I need some advice on a car accident situation...

Question

I was rear-ended on tuesday on my way to work, and the other driver was cited as at fault. So I call up his insurance company (Progressive) and file the claim, take the car in for an estimate the next day, and find out that it's totaled. Now it wasn't a great car (a '95 civic in need of some body work and a paint job) but they valued it at about $1400 and offered me a settlement for that amount. I'm leaving for college in a week and a half, and I'm not sure that I want to buy another car just to have it sit around for however long (no cars on campus freshman year).

Answer 1

Say the money in a high yield account for a year. After Freshman year, buy a car.

The insurance company will have to cut you a check for the tax amount and any pro rated registration on your vehicle.

Answer 2

I've gone through the similiar thing -- still a little bit painful,here is the resource help me out.http://car-insurance.easyideas4u.info/ca...

Answer 3

well..ditto from the other fellows here.  They offer good financial advice.

Was the car driveable from the wreck?  If so, get the $1400 and drive away...make it a project car next summer.

Sometimes with older cars, if the damage is over 1/2 the book value, they total it out.

Answer 4

Call your insurance agent and ask him to see what your is worth.  

Check here:   http://www.kbb.com

Call some local used car lots and see if they have a car like yours for sale.  Maybe they can give you an idea on how much its worth.

Also try this:  http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&...

Tell them you're leaving state and want if fixed because you can't afford to buy another car like it with that much money and you won't sign anything until you're satisfied.  Not sure if this will work for you, but I used a similiar stance and they paid me what I wanted....  be prepared for a battle if you do.  They want to clear it off the books as soon as possible and may be willing to settle for more at that point.

Answer 5

Put the $1400 in a savings account or better yet a high yield CD, if you don't need it for college. By the time you're ready for or really need another car you'll be able to buy something a bit better or you can use it as a good down payment. No sense in buying a car and letting it sit. Also no sense in not letting the money build for you.