my one love got totaled

[luv2xlr836]

I was hoping somebody coud help me out one last time with my supra. It got totaled the other day when some ignorant drive was speeding in the shoulder lane and hit the front right driver side as i was making a left in front of stopped traffic waiting for a light to go into a parking lot. (someone waved me to trun in front of them) My first dillema here is that the other guys insurance company is saying im partially at fault for the accident because i made a left "when it wasnt safe". Are they trying to save themselves money because i would belevie if someone is using an improper lane to pass traffic and hits someone, it would be 100% theyre fault. The police statement describes just how i told you minus the speeding part. How can i prove that the accident isnt my fault (i have no collision insuranse btw) My second dillema is that they are valuing my car for basically next to notihng. I have a 90 mk3 turbo, 154000 miles but a rebuilt head, mint condition inside and out except for scratch in the 3 pc spoiler/hatch and quarter ( a little). I most likely could of got over 5000 for the car if i sold it before the crash. How can i prove to them that supras are worth more then what kbb says or w.e program they use to determing car value. I just dont wanna end up getting screwed, and not have my supra....any suggestions would be appreciated

[flyinMKIV]

Unfortunately there really is no way to "fool" them into thinking that KBB is wrong. You could be able to use the NADA book, it's what banks use to look up the value of cars and what not for a loan. They are a little bit higher than KBB but I don't know if it will help you. If at any case, you could buy the vehicle back and do the repairs yourself if it came to that.

[jdmccright]

The other driver is clearly at fault if he was using the shoulder illegally...it should have been listed on the accident report as 100% against him. Does the shoulder turn into a right turn lane at the intersection? If not, photos of the intersection sent to the insurance would prove to them he as using the lane illegally whichever way he intended to go...straight or right. Speed may have been a factor and the officer should have done the investigation of tire skids to provide evidence.

I swear if I were a cop on my normal commute route I'd stop about 20 people a day doing this me-first maneuver.

Unless you buy insurance that specifically covers add-ons and aftermarket components such as stereos, custom wheels and the like (which is available) the insurer is only obligated to cover the FMV or the vehicle listed in KBB or NADA...whichever they use. I learned that lesson the hard way too when I put in a nice stereo in my car, only to have it stolen and not get one penny from them. As FlyinKKV suggested, you could buy it back from the insurer and fix it if the repair estimates are low enough, but remember that some states require that these vehicle's titles have a "Salvage" notation...significantly reducing their value. Do some research first on this. You could also buy another and transfer the salvageable parts to it....give a bone stock totaled car to the insurers. Good luck!