Alas, 95 Es300 Is No More

[GM1995ES]

Wife got rear-ended by some jerk in a pickup truck (on the phone) two weeks ago. Banged up trunk lid, bumper cover, smashed left taillight assembly and bent up some of the rear underpinnings. LOML is fine, but the estimated cost of repairs exceeds $3,700 and the insurance company (his - GEICO) is totaling it. I am currently challenging their estimate of value ($2,012), but for sure the "total loss" will stick.

Ending statistics: mileage 339,418, MPG 27 mostly highway, uses no oil, original engine everything except for timing belt and water pump, original transmission and exhaust system, no rust, paint great except for small chips on the front. Great little car for my 600 mile per week commute. Still perfectly driveable except for that smashed rear end.

Interesting that despite total loss of taillight lense and being moved left about 3 inches, every light still works. And trunk lid is caved in and humped up, but did not fly open and still opens and closes as easily as before.

[BoaR]

What a sad way for a car to go. sorry for the loss.

but one part i dont understand... his insurance not yours is filing for totaled? though it was yours that had to do that? also he hit you... shouldnt it be that you can demand to your insurance they repair the car? then just charge his?

not on the up and up of all the insurance wonders around here. but seems to me your car, not your fault, hes gotta fix all the damage no ? (his insurance etc etc w/e)

worst case i guess you can always part it out... im looking for front seatbelts if you do :P

[cduluk]

Yeah i was going to say, their insurance can't make any decisions, yours will. You can pick your own repair shop and your insurance company will go after the other persons company for reimbursement.

[GM1995ES]

Yeah i was going to say, their insurance can't make any decisions, yours will. You can pick your own repair shop and your insurance company will go after the other persons company for reimbursement.

Wish I had known that before this morning, when we turned over title to his Ins. company (who declared it a total loss). Mine from the get-go just said "let them take care of it." I thought about keeping it, but looked at the damage and decided to move on. The kicker was that the rear sub-structure (what used to be the frame) is jammed in and it would take some doing to make it right. However, someone is going to get a lot of good parts for anything ahead of the trunk.

On a positive note, the final settlement was more than 50% higher than their "independent" assessment.

[BoaR]

so what was ammount written on the final check to you for?

it gives a good idea of the ongoing current settlement values :P

[GM1995ES]

so what was ammount written on the final check to you for?

it gives a good idea of the ongoing current settlement values :P

BoaR - final settlement was $3,350, which I considered fair and reasonable in view of the mileage (+/- KBB and Edmunds). But the turkey who banged into it ruined a perfectly good means of commuter-style transportation. That was my main argument with the adjuster - no way would $2,012 provide a similarly reliable commute. I must admit the adjuster went to bat for the ol' machine, arguing with his supervisor that the Lexus was in better shape than his vehicle with less that a third of the miles.

Another argument...got several internet "For Sale" prices for 1995 ES 300 in the surrounding 200-mile area. Demanded that the minimum would be the same as the second-lowest. Final offer from GEICO actually topped that by about $200.

I'm not overly pleased, but resigned to it - the ol' Lexus gave me 12% (in real cash) of the price of a new vehicle - far better than any trade-in. Just so ya know, we bought a "baby Lexus" - a 2011 Camry XLE V6 with just about everything on it. Right now it shows 76 miles on the ODO, so time will tell whether it is as good a long-term investment as the dearly departed ES 300.

[BoaR]

well thats an interesting quote. thanks for the info. I guess the milage was what drove down the settlement price. but its actually not a bad check...

still a shame about the car, but congrats on the baby lexus. ;)