Vehicle Write Off Tips Thread

[Doctorfever]

Originally Posted by Flacker

Not a write off, but had a vehicle stolen.

Like any insurance interaction, they tried to offer and settle as quickly as possible. Any documentation you have to help prove mileage and condition will help.

After providing recent photos of the car, and maintenance records showing mileage, they came back with a closer to fair number.

Agreed.

Probably worth pulling the carfax report on your vehicle to prove maintenance, mileage, and repairs made. Good to show a maintenance record.

[GGG]

Understand what the arbitration process like within your insurance, what your rights are and there obligations. Then you know your options.

Your insurance company is incentivized to settle the claim for the lowest possible value quickly without spending resources on appraisals, arbitration, or even just call center time. So they have a nice person who is just trying to help get you money so you can move on.

They have a number internally that they will settle for that is greater than the number currently offered. So you need to negotiate until they no.

[Deegee]

Originally Posted by Since1984

Keep the cash, keep the car. Insure it with PL/PD.

Put the money back into the maintenance of the vehicle and depending on the extent of the hail damage, enjoy the fuel savings of a more aerodynamic vehicle!

We did this with a used car and it was awesome having no payments. We got 5 more years out of it until our neighbor smashed into it while it was parked and wrote it off.

It was charcoal colored and you couldn't notice the hail damage unless you were closer. Totally fine vehicle otherwise.

[RichieRich]

Originally Posted by GGG

Understand what the arbitration process like within your insurance, what your rights are and there obligations. Then you know your options.

Your insurance company is incentivized to settle the claim for the lowest possible value quickly without spending resources on appraisals, arbitration, or even just call center time. So they have a nice person who is just trying to help get you money so you can move on.

They have a number internally that they will settle for that is greater than the number currently offered. So you need to negotiate until they no.

Exactly this.
I’ve had one vehicle where I ultimately got 50% more than initial offer (crappy first car). And 2nd vehicle (mid size nice sedan) also got nearly 50% more than initial. Had records of work done on both, I did a LOT of work finding comparison vehicles within 500-750km and plus/minis 1 year. And I dragged things along for a few weeks. So was happy with both of those.

And most definitely be nice as possible to your insurance rep as they don’t need stress and may actually help you towards a resolution closer to your ask.

[speede5]

Not much to add but I’ve bought a couple hail damage cars from insurance and you would be surprised how many dents disappear after a seasonal cycle. The vehicle doesn’t sound like it’s worth worrying about some cosmetic damage. What kind of car are we talking about here?

[Dion]

Originally Posted by bagofpucks

Lots of great advice so far and the only thing I’ll add is if you add done any recent repairs or maintenance and have the receipts you can include that to get reimbursed in the cash value of the vehicle. I had write off years back and I think it was brakes and tires I had replaced in the past year and once I provided the adjuster the receipts they added it into the payout.

It was the same with me when they wrote off my 2005 Escape, I showed them the receipts for new tires, tune-up, break job and tranny flush, which was added to my payout in the end.

[lazypucker]

Originally Posted by Dion

I showed them the receipts for new tires, tune-up, break job and tranny flush

Tranny flush ??

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Jiggy

My insurance company told me today that my car is a total loss after the hailstorm last month. Even though no one from the insurance company or an adjuster looked at the vehicle. At first, they said they used comparables to come up with the cash value of the car, when I asked if I could see which comparables they used they said the value was actually through JD software. They seem to want to close the deal quick. Anyone been in the same situation that can offer some tips on how to get the best deal from an insurance company?

I wrote off a vehicle due to hail damage. The damage was barely noticeable except for certain angles.

I don't know whether they're all the same, but IIRC the payout is basically based on their expectation of what they'd get at auction less deductible. That's where the autotrader/Kijiji ads etc. come in as they're kinda an estimate of what that care might get at auction. I recommend to pull listings from dealerships/companies vs private sale for the comparables; don't forget to ask about GST. In my situation, they actually had a guy drive by to see if they could see the car on the street and they did a quick verification and I was told after the fact they had already done a quick look at the vehicle.

The thing is, be patient with the agent. They're probably trying to wrap up literally thousands of claims right now and making it easier for them (without rolling over and accepting a low claim) will work best. The guy I dealt with straight up gave me almost the highest comparable. He did tell me I could try and ask for higher but he'd need approval. He was pretty good, so it didn't seem like it was worth delaying things further for an extra $250-500.


If taking a full pay out, make sure the car is clean. Around $20 bucks and 45 minutes ie: inside with a leaf blower/turbo fan and some armor all wipes, and a basic car wash/wax will go a long way in helping you request higher on the estimate. Definitely ask about adding GST for the comparable business listings you look up.

If taking a payout and you keep the car (ie: 13H clause?) then you still want to spend $20 and 45 mins in case they have someone go by to take a quick look. I believe it'll be based on auction value (comparables), less deductible less salvage value. This is what I took. I already had a buyer for the vehicle when it was noticed, so I dropped the price slightly for the barely noticeable cosmetic damage (they were happy), I collected two cheques and ended up with more than the original agreed sales value.