Three months ago I saw no downside to a 24 Hyundai Kona electric. Boy how that bliss disappeared.
Last month the car was rear ended by a AMG G wagon without insurance. Police report was done, driver wanted to pay himself assuming it would be like 5k. I assumed it would be like 5k, but still decided to use my uninsured motorist insurance. Initial estimate was 5k. Final estimate is 18k, on a car that's worth according to them 29k. Somehow, that to them is totaled.
I don't know if I have gap insurance, didn't think about it since lease. I assume the down payment is gone, but it would really suck to have to pay more for this. It already kinda sucks enough.
Next problem, I have no car for the family, sold previous car and used most of it to catch up on financials. This really sucks. Pics to show how little damage totals a car now.
On a positive note, I loved that car. Stupid efficient, 280 miles of range, for 300$ a month. Being able to turn on ac remotely is a life cheat code.
I'd say, this is the source of the $18k.
That much crinkle probably won't straighten via a frame/body puller machine so welding in a new portion and painting pretty much requires many hours of a full tub teardown . Not the tail gate dent but rather the crinkle of the unibody corner.
There are insurance people on here who can probably provide some information without "advising" or "providing guidance".
I am not one of them.
One lesson I have learned based on this thread- don't accept someone's offer of cash to repair. I would assume I would let my insurance company sue the crap out of them. Rather inexcusable for someone with the wealth to have that kind of car to not carry insurance. And let the cops throw their book at them, too.
That driver is one major reason we all pay so much for insurance, and there's no financial excuse for it on their part.
How screwed you are is going to depend on your specific insurance policy. The fact that this happened last month and you don't yet have a settlement and you're not in a rental car doesn't bode well.
In reply to APEowner :
The car drove fine. I waited 2 weeks to file a claim, and the claims person waited equally to do their end of things. Wasn't in a huge hurry to give up an EV I like, for a Malibu I hate. I don't know the specifics of my insurance. I have "accident forgiveness", 250$ uninsured deductible. It's travelers, they've been a decent company every time I've needed them so far. I have a rental as well.
Read your lease contract, you usually need to notify them within 48 hours of an accident. 95% of leases include GAP, so I'd look for that as well. The only thing you can be held responsible for (if no GAP) is the difference between the value of the car now, and the remaining lease amount. Most times that does not come into play since the lease payoff is x% of the value of the car anyway, vs 100%
Regardless of your uninsured motorist coverage "outcome".. this is an example of why you never want to put money down on a lease. If the car is totaled, the lease is over. You can't get the down payment back.
Steve_Jones said:
Read your lease contract, you usually need to notify them within 48 hours of an accident. 95% of leases include GAP, so I'd look for that as well. The only thing you can be held responsible for (if no GAP) is the difference between the value of the car now, and the remaining lease amount. Most times that does not come into play since the lease payoff is x% of the value of the car anyway, vs 100%
Yup. Leasing almost always requires gap coverage for this exact reason. Check with Hyundai.
The damage to your car is actually pretty significant due to where it got hit. Combine that with the fact that it'll bring a decent value at auction, it's a total loss. I've totaled cars at 50%.
An uninsured G Wagon... color me surprised...or not.
OHSCrifle said:
Regardless of your uninsured motorist coverage "outcome".. this is an example of why you never want to put money down on a lease. If the car is totaled, the lease is over. You can't get the down payment back.
I've told people, put the "money down" into an account and make the first payments from there until it runs out. You'll spend the same exact amount over the lease term, but if anything happens before that, you don't lose it.
In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :
The auction part makes sense. I neglected to consider that. also, now that you mention it I'm near positive gap was covered by Hyundai.
can I go after the driver for any of this? I'm out multiple days of work dealing with this, and now I get to go through the experience all over again of buying a car. Oh, and 2500$, plus car payments on a car I'm not even driving. And a $250 deductible.
In reply to Steve_Jones :
Not sure I'm following. All leases require money down, so how would that work?
lnlogauge said:
Final estimate is 18k, on a car that's worth according to them 29k. Somehow, that to them is totaled.
"totalled" just means that the insurance company comes out ahead by buying the car from you and scrapping it vs paying to fix it. Presumably that means they think they can make more than 11K once they pay you 29 for it.
ddavidv
UltimaDork
8/10/24 7:03 a.m.
Plus it's an electric car. We hate electric cars. Always expensive and unpleasant surprises every time we fix one. We try to junk every Tesla we get because they are such a PITA to deal with (company, in addition to the car).
Gap coverage makes the lease company whole. You're still out the money that was put down.. so don't do it.
Everything is negotiable- even advertised lease deals.
Great resources for info:
https://www.reddit.com/r/leasehacker/
https://leasehackr.com/blog?category=Leasing%20101
Instead of asking questions here, get a person or three on the phone from your insurance company and the lease company. Get copies of all the legal paper, and get written confirmation that the paper is correct for your contracts. Give serious consideration to interviewing a few lawyers as you may need them. Some may be fair and say no but this is what you do.
lnlogauge said:
In reply to Steve_Jones :
Not sure I'm following. All leases require money down, so how would that work?
No, you don't. The money down just reduces the monthly payment so that you can get an advertised price you see in ads. The only money required are the processing fees and the license fees- other than that, you can negotiate the payment.
I once aced about it when renewing, and the dealer specifically talked me out of it because of what happened to you.
lnlogauge said:
In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish)
can I go after the driver for any of this? I'm out multiple days of work dealing with this, and now I get to go through the experience all over again of buying a car. Oh, and 2500$, plus car payments on a car I'm not even driving. And a $250 deductible.
No, the insurance company is the one who will pursue the other driver. If they recover the money, they will refund your deductible. Don't get your hopes up.
Missed time for dealing with the claim and finding a new car is not compensable, so no you can't go after the driver for that.
lnlogauge said:
Last month the car was rear ended by a AMG G wagon without insurance. Police report was done,
I know there are a lot of uninsured motorist out there, but in this case, did the cop who showed up care that the Mercedes-Benz driver had no insurance? Isn't it illegal to drive without car insurance?
In reply to dyintorace :
The cop told me to sue him. He was pissed. He ended up impounding the car, as well as three tickets.
In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :
The insurance goes after him to cover their losses, but I don't see anything prohibiting me from attempting to recover my losses. I agree I probably can't go after him for inconveniences, but I have tangible and provable losses here. I don't see why that would stop mattering as soon as I use my insurance to cover the vehicle.
In reply to lnlogauge :
Happy to hear he was ticketed and that the car was impounded!
In reply to lnlogauge :
Sure, get in line...go after him. Remember, the courts are now going after him (fines and etc.) After that the insurance company is going after him (accident payback, etc.) The courts and the insurance companies have far more convincing lawyers and tactics that anyone you hire would have. After their squeeze, my guess is no juice for you.
lnlogauge said:
In reply to Steve_Jones :
Not sure I'm following. All leases require money down, so how would that work?
With a lease you are agreeing to pay $x total over a set time. How you pay that can be different. With a lease the interest rate (called the money factor) is calculated up front, so the amount you're responsible is a fixed amount. Let's say it's $20k over 48 months. You could put $2500 down, and 48 payments of $370. $5k down, and 48 payments of $312. $0 down and it's $416. It all adds up to the same $20k. People get stuck on the lower payment not realizing the risk of losing the down payment if something happens. Instead of putting $5k down, use that $5k to pay the first 12 payments instead.
In reply to Steve_Jones :
I'm not the most experienced or knowledgeable when it comes to leases, but every EV deal I've seen requires a down payment. That's a big assumption that dealers are going to provide the same numbers if you pay a higher monthly payment, but in my experience it doesn't work that way. Down payments work in their favor, for circumstances like this.
My lease was 260 a month, with 2500 down. If 370 a month was an option I absolutely would have taken it.
codrus (Forum Supporter) said:
lnlogauge said:
Final estimate is 18k, on a car that's worth according to them 29k. Somehow, that to them is totaled.
"totalled" just means that the insurance company comes out ahead by buying the car from you and scrapping it vs paying to fix it. Presumably that means they think they can make more than 11K once they pay you 29 for it.
Could you buy it back from the insurance company, wire in a cheap wrecking yard tailight and just drive it ugly? 11K actually looks like a pretty good deal for an almost new EV with a nasty quarter panel.
Come to think of it, how many "totalled out" EVs are there on Copart that are still perfectly usable and cheap because so many people are afraid of EVs?
In reply to lnlogauge :
It was an option, you just did not know to ask. A down payment on a lease does not work in their favor as the numbers don't change. A lease just math, and the math is fixed. How you pay for that math does not change the deal at all. You agree to pay a set number up front, over a set time. Look at your contract, it has a number that you agreed to pay between the cost of the car and the residual value, that number is the same no matter if you put money down or not. You can even do a "one pay lease" and pay that number up front in total.
Down payments work in their favor on loans, as they can hide money. With a lease it's all spelled out. The car is worth $x now and $y in 48 months. You are paying the difference of $x-$y. I've leased over 50 vehicles, all with no down, not even tax and tags. Since a lease is a business expense you wanna wrap everything you can into it, so we do.
