Mom Hits a Tree... Think This is Bad, You Should See the Tree

[HubbaHubbaLife]

This'll be a fun thread.... My 95 yr old mom is fine but she did run her car into a tree. [Pic below] So she like most old ladies keeps her car forever and never need to drive much. ... this ones a 1995 Toyota Camry with 78K miles on it. Everything works [or did] and her local Va dealership has a service dude that always tries to buy it off her when she takes it in for oil changes etc.... Well, now I have a question for the RDP inmates. Do I try to sell it as is to the Toyota tech? Its BlueBooked at $1500. Do I pay the $500 deductible and get er fixed and try to sell it all prettied up?

Popcorns in microwave buddies.... let er rip

 

[TimeBandit]

that looks like it will cost more than it's worth to fix.

Time for mom to stop driving? or look for another senior owned desert gold sedan??

 

[zhandfull]

Probably get most by letting insurance total it out. Probably hard to find a low mileage comp. Can leverage that for top dollar payout possibly.

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

that looks like it will cost more than it's worth to fix.

Time for mom to stop driving? or look for another senior owned desert gold sedan??

Oh she aint gonna drive anymore... hell, I thought we discussed that a while back ha. Just wanted a friggin cantelope. Her place has a free shuttle. Just stubborn gal.

 

[TimeBandit]

2003 toyota camry le for sale by owner - Camarillo, CA - craigslist

Please reach out and I will respond shortly! Toyota Camry 2003 with only 104k miles! I'm the second owner and owned the car for 3+ years. Very recent new all tire change and front and back...

ventura.craigslist.org

 

[cofooter]

Sell as is, not worth the effort.......

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

2003 toyota camry le for sale by owner - Camarillo, CA - craigslist

Please reach out and I will respond shortly! Toyota Camry 2003 with only 104k miles! I'm the second owner and owned the car for 3+ years. Very recent new all tire change and front and back...

ventura.craigslist.org

Hmmmm... good thinking and I hadn't bothered to think to pull comps in Va. I found one thats asking $2650 with more body damage and twice mileage than hers prior to tree.
The womans sitting on a gold mine!

 

[rrrr]

You might want to throw on a paint match fender, bumper cover and headlight group from a junkyard.

I had offers to buy my '99 Camry in the $4K range before The Event. I'm still bent it blew up last December when I was running 85 MPH on US 75 coming out of downtown Dallas. It had just 185,000 miles on the clock.

Even though the hole in the block was from a piston, I've decided the failure might have been related to the driveway mechanic that changed the cam drive belt 3,000 miles before it let go.

<<<<<<----------< This guy.

 

[rmarion]

time for Mom to hang it up.... get her Uber CC..(I don't know of they even exist...she still needs freedom)

get the car fixed... pay deductible and SELL, SELL, SELL

 

[ChumpChange]

I know a hubcap place if you fix it.

 

[Orange Juice]

This'll be a fun thread.... My 95 yr old mom is fine but she did run her car into a tree. [Pic below] So she like most old ladies keeps her car forever and never need to drive much. ... this ones a 1995 Toyota Camry with 78K miles on it. Everything works [or did] and her local Va dealership has a service dude that always tries to buy it off her when she takes it in for oil changes etc.... Well, now I have a question for the RDP inmates. Do I try to sell it as is to the Toyota tech? Its BlueBooked at $1500. Do I pay the $500 deductible and get er fixed and try to sell it all prettied up?

Popcorns in microwave buddies.... let er rip

View attachment 1318272

That looks like a perfect car for a 16 y/o new driver. I suggest “giving” it to someone who can make good use of what’s left in it.

Duct tape and a used tire come to mine. Give it away.

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

time for Mom to hang it up.... get her Uber CC..(I don't know of they even exist...she still needs freedom)

get the car fixed... pay deductible and SELL, SELL, SELL

Ok so 1 for get it fixed and sell. Thanks

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

That looks like a perfect car for a 16 y/o new driver. I suggest “giving” it to someone who can make good use of what’s left in it.

Duct tape and a used tire come to mine. Give it away.

You don't know my sweet southern belle mom ha.... she don't "GIVE" away nuthin.

 

[C_J_J_C]

Oh she aint gonna drive anymore... hell, I thought we discussed that a while back ha. Just wanted a friggin cantelope. Her place has a free shuttle. Just stubborn gal.

If she is not going to drive again and the insurance is in her name......
Turn that sucker in. Nothing to lose.
Start by demanding it be rebuilt and it needs to be perfect. They will total it out but settle for a good number.

 

[Desert Whaler]

Fix it & sell it. Someone will get a cream puff Camry & you guys will get a little dough.

 

[LHC Kirby]

Do NOT take the insurance total loss settlement. Do your research on vehicle value of the condition before the tree.

I had a tundra and they put the value at something like $6000… My research, value went up to about $10,000. Long story, but research research the value.

 

[Markus]

That will buff right out.

 

[monkeyswrench]

The used car market is still stupid hot. I wouldn't bother fixing it, as you and her are opposite coasts right now. I would definitely fight insurance for replacement cost, not blue book $.

 

[Xring01]

If the deductable is $500, then get it fixed…

Then sell is for the going rate…

Stupid easy decision for me…

This car has less than 80K miles and will go to 400K… their is a huge demand for that.. for $500… easy $$$.

Especially with high interest rates, makes the value of that Camry go higher… Cash $$$ talks.

 

[outboard_256]

Insurance will total it out if you try and fix it. So pay the $500 and colllect a check for like $2k. Then buy back from insurance for like $250 and make it driveable and give it back to your mom until she hit something else. That's my vote.

 

[FreeBird236]

I had a 94, best Camry I ever had. With a quality repair, worth at least $4,000-$5,000

 

[stephenkatsea]

Glad your Mom is OK. The prior suggestion, if she's not going to drive any more then run it through her car insurance is a good one. It will be a net positive, likely a few thousand $$. Take your Mom on a nice vacation with those $$. Through the years who knows how much she's given that insurance company. Now, per their agreement, it's time for them to give back a little. After all, it is her money.

 

[02HoWaRd26]

I’d claim on insurance, let them fix or total. If they total it, buy back then sell to the guy who wants it.

 

[pronstar]

If thats the known history, I think that car would be worth more to me than comps.

That was the last generation of Camry before cost-cutting ruined much of the industry…it’ll last forever.

Geez if you fixed it I might be a buyer…seriously. Especially if it was a V6. But even if it’s a 4banger, I really need a runabout car that our au pair can use and something like this is perfect.

If the price is right I’d fly out and drive it home.

 

[BHC Vic]

My brother would probably buy it as is and use it to get to work and back. Too bad it’s so far

 

[H20 Toie]

Ha my mom can wreck a car way worse than your mom. if your going to hit something hit it head on

 

[Willie B]

… My mom who lived to be 97… Never drove …and the world was a safer place for it…

 

[ChumpChange]

Might as well claim it. Who cares if they increase the premium as she’s not gonna drive anymore and you’ll cancel it.

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

If thats the known history, I think that car would be worth more to me than comps.

That was the last generation of Camry before cost-cutting ruined much of the industry…it’ll last forever.

Geez if you fixed it I might be a buyer…seriously. Especially if it was a V6. But even if it’s a 4banger, I really need a runabout car that our au pair can use and something like this is perfect.

If the price is right I’d fly out and drive it home.

Ha Ha... man its in Va.... she is original owner however.

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

Ha my mom can wreck a car way worse than your mom. if your going to hit something hit it head on

View attachment 1318447

HeeHee... yep yours has more game than mine it looks like. I think this is my moms first accident ever... EVER, ha.... she actually was more concerned about the damage to the tree she scraped ha.

 

[rivermobster]

Ok so 1 for get it fixed and sell. Thanks

I wanna know what the pay will be.

THEN you can make a decision.

 

[rrrr]

I forgot to mention my '99 Camry suffered minor hail damage in 2016, and because I carried comp insurance, it was covered (unlike today, the coverage was cheap).

State Farm declared the car a total loss, and I bought it from them for $2,100. I drove it six more years before it done blowed up, spending about $550 per year for insurance, registration, and repairs.

These old Camrys are worth way more than book, because someone that's living on the edge can drive one for peanuts and still have a reliable ride.

 

[pronstar]

Ha Ha... man its in Va.... she is original owner however.

I’d drive 2 days for a cream puff

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

I wanna know what the pay will be.

THEN you can make a decision.

I found my policy on it... $200 deductible.

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

Ya gotta love the old gals fellas.... she had the 1995 window stickers in glove box....Too fun. 28 years later....

 

[rivermobster]

I found my policy on it... $200 deductible.

I think most of us are assuming the insurance company wants to total it?

How much did they offer you for, it in fact they did?

Or, are they Willing to fix it?

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

I think most of us are assuming the insurance company wants to total it?

How much did they offer you for, it in fact they did?

Or, are they Willing to fix it?

Great questions.... Geico appraisor will be out tomorrow or next day. Report back to thread.... knew this'd be fun!

Edited: Geico adjuster coming next week. More to follow....

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

Bump Update..... Geico appraiser came out. [Estimate attached] My sweet ole mom tells me a few years back she "tapped" her front in a parking lot and a nice guy helped her out by pushing down the hood. She thanked him and turns out he owns a local body shop and she kept his card. [Thats what lil ole ladies do] Well she told me she wanted to repay that nice mans favor and asked me can Geico tow the car to his shop. Sure I say. Geico comes out that day and takes it to that shop. I give this all a few days to settle with these guys but I'm emailing them both just letting them know I'm handling all this for my sweet ole 95 yr old mom at her request and I cc her on all communications.
So body shop has had car 3 days now. It occurs to me it'd be nice if after they fix things we could have em detail or clean it up a bit cause I'll be calling that Toyota service guy up and letting him know if he was serious about always wanting to buy it nows the time and go look it over and we can come to agreement. Well the body shop gal puts me on hold why she looks for car.... comes back on and tells me Geico totaled the vehicle. Ha. Ya don't say.... well, now its gonna get fun cause we got rains down in MX and I got nothing to do but jerk off and get into this.

This is a perfect RDP thread now fellas.... can't wait for everyones input.... let er rip!

NOTE: Book value is $1500. A couple of em online are advertised at $3-4500. This is a low mileage original owner car.
The ones I could find were twice her mileage.

edit: Added Geico estimate.

 

[4Waters]

What did the estimate come to

 

[SnoC653]

So the question is what coverage is on the vehicle; Replacement value or book value? Yes, to have a body shop do the work would total the car. Call a couple salvage yards and tell them the parts you need. Fender, inner fender, bumper/ with inner foam, and turn signal assembly. Possibly need a washer fluid reservoir. Give them the color code for the car (04M9 found on window sticker). They can round them up and you can throw them on fairly easily.

Re-looking at the picture, you also need a wheel and tire. Inner fender can be straightened. Hood might be tweaked just a bit (wouldn't worry about it), light for the bumper might have a cracked housing (epoxy it), fix it and sell it for $3-4K.

If you can find any reasonable comps, add the low mileage markup. Get the buy back price, the difference might pay for the parts. Then do the repairs and the sale money is money ahead. That color was very popular so there should not be a problem finding parts in the right color.

 

[pronstar]

Dibs, line stars behind me

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

What did the estimate come to

whoopsy... thanks. Just added it .. $1800

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

So the question is what coverage is on the vehicle; Replacement value or book value? Yes, to have a body shop do the work would total the car. Call a couple salvage yards and tell them the parts you need. Fender, inner fender, bumper/ with inner foam, and turn signal assembly. Possibly need a washer fluid reservoir. Give them the color code for the car (04M9 found on window sticker). They can round them up and you can throw them on fairly easily.

Re-looking at the picture, you also need a wheel and tire. Inner fender can be straightened. Hood might be tweaked just a bit (wouldn't worry about it), light for the bumper might have a cracked housing (epoxy it), fix it and sell it for $3-4K.

If you can find any reasonable comps, add the low mileage markup. Get the buy back price, the difference might pay for the parts. Then do the repairs and the sale money is money ahead. That color was very popular so there should not be a problem finding parts in the right color.

Ha.... naw, I'm not touching any repairs personally. Thanks though.

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

Dibs, line stars behind me

Still?

 

[4Waters]

Looks like the repair is only 50% of actual value. Send them the cars you have found and tell them to find an equil replacement for 1500. They will either pay you 4500 for the car or they will repair it.

 

[Shlbyntro]

sounds about right. some insurance companies have a minimum payout amount. regardless of the cars "value." I think my last one was minimum $3500? If Geico had something similar, just take it and be done.

but if they try and dick you fir the $1500, either fight it up or tell them you retain the vehicle. Take the payout to fix it or pocket the payout and sell it to service guy for another 1500 as is.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

whoopsy... thanks. Just added it .. $1800

There were several things in there that didn't NEED to get done that could easily widle that cost down a bit. I'd take the total of the car, buy it back, and fix it with the necessities. Should have a great, reliable car for less than $1,500. Can't go wrong there.

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

Looks like the repair is only 50% of actual value. Send them the cars you have found and tell them to find an equil replacement for 1500. They will either pay you 4500 for the car or they will repair it.

Liking that version....

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

sounds about right. some insurance companies have a minimum payout amount. regardless of the cars "value." I think my last one was minimum $3500? If Geico had something similar, just take it and be done.

but if they try and dick you fir the $1500, either fight it up or tell them you retain the vehicle. Take the payout to fix it or pocket the payout and sell it to service guy for another 1500 as is.

Hmmmmm.... thats got some bumps & curves in the explanation. i may have to read this one without my daily dose of the flower

 

[4Waters]

Liking that version....

It's a well written sheet actually, when I was in the body business I would have loved to get a sheet like that from the ins. company without having to be an asshole