Elantra vs Mack Truck

[lcoughey]

If you ever wondered what it was like to be waiting to turn left and look into the rearview mirror to see a Mack Truck about to run into you, let me tell you that I don't recommend it. Fortunately the impact was minor, yet the damage is apparently more severe than it looks with the quote coming in at over $11,000 CAD.

This is not a good time to be needing a new car. A used 2020 Elantra with about 25,000KM is selling for about $26,000 CAD, while I could order a brand new 2023 Elantra for about $25,000 CAD, if I want to wait 6-8 months for one to come in on order.

Imagine if mobile phone sales were like this?

iPhone 14 - receive in 6-8 months for $1000
iPhone 10 - same day purchase for $1100

Anyway, I get to drive a free rental (Honda Civic) until the insurance company decides to get back to me about a payout. I've heard that it can take more than a month to hear back.

 

[phaZed]

That'll buff out.


Glad you're ok bud! Sorry about your car. Always hard to tell for sure, but you might get a repair out of that.

 

[britechguy]

So sorry you've had to have this experience. Given the amount and nature of the damage I'll be shocked if the car is not totaled.

 

[Markverhyden]

Bummer. But it just reinforces the fact that cars aren't made to be easily repairable when it comes to body damage. Some guy in a little Honda coupe, Civic if I remember, rear ended my Dad in his Cadillac Fleetwood which has a massive rear bumper. My dad's Cadi literally needed no work, just some marks on the surface of the bumper. The Civic was totaled.

 

[lcoughey]

I'm just thankful that he was barely moving. He could have easily driven right over me.

 

[timeshifter]

Glad you're OK. Sheet metal and plastic is easier to repair (or replace) than skin and bones.

 

[NETWizz]

That is shocking to me that an Elantra is worth that much. If it were me, I would probably jump ship to something that wasn't made by Hyundai, but my first car was a Hyundai Accent in 2002. Pretty sure they said, "we build 'em better than we used too" and that is still how they market, and there is some truth.

Recently, I know they Hyundai or Kia suffered oil burning and metal fragments in the engine. I know years ago they had terrible transmissions.

I do not know how it works in Canada vs the USA for insurance pay outs, but I can tell you it has been a bad experience anytime dealing with the process in the USA last time I was in accident and the time before that. Long story short at least here in the USA insurance companies undervalue every claim.

Let's start with your rental. If this were the USA, it would depend upon who was at fault and your coverage if you got a rental and what type. Basically, if the other driver is at fault it falls under liability and their insurance must pay for your rental for a reasonable amount of time though there is technically no firm date set for how long they must pay, but it depends on how long repair or replacement takes. Typically what they do is get you a rental that is not comparable to your car. For example if you have a car that is in a class of cars that would rent for $50 per day they would probably pay for a $30/day rental. If your policy is paying or fault is not determined, you only get a rental if you have that coverage on your policy and up to the amount in your policy and only up to 30 days max. This is referred to as loss of use.

Here is the next problem... if your car is repairable, they like to send it to the cheapest place possible then pay for used or after-market "cheap" parts. They even have a company called LKQ (Like Kind Quality) that delivers them junkyard parts. This is actually fine for an unblemished factory part, but often they will send a cheap/broken junk part and some body shop slaps it on and makes it fit anyway because they don't always care. This can leave you with repair related diminishment of value.

Lastly, if they repair your care perfect it is still worth thousands of dollars less. Let's say your Elantra is worth $25,000 CAD pre-crash and after repair it is worth only $18,000 CAD. That is an inherent diminishment of value that if there were two identical cars one wrecked and one not, which used car would you buy? A: you pay less for the one that was in an accident! At any rate, it stands to reason that the only way to restore the value and make you whole is to also write you a check of $7,000 CAD AFTER repairing your car! Instead they like to pretend there is no such thing.

Long story short this happened to me in 2014 when an at-fault driver hit my vehicle, which at the time was worth about $37,000 USD doing about $22,000 USD damage to it. First thing they did was try to put me in a $20/day vehicle then basically told me they would never pay for the $50/day rental equivalent to what I was driving. They did actually pay for the $22,000 repair though initially they tried to pay only $20,500 for the repair claiming "betterment." The remaining $1,500 on that came in arbitration a few months later. When I demanded Loss of Use and Diminishment of Value be paid they tried to settle that for about $2,000 even though I could prove the value loss was over $9,000 after it was fixed. I had GEICO adjusters who would call with this phrase, "How could you use $1,000 today?" Me: "No". Well how are you paying your bills? ... Me: Online.

They didn't take it seriously until I sued their driver in 2015 after getting tired of messing around being low-balled. They drug it out changing lawyers right before each court date sending a different lawyer who each time would say, "the last lawyer couldn't make it... the file was just turned over to me. I don't know anything. Please give me time." Worked EVERY TIME for three years!

After three years the judge ordered defendants to a settlement mediation. I got $12,500 before fees, costs, attorneys. I think I really got around $7,000 in later 2018 for an accident early 2015! In the documents, all of this ended up costing GEICO around $16,000 AFTER the $22,000 in repairs where I ultimately got $7,000 because I refused to take $2,000 when GEICO owed me $9,000. They simply will NOT acknowledge that they owe property damage for the loss of value and literally had an expert witness testify he thinks cars are worth more money when wrecked! Conclusion: People can be paid to say anything.

The stupid irony is that they spent $38,000 repairing and paying diminishment of value on a car worth $37,000 new. It would have been cheaper to just buy me a brand new, identical car the day after the accident.

I hope it is better in Canada. From experience, unless they are actually making you whole and operating in good-faith to do what is just and reasonable, simply do not accept what is offered. You KNOW what it costs. i.e. If this car is unrepairable you know they owe you $25,000 CAD + taxes, registration etc., so if they offer you $18,000 refuse.

 

[nlinecomputers]

If you ever wondered what it was like to be waiting to turn left and look into the rearview mirror to see a Mack Truck about to run into you, let me tell you that I don't recommend it. Fortunately the impact was minor, yet the damage is apparently more severe than it looks with the quote coming in at over $11,000 CAD.

This is not a good time to be needing a new car. A used 2020 Elantra with about 25,000KM is selling for about $26,000 CAD, while I could order a brand new 2023 Elantra for about $25,000 CAD, if I want to wait 6-8 months for one to come in on order.

Imagine if mobile phone sales were like this?

iPhone 14 - receive in 6-8 months for $1000
iPhone 10 - same day purchase for $1100

Anyway, I get to drive a free rental (Honda Civic) until the insurance company decides to get back to me about a payout. I've heard that it can take more than a month to hear back.

View attachment 14069

Great image for your data recovery business….LOL

Glad you are uninjured.

 

[lcoughey]

I think the insurance industry in Canada is more heavily regulated and probably more expensive as a result.

For me, the other guy was clearly at fault. So, insurance said that they'd cover the rental for as long as it would take. For whatever reason, things are backed up here really bad. The repair centre that they sent me to are the ones who quoted over $11,000 to repair it and tagged it as a total loss. So, now I wait, driving my rental until I get more details about a payout.

As for the rental, those companies are having a very hard time keeping inventory too, likely because of very slow response for insurance claims. So, the first day, I took what I could get....a little Mazda CX3...my back rubbed against the door and my belly against the steering wheel to get into the car. It was horrible, but better than nothing. On Wednesday, I went back and swapped out for a civic, which is a better equivalent to my Elantra as far as size. While the Honda's are supposed to be better than Hyundai's and this one is 9 years newer than my 2013, I like the interior of my Elantra better. The newer Civic has some fancy bells and whistles that didn't exist in 2013, but I'm not a fan of its interior.

As for what they offer, I suspect that there isn't much wiggle room. They base it on the value of the car before damage and not on the cost to replace it. I'll have to cross that bridge when it gets here. I don't mind going a few extra months payment free.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Time to talk to a lawyer.

 

[lcoughey]

It is funny how Canadians and Americans think differently. I think lawyer as a last resort.

 

[britechguy]

I think lawyer as a last resort.

I do, too.

The fact is that, barring having an "agreed value" policy, which is generally only available for collector vehicles, insurance always pays out at the "book value" for a vehicle, which is generally always well below replacement cost. We all know that the moment you drive a brand new vehicle off the lot it takes a huge depreciation hit. Covid reversed that formula, but here in the USA according to what I've been reading lately the days of selling your used car for far more than you paid for it are now over.

And unless you are someone with deep pockets and have a lawyer that is somehow the exception to every rule, the insurance companies all have legal departments that have "been there, done that" so many times that any probability of beating then is very remote.

There's always wiggle room regarding valuation, but that room doesn't go to replacement value in most cases.

 

[phaZed]

insurance always pays out at the "book value" for a vehicle, which is generally always well below replacement cost.

They will pay out a replacement cost, but you have to deny the book value (and maybe go to court).

My wife had a 1995 Lexus ES300 that had been in our family since 1996... it got t-boned by a red light runner.

Long story short, They wanted to payout $1100 (book) for that car, but there was not a run & drive 1995 Lexus for less than $2800 anywhere within 200 miles. We presented that to our lawyer (last resort) and the court agreed to $2800.

 

[britechguy]

They will pay out a replacement cost, but you have to deny the book value (and maybe go to court).

And then you have to figure out whether, in the end, that's going to cost you more than you gain. I am presuming in your case that it did not. But it's awfully easy to burn through, in your example, $1700 in no time once you start involving a lawyer and court costs (unless you can get those back).

There is now no doubt in my mind that the old phrase, "Insurance is a racket," is in actuality true. And not due to auto insurance, but a long ago disaster with homeowner's insurance.

 

[phaZed]

Sorry, the lawyer was a last resort for other issues.. though the way I typed it, it does sound like we got a lawyer "because of the low-ball offer". We had a lawyer throughout the process as the person that hit us was on a temp work visa (overstayed) and had no insurance - and skipped on back to Argentina. It was the boyfriend's car.. it was a mess.