[Marty]

Guy pulled a U-turn in front of me. Original 2011 with about 65K miles. Has anyone gone through this with insurance, I'm worried they'll low-ball me on compensation. It was loaded with NAV, camera, everything except the leather seats. NADA says $11,275 but checking dealerships around here it looks like about $13,500 is more like it. Plus 8% sales tax in CA. Other guy's fault 100% but going through my insurance for now. I think he has minimum liability of $5k.

They haven't called me with an offer yet, but I'm afraid I'm going to get the short end of the stick.

Secondary question, do the later Gen. 1 Volts have CarPlay or better cell phone integration? Price bump to a Gen 2 is a bit much for me.

Anyone want to buy it from insurance for salvage? Located in Santa Barbara.

Airbags didn't deploy, no one hurt in either car, and OnStar didn't make a call. Car still boots up but won't engage motor.

 

[saltsman]

Sorry... I feel for you. Life happens....

Secondary question, do the later Gen. 1 Volts have CarPlay or better cell phone integration?

Nope. Gen 2 only. 2014 got an upgrade to the MyLink, which integrates pretty will with Siri, but is still crap.

 

[!arry4pyro]

I feel for you, sad to see one of the original 2000 gone. I suggest checking out a new Volt, the incentives are currently really high. Rydell is discounting $5700. Add the tax credit and Calif rebate and the cost of a new Volt is pretty attractive.

Volt #1969.

 

[Volt779]

Glad you you're unscathed! Fortunately a good 2012/2013 with low miles can be had for around $12/$13k.

 

[llninja]

Unfortunately, even if they give you the higher amount you listed, it doesn't give you a new volt, only a good used one. People never make out well with insurance payouts since you have to go through the hassle of finding a new car, either brand new or used. You might be surprised, it might not be totaled and they might just repair it. I've had two front-end collisions each costing about $3600 apiece in repairs. But if it is indeed totaled and they give you a payment, i'd seriously consider finding a nice used ELR as an upgrade.

 

[BAZINGA]

And fight for the "tax credit" value. If your state allows you to deduct the trade-in value from the price of a new vehicle and pay less sales tax your entitled to that as well. Here in Illinios I'd pay 6.75% sales tax. So if I got $13K as a trade I'd save $875 dollars.

Fight for that.

 

[llninja]

And fight for the "tax credit" value. If your state allows you to deduct the trade-in value from the price of a new vehicle and pay less sales tax your entitled to that as well. Here in Illinios I'd pay 6.75% sales tax. So if I got $13K as a trade I'd save $875 dollars.

Fight for that.

Is there any way to fight for the fed tax credit? When we buy a new volt, the value immediately drops by at least $7500 because another buyer can usually get the volt with the tax credit. That $7500 haircut seems to be baked into used car prices with the assumption that the discount would be passed onto the next owner.

 

[edaniel]

I have a 2014 volt, use an iPhone and when I hold the handset button down for 5 seconds or more I can use Siri, send a text message, etc.

 

[Billtphotoman]

Marty,

I am very sad to hear about your car being totaled but hopefully you are fine. Sadly it doesn't too much damage for cars to be totaled these days due to the expense of repairs. Hopefully you can find a good replacement because the early Gen 1 Volts seem to be the most reliable.

 

[firehawk72]

Guy pulled a U-turn in front of me. Original 2011 with about 65K miles. Has anyone gone through this with insurance, I'm worried they'll low-ball me on compensation. It was loaded with NAV, camera, everything except the leather seats. NADA says $11,275 but checking dealerships around here it looks like about $13,500 is more like it. Plus 8% sales tax in CA. Other guy's fault 100% but going through my insurance for now. I think he has minimum liability of $5k.

They haven't called me with an offer yet, but I'm afraid I'm going to get the short end of the stick.

Secondary question, do the later Gen. 1 Volts have CarPlay or better cell phone integration? Price bump to a Gen 2 is a bit much for me.

Anyone want to buy it from insurance for salvage? Located in Santa Barbara.

Airbags didn't deploy, no one hurt in either car, and OnStar didn't make a call. Car still boots up but won't engage motor.

Good luck and I am glad you were not hurt. As we all understand, the whole purpose of insurance is to make you "whole" again. It is not to put you in a better car or a worse car, but a car like the one you were driving. KBB and NADA is a good place to start. Price Volts that were in about the same condition and mileage and equipment to see what they are selling for. Ebay is great for that. Doing that will put you right where you should be. No matter how you look at it, it still sucks though.

 

[trm2]

Insurance companies don't use NADA guides. Be prepared for them to say closer to 9k. In other words, be prepared to argue.

 

[BAZINGA]

Is there any way to fight for the fed tax credit? When we buy a new volt, the value immediately drops by at least $7500 because another buyer can usually get the volt with the tax credit. That $7500 haircut seems to be baked into used car prices with the assumption that the discount would be passed onto the next owner.

The OP's "used value" most likely reduced by the $7500 federal tax credit. But then if he replaces it with a pre-owned Gen II it's factored into pre-owned pricing and if he buys new he'll most likely get the $7500 on it's own merits. But that's just a guess on how this will play out, the OP needs to do his homework and be prepared to do battle with the insurance company.

 

[DonC]

So sorry to hear about this. You seem to be OK which is the most important outcome.

There were very few differences between newer and later generation one Volts. The battery got a little larger and the cars got remote entry. No Apple Play or Car Play or anything like that. Plus there were issues with the heating system in 2012 or 2013. The good news is that this generation was built like a tank.

The biggest problem will be finding a "good" copy. Used cars can be problematic. I'd look for a private sale first. Low mileage and service records should provide a good basis for evaluation.

 

[Ztirffritz]

Did you have an HOV sticker? I had a friend turn in a leased Volt and they adjusted his trade-in value because he had a CalDOT HOV sticker on it that allowed him to travel in the HOV lanes on the highways. Apparently those stickers are very valuable. You might use that for leverage as well if it is applicable.

 

[freshcut]

I highly doubt the HOV stickers add any value anymore since they removed the limitation on how many can be issued.

 

[Dakster]

Insurance company is supposed to give you retail value + registration + taxes back on the vehicle... Our car was totaled a few years ago. We got really low balled too... Fought and fought... Asked them to show me where I could buy that car with those options, mileage, in the conditions it was in (just put new tires on it), for anywhere NEAR what they were offering. I sent them car ad after car ad and from places like carmax where you can't negotiate with them. It boiled down to find me another car I can purchase for what you are giving me or give me $XXXX for mine. Eventually and after a phone call to the insurance commissioner, I got close to what was fair. The other stickler was the insurance company went in and pulled data from the "black box" while the car was still mine, without getting our permission or a subpoena. It still was thousands less than NADA retail... But better than wholesale.

I have (and had at the time) State Farm mutual... Wasn't like I had mike and jim's cheap auto insurance...

You do have the problem that they will not give you more than what you can replace the car for.... I suggest you start shopping for your comparable car. Like llninja said - they may fix it. They have probably close to $7500-$8500 to fix it before it has to be totaled, assuming a decent pay off if it is totaled. The fact that the airbags didn't deploy is a good sign it could be fixed. Airbags are expensive and that is a lot of times what pushes the car to be totaled.

 

[!arry4pyro]

Some info you might want to consider.

http://www.autotrader.com/car-news/crash-course-for-coping-with-a-totaled-car-168401

 

[ampera_jed]

It's a bit sad that a bump like that writes off a car these days. Looks like you made an effective response, but cars with high tech loaded all over them are always going to end up a cropper with the slightest bump.

 

[llninja]

Insurance company is supposed to give you retail value + registration + taxes back on the vehicle... Our car was totaled a few years ago. We got really low balled too... Fought and fought... Asked them to show me where I could buy that car with those options, mileage, in the conditions it was in (just put new tires on it), for anywhere NEAR what they were offering. I sent them car ad after car ad and from places like carmax where you can't negotiate with them. It boiled down to find me another car I can purchase for what you are giving me or give me $XXXX for mine. Eventually and after a phone call to the insurance commissioner, I got close to what was fair. The other stickler was the insurance company went in and pulled data from the "black box" while the car was still mine, without getting our permission or a subpoena. It still was thousands less than NADA retail... But better than wholesale.

I have (and had at the time) State Farm mutual... Wasn't like I had mike and jim's cheap auto insurance...

You do have the problem that they will not give you more than what you can replace the car for.... I suggest you start shopping for your comparable car. Like llninja said - they may fix it. They have probably close to $7500-$8500 to fix it before it has to be totaled, assuming a decent pay off if it is totaled. The fact that the airbags didn't deploy is a good sign it could be fixed. Airbags are expensive and that is a lot of times what pushes the car to be totaled.

State Farm totalled my son's truck many years back. we paid $2300 for it. They offered $2100 if they kept it, $1800 if we kept it. We took the $1800, replaced the rear axle with one from a nearby junk yard for $90, left the bashed -n pickup bed, and he drove it for another 4 years. It was the best $590 we'd ever spent on a vehicle. Sadly, in an attempt to overhaul it, he took it apart, ran out of time, went back to school driving my Supra, got a job, bought a newer car, went to grad school, etc.... life got in the way of him ever finishing the restoration, so my wife had it towed away for scrap.

 

[Bacardi]

Opportunity to upgrade