when a car is totaled what happens?

[mat82284]

my insurance company might total my car im not sure. i was thinking of takeing all the aftermarket parts i added to my car and remove them. will they give me time to remove all that i have added into it?

1 my 93 cobra engine
2 racing seats
3 performance tranny
4 fuel pump and cell
5 Audio System
6 bassani exhaust system

also if i was to buy a 94 95 gt 5.0 would i be able to fit all my parts from my engine into the 94 95 model? and would the whole bassani system bolt right up? what about the fuel pump and cell?

 

[mat82284]

ok well then ill start to stip the lil things like my short shifter my mass air meter my c&l tube my electric fan, my stereo. also will these parts fit on a 94 95 gt? i mean the shifter and maf will the bassani x-pipe is my main concern. will it fit on the new car if not ill leave it if so im takeing it.

 

[Michael Yount]

You need to have a heart to heart with your insurance company. I doubt they'll let you basically 'strip' the car once they've agreed on a total settlement. What happens more often than not is they'll let you 'buy' the car back from them for a very reasonable price. Then it's yours to strip as you please. Ask them about it straight up - they'll tell you what your options are. Doesn't much matter what we tell you - what your adjuster tells you will determine the outcome.

 

[cobradvm]

I doubt they will let let you pull the engine - that's pushing things a little. It will depend on what the agreed value of your vehicle is - in other words, after you did the upgrades, did you go to your insurance co and say "here's all the money I spent etc etc now my car is worth $X dollars - please insure it as such" If so, then you will be reimbursed for that amount, without having to strip the car of the goodies. If you haven't done that, then I think it is fair for you to remove any after market stuff that you added, since you didn't have a rider on the insurance for that stuff - such as the audio system, exhaust, etc etc. The insurance company will want to recoup their losses by selling it as Michael indicated, so that is another way of getting your parts back.

Good luck

Howard

 

[HaggardGT]

Varies from insurance company to company. A friend of mine had his 1998 Cobra totalled, and they offered him about 15K if they kept the car or 13K and he kept it. He ended up selling the thing for 6 grand on eBay. Once the insurance compay has declared the car a total loss, it is basically illegal for you to take parts from the car unless there was an agreement reached beforehand.