DEALERSHIP TOTALED MY CAR!!!

[Zimm]

So when does GAP insurance come in case he had it?

Like others have said GAP insurance is when you're upside down- IE you total it and the car is worth $25k but you owe $30k... gap covers the difference.

For OP if an attorney is involved many times the insurance company will pay closer to full value to just make it go away. They can pay the $31k they offered for ACV and then spend $10-$20k in legal costs to fight it, or they can just pay the $35k-$40k to make everyone happy and not have to waste the time and resources.

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[Gigantor]

Stealership Umbrella Insurance

The stealership has umbrella insurance to cover such events. Make sure
you walk away with what you started with.

No car owner should have to go through this

 

[MaverickGT]

Sorry this happened to you. Hope the dealership makes it right. Until the police report is out you won't know if it is tech was negligent. Get that asap.

Never accept the first offer (Unless it's something unreal like a similar 2017 w/parts swapped).
A lawyer WILL generally get you more money! You might end up paying $500. or so for the lawyer fees but you will likely get around $2K+ extra by having this professional assistance. Insurance companies have lawyers and their primary mission is to slip out of this as cheap as possible. The dealership might be really nice guys but there is only so much lower management can do.
If at all possible, after a price is nice enough to keep you happy--push for them to give you your old Mustang back for free instead of paying a grand or so to get it back. You can easily part this thing out and more than cover the difference.

Attorney fees will be more than $500. Retainer alone could be $5K.

Just not in my nature to look for gold at every opportunity, I prefer to earn what I get. Life is filled with millions of risks. If something happens that wrongs me I expect be compensated for things that I will need to replace, but I also expect to deal with the emotional parts as a resilient, rational thinking adult.

Quite an assumption that he is looking for gold. If this happened to me I would want the dealership to make it right. I think that is what the OP wants also. Another assumption is that he didn't 'earn' work for his car. Not sure where you got that either.

 

[cbrookre]

Quite an assumption that he is looking for gold. If this happened to me I would want the dealership to make it right. I think that is what the OP wants also. Another assumption is that he didn't 'earn' work for his car. Not sure where you got that either.

That was not directed at the OP, as I have not seen them write back on their full intentions and by all rights they seem reasonable. It was directed at some of the comments like "sue them" and "you should get a new car out of this" type of thing. It was also generally at society that pushes people to sue for large amounts for finding things in their food, for example. People think that being wronged is a golden ticket of some sort, a sad testament for where we are as a society.

The OP is totally obligated to get the market value of their car, but the whole emotional distress thing is pretty much BS in my opinion. That was my comment on "earning", suing for emotional distress is getting money that he or she did not earn. I am sure they worked plenty hard to earn their car in the first place, and there was no comment suggesting that they did not.

Again, if the OP pursues it, it is totally their call, but I do not personally buy into what I feel is total nonsense. It is a car that is general property, someone made a mistake. Bad things do happen to good people every single day. Get if fixed/repaired/replaced and move on.

 

[Blk2015GT]

Highly unlikely you are going to get damages for emotional distress due to the destruction/conversion of your automobile.
Its non-quantifiable. The market value of the car is.
Something's personal/emotional value is not relevant, otherwise think of how ludicrous cases would become.

It was not done intentionally.
There was no physical injury.

This. People like to rag on lawyers but then have no clue what they are talking about if they had to step foot themselves into a courtroom.

No judge in his/her right mind would give you emotional distress damages for a 2015 car. It is such a tossed around legal term. It's pled a LOT but rarely ever awarded in damages. You need REAL distress, like if you were in an accident and saw your child get maimed or killed and couldnt do anything. THEN you have emotional distress damages against whoever you are suing; other driver, etc. If you were in the car and someone T-boned you and you were horribly injured, sure you have some emotional distress claim.

One is going to get book value of the car when it was wrecked and MAYBE some inconvenience money; a few thousand TOPS. Less if they provided a rental car for free unless you had some track day scheduled before the wreck you couldnt get money back on, or something to show damages. Not having your precious Mustang vs. a loaner is not inconvenience or damages.

Attorney fees will be more than $500. Retainer alone could be $5K.

I dunno about $5k, maybe if a case was filed. I wouldn't touch this for less than $1,500 retainer in my state though just to do the demand letters and all of the insurance statutory notices required. It will be negotiated out way way before it ever sees a courtroom, and it'll take a few hours of a lawyer's time for sure. There is no question on liability, it is a matter of the bean counters and how much is really owed under the policy.

OR as I said before they are going to cut a check for the market value, maybe plus a little inconvenience money, pay off the lender and the rest to OP and say good luck. OP will have to take the rest and put it down to finance a new car/2017 model. The insurance is not obligated to provide a replacement vehicle versus cash for the market value. Im not sure where that statement came from.

I guarantee the dealership's insurance killed the deal and weren't going to pay out $40-45k for a 2017 for a $31k loss (the mods are a wash and can be taken off the old car). No matter how well intentioned the dealership was its the insurance company's wallet.

The insurance would rather cut the check to the lender, pay out the equity plus maybe here take $2k and sign off. Saves $10k right there versus the dealership's idea for them even after paying a little inconvenience money.

 

[Old 5 Oh]

I don't see how you have to settle for KBB. THEY wrecked YOUR car; they need to make you whole. Lawyer up. I'd be yelling at the bank, too, for making a big deal of collateral substitution. Their loan would be better covered by the 17 than the 15. Morons.

 

[GT Pony]

I don't see how you have to settle for KBB. THEY wrecked YOUR car; they need to make you whole.

Unfortunately, "making him whole" would be replacing exactly what he had or the fair market value of what he had. Sadly, that doesn't equate to a brand new 2016 or 2017.

Like mentioned, if the dealership wanted to do the right thing they would eat the difference, or at least sell him a new car at or below invoice to give him a break on any difference he might have to cough up. And maybe get the 0% financing for 60 months. I'm sure the dealership could work some kind of magic.

I'm still curious of this wreck was actually a total loss. Has there been an official repair estimate done on this car?

 

[Charles147]

Keep your head up, OP!

I'd be compelled to push for a brand new GT (CO paint) with the same mods and free maintenance to be whole.

 

[The Great Gazoo]

This type of situation is exactly why I purchased an extra replacement policy for my car. If it gets totaled, I get the newest model vehicle available with similar equipment.

Thinking the OP is entitled to a brand new car which will be worth about $10K more than the current one just isn't right. Ya, the dealer screwed up so if they want to provide good will, they can do something but they are not obligated to do so. Otherwise they should locate a 2015 in similar condition/options/mileage, transfer over the mods (and replace anything that is broken) and hand it back to the OP.

 

[OW_GT350R]

Also curious to find out if it is truly totaled. You are well within your rights to have an independent appraisal done to find out if it is actually totaled. By totaling this one, they are giving themselves the opportunity to replace it with a similar car from auction and not really losing anything. I would call in my own appraisal(in SC, they cost about $150) then talk to the dealership after that is complete.

 

[S550Ghost]

Also curious to find out if it is truly totaled. You are well within your rights to have an independent appraisal done to find out if it is actually totaled. By totaling this one, they are giving themselves the opportunity to replace it with a similar car from auction and not really losing anything. I would call in my own appraisal(in SC, they cost about $150) then talk to the dealership after that is complete.

Then you would have a damage claim on your carfax or whatever history report of the vehicle. That may be worse if you ever try to sell it and does balls for resale value. Better off being totaled.

 

[Blk2015GT]

Unfortunately, "making him whole" would be replacing exactly what he had or the fair market value of what he had. Sadly, that doesn't equate to a brand new 2016 or 2017.

Like mentioned, if the dealership wanted to do the right thing they would eat the difference, or at least sell him a new car at or below invoice to give him a break on any difference he might have to cough up. And maybe get the 0% financing for 60 months. I'm sure the dealership could work some kind of magic.

I'm still curious of this wreck was actually a total loss. Has there been an official repair estimate done on this car?

Let's say it in an even easier way. Legally "whole" puts one back to the position the were in if the event never happened. Which is not a brand new 2016 or 2017.

In fact they dont even owe OP a car, they can also issue a check for the value; well pay off the loan and give the rest to OP really.

I guarantee, again, it was not the financing company but the dealership's insurance company who would not approve. The one cracking open their wallet to pay this. They're not going to pay out thousands more than they have to under the policy. That makes no sense for them and they dont care if OP is happy or not; they are the dealership's insurer.

I guarantee the dealership doesnt care one bit. The lender probably very little. The dealership wanted to make it right and the lender would get even more collateral/equity on their loan in case of default. Or the lender doesnt want to deal with all of the paperwork in such a swap and would rather be paid off in full by the insurance company

Also curious to find out if it is truly totaled. You are well within your rights to have an independent appraisal done to find out if it is actually totaled. By totaling this one, they are giving themselves the opportunity to replace it with a similar car from auction and not really losing anything. I would call in my own appraisal(in SC, they cost about $150) then talk to the dealership after that is complete.

Nah I'd rather have a replacement similar car with no record. The accident will have to be reported to carfax which will affect value, as will the repairs showing when reselling later down the line.

 

[OW_GT350R]

That is true, but you will have a diminished value claim against their insurance. When I wrecked my 750, the DV claim was $7100. When I traded the car in, I still received the full KBB trade-in value for the car. I ended up making money on the deal.

Now, that does nothing for knowing you are driving a car that was wrecked badly. I scrutinized every single small issue after the wreck. That being said, totaling the car out is not always the best answer.

 

[thumper]

i am wondering why everyone is surprised this is a total loss? i see airbag deployment, the front end is shifted to the right, all the front bodywork with maybe the exception of the driver fender, the right front wheel has a setback and both fronts are not pointing in the same direction. and look at how tight the gaps are around the passenger door... ford only wishes they could build to those tolerances :shrug:

on a side note, now i can see why there is an anchor cable on the hood heat extractors, and why they are illegal in the uk :eyebulge:

 

[Chameleon]

i am wondering why everyone is surprised this is a total loss? i see airbag deployment, all the front bodywork with maybe the exception of the driver fender, the right front wheel is setback and both fronts are not pointing in the same direction.

Looks totaled to me.

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