What to do after an accident
 

Hi everyone

I hope this is in the right section and that some of you guys can help me out. My Dad was unfortunately involved in an accident (he lives in Alberta). His 2002 Civic DX sedan took a pretty hard hit. I'm trying to advise my parents, but I've never been involved in an accident where the cost to fix the car could approach the book value. The accident was the other driver's fault and that person has been ticketed for running a red light.

1. If the appraiser says that the cost to fix the car exceeds the book value, then we can obviously just take a payout from their insurance company and choose to either buy a new car or get our car fixed, right?

2. Will our insurance company (CAA-AAA) have anything to say about it or is it our choice?

3. Is there any value in our taking the car to Honda and getting an opinion? We want to make sure that the car will be safe if it is fixed. I'm not convinced that my Dad's mechanic has the knowledge to make this determination. I understand that Honda will be the most expensive alternative for the repair work.

Any tips about how to handle this situation would be appreciated. My parents drive around their small town and don't use the car too much so they're trying to avoid buying a new car if possible.

1 yes
2 hmm not sure
3 I wouldn t go to honda they will def say it unrepairable and hope you buy a new car.

if you do buy the car back and repair it their is no guarranty the car will be reinstated as fit for the road I suggest you call any assurance company and ask

If it was hit hard enough that it is approaching the value of the car to get it repaired I would...

1 determine if there was serious frame damage

2 How many kilometres are on it? Is it in that good of condition?

3 How hard would it be to get another 2002 civic vs looking for a shop that can do the repairs properly so the car isn't dog legged when it's driven, and all the headaches that could happen dealing with a shop.

4 it will Never drive the same

5 when you resell the car you MUST tell the next owner that it has had more than $2000.00 in repair work from an accident If you do not report this and they found out about it they can come back to you years later and give them a full refund.

So the resell value has dropped because of this



If I could get the payout for my car If it was stock

I would I would only fight it, if my car was worth more than the book value

eg type r swap etc

Honda Will repair a car some dealers have collision shops like Oakville honda

They aren't cheap but you would get oem parts MAYBE

I was told by honda a car older than 6 years old they discontinue Making parts for it...

Wow, thanks for the quick responses, guys. A few answers.

The car was probably in as good or better shape than any 2002 Civic because my parents are 75+ years old and they drove (slowly) around their small Alberta town for the past 5 years. It's probably got less than 50,000 klicks on it.

I think the point about frame damage is well taken. If I were there I would determine a quality shop and take it there, but I'm not. That's why I was wondering about Honda. The dealership is where they bought the car and yes, they would probably try to talk them into buying another one.

Getting another 2002 would be hard because I'm not out there and my parents are getting on and the don't have the energy or knowledge to go around and check out cars etc etc. They always just buy new.

I suppose that resale is an issue since if we fix it they will drive it for a few more years and the next dealership probably won't take it in trade (too old??).

One more thing I am wondering about is this - CAA (our insurance company) said an appraiser is going to go and make a determination. Is this CAA's appraiser? Is it the other person's insurance company appraiser? Are the appraisers really objective or do they have an interest in saying that a car is a write off (or saying it isn't a write off)? I assume that they could suffer serious liability if they say a car is not a write off and then it gets in an accident and it is determined that the car had a bent frame or was unsafe. I assume that the appraiser is going to take a very conservative approach and call it a write off if there's any question.

Also, there must be two kinds of write-offs, right? One where the car isn't unsafe, but the cost to fix it exceeds the book value, and another where it's a write off because although it could be fixed for less than it's worth, there are safety issues. Is that right?

Great point, thanks.

Appraiser's will do what ever is cheapest for the insurance company.

they will check if the frame is damaged etc if it's got less than 50,000 ya for sure fix it it's gots lots of life left

the only place i would take my car would be honda or my old bodyshop that repaired new audi's and such

Just so i know it would be a quality job

Also you have to make sure the appraiser isn't buddies buddies with the owner of the shop. My friend got in a head on accident with his SRT-4 (not his fault). Ended up the appraiser only showed a partial list of damage to his company just a few hundred $ under write off amount. However there was the intercooler, and other various parts that weren't included since he wanted his friend with the shop to get job and scam the insurance company even more. (long story and someone getting fired later the car was written off)

Unreal, what timing you have. Turns out that in the small town where my parents live, the appraiser and the guy who my Dad uses as a mechanic are related!! (not by blood, brother-in-law, but still...).

Anyhow, the appraiser recommended that the car be fixed. I wish I was there to see it.

Thanks to all those who responded here.