bob

Well this happened around 8:00 pm November 7th;


I was taking a buddy home after work and an 07 Honda Civic veered or drifted into my lane. Its a two lane road with fairly deep ditches to either side so I had no way to avoid the guy coming into my lane and we hit in an offset frontal collision at about 35 mph (my speed at the time). The car did its job even though the airbag left me feeling like somebody ran my **** though a meat tenderizer a few hours afterward.


The other guy was knocked senseless and it ripped the driver's front wheel assembly off of his car plus the bumper cover. Alcohol my or may not have been a factor as one of the girls helping him out said she could smell it on his breath.


On the good side the 2015 is sorta my beater so I can hopefully avoid stuff like this in my 09 GT500 so I'm not too upset, especially since nobody was seriously injured and I have gap insurance on top of the 13k I put down on the vehicle. The car only had about 6000-6500 miles on it.

SpectreH

Sorry about the wreck, but glad the car safety systems worked and you are OK.

1 Alibi 2

Glad you're safe, other driver get a ticket ?
.

bob

Thanks! Yep worked pretty good

Yeah reckless so far, I've got the subpoena for Dec 17th and I'll see then if there are any other contributing factors.


One pic I wish I would have snapped though was the driver's front wheel. The tire blew out obviously but the barrel on the wheel cracked and you could see the brakes through the middle of the wheel.

TripleBlack14

First and foremost, glad you're OK. It's just a car once you realize you walked away.

But I'm curious as to why you have GAP insurance on a car you already have $13K equity into, plus whatever payments you've made so far. For insurance purposes the car is not going to depreciate by $13,000 plus. In finance situations GAP is intended for buyers who put down $0 to just a couple of thousand dollars.

From the photos it appears that your Mustang is totaled. It's doubtful that GAP will even kick in when your insurance company pays off the finance company.

bob

I always like to hedge my bets. I'll have to see how insurance pays out but right now just looking at things the car has already depreciated from 44k to 31k

Glenn

Glad yer ok and I need help understanding the title to this thread Your saying there's one less so now the rest of them are more valuable? Do you know how many they made for 2015?

bob

Yup, really just a joke. Whenever I see car that has been wrecked and it looks like its a write-off I say "Well that just made the rest of them more valuable".


Speaking of, I've been checking out the trade in and resale value of my GT if its totaled and the metallic guard color reduces the value of the car compared to some other colors (I guess red or white or what have you)


I don't know if my car can be repaired as the damage looks pretty extensive; Three air bags deployed, front and rear fascia's were damaged, drivers side rocker trim damaged, the hood and driver's fender are damaged, the tire and wheel on the front destroyed, the drivers door damaged, the suspension looks like it was damaged as the wheel sits farther back along with the surrounding sheet metal being buckled. The engine is titled toward the driver's side and is twisted off center, and the windshield is destroyed.


That's the obvious stuff, The car was knocked hard enough that it spun and cleared a ditch completely but the tow truck hooked the car and pulled it through the ditch so I don't know if anything was damaged in the spin over the ditch or when it was pulled through.


The car had 6500 miles on the ODO or there about and I've owned for 6 months. Everything I've seen for the value of the car pegs it between 30 to 33k (in excellent condition). I owe 30k on the loan so even with the 13k I put down on the car depending on what the insurance company offers I might still need my GAP insurance if they low ball the value of the car.


If they repair the car I'll press for compensation of the devaluation (I know a long shot as its not supposed to effect the value of the car but everything I've checked out changes the valuation from excellent to fair and knocks about 5-6k out of the cars trade in value).


I paid 44k for the car so if its totaled I can at least claim the difference in what I paid for it and the payoff when tax time rolls around if the rule hasn't changed and I'm reading it right so there is that.

TripleBlack14

In my 34 years of auto insurance claims before retirement, I've never heard of a car losing value because of it's color. Ever.

Most insurance companies these days use market surveys providing the method is approved by your state's department of insurance. You are entitled to ACV (Actual Cash Value) which is defined as replacement cost less depreciation. Your insurance company does not base the settlement on trade-in.

A survey is very simple...they will gather retail prices both at dealers and privately for cars similar in equipment to yours. Adjustments will be made up or down for mileage. Since your car is a current model year, the most common source will be dealer quotes based on actual cars in stock. A dealer's opinion doesn't count....a similar vehicle has to actually exist in inventory.

In New Jersey where I handled claims (and was a total loss and salvage specialist the last seven years of my career) we used market surveys for all vehicles, but current model year cars were treated a little differently. The State of NJ allowed a mileage depreciation method for current model year cars.

I'm assuming that the $44,000 you paid included sales tax and fees, so for arguments sake lets use $40,000 as the cost of the car (not the final price out the door).

Mileage depreciation (based on NJ law) allows the insurance company to deduct .30 per mile X the mileage on current model year.

$40,000 (negotiated price before tax)
- $1950 depreciation (.30 X 6500 miles)
$38050

To that amount, NJ 7% tax is added, and the deductible is applied last. No allowance is given for tags, license, or registration.

Of course, that's NJ, but it would be in your best interest to ask your claims rep if the mileage depreciation method for current model year cars is allowed for in your state.

Even if there is no provision for that, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you're not going to be as disappointed as you think.

Re: the $44K you quoted...does that include tax, fees, extended warranties, or finance charges? What was the actual price you paid....i.e. the first line on your sales contract.

shaneyusa

Glad to hear everyone is ok. It always makes me think twice about how I am driving and the "other guy" when I see something like this. Its always sad to see a nice car bite the dust. Hope everything turns out and you are able to get back into the fold soon. Keep us updated.

I too am curious about GAP insurance. Was the car heavily modded? Like you understand your reasoning.

Glenn

I believe when you look up a car on KBB sometimes different colors are worth a few bucks more. I can see it when looking to buy a car but not when making a ins claim.

bob

Yes, that's total delivered price (Well 44,773.65 is the exact amount) and the cost of the car 42,331.61 (Which was the X-plan price for my zip at the time plus accessories) although MSRP was listed at 44,095.00 on the window sticker.


Other than gap, I don't spring for extended warranties of any sort since usually about a year or two into ownership I start modding the car and occasionally visiting the track.

HoosierDaddy

Glad you're okay.

Sorry about the airbag beating. I guess it can vary a lot. I had an old lady run a sign and come out right in front of my '97 Formula doing 45-50 MPH. Head on (for me). Nearly broke her wagon in half (so much for Volvo safety cred although I heard she did eventually recover). My Formula leading edge ended up about 6" from the windshield. A cop arrived after the paramedics and asked me if they already transported the dead driver of my car. But all I had was a very slight scuff on the bridge of my nose from the airbag pushing my glasses back; didn't even draw blood. The lady would have been killed instantly if she had been a split second later but fortunately I hit right behind her front seat.

bob

****, talk about cutting it close!


I did find out that the accident dislocated two ribs and knocked a vertebrae out of alignment. Nothing a little therapy isn't taking care of though.


The only wrench in the monkey has been my secondary ride. The bearings went out on the supercharger in the Shelby and I've got to send it off to Whipple for an inspection and to see if it is a warrantable condition.


So I've been stuck doing a combination of walking, catching rides and renting a car. Unfortunately the last bit is at my own expense.


The kid's insurance company sent me a letter a little while back saying I needed to handle it through my insurance company as some costs may not be covered (like lot storage beyond a reasonable time) so I have gone through my insurance company and have received a settlement for the property damage sans my deductible (which the other insurance company is supposed to cover). The only downside is that the bearings went out during the week that the claim was settled and they wouldn't let me carry the rental through till I could get the Shelby repaired.


The settlement was for nearly 8k and I received a refund on my last car payment for almost 600 bucks so that will go in the bank minus some bills and Christmas shopping I decided to get out of the way.


I think I'm going to get a bike and ride that till the Shelby is repaired and throw the car payment into the savings account until next fall to build my down payment back up plus whatever tax refund and bonus checks I get through work.


Speaking of the kid they didn't find him to be intoxicated so I don't know what the hell he was doing in my lane?? Texting perhaps or maybe he had some medical condition or was tired?


I was supposed to go to court on 17th as a witness to our accident but for some reason the kid never made it on the docket that day. I suppose I should give the officer who showed up and see if he plead guilty or got a lawyer or what have you as nobody has made an effort to contact me about a change date for court.

HoosierDaddy

Don't be surprised if he walked.

I had some outlaw biker type in a van take a bat to my car back in the '90s. I followed him and blocked his exit from a parking lot until the cops got there. Only my threat to shoot him kept him from attacking me with a big chain he was swinging. He pulled the same with the cops who showed up. The cops told me I should have just reported it. I asked what happens if I reported it and he denies it? They hemmed and hawed but said nothing really. I said that's why I didn't just report it.

Anyway, a week or so later a D.A. called to ask if I would mind if they let him walk if he paid for the damages. I told them hell no it wasn't okay with me. But since I was never called to testify, I suspect they did anyway.

Dr Plastic

Glad you are OK and was able to walk away from this. My question is why are you worrying about your insurance company totaling it and paying out? It looks that the other guy was at fault and if so his insurance company would bear the brunt of making you whole!

bob

Thanks! It was a good thing I was in a new Mustang and its better structure and mass worked in my favor.


His insurance company still hasn't admitted fault even though my insurance is ready to subrogate the costs and help me get my deductible back.


I've been told his insurance company has had a massive cut in staffing so that might be part of it although I'm wondering if the kid that hit me has suffered more serious injury preventing them from finishing things out or perhaps he is denying it?


In my favor I had a passenger in the car but it was a little damp that night so no tracks were left although the left front hub assembly from the Civic was in my lane at the point of impact which caused the Mustang to rotate over the ditch.


Also the make whole part takes depreciation into account. 6k in 6 months and I've checked around about that and the consistent answer has been pretty much the same.


And hey glad to meet you neighbor!

Dr Plastic

Howdy!

They are probably giving you a sob story to get you to back off. What did the police report state? Did they place the blame on the other driver? I would make them give you a new car and threaten to take them to court! We must meet up sometime!

JCStang

Can't he get a refund on the GAP insurance if it doesn't come into play in paying off his lien?

bob

Yeah I just have to turn in some paperwork.


My loan company said they would notify the dealership but I haven't heard anything and I told my salesman I'd fax over the GAP paperwork.