do I keep it? ideas for after the fire

[ck80]

So they paid you back for your coverage while it wasn’t in your possession? If so, that’s impressive!

Typically any car designated "total loss" you can recover two amounts -

1) a per diem for loss of use from date the casualty occurred to when it was deemed a total loss, unless you get a rental car in which case the rental offsets the per diem and

2) a car is deemed to have suffered it's damage on the date of loss. When it is totalled the policy is usually considered 'completed' in so far as there is no additional coverage remaining on the vehicle after that date it was totalled. You stop being responsible to pay coverage as of the date of loss, when there was no longer an insurable interest. Basically, if you keep getting charged as of the date of loss, the company refunds the difference between what was owed through date of loss, and whatever you kept paying.

FYI, most insurance companies also report total loss claims to the state and invalidate your registration as of the date of loss, requiring you to re-register and reinsure after completing whatever the applicable inspection/rebuild process is.

 

[Jmac]

My Cutlass Supreme was in the StorExpress storage facility that caught fire in Etna, PA, on 08 May ... that should be enough detail for you to find news articles if you didn't hear of it at the time

The car wasn't consumed by the fire but it was so close to the (fire-made) hole in the floor the car couldn't be removed from the building & appraised until a few weeks ago, it is now sitting at a yard where it was towed upon removal from the building.

The insurance company is calling the vehicle a total loss as from the appraisal ...

• Wheels should be replaced
• All sheetmetal has to be repaired
• The plastic on the front and rear ends (bumper covers, lights, etc) should be replaced
• Headliner needs to be replaced

... and the amount for all that exceeds the guaranteed insured value. The appraiser can only do a visual inspection so -- except for the wheels -- I have no idea whether it's roadworthy.

I now have to decide whether I want to salvage/rebuild the car or take the insurance money and let somebody else part-it-out ... I've admittedly only gotten this idea because from the lone low-resolution picture I have of it, the interior looks to be in decent shape.

I am going to do my own inspection and make a decision from there (I'm taking a friend with me to ensure I am not looking at it with rose-colored glasses). As the taillights melted-in on themselves the electrical wiring is a concern so I plan to take a close look at the easily-accessible wire harnesses; any ideas of what else to look at when judging whether to save it or walk away?

Thank you in advance for any input you're able to give

I remember the fire at that storage place any pics on your car

 

[popeye1978]

I remember the fire at that storage place any pics on your car

What kinds of pictures are you thinking of? Post #13 of this thread shows the car before it was cleaned-up

 

[64nailhead]

What kinds of pictures are you thinking of? Post #13 of this thread shows the car before it was cleaned-up

Do you still have it or have you unloaded it?

 

[popeye1978]

I still have the car. Runs OK. Left side looks pretty rough but right side looks pretty clean, saving-up money to get the wheels redone and -- once a new daily driver is paid-off -- repaint.