ICBC: total loss. Need help asap please!
 

Guys I need your advice and expertise asap!

Got in a car accident on friday. Was told today it is a total loss by ICBC. Shop looked at it and said its a write-off.

Car is a 2006 Infiniti G35 coupe sport model automatic (Top of line model in that year - only option that it does not have is navigation).
- Of course I just got brand new snow tires put on just last week (spent 975 dollars on tires plus installation and taxes. Also got brand new rear brakes put on ($600) and an alignment ($107) in early december/end of november.
- history of car. Full maintenance.
- Accident free.
- around 114,000 KM (guy on phone said this is normal for the year and i have about 400 km less than average and thats worth five bucks?). Guy seemed like a jerk

I have a feeling they will lowball me on the payout. What are the steps I should take to get the amount i deserve? I am thinking the car is worth 20-21 thousand? I will have to do some more research.

It sucks because the car was in brand new condition and I don't think i will be able to find a car in as good condition as mine for that amount of money.

The guy on the phone said he is sending it out to some other people in ICBC that put together the payout package. Just trying to be fully prepared and avoid getting screwed. I hate dealing with ICBC. :devil:

Thanks

Sorry to hear about the accident. I hope you're doing ok.

According to CBB, the trade in value of your car ranges from $10,800 to $13,865. So while the car might be worth $21k to you, I suspect the market value is gonna be much closer to ~$17k.

Full maintenance history will certainly help if you are actually re-selling the car privately. But in the eyes of ICBC, I suspect they'd hardly amount to anything at all. Being accident-free previously will put your car's value closer to the top of the range, but again, ~$17k - $18k is probably what I will expect.

If you still have receipts of your recent purchases and services, I'd present those to the adjuster when he informs you of the car's write off value. I have a feeling the new snow tires will help, but the maintenance stuff won't. Also, find as many current ads on CL and other classified ads for cars that are as similar to yours as possible. Essentially, you want to present a case to the adjuster that the market value of your car is worth more than whatever write off amount he is offering you. But again, ICBC isn't stupid, and they do this sort of thing on a regular basis. If you've done your homework, you'd probably be able to get them to budge a bit, but I can't imagine the amount being over $1.5k when the car is "only" worth $17 - $18k.

Good luck with the orderal.

Similar cars FS. Get online, put some similar cars ads together and show them what the value is. Honestly though, I can't imagine them giving you even close to 21k. The car just wouldn't cost that much to replace. A quick look shows that the same car with about half the kilometres go for about 18-19k. That being said, if you can get that out of them, you come out on top.

Theres one for sale on here with clean history and lower kms than yours and it's listed for 16.9k. Good luck trying to get 21k but you never know
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for a total loss, maintenance means next to nothing. Cars need to be maintained. That's the cost of owning one. Same with brakes. Brakes wear out and need to be replaced.

Best thing to do is try to figure out what that car would cost to replace. Check Craigslist / Buy & Sell etc... if it's a 17k car, you should get around 17k; if it's a 21k car, you should get around 21k.

If you have a receipt for the tires, ICBC may add that additional cost into their settlement, or you can take the tires off and keep them.

Good luck

^ You can't take parts off the car once you've given it up....

^Agreed about the tires make sure you send the receipt, chances are your not gonna get the same car in future so you might as well take the cash.

Have those receipts ready for the adjuster, they make a difference.

was it silver? i seen one being towed the other day front end all messy.

depends on the adjuster, they'll give you the blue book value most of the time but again... standard maintanence won't add value to the car. it's like me saying well I've filled up on at least 5000$ in gas since I've owned the car, it's consumable goods necessary for the car to run

I believe there's a few sites online that would give you the value of your car, I was trying to sell my car for 12000$.. it gave me Kelly's blue book value high of 7700, low of 5000. only has 50, 000 on it
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car was black. Im glad im still alive, but figuring this all out when being injured really sucks. I'm trying to figure out what car i should get to replace it? I only get a rental car for 3 days after they give the settlement. I need a car (hopefully i am able to go back to work by then)
I dont want to spend more than 29,000 im thinking but still want a luxurious car with some power. I want four door and AWD. Any ideas? want low maintenance and roomy this time around. Looking at old 5 series but worried about possible maintenance costs, same goes for Audi. Argh.....

ICBC looks up the actual cash value (ACV) of your car using a database called Autosource. Autosource compiles the advertised prices of the same make and model in your area.

If you disagree with the first offer, then you'll need to show ICBC proof that your car is worth more than Autosource says. Here are some other sources that ICBC uses when there is a dispute with Autosource:

Buy Sell
Newspaper
Trader publications
Vancouver auto auctions
Internet sites

Make sure any ads you show them are dated. If the ad says OBO then ICBC will assume the car sold for 10% less.

You can also ask the sales manager of car dealerships to help you. Make sure they put it in writing, provide their contact details, and give you the cash/no trade price.

The fact that you just put new tires and brakes on should likely help you negotiate more money from them after they make the first offer only because there has been so little time for any depreciation to take place on those items.

Also one other thing to think about. If you were injured in your accident, then when you negotiate your settlement from ICBC you can ask for compensation for any out of pocket expenses as a direct result of the accident (like extra rental car days, for example).

The new Subaru legacy's interior is petty nice. All leather and AWD. For older cars, how about the Infiniti G35x or the likes of that?

Yah looking into the G35x sedan, but I i was never a huge fan of the sedan. Feels like a downgrade from the coupe. But im old now anyways, maybe its time for an old man car?

I was looking at some Audi A4's but unfamiliar with Audi's.

What i really want is an IS350 AWD but they seem impossible to find and way outside my price range.

Any other ideas guys? Want to have some ideas now while im sitting here bored behind my computer with nothing else to do. Can't go for any test drives until I recover which I'm hoping is soon!

How about a TL?
Posted via RS Mobile

Can you drive stick? Perhaps an Evo/sti? Or an Audi S4 (A4's are REALLY slow) or i think you could pick up an 09-10 C300 4Matic or perhaps even a C350 4Matic for ~30k

yah looking at those too... Which years had issues with the tranny again? I hate the new beak look but the generation before looks good (2005-2008). But the wife says no to TL.

Another issue im concerned about is safety. After getting in this accident i realize i need a car that is built like a tank. I have taken apart my previous car (acura EL) and it was scary to see the how the car was made like a tin can.
My G felt safer and had heavy doors, same goes for a BMW.

Kinda confused right now to be honest.

cannot drive stick (I know i know). But no point in learning because car would be driven by wife and family who don't know and will not learn stick. Needs to be automatic.

Also need enough room for car seat in the future......

yah mercedes are tempting. Have some friends with the 300, but reliability has been an issue (could just be

Hmm. You're in a tough situation then, Honestly i'd consider an 06-08 Audi A4 and give it a stage 1 APR tune. (Stock are like 8 seconds to 60) With a stage one it would be about as fast, maybe a bit slower than your G. If you wanted more power, just go with a stage 2.

The ticking time bomb trannys are from 00-03, the not as common but still applicable ones are from 04-06, 07+ on they should be pretty bulletproof.

Here's a couple at urbangarage (you said luxury so I went to their site and picked a few that I would personally consider.) Maintenance might be a bit on the high side with these vehicles. YMMV.

2005 C55 AMG $22900
http://urbangarage.com/cdetails.asp?...&Category=TUGN

If you can swing an extra few thousand, get the ultra rare 2004 RS6 $36900:
http://urbangarage.com/cdetails.asp?...&Category=TUGN

Maybe this is an opportunity for upgrading to Wagon, CUV or even SUV
If your plan is a family vehicle for baby (in very near future).

Infinite EX35, A4 Avant, Legacy wagon...etc.

The sentence in bold lettering scares me, cause I also have a EL :denied:

As for your next car, what about a 05ish RL ? Those are quite nice and you don't see too many of them around.

Infiniti M35x?

looking at that too now...lol

What about mercedes GLK 350 ? Are they reliable? anyone have experience/feedback on this SUV?

i found a 2010 for 31,000 a bit out of budget, but might be wise to invest in the SUV now? any idea how the maintenance is on a GLK?