Originally Posted by e39_touring

Sorry to hear about the accident, but, thankfully, it doesn't sound that bad and you weren't hurt. Vehicles can be repaired or replaced. People, not so much.

First of all, while you have no contractual arrangement with the opposing insurance companies, they have a duty to defend their customers. So, like it or not, that's who you have to deal with. (You can go through yours 1st party if you have collision coverage, and let them subrogate against the others, but they all behave pretty much the same.)

Since you have no liability in this mess, you're in pretty good shape. You just have to come to agreement on valuation and how to handle your damage. Above all, those at fault are legally obligated to 'make you whole' - this means put you back financially to where you were before the accident.

My advice is don't get too concerned or upset about this first go-round. This is the plain-jane claims settlement process. Insurance companies don't use KBB, NADA, or any of that. They have their own industry database for what cars are worth, and it's always quite a bit lower than what you see. Think of it as wholesale (and buy-in-bulk wholesale at that) vs. retail. When insurance companies have to replace cars, they don't buy at retail, and it's actually pretty accurate for run-of-the-mill stuff like Accords and Camrys.

I've been a higher-up at a few large insurance companies in the past and have always driven 'special interest' (i.e. unique, but not necessarily valuable collector) cars, a few of which were involved in claims like these.

You'll have to press them a bit, but what I've found to be very effective is not talk about money at first. You're dealing with a clerical person and not someone who knows or cares about cool cars.

If they're looking to total your car, tell them they have to find a suitable replacement. Be reasonable, but give very specific parameters - mileage, options, color, anything about the condition that makes yours unique (i.e. always garaged, no corrosion, not sun-baked, etc.). Your customizations, to the extent they're not damaged, can be moved over to your replacement car. They are obligated to do this work, and they can't just low-ball you and wash their hands of it. Tell them to show you actual cars you can buy with their offer, and go from there.

At that point, leave the choice up to them - either fix your car right, find a comparable replacement, or come up on their total-loss offer. When they find out how difficult it is to find a comparable replacement, they'll usually be willing to pay what's necessary to fix your car right or will come up quite a lot on their total-loss offer to close it out.

Oh yeah, don't forget that if your car is totaled, you should be paid for tax, title, and other fees that you'll be charged when transferring the replacement into your name.