It's official--the car has been totaled

[MissMillie]

Which is what I had "heard" yesterday and what has prompted me to cancel my wedding trip.

Gotta get the kid into reliable transportation, and quickly so that I can stop paying rental charges.

[Haole Girl]

1. Oh no!

I'm so sorry you have to cancel your trip. :-(

[dembotoz]

2. yep dealing with same thing

mine was totaled on 1/23
final word not long after that.

shopping for a diff car sucks.

[Kali]

3. a little story

about the car I am driving right now. Don't know what happened to yours, but "totaled" is pretty damn arbitrary. In my case the car was my sister's - she got bumped on the passenger side by a guy pulling out of a parking spot that didn't see her as she was driving slowly down the street. Made a scrape/dent along both doors on that side. The car was 15 years old so the value was lower than the repairs would have cost and the Insurance Co declared it totaled. Title got transferred as a crush then reinspected as safe. Same insurance company is covering it again. And I am happily driving it as the gas mileage is WAY better than the big truck or van.

We throw away a lot of things in our culture rather than fixing them or just not giving a shit about looks. I have no problem driving a car with a scrape/dent in the doors.

What I am saying is - it may be worth fighting the insurance company to keep the title/vehicle in your possession - have an INDEPENDENT mechanic look at it if there is any doubt. Of course if there IS real damage to the vehicle then that is a different matter, but cosmetic damage to the body is EXPENSIVE to fix. Who says you have to fix it?

[mikeytherat]

4. Hear hear!

A classic BMW of ours was declared totaled, but I bought it back from the ins. co., rebuilt it and go it inspected and approved, and it is on the road today, still insured by the co. that totaled it!

mikey_the_rat

[SeattleGirl]

5. Delete. Dupe.

[SeattleGirl]

6. I agree, Kali

Back in 2001, I was rear ended by a pick up truck. Lots of damage to the back end of the car. I took it in for an estimate on the cost to repair it, and it was expensive -- $8500. The insurance company wanted to total it, but since I had just bought it 3 months prior, I did not want that at all. I talked to them, and they finally agreed to go ahead an fix it. I'm still driving that car.

Definitely get a second opinion, MissMillie.

[MissMillie]

7. I don't have time to fight the insurance company

Right now I'm paying out of pocket for a rental. We need to get him into a car RIGHT NOW.

[Kali]

8. I understand - like I said I don't know what condition the car is in

is it drivable at all?

Often there are lower rate rental places than the big name places as well - and weekly rates can be as cheap as a couple of regular "days".

My sympathies, though: kids + vehicles = major headaches, hell either one alone is pretty aggravating sometimes.