Crash!! Insurance help needed

[cng_john]

I have found this site helpful and have come out of the world of unregistered guests, because I need some specific help.

My 03 bi-fuel cav was totaled in an accident last week. Do any of you have personal experience of dealing with insurance adjusters in regards to CNG vehicles. I did receive a good tip from the dealer I bought my car from. But I am hoping to find someone who has had to deal with this.

Also if there are any dealers out there that have sold an 01-04 Cav to Utah recently and can supply me with any value info. that would be helpful, I would be very grateful.

Lastly, I had an extra tank (5 gal, 3600 psi) in the trunk which I received permission to remove. It is still good for another three years. But does it need to be re-certified since it was in an accident? (even though it was in the back while the accident primarily happened in the front)

Thanks.

[echamberlain]

Re: Crash!! Insurance help needed

Where are you located, insurance laws vary from state to state?

[CanAm]

Re: Crash!! Insurance help needed

If I were you i would have them write off the extra tank as well.

[cng_john]

Re: Crash!! Insurance help needed

I am in Utah. I really have no idea about the insurance laws or even how to interrupt them if I could find them easily. But dealing with a car that has risen in value and is hard to find is probably something that adjusters are not used to. So I suspect that I am going to have a difficult time getting something close to a true replacement value. I can hope it will not be much hassle. But my hope is small. So again if anyone has been through this process lately, I would be grateful for any tips on making it go fairly and smoothly (as smoothly as possible that is)

[freedml]

Re: Crash!! Insurance help needed

I paid $11,100 for my 2003 with 65k miles on it about a month ago. It was a GSA auction in LA and the other Cav's sold for about the same. Most of them were being shipped to Utah (so, add some for shipping to UT). Mine is a base model, so add some if yours had power windows, power locks, etc. And, this was mostly a dealer auction, so they're marking them up a couple thou when they sell them. I can fax you a copy of the bill of sale to establish the auction value of your car if that would help.

[CraziFuzzy]

Re: Crash!! Insurance help needed

I know it doens't help now, but when I was insuring my conversion, I actually disclosed that it had the CNG system on it, adn that it had an added value of $5000. This raised the premium by a negligible amount, but it really helps in situations like this. You can do the same when you add other equipment to your vehicle, such as audio/video, performance, etc. It's all about disclosing up front that it is more than just an off the shelf vehicle.

[freedml]

Re: Crash!! Insurance help needed

If you add something (like a fancy stereo) after you insure it, then you're right. This car was bi-fuel from the factory, which they know from the VIN if nothing else (they use this method to detect ABS and other safety features, too). After establishing the current cash value of a Bifuel Cavalier, they might argue about the value of the extra tank.

[CraziFuzzy]

Re: Crash!! Insurance help needed

Last time i totalled (only time actually) my insurance company found listings of comparable vehicles, and paid me an average. I think they will just have to look a little further to get a decent sampling to determine your payout. I would't worry until they make a decision, you can always contest it when they make you the payout offer.

[maxman]

Re: Crash!! Insurance help needed

This is an interesting question that I was thinking about the other day. I decided I would go gather all the classifieds I could find for the area you are in, (especially Utah) to show market value. Otherwise, I would insist they replace it comparably. I don't know if they would listen. I would also try to find the incremental(?) cost charts to show that a CNG is more than a regular vehicle. I wouldn't let them go off the price you paid, because it's gone up.
Good Luck,
Max

[j03j03]

Re: Crash!! Insurance help needed

My wife and I bought an '01 a few months ago that had 57K on it for $7,300. I called the guy we bought it from about a week ago and he said that the lowest miles he has right now is 65k and he wants $10,800 for it. I don't know if this helps or not. I live in Logan so it's a pretty accurate market value. Good luck man!

P.S.-For that x-tra tank, i'd have them add at least 2,500-3,000 on top of the cost to have a new one installed.

[cng_john]

Re: Crash!! Insurance help needed

Thanks for all your replies. I will let you know what happens. Thanks again.

[cng_john]

Re: Crash!! Insurance help needed

Thanks to those that replied and the couple of dealers that helped me with information.

I was able to get more then the original settlement offer. So thank you again to those that helped. However when I suggested to the settlement manager, that it was still not enough to get me back into a CNG cav, I was told in not quite the same words, that I would have to go through the appraisal clause process. It was also implied that any amount I might think I could reasonably expect would be eaten up in the cost of the process. After doing a little math with the numbers I had, I figured that cost of the process, the time, plus the aggravation was not worth it. Call me a wimp.

So what I got was enough to pay off, plus a little, plus a serious education in car insurance settlements. But not enough to get back into CNG

Thanks again.

[lbliss]

Re: Crash!! Insurance help needed

Let me know how much you want for the tank.

Thanks
Lon

[Highmarker]

Re: Crash!! Insurance help needed

lbliss,

Please be advised that the tank has been involved in an accident. If you do acquire this tank, please have it inspected by a CSA certified cylinder inspector prior to installing it. Same thing goes for cng_john if you decide to keep the tank.

[cng_john]

Re: Crash!! Insurance help needed

Where can one go to get it re-certified?