I was in an accident this morning in which an individual ran a red light and demolished my car (not official but its totaled). Witness saw all and corroborates my story, but the old lady says she didn’t run the light. I am not hurt, don’t think I need a lawyer (hope not anyway). So my question is, even thought my car is older with high mileage and based on NADA was worth maybe $6500, it was still a great car that I planned on riding for at least the next 2-3 years. Been taken good care of. I don’t want to milk this, but am I right to say that I am entitled to a little more than what the car is worth seeing as now I have to go get another reliable vehicle? Your thoughts on how I should handle this?
Report it to your auto insurance carrier and let them deal with her auto insurance carrier. That’s why you pay for insurance.
Understand that you likely will only get the blue book value for your car. Generally, they do not take into consideration the factors you have identified.
Make sure your back, neck, legs, etc. are not hurt. I expect that in 24 to 36 hours you may have some real pain from being banged around. If you do, see a doctor, get some treatment and add that to your claim. You are entitled to compensation for pain, even soft tissue pain. No need to tough it out. They will pay for your car but not replacement value. If you do have pain from the accident, that will help increase the payment to cover some of the car replacement costs. Good luck.
I was in an accident this morning in which an individual ran a red light and demolished my car (not official but its totaled). Witness saw all and corroborates my story, but the old lady says she didn’t run the light. . So my question is, even thought my car is older with high mileage and based on NADA was worth maybe $6500, it was still a great car that I planned on riding for at least the next 2-3 years. Been taken good care of. I don’t want to milk this, but am I right to say that I am entitled to a little more than what the car is worth seeing as now I have to go get another reliable vehicle? Your thoughts on how I should handle this?
** don’t think I need a lawyer** ,maybe not but her insurance company has a shit load of them.
**I am not hurt, (hope not anyway), **You should make sure because if something comes up later it will be too late.
The first offer they will give you will be low ball big time be firm.Good luck and cover all your bases,twice.
First - See your doctor. Don’t say you are not hurt because you are not a doctor. Many injuries take a day or two to show. You have no idea how you will feel tomorrow morning.
Second - The value of your car will be based on the blue book estimates. Any other supporting evidence you have to increase that estimate will help.
Third - You need a rental car, who pays for it? If your insurance does not then you may end up in small claims court to get the person that hit to pay.
Fourth - Hey, you can use the stimulus to buy a new car!
I had almost this exact thing happen to me 3 years ago, the only difference being the person that hit me left the scene before the cops got there. I got blue book exactly from my insurance company (he was uninsured). If you’re not hurt (make sure you are not), I would be surprised if you see anything more than replacement value of the car.
A lawyer could be retained based on a % of settlement not upfront cash…it is worth having someone doing the insurance co. dance for you if you do have injuries etc
The car is pretty straight forward…blue book, look for recent ads listing cars similar to yours etc and negotiate.
Make sure you keep all ownership of the car at the wreckers until paid by insurance co for it
Go see a doctor etc now to get looked at, hopefully nothing is wrong, all the best and watch out for the ‘Gray Knucklers’ next time 
Andrew
Do report the incident to an insurance carrier asap. Do not report it to your insurance carrier (it will be counted as a claim against you and will likely cause your premium to increase, even though you are not at fault). Report instead to the other driver’s carrier. Do not tell the the other driver’s carrier you are not injured. Do tell the carrier that as of now you do not believe you are injured. Then, say immediately that you may need to go see a doctor if symptoms manifest themselves later.
Did the police make a report, and if so, does it say the other driver is at fault?
Do you have the contact information for the witness?
You may or may not get a low-ball offer from the other driver’s carrier. Until you get the offer, you shouldn’t worry too much about the value of your car or what the offer might be relative to such value. There will be plenty of time to deal with a low-ball offer if and when such is made. Right now, the other driver’s carrier owes you a rental car, so you can get to work, etc. Don’t let the carrier rush you into a settlement of any portion of your claim.
Yes, I’m a lawyer, but I’m not your lawyer, so please do not construe this as legal advice (rather, this is just common sense gleaned from years of representing insurance companies and suing insurance companies).
PM me if you feel the need, and good luck.
How is this working out for you?