The estimater will be here tomorrow and I want to get the most out of my 242(I know this is the 900 forum)low milage brick.
I know I'll get a low offer on an 83 242dl,odometer shows 123k.
Can you dispute their 1'st offer and demand a fair settlement.Everything was going smooth until the rental car came into play.I got a voice mail and burned up the phone line with my demands and will find out at 5:30 if she will have one.Make that,my wife will get the rental and daughter will get the wifes 960 due to her being 20 yrs. old and not having collision on the 83.
Since the insurance co. became so arrogant we now have an attorney to speak for us after we supply the documents he requested.We are not sue happy,but we need results,QUICK,not the run around and endless voice mails that are not returned.
My daughter has been very athletic and still has a hurt right knee due to the engine pushing into the fire-wall and spreading the middle console outward,you cant even see the gas pedal while sitting in the seat.
I'm very impressed with the way the volvo body absorbed the impact and my daughter almost walked away from a 50 mph crash.She was transported to the hospital and released.
I want at least a reasonable settlement for the totaled 242 so we can get her in another volvo,or a decent down payment for a newer volvo.
Any suggestions will be appreciated,thanks dave
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92-965-202k, 94-965-209k,83-242dl,totaled 84-242GLT,totaled,83-245GLT,retired

The adjuster just left.I of course built up on the car telling him how I felt out about it.He didn't look at the values I had.
I wont have an estimate until tonight or tomorrow.I also asked the cost if I keep it.I wont have it for long,just long enough to see if the guy I get my used volvo parts from wants it.there's not much left but still has virgo turbo rims on it and while I was there saturday he has a 6 series bmw project car CHEAP.
My daughter will get all the money received,but if I can keep it for $100 I'll keep it.
After we have money in hand we'll go thru the hassle of car shopping.Thanks for the replys and concern for my daughter,she's starting to feel it more.
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92-965-202k, 94-965-209k,83-242dl,totaled 84-242GLT,totaled,83-245GLT,retired

Remember, they have a big incentive to settle with you. The car is sitting in some wrecking lot running up a parking bill against them. If you don't like their offer, say no and show them like cars selling at a higher price even with higher mileage. They will come back with a higher offer. Glad your daughter is doing better. The car is just sheet metal.

A friend of mine had her Escort hit last summer by a drunk driver. The car was parked on the street in front of her house. The offer they gave her was insanely low, about half of what the car was worth. If the insurance company jerks you around, do what she did and hold the rental car hostage. She used her boyfriends car to park the rental into the driveway, and refused to return it until she was satisfied with the settlement. She wound up with a really nice chunk of change, about 7K for a 97 Escort. Sometimes the only way to get what you want to to play a little dirty. Make a nusiance of yourself and they will pay almost anything to make you go away.

I'm glad your daughter is doing so well, that sounds like quite the accident she was in.
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Jonathan Knauer - 94 945Ti - fun!

My $00.02:
The ’83 won’t be worth much. Don’t expect much. Make sure your daughter receives the proper medical care, compensation for the medical care and compensation for pain and suffering. If you didn’t retain the lawyer based on a contingency basis, fire him and get another. Don’t expect anything quick, although you can settle on the car quickly.
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Tom F. Three 940s. The '93 T-Rex (Regina) is now running very well. Mods, RainX & cup holders. Lien holder on two more (the kid's). Rust In Pieces, '78 245

All the aforementioned suggestions are good. My daughter also had an accident where she was hit from behind and has suffered what now, 18 months later, looks like a permanent back injury. Thankfully, we had not settled on the medical claim which had a laughable pain & suffering offer. She now has a lawyer involved who expects a radically different amount (10 to 15 times the original offer) once he is done.
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Bob Kraushaar '94 945T, '91 940T(retired), '88 240, '84 242Ti, '94 F-150, '88 300TE, '89 560 SL, '68 Shelby GT-500 KR

Look in your local newspaper or a large metropolitan daily near you for sample pricing on the 242. In addition you might contact a dealer or used car dealer specializing in used Volvo's to get an informed opinion about what a used 242 in your market would bring. It can be as simple as that. I was able to use these simple things to get a fairer price for a totaled vehicle.

Using a lawyer is a good thing. They will protect your interests. I have had 2 accidents with head injuries. Working with a lawyer makes you an informed consumer and having an advocate within an industry for which you know very little. The insurance company answers to its owners. Therefore, its incentive is to settle for as little as possible in as short a time as possible. Clearly that is not in your best interest.

If the car went from 50mph to 0mph in a short period of time you MUST look for a head injury that only may show up 3, 6 or 9 months hence. The brain is encased in a kind of fluid and the inside of the skull is NOT smooth. The brain was still going at 50mph when the car stopped. The jostling of the brain will cause injury, temporary and permanent. Look for fatigue, depression, changes in taste and smell, changes in eye sight(depth perception), a short fuse - anger as a quick response. Please do not overlook this. Clinical depression is a very common side effect of a head injury occuring 9 to 13 weeks after injury. Check out www.headinjury.com. Do a "Google" search for mtbi, head injury,or mild traumatic brain injury. You do not need to have been knocked unconcious to receive a significant brain injury not detectable on an MRI or CT scan. In addition check out books written by Daniel Amen, "Healing ADD", "Change your Brain, Change your Life", "Healing the Hardware of the Soul". You can find them in your local library. He is a strong proponent of a diagnostic brain test called a SPECT test. Read about it and get one before you ever settle with an insurance company.

If you have any questions about this please do not hesitate to contact me at sgbranscom@comcast.net. I would be happy to discuss my experiences with lawyers, insurance companies and injuries. By the way, I have settled with my insurance company twice now and am still insured with them. Each time though, I was represented by a personal injury lawyer.

Besides edmunds.com there is kbb.com (Kelly blue book). I was in a car accident that was the other driver's fault and their insurance offered me a quick settlement on a badly sprained ankle (it was on the brake pedal). The doctor said it would be fine in a few weeks. I (stupidly) settled. The ankle hurt for about 15 years and is permanently swollen, so I would urge you not to sign off on the knee until you're absolutely sure it's OK.

Dear Dave,

Good p.m. Glad to hear you have an attorney. That will tell the insurance company that you're not a "push over". Go to www.edmunds. com. Use their evaluator to come up with a value for the wrecked car. That way, you have some numbers, from a neutral source, to use, in the adjustor/estimator tries to "low ball" you.

Next, get a clear idea of your daughter's knee injury. Do not be in a rush to settle, unless an orthopedic surgeon (preferrably two of them) takes some x-rays, evaluates them, and declares that there was no damage to cartilage, tendons, etc. You do not want to agree to a settlement, until it is 100% clear that the knee injury will heal, and leave no obvious after-effects. That could take several months. One has heard of joint injuries that become problematic with temperature changes, i.e., the shift from summer to winter produces pain, even after all signs of the injury have faded.

Third, have your lawyer make it clear that you are quite prepared to file a civil suit against the offender and will encourage the prosecutor to file charges as well.

It is a source of puzzlement to me that in respect of cars, we are expected to accept the depreciated value, while for other items - such as a house - we can get replacement cost coverage. It is further a source of puzzlement to me that incompetent or mindlessly negligent drivers (e.g., those, who drive while drunk) get insurance under compulsory plans, the cost of which is passed onto those, who are safe and sane, while behind the wheel. In effect, we're taxed to keep on the road, those, who put us in imminent lethal peril. It is as if we're taxed to buy gasoline, for convicted arsonists. This is lunacy.

Those, whose poor driving makes them uninsurable, should have their licenses revoked permanently, and, if found behind the wheel of a motor vehicle on a public road, should be sent away for a decade or so.

Hope some of this helps.

Yours faithfully,

spook