the insurance wants to total cause of the air bags. Thats some $$$$ right there. Everything in the system has to be replaced.

IMHO I'd take the total on it.

 

I'm trying to figure out how in the world you can still owe 24,600 on a 05 or older Z. There has to be something else being used as collateral.

With 15k you could go out and get another Z and just be in the same boat as before you wrecked it. Completely upside down, but mobile in a Z.



Sweet RX-7 btw

 

people dont know crap about buying cars

if i can give one piece of advice its this when buying a new car

if your putting little or no money down ( or trading in a car going in upside down)

get gap

if your putting down a lot of money then dont get gap
$500 gap insurance would have saved you the $8500.
make sure you dont make the same mistake again

 

yes please tell us where/how you got that hybrid headlamp

 

Yes, gap insurance would've been the ticket in this case. Many finance companies require it...

Anyway, take the wheels off before you give it to the insurance company. Aftermarket upgrades are hardly ever included in the claim value. Put some stockers on there and they won't care one way or the other. Then sell the rims for some extra $$$.

 

sell and get a 6mt

 

How the hell do you still owe 24k on this?

 

Eat the ducks.

 

Fix it. OEM hood about 300, rad support about 200, new rads you can find used for about 100. lights (buy like off ebay and convert them to bi xenon about 300 total) on left side, all the cooland, windshield washer tank, overflow tank etc etc - about another 300-400 bucks for all of them new.

If you take it to a good repair person (not like a fancy body shop) they can pull the frame very cheap. There is minor damage on the well from the impact, but it just needs to be pulled slightly just so you can put a new hood in. Basically the only thing in this case that will F*ck you up is airbags. Those fkers are annoying and expensive, hope you at least had a passenger with you, so you didn't just waste the 1000dollar bag blowing up for nothing. Depending on your state, some states require all airbags fixed before going through state patrol. Some don't. Check around

 

take it as an easy way out. you owed way too much on that car. you have gap coverage I hope.

 

It all depends what they want to sell the car back to you for. I’d consider throwing it back together if I got it back in the $3500 area.

 

+1, duck is incredibly delicious

+1, in for answers. Must've had 200 miles on it when he bought it, and came with a free handjob.

 

how much can you buy it back for?

 

Bare with me here... a lot to say.

First thanks for all the responses! Second, let me say yes I overpaid for the car, by several grand. Basically I was stupid and rushed the deal and didn't think it through. VERY bad mistake and I will never do that again! But that's done now and all I can do is try to get out of this the best way I can. The car was probably worth about $24K when I bought it and I paid $29. Add on taxes and, optional warranty I paid $2,800 for and have only used about $1500 of, plus other fees i'm sure I was charged which put me up to $32,5.

Not only did I overpay by several grand but I bought it used in early 2008 just before the economy went to crap and the value of sports cars went down. Part of the reason I went with a Z was they hold their value fairly well. But I think the value of all Z's went down a few thousand due to the crap that happened in late 2008 so that didn't help either.

Unfortunately I didn't get GAP insurance and it wasn't offered. I thought about it but didn't pursue it. A few months after I bought it and realized what a stupid buying decision I had just made I tried to get GAP on it but the few places I tried with said it had to be done at purchase and they couldn't do it after I had bought it.

Now insurance said they cannot give me the money, they have to pay the leinholder. So that leaves me to work with the bank and we all know how that will probably go. Anyway i've been working on this for over a month now and it needs to get taken care of. Part of the reason it is taking so long is the slow, one-line-answer responses i'm getting from my insurance agent. They have been very inefficient in the communication area and it is very frustrating. It took nearly 2 weeks, after 4 voicemails and 3 e-mails sent to get a response! The whole thing is very aggravating to say the least.

As for what is the job of the insurance is up for debate... I think i'm being too easy on them, and we need to balance this situation and compromise something that will work for both of us. I know plenty of idiots out there manage to screw insurance companies over, fraud, what have you... but at the same time try try to screw you over. So I guess it's all about finding that happy medium. It may be too late for that though...

The insurance is through my parents and although its full coverage, my dad went cheap and got the cheapest plan he could i'm sure. I seriously doubt i've paid even close to $15K in insurance premiums yet, even after over two years of ownership... and two years from my previous car. I had full coverage on both but insurance has been cheap.

Now I haven't 'signed' anything yet, but i'm not sure if you do that anymore. The agent i've been working with has been trying to get the information for my leinholder and i've provided that to them. They are going to I assume send 15K to the bank... but I don't know if I can call and stop this from proceeding.

I had nearly 75K miles on my car when I wrecked it and KBB is saying its worth about $12.7K last I checked. So $15K from insurance isn't terrible but certainly not covering my loan... A third party total loss replacement service program was able to get me a 2005 350Z Roadster for $20K that would of been ANOTHER loan and it a crazy 13-14% interest rate! This would be on top of my current loan which there is no way I was going to do so I backed out of that...

Now I wonder if I can have insurance not pay the bank, and just give me the 15K and i'll fix the car on my own with that money. I'm sure I can do it... even with the airbags but if I don't have to legally, i wont.

As for my wheels I want them back but insurance said I had to put the OEM's back on with tires. I bought a set but don't have tires on them right now. It's going to a salvage yard anyway so I don't understand why, unless they (insurance, or the bank) has other plans... which I'm sure they do. Fix it up cheap and sell it, happens all the time.

In terms of buying the car back insurance said that is up to the bank, and the bank may not allow this. I don't know how true this is but at this point I don't know how much it will cost to get back. I have a rough idea of how much I can fix it up for but that's it...

So if anyone actually bothered to read all this... should I call insurance and tell them to stop what they are doing and work with me? They basically have a verbal ok to pay my bank the 15K, but again nothing is in writing...

Oh just to add in, in part of my effort to get this taken care of I found a local, private sale of a PERFECT Z that I wanted, had 22K miles on it, was an 2004 roadster in blue, manual... it was exactly what I wanted. Guy was selling for $16,750 and I would of got it if I had the money. But I had no way to get it... so he sold it to a local dealership, and they have it now and are trying to sell it for $22,995! Flippin' ridiculous!

As for my headlamps i've already answered that question... look here: https://my350z.com/forum/exterior-an...rojectors.html


Ok.... I can breathe now...

 

well even if they had given you the money, or will give you the money, you still owe 24k. If you buy another Z for 12-16k, you still owe 24k from your first car to a bank, it makes no sense, take the settlement for what you can, buy gap next time and eat that 9k you still owe. Pay off the rest of the loan asap, and still have (assuming) a good credit score and eventually get a newer one at far better prices.

 

What does the bank do when their collateral is gone?

 

Right now i'm leaning toward not buying my car back, letting insurance do their thing, pay the loan down and get out of it as quickly as I can. Then save a few grand for a nice down payment and find a nice used 350Z. I don't like the new 370's so i'm sticking with the 350.

The bank can't change the contract as long as I keep paying so they will do nothing. Their collateral isn't completely gone, according to insurance at least... the car still belongs to the bank. I guess they'll sell it to salvage and get a few grand more from it, or have it fixed cheap then sell it. This kind of thing goes on all the time i'm sure.

I'm still contemplating if I should battle it out with insurance more, or if I even can...

 

What year is your car? I'm still finding it hard to believe that the bank loaned you that much extra over what the car was worth. Did you have a co-signer?

 

2004. I *had* very good credit. I have a feeling though the dealer probably paid the bank or had some deal to get the loan to go through.

 

its a retrofit