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Don't worry so much about mileage, as that can be adjusted by a standard formula. Find a similar Yaris in terms of condition and options, and get prices on those. If the mileage on yours was 50k, and the one you find has 20k, the claim would be adjusted by a standard formula to account for 30k of additional use on your vehicle, which should be itemized as such.
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It is surprising how little difference mileage makes.
WOW. Lots of really bad and dishonest advice in this thread. Anybody who thinks they are going to "screw" the insurance company here is dreaming. They have seen every trick in the dishonest play book.
OP.
Approach this with honesty and dignity and the end result will be favorable. Nothing wrong with making sure you are paid for the actual damages, but don't be the scum that is being suggested by some in this thread.
Nothing wrong with making sure you are paid for the actual damages
actual damages
The insurance company won't pay that, unless they have to.
actual damages are:
1. rental car, lost wages if you can not get to work, etc.
2. presenting you with a check for fair value for your lost vehicle.
3. anyone involved in an automobile accident, in which the car was totalled, should be seen by a doctor. If not, you risk medical issues turning up after you have signed the dotted line.
If you want to go about it the proper way, you call 5 lawyers and they will give you ethical legal advice.
Insurance companies are notoriously known for being crooked.
One did not want to pay a life insurance policy when my parent died.
They paid in the END, because they were liable. If I had taken their word for it, they would not have paid. It took a little help to get them to do what was right.
I haven't been able to get a car rental because nobody has anything ( called 7-8 different companies). They only pay so much. They offered 8,400 for it. And I can't get a rental car anymore now that they offered something. I would have to return it tomorrow.
I haven't been able to get a car rental because nobody has anything ( called 7-8 different companies). They only pay so much. They offered 8,400 for it. And I can't get a rental car anymore now that they offered something. I would have to return it tomorrow.
If you want to rent a late model nice car, then you need to be willing to take any old car that you can rent. Forget about luxury, unless you have other transportation to work. Take the oldest ugliest rental car you can get and forget your lifestyle. Take any rental you can get or sit at home and let the insurance company take you for a ride.
You do not ask them to provide you a rental car. You rent one and when it is time to accept their offer, you have the receipts for ALL your damages.
We had a lady driving a car and the right side of the car got hit at only 35 mph. There was no one in the passenger seat. The driver died of neck injuries.
If your car had no body damage, and it is totalled, that sounds like a serious accident = get checked out by your family doctor.
Wreck this week and settle this week, is not the way a lawyer would advise you. But, it's all up to you, how you want to handle it.
If it's a decent insurance company they will issue you a check for the new car pretty promptly. They should give you a retail dealership KBB value, in other words the highest one.
Well, the 8,4k is the total ( with taxes etc. ). I will go to the doctor tomorrow just to make sure. The lady I talked on the phone wasn't very willing to help me out much. I don't want to rent a car or whatever, then present them with the bill and get a rejection. She said I don't get KBB value because "That's what they use in the north" and I'm in Texas.
I guess the money they gave me is ok, not great. "Wreck this week settle this week" - well, if you have no means of transportation and you're not getting anything, then that's kinda how it goes, I'm afraid.
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If you are dealing with the first person who called you from Insurance company, then you haven't been enough of a PITA for them. This first person is well trained to talk you into a settlement.
I would never take their first offer. Their insured driver has caused you damages. Get what you deserve and what is fair. (Don't be NICE to them, just be FIRM and provide NO HINT that you are prepared to settle.).
find a reasonable rental, accumulate rejections as well and present the documentation and demand that you be put into a similar position that you were in before their driver caused you damages
The Toyota Certified program is 6 years/85k miles, so the vehicle would have to be under that figure to qualify. I would push for a certified price, especially when you offer to document your maintenance, etc., assuming you were under 85k miles. The offer is higher than you thought, but may not yet be high enough, depending upon what is available in your area.
I looked on Toyota Certified in Texas, and only came up with 9 cars within 100 miles of Dallas, the oldest being 2009. Within 100 miles of Houston, I came up with 8 certified Yaris.
Using Auto Trader, a 2008 popped up with ~30k miles for an automatic Yaris sedan, asking just under $10k, at a non-Toyota dealer lot. You might get that car delivered a little over $10k, including taxes and fees, so their offer may need to come up a bit. A 2008 automatic hatchback has an asking price of $12,995 with automatic transmission and 44k miles. Those were within 50 miles of Houston. Within 50 miles of Dallas, Carmax has a 2008 Yaris sedan for $11,988 with 43k miles. There are other cars in both cities, but not 2008. The range between two of the larger cities in Texas comes back at $10k-$13k asking prices, though no negotiation at Carmax. I'd also venture that the car with 30k miles in Houston for $10k does not have much room for negotiation, so $8400 seems a bit low, unless your car had a huge number of miles on it.
Ask your insurance company if they can run a valuation as well, so that you have that number.
On Cars.com, which can have more ads for a given area, I found the following for Houston:
Sample 1 Sedan 64,512 $11,998 CarMax
Sample 2 Sedan 47,675 $11,995
Sample 3 Hatch 38,255 $10,980
Sample 4 Sedan 30,482 $9,996
Sample 5 Sedan 48,243 $9,995
Average 45,833 $10,993
Source: Cars.com *All vehicles are MY2008 and are within 30 miles of Houston, only 5 Yaris listed 1/25/12 2:00am EST.
For Dallas, there are more Yaris listed:
Sample 1 Hatch 37,653 $12,998
Sample 2 Sedan 63,626 $12,998
Sample 3 Hatch 31,785 $12,599
Sample 4 Sedan 39,474 $11,998
Sample 5 Sedan 43,702 $11,998 CarMax
Sample 6 Sedan 66,314 $10,995
Sample 7 Sedan 45,149 $10,900
Sample 8 Sedan 81,809 $10,000
Sample 9 Hatch 47,963 $9,900
Sample 10 Sedan 65,469 $9,967
Sample 11 Sedan 39,198 $9,900
Sample 12 Sedan 126,788 $7,883
Average 57,411 $11,011
Source: Cars.com *All vehicles are MY2008 Toyota Yaris and are within 30 miles of Dallas, only 12 Yaris listed 1/25/12 2:00am EST.
Print out copies of the ads as well, to see if they will give you more for the car. Based upon the cars.com lists, $8400 is low, since the average asking price is about $11k for both Dallas and Houston. You're not going to walk out of a used car lot with an "average" of the vehicles for sale for $8400 full price delivered, as the sales price would be $7900 or so, which is fine if you had a car with 100k miles on it in Dallas, given the above sample. I'd say if you got out of the dealership around $10,500 for a 2008, you would have done well because you would be at $11,700 for a Yaris with tax, using the "average" figure, and full retail price. If your car falls to the lower end of the mileage range, it will cost more to replace, so that should be factored as well.
I picked Dallas and Houston because they are pretty large cities, and I easily knew zip codes in each as I know people in both cities. Hopefully, one or both will be of assistance, but you can find all the ads on cars.com, where you can filter by year, etc. And, maybe you can find another Yaris to be driving in the next few days.
Good luck.
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