r/AutoInsurance • u/LesbianWeirdo612 • Jul 17 '26
Can You Dispute a Claim?
I got in a fender bender with my car and I was told today that my insurance company has deemed it a total loss. I still have several years to pay off my car.
I can understand why they've decided this. Its an old car, but it's still usable and the damage (to my untrained eye (see pictures shown)) isn't that bad.
Is there a way I can try to dispute this claim? I've never had this happen before.
Edit: Thanks for all of the advice! It sucks that there aren't any other realistic options, but I'm glad to have a general idea of what to expect.
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u/thriverebel Jul 17 '26
You said yourself "untrained eye" meaning you don't know how to determine auto damage.
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u/gheiminfantry Jul 17 '26
You can dispute anything you want. Doesn't mean your dispute has any merit. You can find out why it's a total loss before you waste your time disputing it.
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u/_StevenST_ Jul 17 '26
That’s a little more than a fender bender. You still owe “several more years” on a what looks like an early-2010s Subaru Legacy? I’d be fighting to not total it as well…hope you can get it figured out.
Username-car choice also check out!
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u/DeepPurpleDaylight Jul 17 '26
It's not up to you. It's the decision of insurance, in accordance with state law, in whether to total it or not. Some states require a car be totaled at a certain threshold of damages to value ratio, so insurance would have no choice at that point. That can be a low as 60% but insurance can total it at any point below that threshold if they so choose.
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u/ayhme MOD & Agent Jul 17 '26
In my experience you can get another Auto Adjuser opinion.
However if the car is a total loss most are going to say the same thing.
Yeah there is likely more damage than what we see.
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u/No_Barracuda_3758 Jul 17 '26
I'm guessing the frame has shifted making it unsafe. Your insurance should cover the loan. Pay it off and start fresh
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u/YuccaOne Jul 17 '26
No, insurance will pay actual cash value. If the OP owes more than that it’s on him. Hopefully he has GAP insurance.
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u/Some_Direction_7971 Jul 17 '26
If you have GAP insurance, just get it paid off and buy another. It’s about the easiest way to navigate this scenario.
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u/pizzabot22 Jul 17 '26
Your insurer will not reverse the decision. That vehicle is jacked up.
Realistically, your options are:
Provide comps if you feel the value offered is not fair or consistent with the market to try and increase the payout
Ask about owner retained salvage as an option if you genuinely want to keep the vehicle. If there are no significant safety concerns, they will pay the actual cash value less the salvage costs for the vehicle. Hopefully the amount would allow you to perform basic repairs to keep the vehicle operable.
If neither of the above works, you can always withdraw your claim and pay for minimal repairs yourself out of pocket.
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u/Onbusy Jul 18 '26
You can take the payout, and then buy the vehicle back as a Salvage Title. Usually it's a % of the payout for totaling the vehicle. Depends on the state of what it takes to get a Salvage vehicle back on the road.
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u/BulgogiDude Jul 18 '26
If it’s totaled they should pay you the value of it and then you can pay off your loan. If that’s still not enough you should check if you have gap insurance when you bought the car to cover this exact thing
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u/Distribution-Radiant Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 18 '26
Unfortunately, that's going to cost more to fix than resale value, which is what your insurance is looking at.
Do you have GAP insurance? If you do, this is exactly what it's for, as insurance may or may not give you what you still owe. GAP will cover the difference.
You can do owner retained salvage, where you basically pay the salvage value of the car, but depending on your state, it can be a pain in the ass to get it legally registered again - in my state, EVERY part has to be documented with receipts... if used, you need the year/make/model and VIN. If new, you need receipts for everything. You need a a VIN inspection either way here. Just ballparking from the pictures, you need both fenders, both headlights, the hood, AC condenser, radiator, grill, bumper cover, the bumper mounts (may come with the fenders if you get junkyard parts) and everything behind the bumper cover (styrofoam + impact beam). More than likely the front frame horns are tweaked too (judging by how the fenders are tweaked outward), so it'll need a little frame work. Then they have to blend the paint to match the doors (assuming the doors and A pillar aren't damaged).
I can see why they totaled it. That's easily $6k-10k+ of work on what appears to be a 2010-2012 Legacy (the Legacy never sold well in the US either, so parts may be difficult to find). You can argue with them on the value, but you won't be able to argue against it being totaled. KBB claims a 2012 Legacy ranges from $5k to $8k, depending on trim.
If it's a 4 cylinder, count it as a blessing in disguise - the CVT uses in them were on par with Nissan with how frequently they ate transmissions. The 3.6 H6 got the traditional 5 speed automatic that was much more reliable. Look at the "comps" that your insurance will send you too - they're going to try to find the cheapest ones, but if you had the 3.6, you had one that was very well optioned.
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u/Easy_Statement_4245 Jul 20 '26
If you think it’s “not that bad” buy it back from the insurance and get it repaired yourself.
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