Car wreck - insurance company wants to low-ball me?

As others have pointed out, the value of the vehicle is subjective. The condition of the vehicles may not be the same, thus some adjusting may be necessary. Remember that it is a negotiation: if you can document why they should pay some additional money, they probably will.

Regarding filing suit in small claims court, be prepared to lose your case also. The judge may determine that the $800 figure is appropriate. The other possibility is that if you file suit, the insurance company may be willing to pay more to avoid having to pay defense costs for their insured in court. If however, you really ARE being unreasonable, the insurance company WILL go to court and defend their insured.

My best advice would be to properly research the replacement vehicles in your attempt to get the insurance company to cough up more money. Be prepared to show what a vehicle in the same condition and in the same location as yours was will cost. Good luck!

The insurance company should be using the KBB, not some stupid listing in Craig's List as Craig's List is not an official source for the value of any vehicle. It may be used for comparison, though. You could have found another listing on Craig's List and approach the insurance company with a higher figure to counter their claim. Courts use the KBB to determine value (wholesale or retail I don't know).

You'll have to have your ducks in a row to win against the insurance company. No lawyer will touch this case (not enough money involved).

"Get an attorney, there is no downside" Except spending money on a lawyer and not winning because your claims are frivolous. I'm confused though by what your insurance company paid. From what you wrote, I'm inferring that they paid to replace/repair your car AND gave you $5000 for your medical expenses? Or did they only give you $5000 altogether for your car and medical expenses? If they only gave you $5000 overall, then yes you should get a lawyer and sue since they still owe you the cost of repairing or replacing your car. However, if they repaired your car AND gave you $5000 for medical expenses, that's all they're legally obligated to give you and hiring a lawyer would only be an unecessary expense since you don't have a winning lawsuit in that case. You only suffered $5000 in medical expenses, and that's what you got back. It doesn't matter if that's only 20% of the total bill and your insurance company paid the rest...YOU didn't pay the rest so you can't sue for the 80% that you didn't pay. You can't fight for "future damages" but only damages that you *actually* have right now. You can't sue because you got scared from the accident and have nightmares, or because of "emotional distress" or anything. So, like I said, if they paid your car AND are paying you $5000, you need to be happy with that since that's all you're getting. But, if they're only giving you $5000 overall then you should sue since you've paid more into this than that, but it sounds like it's the former.

Well, they only have to give you actual cash value.

When I plug in your car to www.kbb.com, if you have AVERAGE milage on it, which is 300K for a 17 year old van, if it's in EXCELLENT condition (highly doubtful), the kbb private party sale is $695, which makes $800 generous.

I used 90808 (Long Beach) for a zip code, for CA.

You don't get "replacement value". Even in small claims court, you get "actual cash value" of YOUR van. Which you can calculate, using private party sale value, at www.kbb.com.

If you sue her in court, her insurance company is going to defend her. You both will have to prove value of your van. Not cost to replace, but value of YOUR van. And if you can't convince a judge it's more than $800, you will THEN also have to pay the defense costs of the other insurer, as they OFFERED you a reasonable settlement.

get a lawyer, i suppose.