Total Loss question

[marylander]

Hi all,

Maryland resident here. I was recently involved in an accident on the highway where a 16 year old female driver entered my lane, stuck my van, and pushed the van into a passing tractor trailer. There were no injuries, but my van sustained damage to both sides. The other driver caused the accident, but she is claiming that I hit her. We are both under Geico, and they haven't ruled yet who was at fault, if anyone.

In the meantime, I took the van, a 2010 Toyota Sienna with 120,000 miles, to a Geico Xpress location. They came back with an estimate of about $6000 to repair, and declared a total loss. They valued the van at $8257 minus $1602 "condition adjustment" + 6% vehicle tax of $399 for a final total of $7054. Maryland total loss threshold of 75% comes out to $5290.

My problem with Geico's value is the $1602 "condition adjustment". The van is in great shape, but they claimed the mechanical condition was below average - the exact comments are "Notes: dirt and grease in engine compartment Guideline: Transmission: Fluid dark brown. Numerous leaks evident. Engine: Oil black and thick. Numerous leaks. Belts and hoses worn. Dirt and grease cover parts of engine compartment."

If it weren't for this "condition adjustment" the valuation would not have exceeded the 75% total loss threshold.

The van has been maintained regularly (I have receipts) and I don't think the mechanical condition can be accurately determined just by seeing a dirty engine compartment. I would like to contest this. Please advise how you would go forward.

Thanks in advance.

 

[fed up]

Welcome to the downside of Geico. Finding vehicles of like kind, mileage, and sale prices might bolster your argument but remember that dealer price is not cost/value. You dont get covered for the markup/profit.

 

[adjusterjack]

The van has been maintained regularly (I have receipts)

How long ago? How many miles ago?

Transmission fluid should be red, not brown. Engine oil should be clear, not black. Leaks are bad news.

A vehicle with only 120,000 miles on it should not have dirt and grease all over the engine compartment.

You can verify or dispute GEICO's adjustment by taking your van to a mechanic, have him verify the conditions, and get estimates for an oil change, transmission fluid change, engine and transmission gaskets to fix the leaks, and steam clean the engine compartment. If all that doesn't come close to $1602 you'll have something to talk about with GEICO.

 

[marylander]

Thanks for the replies. So this morning, I went on the Internet and collected information for 5 comparable vehicles for sale, all of which were higher than Geico's offer value, and emailed them to the adjuster. I also stated that I disagreed with the mechanical condition assessment and said I could provide receipts that the vehicle has been properly maintained.

A few hours later, he called back and said they were increasing the valuation and dropping the mechanical condition adjustment. The total increase in value came out to about $2500.

So, I was expecting that it would no longer be a total loss situation but then he said that the body shop had left out about $1100 worth of work because they stopped filling out the estimate after they went over the 75% threshold. I found that pretty dubious, as I thought the estimate should be the estimate.

So anyway, I took my van back and am now going to go to other body shops to get competing estimates. The adjuster said if I found a shop that will do the repairs under the 75% threshold that they'll pay for the repairs. So I'll see how that goes.

It seems to me that Geico really wants to declare it a total loss for some reason. Maybe that works out better for them?

 

[fed up]

They dont want to be into the repair and and find additional damage which wasnt evident even with a partial teardown, and neither should you. Unless you have a loan on the car why would you want it repaired?

 

[marylander]

They dont want to be into the repair and and find additional damage which wasnt evident even with a partial teardown, and neither should you. Unless you have a loan on the car why would you want it repaired?

Thank you, that is a good point. I think the van is in pretty good shape and has a lot of miles left in it. Plus, new vans today start at around $35K. The damage from the accident was all cosmetic and nothing structural was affected, so I'm willing to ignore some of the cosmetic damage if that means I could keep the car for a while longer.

 

[InproSe]

I have a car , that a full coverage driver hit and wrecked. My car sat on street , and even THRO I didn't drive it it was insured liability coverage . The drivers insurance was to pay me out due to my car was total loss. But after signing release the Adjuster said due to incomplete reg title transfer they couldn't. That not only was name on registration but the previous owner was too.

I went to dmv and they tried but said I would now have to pay new fees and back plus still get smog ,
I don't even have the insurance comp does plus how can and WHY would I pay that
This driver hit my car that wasn't in operation at time of accident . .
So now what do I do
The previous owner is unreachable.

 

[adjusterjack]

I went to dmv and they tried but said I would now have to pay new fees and back plus still get smog ,

The insurance company does not have to pay you if there is doubt about ownership.

You apparently didn't get the car properly titled, smogged and registered when you bought it.

If not, why not?

 

[fed up]

I have a car , that a full coverage driver hit and wrecked. My car sat on street , and even THRO I didn't drive it it was insured liability coverage . The drivers insurance was to pay me out due to my car was total loss. But after signing release the Adjuster said due to incomplete reg title transfer they couldn't. That not only was name on registration but the previous owner was too.

I went to dmv and they tried but said I would now have to pay new fees and back plus still get smog ,
I don't even have the insurance comp does plus how can and WHY would I pay that
This driver hit my car that wasn't in operation at time of accident . .
So now what do I do
The previous owner is unreachable.

How are 2 different names on the registration? Your next hurdle is convincing your own insurance to not cancel a policy on car you dont own.

 

[InproSe]

This is B's
The insurance company can take my money .

See I paid all fees but car need work B4 smog, events that happened my gf had cancer and died , I had just went back to work then covid hit , in Jan I caught covid and suffered 4 months long haul effects , while in pro SE in a big civil case. .
It was easier to pay insurance THINKING it was better especially when my mechanics died as well .
In fact the day of the accident I was going to DMV to pay on reg so I could drive because my truck was down