Vehicle total loss - adjustment for new tires


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Old 04-09-19, 01:49 PM
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Vehicle total loss - adjustment for new tires

I apologize if this is not correct forum for this kind of question.

Recently I had an accident and it was a total loss. 4 weeks before the accident I had replaced all four tires with new 80000 miles tires of very reputed brand.

My question is what would be reasonable adjustment in vehicle valuation due to new tires be?

Insurance company is offering $80 adjustment for all four tires. is it too low? reasonable?

Appreciate your feedback.
 
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Old 04-09-19, 01:57 PM
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I didn't know they offered any compensation for new tires on a total.
I'd say $80 sounds low but that may be the best they'll offer.
I'd think half of the new value would be more appropriate.
 
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Old 04-09-19, 02:43 PM
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New tires I would guess 600 to 800 dollars and adjustment way to low.price tires and deduct 25 % and give that back to insurance co,
 
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Old 04-09-19, 02:50 PM
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Sorry, I didn't quite follow that. I paid $500 for tires. Are you suggesting that the reasonable adjustment be $125 (25%), or $375 (75%)?
 
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Old 04-09-19, 04:07 PM
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I think he meant deduct 25% of the cost of the new tires and give that number to the insurance company. So in your case it would be $375.

I doubt they'll consider paying you 75%.
Based on what I had said..... the number would be $250.
 
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Old 04-09-19, 04:10 PM
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A day before the accident the vehicle had a value which included those new tires. Ask the insurance adjuster for an appraised value with and without the new tires, you get paid on the with. Unfortunately I think their assessed value of the vehicle will reflect "having tires" with little consideration for their condition.

Good luck
Bud
 
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Old 04-10-19, 05:16 AM
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IMHO don't hold your breath waiting to get more than they offered. Same as the guy who just had a $500 timing belt/water pump job done. Doesn't really add significantly to the overall value of the car. If you have a car worth $8000 and you put $800 worth of tires on it, it isn't then automatically worth $8,800.

Good luck anyway.
 
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Old 04-10-19, 05:21 AM
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If you customized the car with a special sound system, paint job or something out of the ordinary you could argue that the car was worth more than standard but new tires is just part of a car's upkeep. They do have different figures for a car in poor repair versus one that has been taken care of. I'm sure the insurance company's offer already reflects that.
 
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Old 04-10-19, 05:48 AM
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Personally, I like your thinking. Not that I would ever advocate taking advantage of the situation, and understand that you’re not trying to do that, but simply understanding the value of your investment and not wanting to see it dramatically devalued. That said though, I would assume that the insurance companies look at it as a vehicle, with no regard for condition of specific components. Mark mentioned things like an upgraded stereo or whatever, and I doubt that even that would add to the value that the insurance company places on the vehicle. However, I have heard of instances where people have been allowed to remove things like a custom sound system from an otherwise totaled vehicle, not sure how common that is, but, again, have heard of it. So that could be an option with your tires, however I doubt it would be worth it to buy used tires and substitute them, even if permissible.
 
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Old 04-10-19, 08:20 AM
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If you customized the car with a special sound system, paint job or something out of the ordinary you could argue that the car was worth more
Possible, but did you include that upgrade so that the premium reflect that "added" value to the car, probably not.

That is just like a car that had aftermarket floor mats, tinted windows, pin stripes, etc, nice to have but the insurance company goes by average market value!
 
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Old 04-10-19, 10:15 AM
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Thanks for all your input. I asked them for 75% of the tire cost. Let's see what they come back with. Doesn't hurt to ask.

One of my friends, told me that when he tried to negotiate with insurance company after the total loss, they offered him very low figure and said if he wanted more he could take the tires off the car and take them home.
 
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Old 04-10-19, 12:09 PM
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Before I read any of the posts after the OP, I had my answer/opinion for you. After reading most of the other posts, my opinion is agreeable with most posts here.

Times have changed & I cant always keep up with changes in some industries but, this is what I have always cautioned the kids about when owning vehicles.
A vehicle is worth what the blue book says its worth.... period. So, that's what the insurance company is obligated to offer.

If you go buy a new car & attempt to drive it off the lot & someone totals it, its worth whatever the blue book says the car is worth.... used. Its not considered a new car anymore.

If you buy a 2010 pick up truck & put a 5' lift kit with over size tires, an Eldebrock aluminum high rise intake, add dual exhaust, etc etc.... you still own a 2010 pickup truck. If it gets totaled, it dont matter if you put $20,000 into upgrades.... its still wort whatever the blue book says its worth.... UNLESS, you specify its a special vehicle & insure it as such.
If you buy a 1932 Ford Coupe & put $40,000 in to restoration, then you specify & insure it as such.

In my opinion, it doesn't matter if you put $5000 worth of new tires on the car, when it gets totaled, the insurance company is going to pull the blue book value & that's what the car is worth & its what they are going to offer you. If they offered you $80 extra for tires, they are just being generous. Its not something they are required to offer.

Just MHO..........
 
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Old 04-10-19, 12:48 PM
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Yes, you are right. My insurance company is standing firm on $80.
 
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Old 04-12-19, 05:27 AM
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If you have the old tires you could swap them back, but $80 is better than nothing. If you had spent $5000 on a new engine the week before, you think you would get that back? No. The insurance company owes you the book value at the time of loss. Anything more is just a customer goodwill adjustment. Put the shoe on the other foot. If the transmission was slipping or the engine had a bad knock would you allow them to take $1,000 off?
 
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Old 04-12-19, 06:53 AM
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Originally Posted by YogiWatcher
One of my friends, told me that when he tried to negotiate with insurance company after the total loss, they offered him very low figure and said if he wanted more he could take the tires off the car and take them home.
This was my thought as well. Tell the the Insurance Co. by email you'd like to swap out the new tires/wheels. They should email back saying "fine". Print that, go to the garage, show them the email, pull the donut spare out of the trunk of the car, go through the local junkyards to find 3 more donut spares. Grab a jack and swap the 4 donut spares for the 4 new tires.
 
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Old 04-12-19, 07:55 AM
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Of course, then the question becomes, what do you do with the wheels and tires you just pulled? Do you have another car they will fit? Are they desirable enough, and a common enough size, that someone will buy them? Is it worth the hassle of trying to sell them? If you don't sell them, are you prepared to handle disposing them? Around here, that means dismounting the tire from the wheel, and taking the tire to the landfill (and paying them), or paying a scrap tire hauler, before you can then scrap the wheel separately.

Just food for thought.
 
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Old 04-12-19, 09:05 AM
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Not worth the hassle and time, IMO. I will gladly take $80 :-)!
 
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Old 04-13-19, 05:54 AM
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Another consideration is to question the amount paid by the insurance company for the total loss.
If we dispute the value of the vehicle we can request arbitration and have to present evidence the vehicle is worth more than offered,.
The arbitrator will accept the CDN equivalent of Craigslist in our and a neighbouring province as evidence of value.
I have on two occasions disputed and got quite a bit more than offered.

Would this option be available to you?
 
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Old 04-13-19, 06:15 AM
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take the tires off the car and take them home


I'll ad my 2 cents. I don't think it's worth the trouble, but if the tires are deemed safe after the accident then sure why not?
 
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Old 04-13-19, 07:20 AM
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While some adjusters (& ins co's) are a little more accommodating, legally, you cant remove anything but personal belongings from the vehicle after the accident or once you have contacted the insurance company & filed a claim. At that point, the vehicle becomes the property of the ins company & you cant remove things like tires etc. I had a pickup truck once that I had installed an expensive AM/FM Cassette radio & the ins company wouldn't let me take it out. It is part of the vehicle & belongs to the ins co as part of the truck. My understanding is, the more the vehicle is worth as scrap the more money the ins company can recover from the loss. They'll sell the car to a junk yard (or back to you) etc, then the scrap yard will sell all salvageable parts. If there are good tires, expensive radio, etc, the more the ins co can haggle in price. The more they recover, the less loss they encounter.

Again, some adjusters & ins co's are a little more accommodating that others. Some will allow you to get expensive items, some will not. And sometimes, more so depending on if this is YOUR ins co OR if its the other guys ins co.

That's my understanding.
 
 

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