Quote:
Originally Posted by Amir Ghadiri
I know we all want a new car if someone were to hit us, myself included, but in reality it's not always necessary. I see around $10-12k in damage, so you're fairly close to Wisconsin's 70% threshold. So far I see around $4k in rear end damage (including new trunk floor), $5-7k in front, as well as the new driver airbag. You will need all new front radiator supports and fender extensions, and possibly new front fender apron reinforcements (these can easily be hammered out but with the radiator supports already removed your shop may opt to replace them). The rear might need a slight pull if it crumpled at the left shock tower, but I don't think it did. A picture of the rear with the trunk closed would help a lot in this regard. I've rebuilt a few of these cars with similar damage so I am speaking just off experience, your car could very easily be rebuilt, but since you're so close to your state's threshold you should push for a total loss. As others have mentioned, pay a shop for half a day to do the initial tear down and find any hidden damage (there will be a lot). Take it to the most expensive body shop you can find for this service, and have them set as your primary repair facility. If they charge more for labor, your repair will will obviously go up. The liable party's insurance will be forced to pay whatever your body shop charges (within reason). This seems like your most realistic route to a total loss claim. Best of luck, I'm sorry you're being forced through this.
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Not exactly. The carrier owes to repair the car at the prevailing market rates for labor in the area. While an owner can always choose a more expensive shop, the difference in cost between the prevailing rate and the shop rate is the owner's problem and would not affect the total loss analysis, which only needs to reflect what the car
can be fixed for in that market.