I handle personal injury cases in Atlanta, Georgia and throughout our state. Lately I have been writing about how folks who have been involved in a wreck can settle their vehicle damage claim without having to go to the expense of hiring an attorney. Today I'm going to continue talking about how to negotiate the maximum settlement on a totaled vehicle.
The websites I mentioned in my last post are sometimes helpful for getting a general idea what your vehicle is worth. Beware of putting too much reliance on the figures you obtain from those sources, however, because they tend to vary a lot.
To get a more precise value on your vehicle check out resources like The Atlanta Journal Constitution car listings or your local paper's classified section. Another good source is the Georgia Auto Trader magazines - though you'll have to go to a convenience store to pick up one of those. Keep in mind that the values that matter are local values. It won't do you much good to find a vehicle from New York City that is priced higher than what the insurance has offered on your totaled vehicle.
If you can find ads for local vehicles that are comparable to yours - call the phone numbers and find out if the owners have made a sale. If they have, ask how much they got. That number is going to be a lot more helpful to you than the asking price listed in the ad. FMV is calculated using the selling price, not the asking price.
If you talk to several owners and find the average selling price was higher than what the insurance company has offered you, ask the insurance company to verify your research by talking to the owners themselves. This could be an effective negotiating tactic.
In the end it comes down to negotiating. Often when an insurance company makes a first offer on a totaled vehicle they hold a little back. So never take the first offer if it seems unfair.
