Volvo 850 sideswiped, may be RIP

[ToriWhite]

On a cruise to have my windshield leak I've spent the past month troubleshooting [viewtopic.php?t=104070] quoted by a local glass guy.. and some old fart decides to forgo the ol 'look both ways' for a 'speed one way' and rams into me in the middle of town! Wasn't even a blind corner - just decides to test fate and pull out into oncoming traffic (me)
Rear driver side door and panel got scraped, but don't look that bad. Could probably hold a seal. But the real trouble is that the impact was enough to snap the (very rusted) strap suspending the gas tank, leaving it dragging on the ground. Mechanic was impressed with the amount of rust down there. Mounting point would fall apart if reused, even with a new strap; possible that insurance adjuster's just going to call it totaled considering the price to repair would be >>> the price of the vehicle.

Fingers crossed it pans out well, whatever 'well' could be in this scenario. First time dealing with insurance, claims etc, but already not excited to see how far I'm gonna be lowballed. I may be joining you unlucky few users with a list of lost loves in your forum signatures.. should've stayed home and squirted some superglue in there!

[abscate]

I got spare straps , that’s an easy repair for a Mexican , Eastern European mechanic, or anyone with-Bob on the end of their name .

Guys named Sunshine won’t find a solution from Siri so they’ll total it. .

[Clemens]

Sorry to hear that. It always sucks to get into trouble because someone else is careless

[scot850]

Likewise, sorry to hear this happen. This happens way too often with our older cars getting written off due to the poor decisions and lack of attention of others. Hopefully it can be saved.

Neil.

[ToriWhite]

Dreading the ACV determination from the Insurance adjuster. Apparently they determine the valuation based on same make/model in the area.. Craiglist is only showing $500-1000 "as is" mystery box mechanic's specials.. Can't even find an 850 Manual transmission listed to reference searching nationwide..
Personally, I think my 850 is Priceless, but I'm struggling to find any documentation I can come to them with that would suggest it's more than $1,500..
Just imagine trying to find a manual Volvo 850, no engine issues, kept up oil maintenance, brakes + all the repairs and updates to keep it road worthy and then some etc.. for less than $2k
I wonder if they'd accept a signed 'petition of value' that I passed around this forum

[abscate]

Are you a no fault state? Keep that title close , don’t let them stamp it salvaged.

Basic good running transportation here is still $2500

[ToriWhite]

CA is an at fault state, and the offending party's insurance is the one working with me
~$4k valuation from similar makes/models in the area (not bad! Turns out CCC doesn't run off KBB/craigslist!), but.. insurance adjuster claimed $3.5k preexisting damage.. making the ACV.. much lower

$150 to replace the glovebox. It's sitting in the backseat, I pulled it the day before, slide it in + 5 screws and 1 minute of 'labor'.

Accident popped my right lens out of the headlight (It was on before the accident, I check that front corner every time before driving since that wheel is kinda leaky.. but; collision was on the other side of the vehicle, bad luck- another $150)

Front fender needs to be replaced, its pretty badly rusted. It's $60 from pick-n-pull, any mechanic's going to send their new guy to grab one and call it a day. OR, you can spend $820 to get OEM! For $820 I can buy a some 'mechanics special' volvo off craigslist and get both fenders, and extra parts to spare!

I try and reason with my adjuster on the glovebox: "I'm already overlooking so much on X Y Z, if I tack the glovebox back on we're going to have to jump through a bunch of hoops and I'm going to have to raise something else to keep my boss happy" I'm sorry, are you calculating the actual value of my vehicle, or playing a game of "find enough line items that add up to price point X"

Not surprising how they can get up to $3.5k like this.. don't know if they're going to budge much. At least the bid for scrap was ~$200, so I can bite the bullet, reregister as salvage and still walk away with a couple hundred.. maybe enough to fix my gas tank, at least?

[abscate]

California probably has aggressive protection laws against adjusters running up repairs to deduct value. You should be getting at least $2500 for a smogable, running car