $11,700. Purchased back for $4000. Shop purchased front and rear bumpers and grill off eBay. Painted them white, all for $2000. Total spend $6000, plus deductible of $500. So $6500. $5100 in pocket. Make them come up in price.

 

$2500 for a pair of HID headlights is crazy work. Sheesh