Auto Total Loss

[Medlocke]

Jurisdiction

Virginia

I am located in Virginia.

A rodent entered the cabin of my vehicle and damaged the interior, chewing up a couple of seat covers and a little bit of the carpet.

The insurance carrier's shop took 2 months to complete the estimate and never followed up, but the car is perfectly driveable so I just went on with life driving my car.

When my patience ran out I called the shop on a status and they were still working on the estimate, 2 months after the inspection?!

A few days later I get a call from the insurance carrier telling me the car is a total loss and they would need to pickup the vehicle and take it to their salvage yard - immediately!

Wait, I've never seen the estimate, no one's discussed the repairs, no one was in a hurry the past two months and all of sudden we need to act…. and you need to take my perfectly driveable car to your salvage yard!?

The estimate is for $15,000 to replace 2 seat covers and the carpet! There were two supplements written on the original estimate. The second supplement is a line item lump sum entry for $3,900.00 and is listed as dealer labor? This suggests to me that the shop was trying to get the estimate high enough to total the car?

The value of the car is $16,700.00.

The total loss settlement offer is sufficient to cover the lien with a couple grand more to me.

The car is a luxury end vehicle with super low mileage and is in better than excellent condition.

I want to keep the car……

I have the means to satisfy the lien in order to acquire clear title and get the payment made out to me directly.

My issue is the title status - the carrier informed me they would notify DMV that the vehicle is a total loss and provide them with the estimate to determine title branding.

As the estimate is 90% of the value, the title will be changed to a salvage title and will have to be inspected by a DMV inspector after repairs are complete in order to change the title to "rebuilt" making it legal to drive. The "rebuilt" status is permanent so value will be lost when I do resell the vehicle… and DMV stated the inspectors are 4 months behind on inspections!

In Maryland I found a law that allows the carrier to remove cosmetic damage from the estimate which hugely impacts the % of damage utilized for title branding. In my case, all of the damages are cosmetic and if I were in Maryland there would be no title brands as a result of the cosmetic damage law.

WHY IS THE INSURANCE COMPANY FINDING MY CAR TOTALED.

I've not been able to find a similar law in Virginia, but that is the ask of this community. Is there a cosmetic repair law similar to Marylands in Virginia?

 

[Zigner]

Get a couple of different estimates that show a lower amount for the damage and present those to your insurance company to show that your vehicle is not, in fact, a total loss.
@adjusterjack will be able to provide additional information.

 

[adjusterjack]

My guess is that your shop owners are crooks, trying to get as much as they can out of your insurance company.

You can, of course, walk into that shop and demand a copy of the estimate, if you haven't received it.

I concur with Zigner.

If you like your car and want to keep it, take it somewhere else. Preferably to a shop that specializes in interior work like seats and carpets. Tell them what you want done and get an estimate for just that work.

If you don't want more fighting with your insurance company, if you can afford it, I suggest you have the work done, pay for it, even if you have to use credit cards, and submit the paid invoice to your insurance for reimbursement.

The check may include the lender under the loss payee provisions of your policy. You'll have to deal with that with your lender. The worst that can happen is it goes to retire your loan balance and you get what's left, if any.

Make sure you take photos of the damaged areas before and after.

By the way, seat upholstery and carpet kits are available from the dealer pre-made and pre-formed, with the right color and style for your car. The shop can get them, unless it costs less to have the shop custom make them. But that's up to you.

 

[army judge]

The value of the car is $16,700.00.

That is the value an internet site might place on the vehicle, but if it isn't purchased by another party, its nothing more than 3,000 pounds of aluminum, iron, plastic, and memories.

I want to keep the car……

You should have revealed your WANT to someone at the insurance company.

You might have received what you desired, had you surfaced and discussed it.

Is there a cosmetic repair law similar to Marylands in Virginia?

Perhaps you should ask your state's governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, one of you TWO elected legislators, or state insurance regulator.

After all, you're a taxpayer, entitled to correspond with any of the aforementioned officials.

 

[Medlocke]

That is the value an internet site might place on the vehicle, but if it isn't purchased by another party, its nothing more than 3,000 pounds of aluminum, iron, plastic, and memories.

That's not an internet price, that's what the carrier offered me…

$16,700.00 they keep the car or $12,300.00 I keep the car.

You should have revealed your WANT to someone at the insurance company.

I did, that's when they explained they were required to report the estimate amount to DMV which brands the title based on the estimate amount.

Perhaps you should ask your state's governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, one of you TWO elected legislators, or state insurance regulator.

After all, you're a taxpayer, entitled to correspond with any of the aforementioned officials.

Good suggestion..

I'm fine with them totaling the car and giving me $12,300.00, I'll figure out the repairs based on that amount…. my question pertains to cosmetic damage being removed from the estimate amount (like it is in Maryland) which drives the title branding.

 

[adjusterjack]

my question pertains to cosmetic damage being removed from the estimate amount (like it is in Maryland) which drives the title branding.

The answer is still the same. Get your own estimate based on what you want done.