Is This the End?

[vt_maverick]

Yeah, not too worried about hurting the other driver at this point - the guy already lost an eye and probably has a lot of facial scarring, plus the police called me this morning to let me know I would be receiving a subpoena to testify at his trial soon.

They will go after the owner's insurance company, but the extent to which they do so... who knows.

[circmand]

Not the haha kind but the wierd kind

The insurance company will nickle and dime you and try to pay as little as possible. But that same money isnt worth it when they have to do the work of hunting the guys assets down and getiing reimbursed.

[vt_maverick]

if you do end up hunting for a replacement......have you thought about the ultra lowmileage one that pops up every so often in San Francisco....kinda hi dollar but the low mileage and a serious cash offer may get the seller mootivated...yes i realize its not a foxfire

White (Victory or otherwise) is probably my least favorite color for a car. Works for sports cars in Miami, just not my thing. No way am I going to trade my favorite color and a low remaining loan balance for my least favorite color and a much higher loan payment.

You would think that someone would have bought it by now though, even at that price.

[rsteinmetz70112]

Checking NADA Valuation, I noticed that under the Clean Retail the NADA site says that vehicles in exceptionally good condition and exceptionally low mileage may be worth significantly more than Clean Retail. (The is no similar note under Clean Trade In )

• VXs for Sale - Mileage - Asking Price - NADA - Over Under
• Foxfire VX 1 - 55,000 miles - $10,900 - $9637 - +$87
• Your VX - 73,000 miles - $?????? - $9550 - $0
• Foxfire VX 2 - 90,000 miles - $11,900 - $8925 - -$712
• Foxfire VX 3 - 92,400 miles - $9,750 - $8725 - -$912
• Foxfire VX 4 - 117,460 miles - $9,495 - $7900 - -$1737

Comparing the NADA Clean Retail prices of the different VX's for sale out there shows that NADA at least places a pretty high premium on low mileage. For example the one Richard has with 90,000 miles is worth according to NADA $712 less than yours, assuming comparable condition. On the other hand the VX with 55,000 miles is only worth $87 more than yours but has 18,000 fewer miles. Oddly the 2,400 miles difference between 90,000 and 92,400 is worth $200.

I assumed that all of them were 2000 model year. using the actual model year may change the results somewhat. Richard's happens to be a 2000 also.

[vt_maverick]

Yeah I went back and edited my original post a few minutes ago, oddly ALL the Foxfires currently for sale are year 2000 models. What a weird coincidence, certainly makes for an easy comparison.

Three of the four have clean AutoCheck histories, the odd man out being Richard's which has frame damage listed. You almost have to remove his VX from the comparison because it's such a statistical outlier, both in terms of documented history and price.

[rsteinmetz70112]

Although Richard does do a very through prep job, and gets people to pay for his work. Leaving out the high priced VXs from someone who specializes in them seems to be counterproductive in this situation. Don't negotiate with yourself.

Note that all of the asking prices are significantly higher than NADA. I'd be tempted to call a couple (or tell the adjuster to call them) and see if they would take NADA, but then I get obsessive.

I am always nervous about buying any used car because I don't know the history. I have paid more to repair a car I knew than it was theoretically worth, because I was confident of the rest of the car. It worked out for me.

[WormGod]

Well, lets just say, I may know of a S/C'd ebony. Located mid-atlantic.

[VXjunky]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDN9y2vTdUs

[Gussie2000]

$10,000 is the number you should play around with the adjuster.

[tom4bren]

Yeah, not too worried about hurting the other driver at this point - the guy already lost an eye and probably has a lot of facial scarring, plus the police called me this morning to let me know I would be receiving a subpoena to testify at his trial soon.

They will go after the owner's insurance company, but the extent to which they do so... who knows.

The one thing that you do NOT want to do is start to feel sorry for this turkey. He has caused you significant 'pain & suffering' and could possibly cause you financial loss as well. You were involved in an accident that was NOT an accident. He deliberately drove a vehicle while impared knowing that under the best of circumstances, he'd get away with it ... but with his track record most probably he'd be pulled over AGAIN ... but under the worst circumstance, he'd kill someone. Drunk drivers never plan to kill anyone but nobody will ever convince me that they don't recognize the possibility exists.

Have I ever driven drunk? Yup, Once. I was able to recognize my own imparement (even in my stupor) that I swore I never would again ... & I haven't.

In my opinion, this guy's loss of an eye and facial scarring is a light penalty considering that he did everything in his power to kill you & your daughter.

OK, I'll get off the soapbox now. On to more entertaining topics. I'll have the upgraded hitch ready for you as soon as you are back in a VX.

[Gussie2000]

The one thing that you do NOT want to do is start to feel sorry for this turkey. He has caused you significant 'pain & suffering' and could possibly cause you financial loss as well. You were involved in an accident that was NOT an accident. He deliberately drove a vehicle while impared knowing that under the best of circumstances, he'd get away with it ... but with his track record most probably he'd be pulled over AGAIN ... but under the worst circumstance, he'd kill someone. Drunk drivers never plan to kill anyone but nobody will ever convince me that they don't recognize the possibility exists.

Have I ever driven drunk? Yup, Once. I was able to recognize my own imparement (even in my stupor) that I swore I never would again ... & I haven't.

In my opinion, this guy's loss of an eye and facial scarring is a light penalty considering that he did everything in his power to kill you & your daughter.

OK, I'll get off the soapbox now. On to more entertaining topics. I'll have the upgraded hitch ready for you as soon as you are back in a VX.

X2

I feel no sympathy for those who allegedly goes behind the wheel and causing pain,damages and loss of people's life.

He lost an eye ? I guess he deserved that,lucky enough it was only material damages.

[vt_maverick]

Trust me I don't feel bad about it at all. I won't say that the guy "got what he deserved" but as you said Tom he definitely made choices that determined his own fate (drinking, no seat belt, probably driving too fast, etc.). I was just in the right place at the wrong time, although you never know, if I hadn't hit and stopped him he might have hit the ditch sideways and rolled over in the field a few times. No seat belt + rollover = high likelihood of being killed rather than maimed.

[vt_maverick]

Met with the adjuster today, seemed like a nice and very knowledgeable guy. He said he'd done 3 or 4 VX's in his 7 years on the job, including one when he was actually training to become a certified adjuster. I was surprised when he volunteered that he knew how rare they were and how hard it would be to replace mine, especially since it looked to be in good shape before the accident. He confirmed that the valuation process IS a negotiation between he and I, so there must be some room for wiggle. Obviously that was very encouraging to hear.

I also learned something very interesting about the total loss (yes it is now officially a total loss) process in Virginia. In what has to be a rare act of wisdom by lawmakers, Virginia law forbids insurers from assessing the value of total loss vehicles because it represents a conflict of interest. In other words, the insurance company is liable to cover the damages or total value of the car, so it is absolutely in the insurer's best interest (as we've discussed at length in this thread) to undervalue the car. So instead of allowing that to happen, Virginia mandates that insurers take pictures of the vehicle, record all pertinent information (mileage, year, VIN, etc.) and send that information to independent 3rd party companies who specialize in valuing used vehicles. The adjuster said the company that they are required to use will take that information, research the book value for the vehicle, then pull comparable listings from used car sites to determine the real cost to replace the vehicle. He said it usually takes a day or two to get the price projection back, at which point we can begin negotiating a final value.

Overall I'm very encouraged.

[JoFotoz]

Thats pretty good news ...especially if it comes to negotiating.

Third party valuation sounds good...and the adjuster seems clued in already.

Do you have an option to retain (purchase?) the 'remains'..
...or maybe take a SMALL reduction in payout... and keep it for spares?

If thats something you'd consider of course...

jo

[vt_maverick]

Good question Jo, forgot to add his comments on that topic. I did ask about the possibility of buying it back for spare parts, and he said the process is as follows:

1. We clear it with my lienholder first (he said banks/credit unions could be "difficult" on the topic of allowing their borrower to buy the vehicle - maybe they're concerned people might wreck their vehicles in order to get out from under a loan payment?)
2. GEICO posts pictures and a description of my VX on a national salvage auction site and solicits bids from yards for 3 days
3. At the end of the three days I can buy the truck for the same amount as the highest salvage yard bid
4. If I choose to buy it back, GEICO just subtracts the salvage price from the total value of the vehicle (less the outstanding loan payoff of course)

A basic example for clarification: VX is valued at $10K, I owe the credit union $5K on it, and the highest salvage yard bid is $1K. GEICO cuts a check to the credit union for $5K and a check to me for $4K and then I tow the VX back to my place.

I'm going to call my credit union tomorrow morning, and assuming they're okay with it (I really think they will be, it's a small town CU and I've been a member for over a decade) I'll have GEICO press forward with getting salvage bids. I can always refuse to buy it if the bid is too high, but there is a LOT of stuff on my VX that's in good shape and would make for either great spares or lucrative sales.