Drunk driver slammed my MSP!!!

[03MSP]

Good to hear they found her, and she has insurance...wow, that company is going to have to pay a shitload.

But one thing I don't understand is how you said you are pretty sure it is totalled...from what I saw in the pic it doesn't even look close to totalled.

 

[Emode]

maybe NOL is No Operators License?

 

[MSP2746]

From my understanding, a car is totalled if the damage done to it accounts for a certain percentage of the car's fair market value. In that Civic's case (a high mileage '92 Civic in already poor condition), that's not much. It's going to need serious body work, as every panel (door, fender, and rear quarter panel) on both sides of the vehicle will need to be repaired/replaced and repainted, the rear suspension (lca/uca) is screwed and will need to be replaced, and the wheel is bent. I'm personally guessing in order to get that car back to where it was, it would cost upwards of $2,500, which is more than likely enough to total it, since it's probably only worth $3,500. Remember that the Civic was hit on both sides. The drunk woman hit the driver's side, and then it slammed into my car on the other side.

It's possible that it won't be totalled, but I'm thinking it isn't likely.

Does that make sense, or am I off base?

 

[paulstrovsky]

From my understanding, a car is totalled if the damage done to it accounts for a certain percentage of the car's fair market value.

This is exactly how it works. The idea is to bring the car back to pre-accident condition, and with any significant amount of damage on a car over 10 years old, a Total Loss is quite likely.

The worst is when a brand new fancy, expensive car like a BMW gets wrecked and the repairs end up costing just less than the insurance company's Total Loss threshold. I believe a lot of owners end up refusing to take delivery of the repaired vehicle when this happens.

How do I know all this? I work for an autobody chain.

-Paul

 

[paulstrovsky]

Oh, I forgot to mention- I think the percentage is relatively high, like 80% or something. But then again, insurance companies tend to over-estimate what a car is actually worth.

Hope the person who hit you has a good insurance company, and not just the one with the lowest premiums...

 

[c0nfus3d]

very sorry to hear that.....similar thing happened to my brothers pick up.....idiot drunk driver hit a total of 15 cars and completely totaled 5cars my brothers included.....i hate drunk drivers i've had way too many bad experiences with them not counting the fact i've lost friends....they should all burn