Car Accident Help
#1
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Location: La
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Car Accident Help
Was recently in an auto accident & the total amount of repairs was first projected to be 6,700 dollars. My car is an 06 IS 350 base model with 40,000 miles. However, there was other damage to the suspension and underneath the car that must have made the total go up. I recently checked the claim status on state farm website and it was projected now to be at 9,800...Was it possible to have claimed the car as a total loss at the second amount? This is my first accident ever. Also, would it have been better to get the Lexus Dealership or totyota to do the repairs?
#2
Lexus Fanatic
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Whether or not the car can be claimed as a total loss is up to your insurance company. They all have different standards/levels of what qualifies as a total loss when there's no automatic total loss that has occurred (i.e. Frame damage) The only way to know is to contact your agent and ask what qualifies as a total loss and if they will write this car off or not.
As far as the repair shop you chose, as long as you chose a reputable repair shop, i don't see why you should have any issues. Most repair shops offer a lifetime warranty on their work, or if they don't, your insurance may provided you go to an approved body shop of theirs. I would prefer my car to be worked on at a Toyota/Lexus collision center when doing repairs as it insures OEM parts will be used and tougher standards to live up to.
As far as the repair shop you chose, as long as you chose a reputable repair shop, i don't see why you should have any issues. Most repair shops offer a lifetime warranty on their work, or if they don't, your insurance may provided you go to an approved body shop of theirs. I would prefer my car to be worked on at a Toyota/Lexus collision center when doing repairs as it insures OEM parts will be used and tougher standards to live up to.
#3
Lead Lap
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Cars usually aren't totaled unless damages are within 60%-70% value of the car. I'm sure your car is worth more than 19600. If everyone's car was considered totaled for such a low cost of damage compared to the value of the car then insurance companies would be out of business
#5
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Well I asked the repair shop and they said they are going to use OEM parts for all repairs...Im a bit worried and think I should have gone to toyota or lexus...Also, when the damage was estimated at 6700 the insurance company said if I would have done around 3500 more in damage it could have me totaled out...That is why I ask bc I was not told the damage estimates were bumped from 6700 to 9800...I happened to go pay for my insurance online & checked the claim estimates and saw it in there..Also, if the frame is bent at all, even slightly could it be considered a total loss? I read somewhere that whenever a frame is bent its better to total out since it can never be fixed 100%
#7
Lexus Champion
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sorry to hear bout the accident..
im sure you can find a reputable shop in LA that can fix your car back to OEM specs. make sure they use new OEM parts and not re-manufactured parts.
you can also consider to do the 2011+ / Fsport conversion while you're at it since insurance is paying! good luck.
im sure you can find a reputable shop in LA that can fix your car back to OEM specs. make sure they use new OEM parts and not re-manufactured parts.
you can also consider to do the 2011+ / Fsport conversion while you're at it since insurance is paying! good luck.
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#8
i used to have state farm and they were pretty good to me when i banged up a couple cars when i was younger. hopefully you have the same luck. do you prefer the car be a total loss or do you WANT it fixed?
#9
Racer
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This seems easily determined, just call your insurance company.
The only entity that can determine if your car is a total loss or not is your insurance company. So asking others' opinions on here unfortunately won't get you anywhere. Just call your insurance company and explain that you noticed the repair amount went up significantly and that you'd been told that the current amount was close to the level at which it would be termed a total loss.
Also, is the car already undergoing repairs? If so, then I think this entire question is moot. Even if the repair amount goes up, it's already being repaired so they're not going to invest the money to repair it and THEN claim it's a total loss and give you cash value on top. In addition, if it's already being repaired you shouldn't fret over whether you should have taken it elsewhere because there's nothing you can do, it's going to be repaired there.
The only entity that can determine if your car is a total loss or not is your insurance company. So asking others' opinions on here unfortunately won't get you anywhere. Just call your insurance company and explain that you noticed the repair amount went up significantly and that you'd been told that the current amount was close to the level at which it would be termed a total loss.
Also, is the car already undergoing repairs? If so, then I think this entire question is moot. Even if the repair amount goes up, it's already being repaired so they're not going to invest the money to repair it and THEN claim it's a total loss and give you cash value on top. In addition, if it's already being repaired you shouldn't fret over whether you should have taken it elsewhere because there's nothing you can do, it's going to be repaired there.
#11
Lexus Champion
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As mentioned, every insurance companies have a guideline or formula on how they determine a total loss on a car. It's basically to avoid repairing a damaged car where the cost of repair exceeds or nears the value of the car. Nobody is going to spend 10 grand to fix a car that's only worth $8000.
You can get a good idea by checking out the value of your car... RDIS250AWD said it pretty well. I kind of doubt that they are going to total it.
Sorry to hear about the accident...
For shops, I usually do some research before taking it to a body shop. Simple yelp search can go a long way... pick a shop with lots of reviews to prevent any bias and obviously a near perfect one. Good luck!
You can get a good idea by checking out the value of your car... RDIS250AWD said it pretty well. I kind of doubt that they are going to total it.
Sorry to hear about the accident...
For shops, I usually do some research before taking it to a body shop. Simple yelp search can go a long way... pick a shop with lots of reviews to prevent any bias and obviously a near perfect one. Good luck!
#12
Racer
iTrader: (4)
Was recently in an auto accident & the total amount of repairs was first projected to be 6,700 dollars. My car is an 06 IS 350 base model with 40,000 miles. However, there was other damage to the suspension and underneath the car that must have made the total go up. I recently checked the claim status on state farm website and it was projected now to be at 9,800...Was it possible to have claimed the car as a total loss at the second amount? This is my first accident ever. Also, would it have been better to get the Lexus Dealership or totyota to do the repairs?