Insurance and accidents questions

2012 nissan leaf sv 65,000 miles battery down 2 bars about 60 miles max range.

Got rear ended this morning. Still runs and drives but the damage is pretty bad. Cargo carrier is hosed not sure if the hitch damahed the frame.

Hatch is crumpled a bit inside and outside hard to close

Frame around hatch is bent

Realistic value of the car $4k to $5 on a good day with so many miles.

What is the chance of them totalling it? Really hoping they do as i can then use the gap insirance and go get a 2015 leaf for less than i owe on this one.

If either rear door is hard to open/close, it is probably a total. If not, it may be feasible to repair. Since it is drivable, it is repairable but repairs are expensive so it might cost too much for the insurance company to authorize repair. If the hatch still opens/closes (even with difficulty), then your damage is much less than mine. My 2011 was deemed a total loss by the other driver's insurance company even though it was technically repairable because they thought they could save money by giving me low blue book (depressed values due to many cars coming off lease). After I fought with them for a more reasonable settlement, they did not save much. Post a photo and I can give you a more accurate guess.

I really hope for a total (I know strange for a car I really do love so much) but it really will be worthless repaired with 65k on it more like 90k by the time I am done with it.

a total would mean gap insurance would mean I get to move into a 2015 leaf with 6.6kw charger! and better battery.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-XVTPUBrxzwSDVoY3gxcWJuVE0

hatch does not close properly but it does "stay put" but not fully engaged.

estimated real value about $4000-$4500 book value.

my big concern is also the hitch and carrier and the forces this places on the frame underneath.

It will be totaled for sure. However they will try to low-ball you so keep fighting.

Good luck on the new one.

I believe the OP reported having gap insurance, so if the payout is small, the gap policy would just have to pay more (?). If they're from the same insurer, then the insurer have no reason to low-ball the settlement. If the gap policy is from a separate insurer than the collision insurance (is that a thing?), then I suppose the two could "fight it out."

I have no idea how that works am I supposed to inform the bank about this so they can have a say in the negotiation or something they didn't tell me I needed to contact them so I have no idea how that works

The definitely not the same I'm Finance for Trumark Financial my Local Credit Union I have State Farm for my car insurance and she has Hartford

After ~ 5 years of making payments you still owe more than ~ $3-4k ?

3 years this November got it in September but did not have to make first payment till November.

6 year 4% loan My credit is a bit better now so I am hoping I can get better interest rates. I was a 640 then a pretty solid 700 now.,

nerys said:

3 years this November got it in September but did not have to make first payment till November.

6 year 4% loan My credit is a bit better now so I am hoping I can get better interest rates. I was a 640 then a pretty solid 700 now.,

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I see. Then definitely push for a car totalling
In this case your insurance will fight you since they are on the hook for the gap.

Remind them of 'diminished value' due to the accident to help them see it your way.

By the way, I paid $8300 for a 2013 with an excellent battery back in December 2016.

Other driver's insurance should be on the hook for this. Car is unibody construction so if main body is distorted at all it will be totaled. If either rear passenger door is difficult to open or close, body is distorted enough to be a total loss. Check the terms of the gap insurance to make sure you are fully covered.

A good rule of thumb is after the initial insurance adjustment if it's within 80% or more of book value it's usually totaled because the initial is a low ball estimate anyway and with supplementals during the repair it's easy to exceed the value of the vehicle and the insurance company can keep the damaged vehicle for salvage value. I would go through the other parties insurance unless you live in a "no-fault" state, since a rear end collision is generally presumed to be the fault of the rear vehicle.

I disageee if there is body damage to a unibody vehicle it's automatically totaled. A unibody vehicle can be safely repaired by replacing the damaged pieces at the original weld points. This can be an expensive process. My two year old Prius couldn't open the hatch or rear doors. It was nearly $9000 to repair, only body damage nothing mechanical.

The interesting twist here is that the other driver's insurance will probably be quick to total because the market value of the car is so low while the OP's insurance will not want it totaled to evade paying out the gap.

it looks like they are going to total it and I can't buy it back from them (they want $3500 its not worth that in its current state with that damage) Grrrr

so now the problem is getting approved for a new one before I finish with the old one (as I genuinely can not afford a car payment "AND" gasoline about $450 a month in gas if I did not have the leaf)

Fingers crossed. I found a 2016 SL 5200 miles in Blue YEAH not black silver or white !!! but its $18. I think (hope) I can get approved for $17k so hoping they can work with that a little.

I have to get a 14 or newer as the interested rate goes up triple for older than 14 (odd way of marking interest ehh??)

I really hope I can get the blue one. its more than I wanted to spend but I want a non white black silver car more than I want a lower payment. at this price I can pay the same I pay now and get 5 year instead of 6 year loan.

just waiting on approval from the bank.

looks like the gap won't be so bad either. they are valuing it around $8500 I owe $10,500 not as bad as I thought. I talked to the bank about that as I was not sure what my duties and obligations are. apparently none. they take no involvement in the process at all. the insurance company simply writes them a check and gap takes care of the rest. needless to say I will have gap on the new one (and bonus its $2500 advance now instead of the $1000 I am getting for this one) double bonus. so that process at least is easy. hopefully they can give me a 1 or 2 month grace on the first payment so I can clear the old loan before the new payments start so I don't have double payments to make (as that would be very hard to do)

going to try and find some wheels so I can keep the wheels from the 2012 as I like them better than the new wheels by a lot. got to get my hitch off too. can't be without my hitch.

man I hope I can make this work. really hoping. I need a break for once.

I'm curious ...

Numbers so far:
Totaled value: $3500
Gap ? $8500
Outstanding loan: $10,500

When all is done, will the total money pay off your loan ? Leave you additional money ?
I was under the impression that you should end up with $10,500 to pay off the loan completely but I have no direct experience.

By the way: owing $10k today on a 2012 is pretty bad -- that is like $7k underwater.
I wish you a much better deal this time around. $8k for a 2014 with a good battery is, I think, obtainable.

sorry my bad. the car "in totaled condition" is worth $3500.

the value of the car (pre totaled) $8500 so that is the check they will cut to my bank.

they will then attempt to sell the car at auction for $3500 to recover some of there loses MEANING if I wanted to keep it I would have to pay them that since in a total condition it becomes "their" car. I would have to "buy it back" if I wanted to keep it.

the gap insurance will cover the $2000 difference between what I owe and what they will be paid from the insurance company.

I got approved so I am going to go look at the 2016 blue leaf.

I am looking at a 2016 blue SL with 5339 miles for $18k hoping to get them down to $17k. that is quite a fantastic price I believe seeing as 16's that low in miles are going for over $25k its basically brand new. not even a year old. I hope it has quick charge but I am ok with just being able to 6.6kw charge the critter. will make a HUGE difference in delivery. probably never need a backup car anymore.

good news is this loan will be 5 years not 6 since I am getting a much better interest rate 2.49% so instead of taking a lower payment I took a year less (which will end up costing me a LOT less in the long run less interest and above water much faster) and the gap on the new car is $2500 bonus if it gets totaled. fantastic. and its not black silver or white! yeah! I could live with white if I had to but really prefer nice colors (red blue etc..)

got it. so far very nice. one annoyance. no led headlights? WTH thought that was standard on SL

I will swap them over from my SV and put the incans on the old car.

wow SO MUCH RANGE its amazing. it says I can go over 100 miles. I wonder just how accurate that is

nerys said:

I am looking at a 2016 blue SL with 5339 miles for $18k hoping to get them down to $17k. that is quite a fantastic price I believe

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You can do so much better. Keep looking
And if you do end up buying a used car, know the battery health! "12 bars" or whatever is NOT ENOUGH

Where do you live ?

Wee to late

I would accept nothing but a perfect battery at this price point. Or a very cheap price if not perfect. One place wanted $16k for a 15 with 10 bars. I almost laughed. Not a chance. Battery so far is perfect. 12 bars over 22kwhr usable nice.

$18k 5300 miles perfect battery an SL in Blue! Only 10 months old. Insane. Its literally brand new.

It has dcqc as well! Suggestions on a portable L6-30 6.6kwhr evse?

New battery plus 6.6 charging might mean never needing a backup car at work again. At least for a few years

All the best then !
And congrats on the new car

You never want it to happen, but you should always try your best to be prepared for what may happen. About a year into the loan on my Leaf, the Credit Union sent out a mailer offering GAP insurance. I took them up on the offer. It was something like a $250 one time charge added on to the balance of the loan. One less thing to worry about. If there is an accident, at least I won't be paying off a loan on a car I no longer have.