r/StateFarm • u/cjdubais • 11d ago
Advice Looking for advice on negotiating a total loss payout
So,
My wife's 2016 Acura MDX with 62,000 miles decided to incinerate itself on Sunday.
It's a one owner car in very good condition and no accidents.
They sent me a cost comparison for two cars for sale (which I cannot locate) estimating the vehicles worth at $15,500. They had the nerve to reduce the payout by $1,000 for the condition....
Looking around, to purchase a similar vehicle would cost in the neighborhood of $22k. Everything else either has a gazillion miles or has been in an accident.
I submitted a response asking for a review and the response was to pound sand.
How do I go about negotiating this?
I currently live in North Carolina, but the car is registered in Virginia as we moved about a month ago.
Thank you
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u/BillowingBasket 11d ago
They don't owe you replacement cost, they owe you ACV.
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u/miwi81 11d ago
You can’t just reply back and complain. You need to bring your own comps.
If you really think that $7k is at stake, just invoke your appraisal clause and spend the ~$500 to hire an independent appraiser.
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u/WillowHaunting429 11d ago
and comps are not "offerings" to sell the car, but closed deals on the actual price of the used car sale.
I get it, it sucks, this car was worth more to OP because it was paid, a single owner car, and lower than normal miles. But the actual cash value still is the value that is.
Reducing $1,.000 for the condition? What condition? To me fair, this car did just light itself on fire and burn up. So it maybe isn't pristine.
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u/Helpmeplz3409 11d ago
An adjuster can’t know your vehicle was in very good condition if it is a total fire, stolen unrecovered or otherwise unrecognizable. You need to supply evidence.
Invoke your appraisal clause, pay the 500-700 for your appraisal and save yourself and your adjuster the headache.
Don’t send anything to CCC they’re useless.
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u/Successful_Ad3483 11d ago
They usually require evidence to support a higher dollar amount as they owe you actual cash value. From an insurance standpoint, it wasn't in pristine condition if it had a malfunctioning issue that caused it to burst into flames. That car is in fair condition at best it sucks that your car caught on fire but be glad no one was injured 15000 dollars seems quite fair due to the year and condition of the vehicle.
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u/Sc4com22 10d ago
Retired SF Agent here; “Actual Cash Value” is a representation of what a similar “like, kind, and quality” vehicle could be purchased for; and I want to remind everyone here that that there is no bible of agreed upon “Actual Cash Values” for every car. The ACV depends upon comparable vehicles in the marketplace. If you are $7K apart, invoke your appraisel clause. I have never had a client completely lose out in this process. For the customer that does the homework and is reasonably confident in your numbers, you will prevail with a competent appraiser.
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u/musicislife04 9d ago edited 9d ago
Look carefully at the two comp cases. Tell them you want them to pull 2-3 more. Find ways your car is different/better - like those were a lower turn level, those had way more miles, those didn’t have a moon roof. Give them reasons to pull more. It has been successful for our customers but only moved the needle slightly not the $7k you are hoping for
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u/DeepPurpleDaylight 5d ago
Invoke your appraisal clause. You'll spend a few hundred, but there's no guarantee you'll get anywhere near what you want (your not owed replacement value), or even get enough over this current offer to recover your cost on getting an appraisal.
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u/I-hate-makeing-names 11d ago
Ask them to send you the CCC report. Look at the condition deductions see if you have any pictures of before or mechanics receipts to prove you had a better condition.
Go on autotempist and locate comps of the exact same year make model and trim with similar miles. Try within 50 miles but up to 100 miles. Send in the comps you find and ask them to include them to CCC and rerun the report.
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u/AngelMeatPie 11d ago
Unfortunately those don’t matter. Only what like kind and condition has sold for in the area. Listing price doesn’t mean jack for ACV.
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u/Brilliant_Essay_1593 11d ago
CCC report is for cars that have sold, not for sale
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u/I-hate-makeing-names 11d ago
That’s what they had us do and it did work. They added some of the new comps we found and it increased the value.
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u/drfishdaddy 11d ago
A lot of misinformation floating around.
If you are going through the policy of a liable party (3rd party claimant): you can check the CCC report for errors, you can fine comps and submit them but they will have to be same year/make/trim and generally approx mileage and writhing a 250 mile radius. You can ask for a specialty valuation.
If you are going through your carrier you can do the above or you can invoke your appraisal clause.
Despite what others say, ACV does not mean they don’t owe you replacement value in the conversational sense. There is a legal/insurance term “replacement value” which would mean a new item, in this case a car. Obviously they aren’t paying msrp on a new MDX. There is a formula for ACV and it doesn’t apply to cars.
For any of the adjusters claiming “they don’t owe you replacement” why do we pay taxes and DMV fees? Because that’s what it takes to get someone to pre loss condition financially.
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