Don’t let them total your cobra

[Aaron175617]

I just want to thank the few of you who suported me. This is more along the lines of what I ment in th origonal post. I am sure that many will still find fault in it but I in no way ment any missdoing.

Don’t let them total your car.
Lately I have noticed several 03-04 Cobra being branded as “salvaged” by the insurance companies. Many of these cars are very bad but there is a large number of them that are only moderately damaged constituting nothing more than a fender bender. There is a nice mystichrome one being parted out on this website now. By the pictures it doesn’t seem very bad to me. I know you can’t really tell by the pictures but I have been building/ rebuilding cars for over three decades and so I have a fair idea of what to look for in the pictures.

The pictures below are of a car that I bought last weekend. It looks bad but really it is mostly R&R parts like the doors, fenders and bumpers. I have already worked out the right rear quarter damage and the rest a beginner could fix. I will have to change out the radiator core support and part of the inner aprons. That is all the welding that will be required. So really this is a fender bender, yea every fender is bent but it’s not a difficult fix and the mechanics and the structure of the car are excellent. But it has been branded a salvage.

So to the point of this post, I just would like you , the owner , to be aware of some options that you have when negotiating the settlement with the insurance company. You are probably aware of them already but maybe not.

First of all, as with most negotiations, the insurance company’s first offer is not usually the best they can do. Everything is negotiable including payout, whether or not the car gets fixed, who takes possession or ownership, and even the disposition of the title.
If the car only has moderate damage then it may be in your best interest to attempt to negotiate a clean title and have the car fixed. You may have to take a very hard line approach to this and even” demand” it. It may take a compromise on the amount of the payout and you may not get it. This is not fraudulent or illegal it is negotiating the payout and disposition of your asset in order to have the best outcome for you not them. Demanding something in negotiations is just a tactic. You don’t always get what you demand. You don’t have to just let them total it.
Once a title is branded as a “salvaged” or rebuilt or whatever they do in your state it can never be changed and makes the vehicle worth about 25% less than a comparable vehicle with a clear title.
Do a little research on the definition of “salvaged” in your states DMV website. Some states like CA give a lot of control to the owner as far as determining the disposition of the title. Other states it is solely up to the insurance company. (you can still negotiate with them but they will have the final say)
So really what I am trying to say here is that you don’t have to “roll over “ for the insurance company. It’s your asset get the best outcome for you and in the process I hope a few of these will be fixed and end up with a clear title so they don’t all get parted out.
So if this is fraudulent, deceptive or lying I just don’t see it.

Well I guess that is just my two cents worth. Just remember the insurance company is not your friend and they want to do whatever works out to their best interest.
more pictures here and if you want ot see the progrfess of the repairs you will have to go here;
http://s291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/aaron167260/red fire cobra project/

 

[RDJ]

your two cents worth are not worth 1 cent I have been over charged and want my money back

 

[01cobravortech]

That car is an absolute wreck and will probably have some awful interior creaks and noises that you'll never be able to get to the root of. Its not worth repairing a mess like that. Upgrade to a GT500.

 

[rudycobra]

I bought my car totaled from a friend for 4 k ! If look at it u would never know !

 

[yarbrouc]

Let them total them. Makes mine worth more.

 

[RDJ]

Don’t let them total your cobra
I often see these cars being “totaled” by the insurance company. Don’t be a fool and let them do it. If they don’t want to pay to have it fixed then tell them you want the money in-lieu-of repairs.

this is decent advice

In most states they have to pay you the value of the car less your deductible and you get to keep the car.

horseshit. quote your source. once they pay your claim on a totaled car the car belongs to THEM not you. they can let you keep it or not. if you have an authoritative source that says otherwise post it up.

Next thing you have to do is demand that there is no record of this on its history report. Just keep saying that it is just a fender bender (in most cases it is). It is your car and you have the right to fix it!!! Don’t be the insurance company’s BITCH!!!

this right here negates any credibility you thought you had. but yes, let's demand they not make a record of the accident so you can defraud the buyer when you decide to sell it. Lie by saying it is a "fender bender". This makes you a liar and a thief since you are advocating fraud and trying to make an insurance company complicit in your fraud.

If you have a loan on it the bank may demand that you pay it off. In fact your lien holder will likely be named as a co-payee. They are going to do that anyway at least you get to keep your car with a clean title.

"MAY demand"?? you can bet your sweet ass they will demand it be paid off. and you have a fraudulantly obtained a "clean title".

The key points are; “IN LIEU OF” I find that this is some kind of magic phrase in the insurance industry. If you say “instead of” you don’t get anything. If you say “in lieu of” they STFU and do it.

again post up authoritative proof or at a minimum something besides your B.S. that this is true.

These cars have an important historical place in Mustang, Ford and American automotive history. They didn’t make many of them so don’t just let them go for some chump change.

insurance companies do not pay on "historical value" on a 7 year old car. the price will be set per KBB or the black book or, if you are willing to fight a little bit, the value of similar cars up for sale.

There is a beautiful mystichrome being parted out on this website right now and from what I could see it didn’t look bad at all. The poster said that it had frame damage. BFD that’s what they made frame machines for. It only takes a few hours to straighten one.

unless you have seen the car in person and looked it over underneath you have no basis for this statement what-so-ever. I would not buy a car that had frame damage, oh wait thats right you are ok with commiting fraud whenn you sell it. my bad.

I bought this one in the pictures last weekend. It was totaled by the insurance company. It runs and drives perfect and only has 24,000 miles on it.
It looks bad. It is mostly just R&R parts. I already have the right quarter straitened and ready for filler.

:lol: :lol: :lol: first thing I do when I buy a car is check for filler. what the **** do you think will happen when a knowledgeable buyer checks for filler and calls you on your claim of a "clean carfax and title"?

I bought a donor black V6 2000 mustang that has perfect sheet metal for $1,100 yesterday. It doesn’t run very well (has a dead cylinder) but wtf do I care I just wanted the sheet metal. The only welding I will have to do is the front inner aprons and the radiator core support. I will source those parts from the donor car as well as the doors fenders and a few other bolt on parts.
The frame is not bent but if it was I would just get it straightened.

woopty do. hopefully those of us that now know you are a fraudulent person will be able to keep others from being victimized by you.

Well I guess that is just my two cents worth. Just remember the insurance company is not your friend and they want to do whatever works out to their best interest.

of course they do. why should they be any different than you ?

 

[1Kona_Venom]

op: ...................

 

[Aaron175617]

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[Blueline]

I know in NJ if the insurance company considers your car a "total loss," they pay you what its worth and done deal. If you would like to keep the car, the insurance will offer a price you can pay for the car and the title will be clear. However, before you car register or title the car, the vehicle has to be taken to a state facility to be inspected for safety before it is considered road worthy. The state then re-issues you a title with an "S" under status, indicating its a Salvaged title/vehicle.

 

[Aaron175617]

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[Blueline]

I still dont understand. At least in NJ theres no way you are going to have your car repaired after it is considered totalled and have a clear title. The state issues the salvaged title, not the insurance company. I highly doubt you would be allowed to buy the car back once totalled, repair it and be able to have a clean title. Unless Im missing something I dont see how that would work, because then there would never be any salvaged cars. Just clean titled cars or cars that were totalled and just parted out or crushed :shrug:

 

[Blueline]

Oh and when you copied and pasted that definition you forgot the most important sentence, Ill post it for you:


A salvage vehicle is a vehicle that has been wrecked, destroyed, or damaged to such extent that the insurance company considers it uneconomical to make repairs to the vehicle and the vehicle is not repaired by or for the person who owned the vehicle when the damage occurred.

The California title will contain a notation identifying this vehicle as a salvage vehicle.

 

[Aaron175617]

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[Blueline]

You are 100%, it doesnt mean the vehicle is not safe. BUt, just that the cost to repair it would not be economical. So I understand what your saying, but regardless the reason once they deem it a total loss, this equals a Salvaged title. We have cars that have salavge titles because they were stolen and stripped. No damage to the cars frame etc, just alot of money to restore / repair.

 

[Aaron175617]

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[RDJ]

If the insurance company doesn’t want to fix the car the owner has the right to. I didn’t say that they would buy it or total it. I said they would pay the owner in lieu of repairs. If they pay in lieu of repairs it’s not totaled. That means that they paid the owner to get their car fixed. The maximum they are required to pay is the value of the car less its deductible. There is no fraud because it is just a fender bender and fender benders typically don’t show up on vehicle reports just like most other repairs. .

when you ask the insurance company to not report it as "totaled" it is fraud whether you think so or not. THEY are the arbiters if it is totaled or not.

There are several sites on the net you can look up the definition of salvaged on a car. It varies from insurance company to insurance company and from state to state but in general it means that the cost to fix the car is 60% or more of its value..

ok this has got nothing to do with my arguements with your BS post.

So when these cars were new they were worth about $35,000 so back then it would of taken about $22,000 worth of damage to total them. Now they are worth someplace around $18,000 so it would take only about $10,000 worth of damage to salvage them now. If they have a lot of miles it will take even less to "total" them. ..

:shrug: Ok

I have seen cars that get “totaled” because windows were broken out and no other damage on the car. Other cars I have seen were complete wrecks, much worse than anything I would attempt to fix, get fixed and end up with clear titles. Why? Because the insurance company decided that it was in their best interest to do it that way. It doesn’t have anything to do with the safety or drivability of the car.

that is their call since they have to pay the claim. what you would do with them in irrelevant. the insurance company makes the call not you who probably have only looked at the surface damage and likely have NO clue about what is damaged underneath.

I am not advocating fraud in any way. I am saying that the owner has the right to decide how the claim will be processed. The insurance companies don’t want you to know it because they like to dictate this to their best interest.

when you call an accident that totals a car a "fender bender" you are lying. there is no other way to put it. when you want the insurance company to lie and not report the car as totaled you AND them, if they do what you are asking, commiting fraud. again your prtestations to the contrary notwithstanding.

I could see your argument if the definition of “salvaged” or “totaled” meant that the car was unfit or unsafe to drive but it doesn’t. It only means that the insurance company doesn’t want to fix it for monetary reasons. And if the owner decides to fix it instead of selling it to the insurance company then it should not have a salvaged title.

horseshit. if the insurance decides that it is not worth fixing it is totaled and should get a title stating as such. if YOU choose to fix it and tell a prospective buyer that it was in a "fender bender" as you have stated above, you are lying and commiting a fraud upon them.

The bank may not want the owner to pay their wrecked car off. If the owner has good credit and pays on time and can demonstrate that they are fixing the car then there is a good possibility they won’t.

the accident will be reported to the lien holder by the insurance company, unless you convince them to do differently. at that point they have breeched their duty and engaged in a conspiricy. What is your experience for making this claim? oh wait, you advocate lying and fraud .. nevermind your answer will be untrustworty.

In fact, if I wanted to, I could go and get a loan for this car tomorrow and the bank wouldn’t even care to see the car or be on the title.

some banks actually trust their customers. hopefully your bank isn't one of them

While I can appreciate that you have a difference of opinion I don’t appreciate you saying that I am fraudulent or would attempt to victimize anyone. If I was I would not post any pictures of my car. Or did that slip your mind? In fact my plan is to document the repairs of this car so as to demonstrate that many of these wrecked cars can be fixed and they don’t have to be striped for parts. There is no fraudulent or victimizing activity going on here, only your misunderstanding.

I don't give a shit what you don't appreciate. as I said above if you call what happened to a car that is totaled by the insurance company a "fender bender" you are a liar end of story, when you try to keep the truth of what happened off the record you are commiting fraud, again end of story. I don't think I have misunderstood a single thing, simply went by your own words.

 

[Aaron175617]

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[black 10th vert]

Aaron, I agree with most of what you say with regard to saving these cars when they are as easily fixable as your example was, but I agree with Blueline, and RDJ that there is no way in hell you can, or will have a "clean" title if it was totaled by the insurance company. You can not just "demand" what they report, or not to carfax, or to the the state with regard to the title. What you are suggesting may have been possible back in the 50's, or 60's prior to computerization, and organizations such as carfax, but those days are long gone unfortunately. That car you have will be a relatively easy fix, but unfortunately you will only have the intrinsic value that it has to you, because it will never be worth what a similar car with a real "clean" title is going for. If you plan to keep it, though, none of this matters one single bit.

 

[Blueline]

Yea thanks. It says that the owner has the right to decide to fix it or not and retain the clear title. If the insurance company or the owner of the vehicle at the time of the wreck don't want to fix it it will get a salvaged title. Is there any ambiguity there?

Theres no ambiguity at all, it clearly states the STATE will issue the salvage title. Im not arguing with you, Im just saying theres no way your going to get a clear title once the insurance company deems it a total loss.

 

[black 10th vert]

Yea thanks. It says that the owner has the right to decide to fix it or not and retain the clear title. If the insurance company or the owner of the vehicle at the time of the wreck don't want to fix it it will get a salvaged title. Is there any ambiguity there?

Where the heck does it say anywhere IN ANY state law that YOU get to decide what it says on the title?:??: It makes no difference WHO fixes the damn thing, or not, the title is branded with the "S" for salvage - period!