This just happened to me. Frankly it’s nothing more than ’legal’ theft. My car was paid off, I owned it. I just put new tires on it. Older Honda- I planned to drive until until one of us died. Got into an accident. Insurance sent someone out to assess it at tow yard (if they even sent anyone- I am not convinced)-never even had it assessed at collision center. They totaled my car because they said fixing it would cost 1200$ more than blue book value (not sure how can tell without taking it to collision center). SO? Give me the money and I’ll pay difference but that’s not even an option. ( yes, yes-I KNOW it doesn’t work that way but it’s absolute BS). So I’ve paid $$$ over the years for the car itself, maintenance, new tires, and thousands of dollars over years to insurance company yet THEY take my car, sell it and make even more money off me. Basically I’ve paid all this money to auto insurance so they can own my car!! They wouldn’t even let me take the tires so I could sell them. Of course couldn’t buy shit with money they gave me for car and I can’t afford another car used or new. I couldn’t even take the car- then they would give me NOTHING toward the repairs AND not an option (but should be). AND since car was totaled- they only provided a rental for a week!! During which time I hadn’t yet even received the money from them!! Insurance is a total rip off.
My car didn’t have ADAS systems. Everything is just one more excuse to TAKE TAKE TAKE MORE MORE MORE from honest hardworking people
If it makes financial sense and you have paid off a car- consider switching to liability only. The difference in premiums on an older car can make it worth it.
I hit a deer a few years ago on the interstate in my 2001 truck. After realizing we were okay the next thing I realized was that my air bags went off. “Why did the air bags go off! It was a deer!! The air bags didn’t need to go off!!!” (I knew that just the cost of the air bags would total the truck).
The insurance company did give me an extra $17 for the $150 battery that was only a few months old. If I hadn’t been traveling out of town I would have swapped an old one at the house into it.
I was hoping to drive that until I died as well. Instead I got almost 1/3 of the amount for a 10 year old truck in the same model but with some upgrades. Upgrades I didn’t want, but in the used vehicle market I couldn’t be picky.
It’s been a few years, but the same thing happened to me due to a hail storm, that ‘Totaled” my car. But my company let me keep my car and deducted the salvage value from what they paid me and I still had enough to get the damage repaired. Now my company would not let me get collision insurance again until I proved it was all repaired, which I did.