No More NSX... I need some help.

[SLIPPINnSLIDING]

Ok, so my NSX has been in the shop for over 4 months, I had a incident on the mountains, and ended up loosing my tires and suspension. My headlight and bumper were also gone, including my left fender. I guess it took longer than expected to fix the car. I was ok with the charges, I knew my friends shop would take care of me. Right when i got the NSX back, i took it out for a spin. I was really happy with how they fixed my NSX, seemed good as new (for a 91'). Right when i was re-entering the shop, i got slammed into by an asian lady 30-40 years old in an accord. So there we go, another few weeks in the shop. I got it out, around a week or two ago. It drove fine, and i was happy with it. So then, my friend asks me if I can lend him my NSX for his Prom Night. He gave me 800 dollars to rent a day, and also on top of that, drive his MR2 turbo while he had my NSX. I was happy with this, i trust him. So he calls me after his Prom is over, and tells me that the car did not get any scratches. Good buddy, knows how to drive. I tell him that i couldn't pick up the car right away, so I let him keep it for two days. The day after prom, somehow, his dad finds the keys to the NSX, and takes it for a spin. He ends up totaling it, and crashing into a tree. I get a call from my friend, in a shaky voice, saying "Eric, i'm real sorry, but my dad totaled your car." I was real furious when i heard this, and drove down to the crash site. Police were there on site before me. Insurance knows about it, and my friends dad says he will pay me 20,000 for my salvaged 91'. Now, I am wondering, what do you guys think about 20,000 for my salvaged 91'? I had 80,000 miles on it, perfect maintence, and spent money for mods, such as Exhaust, Suspension, Intake, Brakes. Relatively light on modifications, I was planning on doing much more. To this day, i'm still in shock by this event, this event happened 2 thursdays ago, I don't think i can trust letting people borrow my car anymore. Should i persue legal action? I'm still friends with the MR2 guy, just his dad and I have much to work out on. Since it's my friend's family, i don't really know if i want to press charges, but this is my NSX we're talking about. The car I loved and cherished, my pride and my joy. I really don't know what to do since this is my friend's family. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

-Eric

 

[Osiris_x11]

Be patient, go through the insurance claims first...

hmmm... Very unfortunate, all that occurred. :frown:

However, we all need more insights. . .

- What does your insurance have to say about all this?

- Have they offered any form of compensation/remittance/payment to you?

- Will they let you buy the "totalled" NSX back?

- What does the insurance of the driver who wrecked the NSX have to say or offer? (I reckon that they are liable)

For now, ignore the $20k offer and try to pursue any claims through your insurance or the person who wrecked it. After going through those channels, you can sit-down and discuss what the individual can offer you for your loss, inconvenience, and so forth.

 

[gtr]

I dont think the story sounds right. Are you sure his dad is not covering for his son?

If your car is in snap ring range and has a salvage title your 20,800.00 seems about right depending on the shape of your car and what you can sell it for.

What is your insurance willing to pay? If it's not too bad why not get a 02+ conversion and a respray? I guess what it comes down to is that if you file the claim would your insurance skyrocket?

 

[nsxtasy]

I'm not sure why you paid for the damage in your earlier accident, or why your friend's dad should be paying for your car. This is what insurance is for. Your insurance should have covered your earlier accident. I'm not sure whose insurance should cover your friend's dad's accident, but someone should.

In any case, whoever pays for the damage - your friend's dad or an insurance company - you should be reimbursed for its fair market value, which is the amount which a similar car could be bought or sold for.

Your description isn't entirely complete, but a '91 with 80K miles and up-to-date maintenance and excellent condition and no issues would fall into the "B" category in the Pricing section of the NSX FAQ. (Although the mileage is slightly above average, which would put it into the C category, the lack of deferred maintenance would put it at least into B.) Minor mods such as those you mention wouldn't change the market value by much, either way. That car should be worth at least $30K, I would say somewhere around $32K, and that's what he should be paying you for it. And he should be offering to pay you exactly what the car is worth, not some wild-eyed discounted value. He totalled it, so he should take responsibility for his actions. If he doesn't, you have an excellent case in court if you can't settle it any way other than legal action, but obviously, it would be better to try to negotiate a fair settlement first. $32K - plus sales tax in your area, since you would be paying that when you buy a similar car (which is why insurance companies add sales tax in calculating their reimbursement) - is a fair settlement. $20K is not.

 

[drew]

Dad's insurance should handle it. Pursue his insurance.

If Dad does NOT have insurance, then just report it to YOUR insurance...they will take care of it for you. It should not even appear a charge against you. (I've had girlfriends wreck my cars....it gets fixed and nothing shows on my insurance. It's like it never happened.)

This is not a big deal, don't worry about it. I fail to see why you are so angry. But the story DOES sound a little contrived.

Your car was already messed up, so it is not like you have a "diminished value" issue either.

This is all handled by a few phone calls...it is a nice weekend, go out and otherwise enjoy it.

Drew

 

[nsxtasy]

If your car is in snap ring range and has a salvage title your 20,800.00 seems about right depending on the shape of your car and what you can sell it for.

My estimate above is based on what you have posted about your car. It assumes that the car is not in snap ring range (as 80 percent of '91s are not), that it did not have a salvage title prior to your friend's dad's accident, and that the previous body repair was done very well so that the car was in excellent condition. If any of these conditions is not true, then you can reduce the estimate to reflect it.

 

[SLIPPINnSLIDING]

Yes, for a fact, I know he isn't covering for his son. His son has been a good friend for quite a while, and he i know his driving style. It couldn't be him.
The NSX is not in Excellent condition, i bought it and it had a crash title already.
As for why I paid for the earlier accident, that was my fault, I exceeded the limits of the car, the insurance company paid 75% for me, i paid the other 25%
I got the NSX back, and sold off the parts that could be sold.
I will be talking with my insurance company again in a few days, since i have been on vacation.
I think that if i do file the claim, my insurance would skyrocket... maybe i should just talk with his dad, forget about the insurance company? He seems to be a reasonable man, i don't see what harm it could do to try. I have recieved 5,000 dollars already, which is not part of the 20,000 deal. I'm wondering if this is for the transportation (them assuming i have a rental car).

 

[gtr]

nsxtasy has a good point on what your car is worth. If you can get the whole amount on the car no biggie. Since your suspension and tire/rim was torn off and already having a salvage title, I automatically rated it as a D-E car if it's in snap ring range. I guess without seeing the car our imagination on weather it's an A car or E car will differ :biggrin:.

Anyways, since you will not get points for this accident, perhaps you should take the $5,800.00 and the insurance money if your insurance covers it? I guess you can switch insurance company on your next NSX. Keep us posted on what happens and good luck.

 

[91 X]

see what happens when you try to profit off of friends....$800 to borrow your car for the NIGHT!!!??? sorry that your car and you have had such baaad karma, but like I said.....


good luck and next time just let your "friend" borrow the car :biggrin:


BTW, the whole story sounds lil' bit fishy to me...Prom in late June???

 

[gtr]

Prom in late June???

Didn't even catch that. Good point, since the thread was posted today

 

[nsxtasy]

it had a crash title already.
.
.
.
I have recieved 5,000 dollars already, which is not part of the 20,000 deal.

I don't understand what the 5,000 is for. But if you can get $25,800 for a '91 NSX with a salvage title and 80K miles on it, take the money and run! (Because it probably isn't worth that much.)

 

[SLIPPINnSLIDING]

Sorry guys, It was on June 12th, the incident. I talked to Son on the 16th. I went back to my phone logs from when my friend called. I've held off on posting for a time. Felt really embarassed about getting my NSX totaled...I knew i'd get fu**ed over. It feels disgracing loosing this car.I Learned three things from this:
1. Don't let anyone else drive my car
2. Don't buy exotics with bad titles, stick with the clean titles no matter what the cost. End up paying more money for problems with the car.
3. Start babying my cars... especially the new NSX, if i ever have courage to buy one again.

 

[Vegas Boy]

FYI, in most states, the insurance follows the car, not the driver, but varies by state, not sure what rule is in CA. Since you charged for the use, ins co claims could hassle you as you technically "rented" your car; most personal policies exclude this.

As to value, you will get blue book based on latest auction reports by KBB, etc. They will not pay for any mods unless you have a stated value policy.
Brings up a great point for the rest of us, you should ask your ins agent
about that. In other words, KBB might be $ 25K on a 91 with average miles.
If your 91 has tons of mods, low miles, pristine cond and would take say
40K to replace, that is what you should insure it for. Will cost more, but
you are getting more. You have to read the insurance policy to understand what will happen, they are NOT all the same.

 

[nsxsupra]

The NSX is not in Excellent condition, i bought it and it had a crash title already.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune.

$20k is very nice. At least you can now start looking for another NSX. Look at it in another way it might actually be a bless after all. Take the $20k+$800 rental from your friend pay a little more. You can get yourself another nsx with clean title and not accident history.

 

[SLIPPINnSLIDING]

Yes, that is my plan. Somehow, thinking of owning a clean titled nsx would repent my sins. If i'm moving back to Taiwan, which is a high possibility now, since it's been in consideration for more than half a year, i'll be shipping the NSX over.

 

[NSX01]

Yes, that is my plan. Somehow, thinking of owning a clean titled nsx would repent my sins. If i'm moving back to Taiwan, which is a high possibility now, since it's been in consideration for more than half a year, i'll be shipping the NSX over.

Sorry to heard about your mishape. I think you better change your user name. I was not surprise at all when I read your post and looking at your user name.

 

[nsxtasy]

As to value, you will get blue book based on latest auction reports by KBB, etc.

Not true. You will get the car's market value. KBB does not have enough data to report accurate values, which is why the NSX prices shown on their website are so ridiculously low.

Every person I know who has had an NSX totalled has been satisfied that the reimbursement they received from their insurance company represents the car's fair market value.

In the odd instance that you receive an offer that you consider below market value, you can negotiate with the insurance company by providing prices of comparable cars available for sale, and asking them to do the same to justify their price.

However, the market value for a car with a salvage title is a lot more difficult to estimate and justify, since you can't find a bunch of comparable salvage title cars.

They will not pay for any mods unless you have a stated value policy.

Also not true. They will not pay the full amount you paid for the mods, but they will increase their offer for any mods that are installed. See the Insurance section of the FAQ for a more complete explanation.

 

[Vegas Boy]

They will not pay the full amount you paid for the mods, but they will increase their offer for any mods that are installed.

My point on this issue is that you can insure your modded car for the full value of actual replacement. If you used a stated amount, agreed in advance, then you do not have to negotiate with this ins. co. as to what
they or you think certain items are worth.

I am really surprised everyone you know has gotten a settlement they were happy with- that is pretty amazing if true.

 

[nsxtasy]

My point on this issue is that you can insure your modded car for the full value of actual replacement. If you used a stated amount, agreed in advance, then you do not have to negotiate with this ins. co. as to what they or you think certain items are worth.

On that, you are correct...

 

[PAULINNEWJERSEY]

First, The Story Sounds Bogus--but Not Inpossible
Second, When You Said I Rented It For $ 800.00--you Also Said I
Do Not Have Insurance Coverage! Take The Money And Run!!!

 

[NSXFreak00]

I'm still confused why the dad is giving you a cash offer. Why would you pay cash when you can get the insurance company to cover it? And if he doesn't have insurance....well, I just don't know anyone that can make a cash offer of $20k and not have insurance.

I guess if you collect on the alleged $20k plus the $5k plus the $800 for borrowing the car (wow, charging nearly 3-5% book value of car to loan for a day to a friend is a rip off by the way!) and considering that the car is salvage, I'd say $25K for a 91 in the aforementioned condition is a STEAL, even considering that you are in Canada.

Just my 2