Expert: Ron Cercone - 11/3/2009

Question
The problem is I was in a auto accident on Sept 21 2009 and a couples of days later I got a letter from my insurance company saying my car was Totaled,however a few days go by and I get a call saying it was not totaled and a check followed for a amount to fix the car. I have the check however after having my own repair shop estimate my new estimate was 3,000 more than what I was sent by the insurance company I was wondering should I contact my lien holder tell them I have a check give the check to them, by the way I do have gap insurance as well and let the lien holder go through the process of getting my gap insurance to cover the rest. My check was $7900.00 from the insurance,the shop estimate was $ 10,300 without a tear down to check for damage behind what the accident may have caused. The Nada on my car is only $12,500 to $ 14,000 for a 08 Hyundai Sonata with 34,000 miles on it I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!!

Answer
For starters, tell the insurer you want an "agreed" and "guaranteed" cost of repairs with your body shop. Let them fight it out. Insurers will total out a vehicle if the repair cost is 80-90% of the value of the car, less salvage value. Check out the eBook at UClaim.com Total Loss Auto for Insureds if the car gets totaled out.