Lexus update.

"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
11/15/2018 at 15:25 • Filed to: None

Insurance guy just came by. $8k+ in damage. Car NADAs at $5400 so yeah she’s dead jim.

So now insurance pays my bank and the loan gets paid off. Doubt I’ll get much “extra” money to speak of, but my concern at this point is that once the insurance company pays the bank now the insurance company owns the car. If I want to keep it I’ll have to pay out of pocket to get it back which sucks. Hopefully I can afford that. The other option is if the bank is feeling charitable and lets me take the buyback amount out of what they get and just keep paying on the last little piece of my loan with the now-salvage title Lexus remaining as collateral. Luckily it’s a smallish local bank and this is my second auto loan with them so hopefully they’ll be willing to work with me.

The other issue is I’m not entirely sure my current insurance will insure a rebuilt title car at all so I’ll be needing to switch insurance carriers. So... yay.

Best outcome here is somehow they value the car high enough to pay off the bank and give me enough cash to buy it back. Then get new insurance with liability-only on the car and have cheaper insurance and no car payment then I can roll around in money in my underground bank vault like Scrooge McDuck in order to make myself feel better about my trashed car.

DISCUSSION (30)

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/15/2018 at 15:35

Goddamn insurance scumbags.

Oh wait.

aquila121 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/15/2018 at 15:37

Sucks. I’ve done the ‘ buyback, repair, salvage-rebuild title' route on two cars, so I sympathize.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > aquila121
11/15/2018 at 15:47

I’m just hoping I’m able to actually buy it back.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
11/15/2018 at 15:47

RPM esq. > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/15/2018 at 15:50

He is a claims adjuster. It’s funny because the insurance scumbags are him ( not really, I’ve met him and he’s very nice).

Spaceball-Two > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/15/2018 at 15:52

I guess I’m curious why you still want it? You’re headed into winter/holidays and you still need to strip the Miata for parts to sell right? Why take on the financial and mental stress when you just cut your losses and start over. I mean I get that it’s a great car and you loved it but man that seems like a lot to take on.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/15/2018 at 15:54

I’m an adjuster. I don’t do auto though. More commercial/legal stuff.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
11/15/2018 at 15:58

I get it. The scumbags in insurance are the corporate types that decided their company should use shit like CCC to valuate assets and throw up their hands and say that the resulting insultingly low number was “computationally determined by the industry standard!”

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Spaceball-Two
11/15/2018 at 15:59

It still runs and drives just fine. Cutting my losses and starting over would mean painstakingly hunting for a new car that I can afford and inheriting an entire new set of used-car-problems.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/15/2018 at 16:02

Totally. Homeowners and auto claims are getting increasingly data driven and turned into bulk products rather than peoples lives and possessions.

It’s gross.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/15/2018 at 16:06

Man, that sucks. I hope you can get it all sorted out. But if not....

Buy it back off Copart, strip it, cage it, do the manual swap, and go rallying.

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/15/2018 at 16:32

Wait, what? How’d they get $8k? I’d get a breakdown. That honestly sounds like somebody said “yeah, the whole thing has to be repainted. Also, use only OE parts.”

BJ > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks
11/15/2018 at 16:54

Yeah, this seems excessive ...

What’s actually damaged, and what do you actually need/want to replace? I’d be surprised if there is any mechanical damage at all.

If it’s just body work, drop the claim and keep the car. Fix or replace panels as you can afford to do it, and just rattle-can the exposed metal for now to keep it from getting nasty.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks
11/15/2018 at 17:24

Things that need replaced:

FR headlight

LR tail light

bumper (sportcross-only, OEM is the only part available)

FR fender

Sunroof

Rear glass (sportcross-only, OEM is the only part avaialble)

fog light

Things that need painted:

Bumper
hood
FR Fender
A pillars
Roof
Both rear quarters
Hatch
rear bumper

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > BJ
11/15/2018 at 17:25

Can’t drop the claim. Insurance is paying for the substantially pricey tow-and-recovery as well as replacing that section of the county’s fence that got destroyed.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/15/2018 at 17:50

I’d just...

Kinja'd!!!

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/15/2018 at 17:58

Jesuschrist, I was half joking when I said total repaint.

That’s a total repaint.

But what the fuck? Why are they doing the sunroof, back glass, and a total repaint on black non-pearl? This doesn’t jive at all. I mean, I get the bank wants to preserve their collateral here, but the BOM doesn’t match the damage and I don’t see ANY mechanical here.

I would talk to your insurer and see if you can get them to get a second opinion from a different body shop. I don’t have a lot of confidence that it’s going to be a significantly different result, but I have a feeling it’s going to be a different BOM. Probably some of that paint work can be avoided or eliminated entirely.

Not only that, but I had NO problem finding a reconditionable front bumper cover for $225 and undamaged repaintable rear bumper assemblies including the crash bar for under $250.

MM54 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/15/2018 at 19:13

I’m amazed by that $8k figure, I must have missed some part of the damage. Might be worth getting a second opinion.

Should be pretty easy to determine what you’ll get of the pay out , take what you owe on the car and subtract their payout. Hopefully it’ll be enough to buy it back; if nothing is wrong mechanically no reason not to keep driving it and slowly fix the bodywork as time and money permit.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/15/2018 at 21:29

Allstate won’t insure a salvage title. MetLife will. Not sure about anybody else.

BJ > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/15/2018 at 22:31

I see, not so simple then...

I can’t help you decide, the only time I ever had to deal with my car insurance the vehicle was really very much totaled, so it was easy to walk away .

And then, a bout a year later, I got a call from a taxi driver asking if I still had a key for the car, because he bought it fron the insurance company without a key. Sorry bud, go get a new one from the dealership.

shop-teacher > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/15/2018 at 22:40

Man that sucks. You can't seem to buy a break. Good luck with it dude.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
11/16/2018 at 00:35

Yeah but then I’m carless and have to fucking search around for months and find something worth buying

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > MM54
11/16/2018 at 00:37

Yeah. I need $470 out of pocket to fix it. Unforunately while all this is happening I’m fixing up that Mazda6 for my wife which is sitting on a lift and my friend just said the clutch rockauto sent me is the wrong goddamn size so now I have to spend two to three times as much money to get a fucking clutch locally which I totally can not afford so instead I’m going to finsh drinking this goddamn vodka and sleep until noon tomorrow work be damned

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks
11/16/2018 at 00:38

Because insurance wants a car to be juuuust like it was pre-crash. Scratch on a piece of glass? That piece of glass needs replaced. She drove ALL the way through that fence, meaning that barbed wire mangled the front bumper then went all the way over the top of the car and twanged against teh back a bit.

CompactLuxuryFan > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/16/2018 at 00:46

Oh no! Wagon down So sorry to read everything that happened. Sucks to lose an awesome car so soon. Happened to me with my E46. Remember, when you’re going through hell, keep going. Sounds like you need to wait and hear about a buyback from the insurance company and patiently fix up the 6.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > CompactLuxuryFan
11/16/2018 at 00:53

see latest post. buyback will be $470 out of pocket but the 6 is fucking me over. yaaaaay

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/16/2018 at 01:24

Yes, but, that doesn’t mean OE only parts and total repaint. Depending on the severity of the paint damage, a blended repair may be possible.

Secondly, nobody uses OE-only parts on a 2002. They just don’t. That’s why LKQ is big business. They’re OE parts, you have to paint them regardless, if it’s in perfect condition, you use it. They’re in the business of putting the car back together as cheaply as possible . Which means there is no reason to not use perfectly good used parts that are OE parts.

Any good body shop knows this, and knows the insurer will gladly accept “$275 but we gotta do an extra hour labor” over “$595 and we gotta do two hours labor.” Basically any competent body shop should be providing multiple quotes on the parts out of the gate.

Secondly, like I said, depending on the severity of the paint damage, full respray may simply not be warranted at all. Paint spray is a great ‘time soak’ item. “Oh, it’s hard to blend, so we gotta do X, Y, Z, and A, B, C, so now Q, R, T look wrong...” Doesn’t make it true. That’s why I’m saying: second opinion. IF the worst of the mechanical really is the headlights and there’s nothing else there?

The quote should be significantly cheaper and still acceptable to the bank. Just because they’re new OE parts doesn’t mean they’re better than used OE parts. (Only exception being foggy lights.) Just remember, KBB is not the magic number anyways. It’s 50% of KBB. “Uneconomical to repair” versus “full cost of the car.” But if you can get it closer to there, you may be able to negotiate a cost share where the insurance will cover up to X after deductible , you cover the remainder, and they consider the vehicle repaired to standards.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/16/2018 at 04:58

That's the problem with having 'standards'!! I don't have that problem...

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks
11/16/2018 at 08:29

I asked about supplying my own quotes. Doesn’t matter. Insurance does their own repair quote and that word is law.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks
11/18/2018 at 14:13

Everything this car is expensive as gosh darn heck. No other vehicle in the states shared its platform either. The aftermarket on these is bleak unless you count slapping on Altezza badges and body kits necessary repairs.