Overhaulin'

Should we get a new car, used one, or buy back the totaled one?

My boyfriend and I were in a car accident on Sunday, and his '00 Chrysler had a little damage peripherally (front and back -- a little on the hood, trunk, & bumper) and ruined his radiator. We had it towed, and Progressive is choosing to total it. They're giving him $2,200 for the car, and now we're totally conflicted about what to do. 1) We can take out a small loan of like 2 more thousand, go to an auction with our friend and buy a (hopefully) nice used car for 5K. Concern: What if the car breaks down? 2) We can go to a dealership and finance a nice cheap new car. Concern: I don't know how much he'll have left over after the monthly car payment, and I'm not sure if his insurance will skyrocket even more. 3) We can buy back the car from the insurance company for $500 and fix it with the remaining $1700. Concern: I don't know exactly how much the damage will cost to fix, and who's to say the car won't die soon anyway (Its got 170k miles on it)? Help! Any sound advice would be greatly appreciated.

Public Comments

1. Leasing is a good option. You keep the car for as long as you're apt to keep a new car and you get maintenance covered. Buying used is one option but you have to be wary. Make sure you have a service agreement or warranty. A new car looses a big chunk of its value as soon as you drive off the lot. Big reasons to go with the first two choices.
2. if you choose to buy a new car you can make your own deal. salesmen are NOT selling many cars right now due to the economy SO you can negotiate to benefit you. if they won't then go to another dealer
3. A car is never the same after it is wrecked. I would just get a loan and buy an inexpensive new one. I purchased a used car and within a month it started having problems. I finally had to buy a new car but it is so nice to not have to worry if it is going to break down on me when I go out somewhere. Also, it was about the same price to pay for repairs on a vehicle that kept having problems as it was for a monthly payment. Good luck.
4. I suggest the used car option. If the friend you are taking is a mechanic have him check the important stuff, brakes, tires, oil, ect. Option 2 a new car sounds like it will strech your budget and option 3 buying back the wrecked car is not a sound option. Cars that have been totaled by an isurance company get issued a remanufactured title and are virtually worthless when you go to sell/trade them, also it sounds like this car was beyond its usful life expectancy at 170k miles anyway. As for the used car buy one for $4500 and put the other $500 aside for repairs just incase.
5. Hello First thing is tell them the car is worth more than that and refuse there first offer, standard practise to save money is under value the car? Look at similar ones and their retail prices as this is what you will have to pay to replace it. If there is a significant difference send them copies as proof of what your car was worth. Some people here opt for an insurance company that replaces the car and not give you the money, they then have the problem of find one similar to or better than yours. 170K Here in U.K the dealers work on 10K per year when they buy and 12K per year when they sell. At our rate your car should be 15 years old, So yes time to sell. High mileage but regally serviced is OK up to a point. How ever they have had quotes from main dealer with new panels and probably respray? If the car is drivable with a little work on the panels and the radiator replaced Refurbished/2nd hand from scrap yard you can legally pocket the rest or look for 2nd cheap car? If you are talking brand new do not forget that it will loose $2K - $3K as soon as your name goes on the log book. Because it is now second Hand. Work out the repayments? Typical $10K car will cost $18K Monthly repayment $300 X Months 60 = $8K $10K For Car + $8K For Interest = $18K You will have to pay that regardless of trying to pay back early The interest will be repaid first, so after 2 years you would still owe the full $10K for the car. Unless you know of a 0% interest garage. Some will to help sell cars in which case forget the part about interest costs. If you can buy a 2 or 3 year old as they will have taken the big drop and will depreciate at a fairly steady rate. Andy C
6. Geez, I feel for you. That's the pits. I have only one experience in a similar situation. When my step-daughter turned 16, we bought her an older used Mercedes sedan for her first car. It was big, reliable, and safe. She promptly totalled it about 4 months later. (Thanks a lot....) Anywho, the insurance company didn't give us anywhere near what the car was really worth, so I bought it back from the insurance company for $800. I run an ebay store, so I parted the car out, and sold parts from it. I ended up selling over $2000 in parts so far; I still have a lot of parts left over that haven't sold yet. The money the insurance company did give us, we took and paid cash for another car just like it. I don't much care for auction cars. A lot of the auction cars have problems. I bought a used pickup truck once, low miles, just 58K, and soon discovered it had a lot of problems. I called the used car dealer back, and asked him to find me another truck, and take the one I bought back. He said he'd do that (which he never did), and he'd just run my truck back through the auction to get rid of it. I later found out that's where he got the truck in the first place, because the Dodge dealer that sold it new realized it was a lemon, and didn't want to sell it themselves, so they sent it through the auction just to shed themselves of it. That's just one example of what kind of junk sometimes goes through the auction houses. Anywho, good luck with it. I wish the best for you.
7. first,you should collect some resource by searching the relevant keyword in search engine,if you got good luck there ,then your problem solved.however,if you are not able to find the ideal answer by doing that,here http://www.CarInsuranceFree.info/free-car-insurance.htm is the resource i recommend.
8. The car auction was fun. Get one there. Save a little money in case it breaks down..