Met with an Accident [HIT & RUN] - Photos Attached

tylerdurden91 said:

Hi all,

After a perfect weekend and a business trip was getting back home and some moron barged into my lane, hit me and i had no other option than swerve. The car fell in a pit and this is how it looks now (Pics below), I have an insurance with Progressive and i am so low, as this is my first car and i love it like ****. This car is real safety,came out with no injury.

Accident Info : Driver side Airbags were deployed, Entire front part was scrapped, Engine was running, the axle seems to be little displaced.

Q1 : If it is repairable, what could be the estimate or is being totaled the only option ?

Q2 : Is it safe to get it repaired, if repairable ?

Q3 : What could the amount i would be getting if the car is totaled, [ Ex: 2014, Red 1LT, 47k Miles, Excellent condition, Not even a scratch before accident ] ?

Car Details :
2014 Cruze 1LT - Auto,
Color : Premium Red
Add ons : RS Package

Car Photos :
View attachment 240834 View attachment 240842 View attachment 240850

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First off first airbags are very expensive to be replaced, so adding to the rest of the list I wouldn't even consider to repair it, it's not worth it, get the money from insurance and get something else if not new then something almost new.

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The car did its job by saving your life. A car built 20 years ago would have left you a paraplegic. One built 25 years ago a qudraplegic. One built 30 years ago: dead. A car built 10 years now would have completely avoided the collision.

Sorry to to say but your car is beyond economical repair. Expect somewhere in the $6-8,000 range as your compensation. Start your shopping now as Harvey is driving up the prices of cars across the board.

Hi Tomko,

Thank you for taking time to reply. But isn't $6000 - $8000 very low, considering similar in my area with good/similar condition are sold not less than 11k~12k.

Thank you Taxman,

The list you attached helps a lot. I appreciate you taking time to help me.

Thank for your Suggestion Pacolino, Thank you for taking time to reply me.

tylerdurden91 said:

But isn't $6000 - $8000 very low, considering similar in my area with good/similar condition are sold not less than 11k~12k.

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Unless you got a policy that specifically said it would pay replacement value, they will pay you what you'd have gotten if you sold the car. (Liberty Mutual advertises that, but still have the get the right policy.)

Unfortunately, you need to buy a car. There's a significant price difference between wholesale and retail.

And yes, I'm sure Harvey is affecting the market. There's a ton of cars that will have to be replaced.

Generally speaking, insurance pays what a dealer would reasonably charge you for the same car with similar miles and condition, plus taxes and fees, less deductible.

You should (in theory) be able to take your settlement check to a dealer, and negotiate him down to where you endorse the insurance check and add a check of your own in the amount of your deductible. That would have been easy to do with the check Farm Bureau (Michigan) gave my mom for her Malibu last summer, if you could have found a garage kept 2006 Malibu with 60k on the odometer to replace it with.

WRT Harvey, I've seen pics of parking lots full of cars submerged to within inches of the windows, but still neatly parked in rows, as if the water rose slowly and they didn't float and bang into each other.

I predict a huge glut of undented flood cars going up for auction from late September-mid November.

If you have the mechanical ability and free time (figure two days each to strip two cars down to bare shells and three days to assemble one), you could buy a flood car and assemble your car in its body, but you'll want to switch everything electrical over, down to the wiring harnesses and door window motors. Probably easiest to get a same color donor body and put your doors on it. If you're up for that, it wouldn't hurt to find out how much the insurance company wants to let you keep the remains of your car.

Taxman said:

Generally speaking, insurance pays what a dealer would reasonably charge you for the same car with similar miles and condition, plus taxes and fees, less deductible.

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I think that depends on what part of the insurance is covering this and what the laws are. If someone else is at fault, then they and their insurance company has a legal obligation to "make you whole" which would generally be "replacement". OTOH, if a bolt comes out of the blue and totals the car, then that comes under comprehensive - and that depends on what kind of insurance you signed up for. It's strictly contractual between you and the insurance company. In this case, I'm not sure what section it would be covered under - perhaps "uninsured"? And then there's the whole "no-fault" thing. So, depending on the details, it would be somewhere from "sale value" to "replacement value".

I do think it would be a good idea to find help in getting the most out of the insurance company because I'm sure they're going to want to low-ball you. And then you need to find a replacement car. (And can I suggest getting a dash cam?)

ChevyGuy said:

I think that depends on what part of the insurance is covering this and what the laws are. If someone else is at fault, then they and their insurance company has a legal obligation to "make you whole" which would generally be "replacement".

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Why you must not watch the Peoples Court or Judge Judy? The person that hit you would be required to fix your Car, not replace it or make it better? If it can't be fixed you get the ACV.


In fact most of us are insured for the ACV regardless, Actual Cash Value, not the retail price or the replacement price. If its totaled out you usually get the difference between the two, usually on the lower side of that. A fully insured 2014 CRUZE might see $9000-$11,000. The Liberty Mutual spot with Accident Forgiveness© can be very costly and not to be confused with New Car Replacement© or Better Car Replacement©


Here is how Liberty Mutual puts it:


If your totaled car is under one year old and has less than 15,000 miles, New Car Replacement is an optional coverage for your Liberty Mutual Auto Insurance policy that provides you with the money for a brand new car, not just the depreciated value of your old car.

Do not buy a flood damaged car - be diligent in your research. Gather any photos and repair records to fight with the insurance company over the value. Find comparables online in the same condition as yours was. Look at KBB, blue and black, truecar, and the other valuation websites. Lastly, buy the damaged vehicle from the insurance company and sell the parts, assuming you have the ability and space to do so. You do need to weigh the value of the parts with the cost of the vehicle though.

Hi Eddy,

Thanks for your detailed reply. Just to add a question to it - Does addon's like RS package and Rear view add anything to the Actual Cash Value ?

tylerdurden91 said:

Hi Tomko,

Thank you for taking time to reply. But isn't $6000 - $8000 very low, considering similar in my area with good/similar condition are sold not less than 11k~12k.

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You're with Progressive, right?

If it were me, I'd push to get the car totaled even though it sucks. I can see from the pictures that it looks like the car has hidden structure damage. Sorry to have that happen to you. At least you are okay, the car can be replaced. I'd just be very alert because I hear lots of Progressive horror stories.

Tomko said:

You're with Progressive, right?

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Yes Tomko. Raised a claim already and they have scheduled a pick up from the towing yard to their location. Their claim rep was pretty sure about getting the vehicle totaled, when i asked her today.

I work for a major insurance company. I would suggest you first thank your lucky stars that you are ok. I would recommend going to a dr to make sure you are ok. Then just have an adjuster make an estimate to determine how much damage you have. It could be totaled, I can't tell from pics and no one else here guessing has any impact on the actual damage.

The incentives on new cars are so high right now, I might consider upgrading to a new car if your budget allows. I would not even consider buying a used car without knowing it's complete history.

Good luck to you. Again, very glad your ok.

Tomko said:

The car did its job by saving your life. A car built 20 years ago would have left you a paraplegic. One built 25 years ago a qudraplegic. One built 30 years ago: dead. A car built 10 years now would have completely avoided the collision.

Sorry to to say but your car is beyond economical repair. Expect somewhere in the $6-8,000 range as your compensation. Start your shopping now as Harvey is driving up the prices of cars across the board.

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I have no idea how you can make such statements about possible injuries or death from just looking at three pictures. I have been in some accidents. Not all cars are created equal. I wiped another car out in my dad's Lincoln Mark IV in the 1980s. It was 73 model, he still has the car. His Lincoln is a tank, his Lincoln vs hitting my Cruze, even with all the modern safety features I would take his Lincoln, weight and mass will probably win. I could take my fist and put a big dent in my door or fender, I couldn't do that with his car. Having said all that, accidents suck and would not wish one on anyone regardless of what they are driving.

I see folks driving around in smart cars, which look like a lawn mower with a roof. If one of those gets hit by a pickup truck they could have very serious injuries or more despite the smart car being new. Cars age isn't the only factor in safety. Just my thoughts.