Expert: Charlie Barone - 3/18/2009

Question
Dear Sir/Mandam,
My car was involved in an accident. A SUV did not stop at stop sign, hitting my car and pushing my car to strike a third car. The insurance company appraised my car and said my car totaled. They first said they will reimburse me $7100 including tax, but their estimation is significantly lower than fair market value. So I sent they my estimates from internet. Today, they called me and said my car was lost value in 2006 and only $4000. IN fact, I bought this car on Dec 2006 from private seller and I checked the title was original, so my car illinois title is also original. Now the insurance will only pay me $4000. How can I do and how can I got my fair value? please give me suggestions. Thanks a lot.

Answer
Dear Sir/Madam,

The insurance company, whether your own or that of the at-fault party, owes you the cost to replace your car with one of like kind and quality, plus any applicable sales tax. From the information you provided, it appears that your car was involved in another accident prior to your purchase, an event that would decrease its value substantially. Whether or not the value decreased $3000 based on the collision damage is unclear, however, the liability carrier for the at-fault party owes you the ACV (actual cash value) for your car.

You may try submitting the claim to your company or the other party's company and see where you end up. If either one comes up with the same offer based on the prior loss of value, then you have a case against the seller from whom you bought the car, assuming you were never told of the collision damage history. Most states do not include damage history on title documents. You may need to hire a lawyer to make this case.

Charlie Barone