Randall,

Been there, done that within the last 5 years or so with two cars. You left out a major item.........is it the kids insurance that is going to pay for the car directly OR is it your insurance. If you carry collision insurance, you might find it easier to negotiate with your own insurance company and then let them duke it out the other guy. That is why you have insurance.

Most state insurance laws require re-imbursement to generally be a level playing field. You need to understand that if you make it easy for the insurance adjuster, the amount you seek comes easily.

Case in point: My wife's 740 Volvo was hit while parked. It had just gotten out of the body shop two weeks before hand. The day before the adjuster showed up, I washed, polished, vacuum'd etc etc etc that car. It looked great until you saw the damage on the one side of the car. It had new tires, I had all the service records etc. It looked exceptional. So the adjuster noted on his paperwork "extra clean" (or something to that effect). Added in amounts for new tires etc. We received a much better offer from our own insurance company. They inturn took the responsibility of collecting from the other guy. I had to wait for my deductible, but the insurance company took care of the balance. You see they don't mind paying a fair rate, but the State of CA requires that the extra money is documented and justified.

The other issue you may face is a lack of data for that model year in your state. AND I bet the data they have doesn't reflect 300TD sales, only 300D sales. They'll send you the comparisons. Read carefully.

Worst case you take the guy to small claims court. You'll win easily, because the judge will review the other valuation methods. Most insurance companies don't use sources like ebay or CL because these are not "sales" only offers of sales (completed eBay listings are sales). They have some other company that specializes in valuation tracking and I don't remember the name of the company. The guys insurance is required to pay his legal responsibilities.

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84 300DT Puke Yellow. Totalled after 438,000
84 300DT Orient Red. 169,000 (actual mileage may vary)
2002 Explorer EB (wife's)

Yea i agree with berry, i would defienently get enough to cover the cost of buying a new wagon to the same specs as the one you currently have. But as far as trying to make a profit i wouldnt. When i got hit in the side, i took my car to a couple body shops to get quotes. Needless to say the adjuster said that he found a couple more things that were'nt on the quote, and ended up making a check out higher than what my highest quote was (around 2k$).

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1983 Euro 240D 277K
2016 Mazda 6
Coming Soon, 2013 Mercedes E350 Bluetec
Formers:
2012- Mazda 3
2007 Outlander- complete pile
1995 E300 Diesel 208K
2007 VW Passat 2.0T 63K SOLD
2003 Jaguar X-type 3.0 Sport Sold 04/11 w/88K
2009 Lexus RX350 9061 miles. Sold 04/09
2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS:Totaled Sept.,09 @ 24,000
2003 Infiniti I35 58K Sold
1984 300 turbo diesel 222K

let us know what the adjuster offers you, and let us know how it all turns out, and most especially, let us know what you replace the car with!
also, you got any pics of the damage? we like that too... (ok, maybe it's just my sadistic mind here...)
you have 3 years in most states to file personal injury claims... they know this. and they will try to low ball you and they will try to get you to sign end of compensation liability forms to get your offer... get a lawyer.
you may have a wife that is quiet about discomfort.
you may have a complaining wife that is hammering you all day long about the accident.
either way. go to a doctor get checkups, document all work and time lost, go to a lawyer. have prenatal care physician check our your wife and UBchild, and go to a Lawyer...



um, anything else?


oh yeah. GET A LAWYER!!!

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

My friend, that is effing awesome. Angie and I just had a good laugh. What a brilliant idea I can't *wait* to spring this question on the poor sucker.

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2003 E320 wagon, ~80k, "Sputnik"
1987 300 SDL, ~160k, "The Pimp Daddy" (sold April 2010)
1984 300 TD, ~200k, "Das Boot" (Demised March 2008)

1. Don't accept their first offer - instead request they find you an equivalent car.
2. Whatever offer they give you, request to keep the car!

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1984 300TD