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I raced at Mid-Ohio many times with SCCA in the ‘90’s and early ‘00 in a C Sports racer. It is a great track. I miss those days, but take the GT350 out for track days at Road America and nearby Autobahn race course.
I ran my old A4 at mid Ohio at a couple of weekend track sessions with the Porsche club. My friend ran his 2006 Mustang Cobra at the second track session that I went to. Was able to to go faster through the turns but he would clobber me on the straights.
I might wait a couple weeks to take an offer, 20k seems like a good compromise, that car had lots of options, including a heated steering wheel, hard to come by...As you said, your not in a hurry, my experience FWIW, the longer you wait the higher the settlement.
Insurance company has confirmed total loss. $17,900 after my $500 deductible.
Seems like a low ball offer. Would get them to come up to at least $21K maybe more. The car that cetiapha5 found you was reasonably equivalent and was $25k asking. The one with less equipment in Indy was $22.5K asking. Like he said they need to make you whole.
I finally had a chance to review the valuation the insurance company placed on our car and it is all wrong. They had three comps and listed all three as Sport models. They were all Luxury models. The insurance company computation assumed we had no Nav system, No rear camera, no Premium audio, No active LED headlamps, and on and on. The report also claimed the tire tread measured 5/32. I had just serviced the car at the end of November and the tires still looked like new. They only had 5,000 miles on them. So, I called and told them they had to redo the valuation using the appropriate data and provided them my data card. We shall see.
I was in the same boat twice in a last three years. Got two cars totaled based on cost of repair vs residual value after what seemed to be a minor accidents. In both cases myself (car #1) and my son (car #2) were not at fault. Luckily in both cases were not physical injuries to anyone except the scarred pride.
In both cases I had to do some legwork to get the right $ amount. Both initial offers from insurance companies were "lowballs".
What worked for me:
I did a web search across all available cars in 150-200 miles vicinity same year and option specs (ebay not included). Put it all in excel to get price vs mileage chart and use linear fit function to estimate what same car with same mileage would be. I did not try to get "more" than market values based on asking price and stuck to pure math. And sent it back to insurance companies.
In one case they accepted my number and send me a check.
In second case they argued that my estimate was too high and still did not want to agree. In this case I got a layer to draft a "demand" letter basically stating: pay up or get sued. Drafting this letter did not cost much, I think it was ~$75. The lawyer I used said that in my type of cases where not physical injuries or medical bills are involved it is very often that insurance company will agree to this type of the proposal (which he checked and said it was very reasonable). After receiving this letter they agreed to my number and sent a check within 24 hours. So I did get ~$75 bucks less, but saved myself a lot of time dealing with it. According to the layer I could gotten more even after his fees if we are to go to court, but it would take a bit of time. I did not want to mess with it because I was in a middle of a project at work and did not want an additional distraction, so I opted to take an easy out.
I was in the same boat twice in a last three years. Got two cars totaled based on cost of repair vs residual value after what seemed to be a minor accidents. In both cases myself (car #1) and my son (car #2) were not at fault. Luckily in both cases were not physical injuries to anyone except the scarred pride.
In both cases I had to do some legwork to get the right $ amount. Both initial offers from insurance companies were "lowballs".
What worked for me:
I did a web search across all available cars in 150-200 miles vicinity same year and option specs (ebay not included). Put it all in excel to get price vs mileage chart and use linear fit function to estimate what same car with same mileage would be. I did not try to get "more" than market values based on asking price and stuck to pure math. And sent it back to insurance companies.
In one case they accepted my number and send me a check.
In second case they argued that my estimate was too high and still did not want to agree. In this case I got a layer to draft a "demand" letter basically stating: pay up or get sued. Drafting this letter did not cost much, I think it was ~$75. The lawyer I used said that in my type of cases where not physical injuries or medical bills are involved it is very often that insurance company will agree to this type of the proposal (which he checked and said it was very reasonable). After receiving this letter they agreed to my number and sent a check within 24 hours. So I did get ~$75 bucks less, but saved myself a lot of time dealing with it. According to the layer I could gotten more even after his fees if we are to go to court, but it would take a bit of time. I did not want to mess with it because I was in a middle of a project at work and did not want an additional distraction, so I opted to take an easy out.
I hope this helps.
Good luck.
Max
Much appreciated.. They've agreed to recalculate the value based on my data card and the options listed therein. If they do a fair comparison of apples to apples instead of apples to oranges, I can accept that. I'm not in any rush. I'll engage for as long as it takes.
Much appreciated.. They've agreed to recalculate the value based on my data card and the options listed therein. If they do a fair comparison of apples to apples instead of apples to oranges, I can accept that. I'm not in any rush. I'll engage for as long as it takes.
Time is on your side, good strategy, pressure is on them to close out the claim.
They called me back and without any debate, agreed to pay $21,800 Less my $500 deductible. Can I actually replace it for that? No. But, I received an "offer" from the local MB dealer today and they are offering a whopping $14,600 MAX subject to all sorts of qualifications, if I want to trade it on a new car. They'd try to beat me down from the $14,600. They have to make money, and I understand that. There is a hell of a lot of overhead in that business. I'm taking the offered pay out and I fell like my insurance company is being fair. Not generous, but fair. Thanks to everyone for all of the help and concern. My wife isn't sure what she wants next. She loved that car, but thinks maybe an SUV next. She's going to wait until the Cincinnati winter subsides to start thinking about seriously.
They called me back and without any debate, agreed to pay $21,800 Less my $500 deductible. Can I actually replace it for that? No. But, I received an "offer" from the local MB dealer today and they are offering a whopping $14,600 MAX subject to all sorts of qualifications, if I want to trade it on a new car. They'd try to beat me down from the $14,600. They have to make money, and I understand that. There is a hell of a lot of overhead in that business. I'm taking the offered pay out and I fell like my insurance company is being fair. Not generous, but fair. Thanks to everyone for all of the help and concern. My wife isn't sure what she wants next. She loved that car, but thinks maybe an SUV next. She's going to wait until the Cincinnati winter subsides to start thinking about seriously.
21,300 is not bad, hope your son is doing well, on to the next car!
They called me back and without any debate, agreed to pay $21,800 Less my $500 deductible. Can I actually replace it for that? No. But, I received an "offer" from the local MB dealer today and they are offering a whopping $14,600 MAX subject to all sorts of qualifications, if I want to trade it on a new car. They'd try to beat me down from the $14,600. They have to make money, and I understand that. There is a hell of a lot of overhead in that business. I'm taking the offered pay out and I fell like my insurance company is being fair. Not generous, but fair. Thanks to everyone for all of the help and concern. My wife isn't sure what she wants next. She loved that car, but thinks maybe an SUV next. She's going to wait until the Cincinnati winter subsides to start thinking about seriously.
Which dealer? Yes like you I need to buy my wife another car and am waiting for it to warm up around here as well. She wants a Q3 or an EV.
Which dealer? Yes like you I need to buy my wife another car and am waiting for it to warm up around here as well. She wants a Q3 or an EV.
Mercedes-Benz of Cincinnati. It was one of those best case scenario deals. You can drive away with a 2021 for the low price of $45,000 dollars..... We estimate your car is worth $XXXX. In the fine print: Providing the moon is in the correct phase, it hasn't rained or snowed within the past year... You know, the same old chicanery. They want to get you there in person and start the old "YES" game. The salesman gets you to say yes, then he says yes to everything you want, then he takes it to the invisible manager and comes back and tells you the manager said "Yes, BUT".
Mercedes-Benz of Cincinnati. It was one of those best case scenario deals. You can drive away with a 2021 for the low price of $45,000 dollars..... We estimate your car is worth $XXXX. In the fine print: Providing the moon is in the correct phase, it hasn't rained or snowed within the past year... You know, the same old chicanery. They want to get you there in person and start the old "YES" game. The salesman gets you to say yes, then he says yes to everything you want, then he takes it to the invisible manager and comes back and tells you the manager said "Yes, BUT".
After I had my car serviced at Mercedes-Benz Ft Mitchell and I sniffed around a couple of cars for my sister I got a call from them that they wanted to appraise my car for them to sell. Given that my car is now 11 years old and has 136k miles on it it was like yeah right. I politely declined the invitation.
2016 E350 4Matic wagon, 2019 Ford Expedition, 2019 Chevy Bolt EV
I think there are vendors sniffing the carfax data looking for spam targets. these vendors send you something that LOOKS like its from the dealer, but the fine print suggests its not, its from a 'service'.
They called me back and without any debate, agreed to pay $21,800 Less my $500 deductible. Can I actually replace it for that? No. But, I received an "offer" from the local MB dealer today and they are offering a whopping $14,600 MAX subject to all sorts of qualifications, if I want to trade it on a new car. They'd try to beat me down from the $14,600. They have to make money, and I understand that. There is a hell of a lot of overhead in that business. I'm taking the offered pay out and I fell like my insurance company is being fair. Not generous, but fair. Thanks to everyone for all of the help and concern. My wife isn't sure what she wants next. She loved that car, but thinks maybe an SUV next. She's going to wait until the Cincinnati winter subsides to start thinking about seriously.
A bit late to this thread, but I will share my experience with insurance. Back in 2008, driving my non-MB 14 year old car (@70K M), I slipped on ice (Canada winter), and hit a standing vehicle on the entrance of a bridge. Damage to the left fender, tie rods, and the bumper left corner. Repair estimate $4K, insurance totalled the car and offered me a check for $5K. I was fine with the check; however, a mechanic in the garage suggested I buy it back from the insurance (news to me). I did and it cost me $500, so $5K - $500 (deductible) - $500 (buyback) = $4000. Paid the mechanical repairs ($1200), and let the paintwork for another time, net $2800 for the next car event (I would say). I drove the car another 5 years, and still, the junkyard gave $500 for it. Had that car been driven in Florida, I would probably still have it for errands or guests
Not certain what the buyback price would be on an MB to play the numbers a bit longer since there is still plenty of value in a wrecked MB.
A bit late to this thread, but I will share my experience with insurance. Back in 2008, driving my non-MB 14 year old car (@70K M), I slipped on ice (Canada winter), and hit a standing vehicle on the entrance of a bridge. Damage to the left fender, tie rods, and the bumper left corner. Repair estimate $4K, insurance totalled the car and offered me a check for $5K. I was fine with the check; however, a mechanic in the garage suggested I buy it back from the insurance (news to me). I did and it cost me $500, so $5K - $500 (deductible) - $500 (buyback) = $4000. Paid the mechanical repairs ($1200), and let the paintwork for another time, net $2800 for the next car event (I would say). I drove the car another 5 years, and still, the junkyard gave $500 for it. Had that car been driven in Florida, I would probably still have it for errands or guests
Not certain what the buyback price would be on an MB to play the numbers a bit longer since there is still plenty of value in a wrecked MB.
There ain't much value in the old cars. My local MB dealer wants to buy my 2010 E550 for a whopping $5750. Car has 180000 miles on the clock but 85% highway. Car looks and works like a new car. Only places you can see it is used are the small rock hits in front of the car, the steering wheel and some wear on the driver's seat. What value would it have if it was wrecked?
There ain't much value in the old cars. My local MB dealer wants to buy my 2010 E550 for a whopping $5750. Car has 180000 miles on the clock but 85% highway. Car looks and works like a new car. Only places you can see it is used are the small rock hits in front of the car, the steering wheel and some wear on the driver's seat. What value would it have if it was wrecked?
Careful, I did not mean that it is worth wrecking a car. Once unfortunately wrecked, it is a numbers game to make decisions.
Based on a base model E550, it seems the dealer assessed your car as Fair (which of course they will lowball you). if your car is not a base model, well now you know how much the dealer appreciates your business.
As usual, it is about the difference between market value and perceived value.
I keep cars for a long time (@15 years), so I am not too much worried about residual value, but the peace of mind of not paying for a dependable car for 10+ years. Sure, if the residual value is meaningful, that would be the cherry on top of the cake at that point.
Careful, I did not mean that it is worth wrecking a car. Once unfortunately wrecked, it is a numbers game to make decisions.
Based on a base model E550, it seems the dealer assessed your car as Fair (which of course they will lowball you). if your car is not a base model, well now you know how much the dealer appreciates your business.
As usual, it is about the difference between market value and perceived value.
I keep cars for a long time (@15 years), so I am not too much worried about residual value, but the peace of mind of not paying for a dependable car for 10+ years. Sure, if the residual value is meaningful, that would be the cherry on top of the cake at that point.
My car has all options but no night vision or rear seat entertainment. And it is RWD.
This car has been so reliable it is unreal. I did replace some wear-and-tear items but I take those as normal. Everything works in the car. Drives nicely and because I paid $66 000 for it I cannot let it go for pennies. And why would I? It is a perfect second car to have.
As with all old Mercedes, our cars are worth more in parts than they are as a whole car. this has happened to me twice already, my 2003 S500 was worth 6500 after 16 years, it was parted out by a friend for 16,200 and we split it.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
