Hey this is my first post and I was hoping to find some help for my parents.

My dad got into what we thought was a very minor accident. He rearended a Pontiac Vibe doing essentially ZERO damage to the vibe and damaging the front-bumper and one headlight on the volvo (s60) the hood is fine and both quarters are completly undamaged. the problem is for some reason both air-bags blew (dealer said judging by the damage they likely should not have gone off).

The car is a 2003 Volvo S60 with maybe 170,000kms. Fully loaded, tip-tronic, 2.5T leather interior, sun-roof, bluetooth, premium stereo, new tires, etc. the car is in show-room condition to put it conservatively.

The "insurance adjuster" is saying that because the airbags went the car is totaled. The dealer gave a rough estimate of $6000 in damages/repair-costs, and had full confidence that the car would be repaired and 'would be surprised if they total the car'.

This doesn't sound quite right. They bought the car less than a year ago for $15,000. Is there anything they can do to have the insurance company to change their mind or prove that the car is worth more than the repair cost. I have a feeling my parents are getting completly screwed by their insurance company and want to do everything I can to get them their car back or get as much as they deserve for it. I dont have the pictures handy right now but will post them up once I can resize them, literally though it looks like someone hit someone going MAYBE 10km/h (which was about the speed of the collision).

 

Get some body shop estimates instead of dealer ones.

 

I don't know where you are located, and given the metric report of mileage, I'm guessing not in the United States. But, is there some online price information like our Kelly Blue Book or NADA (Nat'l ***'n of Auto Dealers) you can use to ballpark the non-damaged retail (not wholesale) value of the car? Its a starting point versus repair cost estimates to haggle with the adjuster whose job it is to pay as little as possible.

Again, this is USA information, but beware if there is some law where you live that if a car is damaged to, say, 80% of its value, it will be permanently be branded with a "salvage" title and thus worth far less than a non salvage auto of same type, equipment, mileage, etc.

Third, and final, point. Remember that the insurance company buys the car from you when it totals the car. It gets to keep and part out (or sell as a whole to a rebuilder) the car. If the doors, interior, engine, trans, rear lights & bumper, trunk (boot?) lid, wheels, tires, etc. are undamaged, I suspect the insurance company will have a pretty good salvage value on the car, too. Ask the adjuster what he's setting as salvage value. BTW, the repair shop doesn't want the car to be totalled, it wants the work.

 

Hi there...

Two years ago, while picking up a 2004 S60 AWD in Montreal, I had the wonderful experience of having an idiot back into the front of my new car with his raised 4x4. He had thrown it into reverse without checking behind and then hit the gas really hard. I was in line about 15 feet behind him. I suspect he was doing about 20 km/h when he hit.

The hit was his raised bumper contacting my grill above my bumper. The impact wiped out the rad, intercooler and a lot of electronics. Both headlights and the hood were toast and some front body parts required replacement or repair. None of the damage was structural and the car was not even considered to be written off. Total damage was put at $11K by the Ottawa Volvo dealer as I was just across the river in Gatineau, QC. My insurance paid the works, but I had to ship the car back to Winnipeg after repair on my dime. After getting the car back home I had to get the insurance company to authorize getting some sloppy workmanship by the original body shop correctly aligned. In the end, the car is actually better than when I bought it due to the new parts replacing the original ones. Again, there was no impact to the frame or drivetrain and none of the airbags fired.

I'd fight what seems to be a greedy insurance company. Be aware that having the airbags go off will be part of the car's history. I hope you've taken a lot of pictures for future reference.

 

Yes I am in Canada, just north of Toronto be exact.

So here are the pictures. The first is a shot of the car that was hit AFTER the collision
http://uploader.ws/upload/200905/Photo051.jpg
http://uploader.ws/upload/200905/Photo054.jpg
http://uploader.ws/upload/200905/Photo055.jpg
http://uploader.ws/upload/200905/Photo056.jpg
http://uploader.ws/upload/200905/Photo057.jpg
http://uploader.ws/upload/200905/Photo058.jpg
http://uploader.ws/upload/200905/Photo059.jpg
http://uploader.ws/upload/200905/Photo060.jpg
http://uploader.ws/upload/200905/Photo061.jpg


So the damages totaled $15,000 (according to the insurance adjuster) the dealer said he could do it for $8,000 The insurance company is booking the car around $9,000 however is being re-evaluated as there was recent work done on the car, new tires etc to make it worth more and we need to provide reciepts/proof. We are seeing what we can do to have it recovered. A salvage title is not an issue for us as we intend to drive the car till it dies. "I Roll In Canada" do you have pictures of your crash just to use for comparison to what happened to my parents.

Jade

 

Here are a few shots illustrating $11K worth of damage. So said the repair shop. The total bill was covered by my Manitoba Public Insurance policy and said policy was only a temporary "transport" type. I had fantastic service from my insurer even though there was a fight from the idiot's side stating that I should have backed up when I saw his reverse lights. Weird. I won. I had to do some fussing after I received the car again to get the headlights properly aimed and a few hoses properly clamped, but in general, the work was good and almost all parts used were brand new genuine Volvo. I pretty much demanded that.

I also travel with a little digital camera at all times. You never know when you'll need it.

Good luck with the repairs!