HELP SAVE MY 240!!!

[GSDKinked]

I need to prove my car is rare and worth every ****ing penny I spent on it. So I need to find out how rare a 1997 240SX LE Aspen White Pearl is with an original manual 5-speed transmission and tan leather interior w/ suede door accents.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated. With only 3655 Nissan 240SXs produced in 1997, they are rare cars that should not simply end up in a junkyard.

And if you must know why here is the story.

"My accident.....ShareIt occurred Friday night (09/26/08). I was traveling down to OC, MD with eddie, jaime, johnny, eric, bryan and erin. My gf was in my car and we were in the right lane of Route 1 doing about 65+ or so. And a lady pulled out from a side street where the Super 8 Motel is. I braked hard and adjusted to avoid her, but she rolled her vehicle back and my exit was cut off. My Gf and I collided with her and my airbags deployed. I got out of my car immediately and so did my gf. The lady then began cussing me out as eddie and the rest ran up onto the scene. She was still holding the cigarette in her hand that she held before the collision. While everyone was checkin to see if all parties were fine, she started her car and decided to drive off. We got her license plate number and called into 911 who responded with sending a patrol car out 30min+ after the incident. When the officer arrived he told us that he had already received a call about the accident from the lady at her residence. He gathered my information and statements from everyone, then left to go get the lady. He brought the lady back to the scene, and asked if we noticed anything on her breath. We all said no, but Bryan told him that he noticed she wasn't of sound mind and was in a hurry to get out of there. The officer later told us that she was drunk and that she claimed she drank to deal with the trauma of the incident. He booked, gave her all the tickets, and gave me a driver's information exchange.

My car has a good chance of getting totaled out. I've only had it for two months and 15 days. 8 hrs prior to the accident it came out of the shop with new guages, clutch, lightened flywheel and some other stuff. Spent $1014 that day. And in a matter of seconds it was taken away from me. I've got atleast 3K plus in damage, and apparently Geico likes to rip people off. So it will be a sad day if my car gets totaled out."

BEFORE:::







After:







The more evidence I can find to support that my car is more valuable than the insurance company claims the better chance I have.

[Gabes13]

I hate geico

[GSDKinked]

I hate geico

You and me both. I haven't talked to em yet....they keep callin.

[driven17]

Any and all help is greatly appreciated. With only 3655 Nissan 240SXs produced in 1997, they are rare cars that should not simply end up in a junkyard.

thats the only proof of rarity i have. i mean you can give statistics on how many MIGHT be left after wrecks and such. I mean the thing that make a car "rare" is really how easy they are to attain and nothing else really says it other than how many were made.

GL, im rooting for you

[S13_love]

For the '97 models, weren't there only 4000 of those produced?

To me those 97's and 98's are rare, i dont think it should be totaled but finding replacements parts for it might be a different story.

[gold on gold yo]

man that sucks, tell your insurance company your story and worst case scenerio, take your money and buy it back before it even makes it to the junk yard. you car looked beautiful and can be back to normal after time! seems like half of the cars on vwvortex are slavaged titles ........ good luck, your car was a beauty
Modified by gold on gold yo at 10:50 PM 9/30/2008

[240life]

I hate to sound like a douche, but the rarity of these cars mean nothing to an insurance agency. Firsty it's not a classic yet (it was fing sexy though), second you didn't have any type of specialty insurance on your vehicle, (they will(do) offer such insurance for vehicles that have a amount of $ invested in them. Thirdly geico is(was) formerly Government Enlisted Insurance COmpany (do the math) Unfortunatelly the odds are against you. I hope you are able to get out of this without a totaled vehicle, but atleast you can buy it back from the insurance agency and fix it yourself if all else fails. Good luck I wih you the best

[GSDKinked]

I hate to sound like a douche, but the rarity of these cars mean nothing to an insurance agency. Firsty it's not a classic yet (it was fing sexy though), second you didn't have any type of specialty insurance on your vehicle, (they will(do) offer such insurance for vehicles that have a amount of $ invested in them. Thirdly geico is(was) formerly Government Enlisted Insurance COmpany (do the math) Unfortunatelly the odds are against you. I hope you are able to get out of this without a totaled vehicle, but atleast you can buy it back from the insurance agency and fix it yourself if all else fails. Good luck I wih you the best

You aren't sounding like a douche man. You are being realistic, which is what i want and need. I know this is an up hill battle, and the information isn't for the insurance. It is for the courtroom because if I have to purchase back my vehicle I want every last cent to fix it, and the money to pay for my lawyer, and medical bills.

I've come to terms with the fact that it might be totaled. I know the chances of that happening are high. However, I will not take it sitting down.

[hbpignosePA]

well if u have collision they will pay out even if its blue book

buy it back? wats so hard about that apply for reconstructed title...

i dont see the sense in arguing it, ur not going to win insurance companies know nothing about cars nor do they care

perhaps y i dont bother with colision, if i wreck ill just buy it back, look for a shell, and swap my sh*t over

gl thou man that car was hella clean

[GSDKinked]

well if u have collision they will pay out even if its blue book

buy it back? wats so hard about that apply for reconstructed title...

i dont see the sense in arguing it, ur not going to win insurance companies know nothing about cars nor do they care

perhaps y i dont bother with colision, if i wreck ill just buy it back, look for a shell, and swap my sh*t over

gl thou man that car was hella clean

We shall see.....thats all I can do is wait and see. I meet with my lawyer today.

[xckid]

that does not look like 3k worth of damage.......id say buy it back from them and fix it your self.

[xX RB Xx]

that does not look like 3k worth of damage.......id say buy it back from them and fix it your self.

that is what i was thinking.. maybe 1.5k for new headlight, hood, bumper, new dash, side fender. And to replace all the suspension on that side.. To me it doesnt look like the frame is bent. I say **** geico and keep your car and fix it.

[xX RB Xx]

honestly, by looking at the pictures again.. it only looks like cosmetic damage.. this car is no where close to be totaled.. wow geico is ****ed up..

[nzmoman]

well good new is this. IF the insurance company does not come through you will more than likely have recourse with the woman who left the scene of the accident and then had alcohol on her breath.

Also, 3k damage on a car that you can put a 10k value on is going to be something you can go for. Chances are with the crazy financial crap going on they are going to opt for the cheapest thing and you telling them you have an attorney is going to help significantly. the rarity of the car doesn't matter, but you do have proof of several kouki's going for 10k plus and being nowhere near as nice as yours. That will increase value. I would get a couple of ads from this forum that show that people will pay 12+ for a car like yours.

bad new:you went to an attorney before talking to the insurance company. You may be setting yourself up to have a bill that you don't even need. I would not have gotten an attorney until I spoke with the insurance company because it is very easy for you to prove value, but not rarity. the insurance company needs to get you settled based on the market value and not the black book or even the blue book.

You should be fine. you have a great car and if push comes to shove you can always conver another car with your interior. BTW. I am betting that there were less than 100 cars made like yours. Mine is an LE with grey leather 5 speed and I have yet to see another one like it.

[the converted]

Don't forget about airbags and such. It was Goverment EMPLOYEE Ins Co

[nzmoman]

BTW....

not even an LEhttp://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread/333252not an LEhttp://forums.nicoclub.com/zer...sx-se

....

this is a reason why all of us 97-98 guys should be getting appraisals from our cars after we start building them. We understand the value, but when you have something happen its difficult to explain that this car is not worth 5k its worth much more.

[blacksrjdm]

OK I did a generic kelly blue book on a 97 240sx LE 5 spd with 125000 miles. I guessed at the mileage. But pretty much if you have 3000 in damage the car in good condition is worth almost 5000. They wont total u out if the damage doesnt exceed the vehicles worth.

Or let them total it out and buy it back and restore with salvaged title. Either way they wont take your car away with no options. If it gets totaled you can buy it back though.

[GSDKinked]

OK I did a generic kelly blue book on a 97 240sx LE 5 spd with 125000 miles. I guessed at the mileage. But pretty much if you have 3000 in damage the car in good condition is worth almost 5000. They wont total u out if the damage doesnt exceed the vehicles worth.

Or let them total it out and buy it back and restore with salvaged title. Either way they wont take your car away with no options. If it gets totaled you can buy it back though.

I bit the bullet and I talked to them via recorded phone interview. Gave them none of my witnesses information (so they can't build a case against me or weasel their way out) and explained everything to them. I am waiting for the adjuster to call me back, and now the chess game begins.

[GSDKinked]

well good new is this. IF the insurance company does not come through you will more than likely have recourse with the woman who left the scene of the accident and then had alcohol on her breath.

Also, 3k damage on a car that you can put a 10k value on is going to be something you can go for. Chances are with the crazy financial crap going on they are going to opt for the cheapest thing and you telling them you have an attorney is going to help significantly. the rarity of the car doesn't matter, but you do have proof of several kouki's going for 10k plus and being nowhere near as nice as yours. That will increase value. I would get a couple of ads from this forum that show that people will pay 12+ for a car like yours.

bad new:you went to an attorney before talking to the insurance company. You may be setting yourself up to have a bill that you don't even need. I would not have gotten an attorney until I spoke with the insurance company because it is very easy for you to prove value, but not rarity. the insurance company needs to get you settled based on the market value and not the black book or even the blue book.

You should be fine. you have a great car and if push comes to shove you can always conver another car with your interior. BTW. I am betting that there were less than 100 cars made like yours. Mine is an LE with grey leather 5 speed and I have yet to see another one like it.

After reading this I called the insurance company myself. My lawyer can handle the lady in this accident.

[slyedog240sx]

OK I did a generic kelly blue book on a 97 240sx LE 5 spd with 125000 miles. I guessed at the mileage. But pretty much if you have 3000 in damage the car in good condition is worth almost 5000. They wont total u out if the damage doesnt exceed the vehicles worth.

Or let them total it out and buy it back and restore with salvaged title. Either way they wont take your car away with no options. If it gets totaled you can buy it back though.

Wrong. It is somewhere around 50% to 75% of the value. Closer to 50% i think. Yes you can buy it back without having salvage title or damage disclosure. What i want to know is why isn't her insurance paying for this? Are they not showing her at fault or what? If she doesn't have ins than she is liable even if it was your fault. Small claims court.

[GSDKinked]

Wrong. It is somewhere around 50% to 75% of the value. Closer to 50% i think. Yes you can buy it back without having salvage title or damage disclosure. What i want to know is why isn't her insurance paying for this? Are they not showing her at fault or what? If she doesn't have ins than she is liable even if it was your fault. Small claims court.

1. Her insurance hasn't disclosed whether she is at fault or not. It is still under "investigation". It's clear cut that their customer was drunk and ****ed up. I made sure I said it on the recording that she was drunk, and negligent.

2. Geico sucks. They like to screw people to high hell. Do a bit of research on the net you'll find horror stories from their own customers.

3. Small claims court doesn't mean ****. I've been that route before for a body shop that did $6000 in damages to my Trans Am. I won $400 out of $6000 and I have never seen a penny of it. So I expect nothing from small claims. That is why I lawyered up early, but now I've come to the conclusion that i will handle her insurance myself and involve the lawyer when necessary. In the meantime while I am dealing with that I will let my lawyer deal with her.

[blacksrjdm]

IDK if Geico is so bad...maybe your dealing havent been great, but back in 02 Geico totaled out my civic and because I could show proof of the new motor (type r) they gave me a check for 10,000 when the car was only worth about 8500. Thats only one account of a happy customer, although I wasnt the customer the other person was insured with them.

[GSDKinked]

Well it won't be hard for to show that there is an SR and not a KA in my engine bay.

[pinoyboy3241]

Good luck with geico.

If it doesn't work out, dibs on the 350z wheels!!!!

[blacksrjdm]

Well it won't be hard for to show that there is an SR and not a KA in my engine bay.

I'm very proud of you, although that means absolutely nothing without reciepts for at least the engine, with the vin#, mileage, and date of sale. Technically to the insurance company putting a Japanese engine in the car will not be considered as an upgrade. I had put a usdm type r engine in my old 2000 civic coupe and I had reciepts from the outfit I bought the engine and trans from, and from the shop that put it in at the time. They were considered upgrades and the engine had lower miles so they compensated me for it. Then I bought the car back from the Ins. company and sold the swap for another 4500. I made out pretty good I think. But without a bill fo sale for the engine with mileage and vin # and such. The motor might be driving the value down, that is to the ins. company.

[1995240sxSE]

I hate geico too. My mom is a collision claims adjuster for them tho. No I cant help. She was telling me how they investigate claims. You have geico or the lady did? I am guessing her. U will get actual cash value not replacement cost, thats their way. Also depends on what state u r in for how much u can get. How long ago was the accident? Go to the hospital ASAP and have you neck and back examined. At 5 mph collisions there can be a HUGE chance of injury. Also with injury GEICO cowers in fear of a HUGE lawsuit. words coming from my moms mouth!!!!

[GSDKinked]

I hate geico too. My mom is a collision claims adjuster for them tho. No I cant help. She was telling me how they investigate claims. You have geico or the lady did? I am guessing her. U will get actual cash value not replacement cost, thats their way. Also depends on what state u r in for how much u can get. How long ago was the accident? Go to the hospital ASAP and have you neck and back examined. At 5 mph collisions there can be a HUGE chance of injury. Also with injury GEICO cowers in fear of a HUGE lawsuit. words coming from my moms mouth!!!!

Well thanks. I just got back from my lawyer and he said its pretty much open and shut. Just got to do a few things first before it can begin. We shall see where it leads...

Thanks for all the support and info guys. I greatly appreciate it. I will keep updating this as things progress.

[gregfarz78]

ouch gieco good luck with that I know a few people that got screwed by them

that does not look like 3k worth of damage.......id say buy it back from them and fix it your self.

for DIY no for a body shop that is easy 3k worth of damage

[r34 gtr]

Yeah pretty much if they total it out, just buy it back and spend the $500 to fix it in your garage. Thats nothing as far as damage is concerned. What is that, bumper cover, hood, drivers fender, headlight and turn signal? Thats nothing. No way the frame is tweaked because of that light tap.

[silviaz13]

nice ride man........good luck!!!!!!!