Insurance co. is trying to steal my truck ! What are my rights

[wsm9808]

My son wrecked his 97 S10 pickup(his fault) and now the insurance Co is wanting to "total" his truck and is trying to pay me less than half of what I have in this thing.
What rights do I have to fight them with?
They insist on only paying us 2900.00 for the truck and are telling us we cant take anything off of it before they haul it off because they are adding in all of our upgrades into their price.
The repair estimate is 3300.00 and I have over 6500.00 in this truck. But they wont repair it. They insist on totaling it which would screw me big time.
I bought the truck from a car lot a year ago for 3750.00 knowing it needed an intake gasket and water pump. While I was repairing it I also pulled the heads and did a valve job.
We then added a stereo system, wheels and tires, lowered it, lighted mirrors, added a cowl hood and a fiberglass hard bed cover, tinted windows and replaced a cracked windshield and misc other repairs and up grades. All told an easy 4500.00 of parts and not counting all our labor.
This truck only has 119,000 miles and we fixed it up to last him several years to be reliable and sporty to our taste to get him through school trouble free within our budget.
How can I either get the value of the truck or get it repaired??
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/IMAGE058.jpg

[Mohavekid]

Have you provided them evidence of the upgrades? Have they provided you a copy of the CCC or ADP market evaluation they used to determine value? if not, request they give you a copy. Review it carefully to verify the vehicle condition and equipment were properly included and rated.
Normal maintenance and or repairs do not increase the value of the vehicle, upgrades will. Upgrades include paint, custom wheels stereo equipment and such.
If all else fails, demand arbitration of the dispute as outlined in your policy. You will need some evidence to support your case. Evidence includes prices of similar vehicles sold in the local area and or an "expert" in used vehicle pricing. They will provide their own "expert"opinions to the arbitrator who will decide how much they owe you. An arbitrator can be any mutually agreed individual, a judge, an attorney, an appraiser or a used car salesman.
Keep in mind, many policies exclude custom equipment like the wheels, hood, bed cover and stereo.
You may want to look into settling the case with you retaining salvage and then repairing the vehicle yourself. If you choose to do retain the salvage, the insurance company will deduct the salvage value which is typically 15-20% of the offer.
Good luck.

[Eliminator 4 Life]

Well I would go to the auto trader and pull up comps enter the same year and miles you have on your truck and show what they are selling for and fight with the ins company over the value and show recipts.
Off topic when I was in Mazatlan I met the old chief of police from Midland really a nice guy he said he retired 27 years in law enforcement.

[Throttle]

did you have additional coverage for the tires, wheels, stereo equip and other misc items you listed here? I am pretty certain, you are not going to see any of the money for the repairs you made to keep it up and running.
guess, you could cancel your claim and put more money into it to fix it. I would be lookin into puttin the original stuff back on it and taking what you can (maybe you could sell it elsewhere).:idea:

[scooooter7]

Same thing happened with my son's Miata. However they offered about $500 less if we kept the vehicle. My son didn't want to fix it so took the check.
Then the insurance Co. canceled him when his policy was up.

[wsm9808]

Have you provided them evidence of the upgrades?
Keep in mind, many policies exclude custom equipment like the wheels, hood, bed cover and stereo.
You may want to look into settling the case with you retaining salvage and then repairing the vehicle yourself. If you choose to do retain the salvage, the insurance company will deduct the salvage value which is typically 15-20% of the offer.
Good luck.
What you touched on is what is freeking me out about this deal.
I have reciepts and photographic proof of the upgrades, and their own field person has pics.
And, if the upgrades are not covered under my policy---why did she say I cant remove them before they haul off my truck.
As far as retaining salvage, I do not want a salvage title. That again hurts the value down the road.
Zeeeze, I would settle if they would just give me a check for 2500.00 and let me fix the truck myself.
I thought I was paying insurance premiums to protect myself aganst losses, not to amplify them. Compared to taking the the amount they insist on, I could just fix the truck and be out less money and time than I would be by taking their money and starting over on another truck. It has been 25 years years since i have had to deal with an insurance claim, I had no idea they have become so back stabbing.
What can they do if I strip the truck?

[wsm9808]

This is really F'ed up.
I also have a 68 camaro that I fully restored myself.
when I bought insurance they told me that if i wanted it insured for over 25000.00 it would need to be appraised, so I just bought the up to 25000.00 stuff. But nowhere on the policy does it say anything about what the car is valued at. I bought the body for 800.00 and spent 23000.00 in parts to restore it.
Now it sounds like the insurance company could just tell me my Camaro is only worth 800.00 and screw the crap out of me if I ever have a claim.
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/IMAGE051.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/IMAGE010.jpg

[scooooter7]

It's the old...if it ain't in writing deal.
I would definately contact my insurance co and ask them what they cover if it gets totaled. Don't wait till it happens then find out.
Nice Camaro by the way.

[boatnam2]

so what did you have the truck insured for? probaly a 1997 chevy truck stock with high miles.I can tell you this insurance company's are not in the biz of insuring one thing and paying on another.I would keep trying to get the payoff higher they hopefully they will give in alittle try changing adjusters r supervisors.

[scooooter7]

Hey wsm9808,
Remember that when dealing with an insurance company that you have to represent yourself. You have to negotiate the best deal that you are willing to accept. They always come in at the lowest they can offer to try and make out like the bandits they are.
You should have put all upgrades on your policy so they had to insure them, but that would cost you more. And it is too late for that anyway.
Was anyone else involved in the accident? If so, then your in. co. also has to pay out for that. My guess is they are trying to break even in this deal by not "allowing" you to take anything off your vehicle. Remember, it is your's . You should be telling them you want to retain the vehicle (if you do) and negotiate from there.