My Brother lives in North Carolina. His wife was hit from behind in her 2001 Monte Carlo with 25K miles. (They purchased new)The car was hit HARD. Damage between $4K and ?. Car drives but pulls badly. Could have frame damage...they only took a quick look. Here's the question..<br>They owe $17K and Kelly's blue book is $12K. HE bought a new car, and he wants a new car. The other driver is clearly at fault. Where does My brother stand LEAGALLY???<br>Can he demand a new car or at the minimum can he demand them to pay his car off??? He doesn't want his car fixed as #1. it will NEVER be the same, and #2. it has a greatly deminished value if it does get fixed (ie. Carfax)<br>Could someone in the know please repond...Thanks alot!!! ???<br>

 

dont have a whole lot of experience as i have avoided alot of collisions instead of having them. But this is what I know. You can negotiate with ur insurance company sometimes. If the car is not fixed to ur standards dont except it. If they were to total the car you(brother or whom ever) would be responsible for the different between what the insurance company would pay and what is owed. they have insurance you can buy for this too. You would then have to seek the difference from the other drive/his insurance.

 

Your brother is entitled to full retail value of the exact same car in the area where he lives plus the 3% vehicle sales tax in NC. I have been through this before. If they are valuing the car at alot less as you are saying, tell them to find you the exact same car and purchase it for him. They must do that if he wishes. If he has done all the services himself then make sure they get him one with all service records on the car, since he could give an affadavit that the services were done properly on his. They (ins) do not have to pay off his loan but they must give him the &quot;Retail replacement value&quot; of his car. This includes all dealer fees, tag transfer fees, tax, title, etc. I hope this helps if I can do more PM me, I am waiting on my truck to be fixed from a fire now.

 

Good luck, stick with what you feel is right. Tell your brother to be prepared to haggle to get what he wants. We just went through that with a KIA. The wife got hit and totalled it. It was a new 2002, three months old, 2500 miles. The sticker was $19,500 we paid $17,500. First amount for total, $15,200. Tried to talk them up, no luck. Went through our insurance and got them to go up to $16,700 including tax. We will continue to make the payment for a couple of months to pay the remainder. They do not have to find an exact car for you. They will find an average for comparable cars sold in the last three months in your area (good luck). It may be even less than KBB or NADA value. They will not pay dealer fees. A 100K warranty was given to the original purchaser of a KIA. The second owner will get a 60k warranty, unless they pay an additional $1000. I tried to get this added to the value, neither insurance would budge on this one. The next car they purchase they can ask for GAP insurance (it covers the difference if your payoff is higher than the total and pays the deductible if its your fault). We got it with our new Mustang for $300. A little peace of mind after going through that. I feel for your brother. It sucks! The wifes been out of work for a month now and we are out about $2000 for the car. We still have yet to settle for lost wages, wife is still in therapy. It wasn't even our fault! Tell your brother that it's like buying a car, you can talk the price up. He can start by looking for comparables himself. Make copies of ads and give them to the adjusters. If he doesn't get a fair deal, he can go to arbitration. The decision there will be final. You wouldn't have anything to loose. Probably not much to gain either, though. Hopefully, no one was hurt too bad. (BTW don't ever buy a KIA, ask me, I'll tell).

 

Here is a nice twist...My brother got the &quot;Smart BUY&quot; program when he bought his Monte Carlo. He called GM and they said they will give the full pre arranged amount back even though it has been badly damaged. The car will need to be repaired properly first of course. He wanted to get something different at the end of the term anyway, So I guess that works!<br>Thanks for all of your advice!!!