Car Crash: Insurance complexities and other advice?

hemburger · Fri, May 23rd, 2008, 04:56 PM

Hello there,

I had a really bad road accident one week back. I was driving a 2008 Nissan Altima with 4 other passengers. The car's totaled but everyone's safe.

I need advice w.r.t car insurance and how things will work out from them.

Finance: The car was bought from a Nissan dealership with financing through their corporation itself.

Insurance: Their initial estimate is that it's totaled but I am awaiting their final response.

Car details: It was a new Altime bought in Sept 07. It has 7000 miles on it and was in excellent condition before the crash.

What I don't understand/am confused about:

They will determine a market value for the car and pay off my loan. I don't have Gap insurance. In this case, I will be responsible for the remainder, if any. Yes/No?
They will help me get a new car. Is getting a car of the same make the best option, financially speaking? I would love to stick with an Altima.
Since they are going to replace my car, will the car insurance give me the entire money for the car? eg. a new Altima costs $20000 and their estimate is $21000. Will they buy the car for me? If so, what do I owe?

I have never been in any accident and have never dealt with car insurance reimbursements before. My apologies for stupid questions.

Any other ideas/suggestions/concerns will be helpful.

Thanks for your help.

vanDutton · Fri, May 23rd, 2008, 09:42 PM

Answers in caps.

They will determine a market value for the car and pay off my loan. I don't have Gap insurance. In this case, I will be responsible for the remainder, if any. Yes/No? YES
They will help me get a new car. Is getting a car of the same make the best option, financially speaking? I would love to stick with an Altima. THAT IS YOUR DECISION
Since they are going to replace my car, will the car insurance give me the entire money for the car? eg. a new Altima costs $20000 and their estimate is $21000. Will they buy the car for me? If so, what do I owe? YOU WOULD POCKET THE EXCESS, WHICH I HIGHKY DOUBT. LACK OF GAP INSURANCE MEANS YOU WILL PROBABLY STILL OWE A GOOD BIT. IT WILL BE JUDGED AS A USED VEHICLE MOST LIKELY.

Good luck. Was it an at fault wreck? If it was judged by the on-scene officer to be the other guys fault, you may not have to cover anything. It depends on a lot of factors, some of which are out of your control.

vanDutton · Fri, May 23rd, 2008, 09:44 PM

O... another option once the dust settles is to just get an old car with low miles for about 1500 bucks, and just pay yourself a car note for a year or two. At that point, you can go buy a new car outright. No financing, no car debt. Just an idea.

DFS · Fri, May 23rd, 2008, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vanDutton

O... another option once the dust settles is to just get an old car with low miles for about 1500 bucks, and just pay yourself a car note for a year or two. At that point, you can go buy a new car outright. No financing, no car debt. Just an idea.

Hmm...a fellow Dave Ramsey fan???

hemburger · Sat, May 24th, 2008, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vanDutton

Answers in caps.
Good luck. Was it an at fault wreck? If it was judged by the on-scene officer to be the other guys fault, you may not have to cover anything. It depends on a lot of factors, some of which are out of your control.

It wasn't my fault. I am awaiting a police report.

I was driving in Lane 2 (2nd from Left) and an SUV in front of me swerved out. It had blocked my front view completely and what lay ahead of the SUV was this small Honda. I braked as hard as I could but could not prevent the car from crashing. I checked if everyone was ok in my car and got out to check if anyone in the car I had hit was fine. There was no one in the car! Somebody had abandoned their vehicle in the middle of 5S where the average speed was 80 and the road was quite busy. I was at 70.

Thanks for your reply.

vanDutton · Sat, May 24th, 2008, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFS

Hmm...a fellow Dave Ramsey fan???

O yeah. Unfortunately, having just left college, I'm still broke. I wish I had found him two weeks earlier. Then I wouldn't have traded my truck in on a new car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hemburger

It wasn't my fault. I am awaiting a police report.

I was driving in Lane 2 (2nd from Left) and an SUV in front of me swerved out. It had blocked my front view completely and what lay ahead of the SUV was this small Honda. I braked as hard as I could but could not prevent the car from crashing. I checked if everyone was ok in my car and got out to check if anyone in the car I had hit was fine. There was no one in the car! Somebody had abandoned their vehicle in the middle of 5S where the average speed was 80 and the road was quite busy. I was at 70.

Thanks for your reply.

Sounds like you are just waiting on the police report, and you need to get that to the insurance company the day you get it. Keep the original you're given, send them a copy. Keep records of EVERYTHING!!! It's a trick I learned working for attorneys, called CYA.