Behold the shit-tastic letter I received from Mercury:
Dear Ms. Connally:
This will confirm our conversation of October 30, 2009 wherein I advised you that I had completed the market evaluation of your 1998, Honda Civic, VIN#: [number], License # [number].
The settlement amount is as follows:
$3,354.00 Actual Cash Value
( $532.45) Less Salvage Retention
---------
$2,821.55 Taxable Amount
$246.89 Sales/Lease Tax (8.75%)
$15.00 DMV Transfer Fee
$18.00 Salvage Certificate Fee
---------
$3,101.44 Net Settlement
Please be advised your vehicle will be issued a salvage certificate and will need to be re-registered. Enclosed is a copy of the California DMV Re-Registering Requirements.
Please find enclosed the comparable vehicles used in determining the value of the loss vehicle.
Should you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact me between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday at (800)827-1570, ext. 3416.
Sincerely,
MERCURY CASUALTY COMPANY
MELISSA MILLER
Total Loss Appraiser
MD Rancho Cordova
So. Yes, I'm pissed. And I'm going to fight for a fair settlement instead of this one that is way too low. I paid $4000 for my car, and all the cars I've looked at online that are comparable to my car (read: not shitty, as good or maybe a tad better than my car) are at least $4000, but most are closer to $5000. And why am I being charged for salvage/junking fees? It isn't my fault my car has to be sent to a junkyard.
She did include a list of "comparable vehicles" that she apparently used in determining the value of my car, as she said. This list contains cars that are almost exactly the same as mine in year, make and model, but not all of these cars even list a VIN number, which is basically a big sign saying "I'm a POS" or they are already sold, which doesn't help me one bit. These cars are also mostly located in the Bay Area, which doesn't help me, since I can't exactly take the time to go down there and shop for a car. One of these "comparable" cars also has 230,000 miles on it, whereas my car had about 166,000 miles on it. How is that comparable? If they're going to give me money to compensate me taking days off work so I can drive down to the Bay Area and look at these cars that are most likely pieces of shit, I might take a stab at it, but as it stands, I do not want to take this offer and will do everything I can to fight for more. They just aren't taking into consideration the fact that my car was extremely reliable, and it's difficult to find a car that is comparable to what I had because of its reliability. And to find something comparable, I need more money.
I feel lost and overwhelmed with everything right now. I don't have time to deal with this, nor do I even know how to go about it. I have too much schoolwork right now even if I didn't also have this to deal with, and on top of that I have been having really bad allergies today, which has prevented me from getting the reading done that I desperately need to do. Right now I'm letting some Benadryl hopefully start to work. I'm wishing I hadn't taken on the role of script writer for this group play project we're supposed to do in my Shakespeare class, because the teacher is requiring the script to be due tomorrow, which is way too early. I haven't even read the play yet, and we're not even supposed to perform our little play for the class until the end of the semester. I just don't feel in a state to deal with this, and yet I must. I'm already not going to my Spanish class tonight because I need the time to work on this Shakespeare shit, among probably talking with my dad about the problem with the insurance company, and I also have to write a short paper for my Senior Seminar that's due tomorrow. When do I breathe? I mean, I guess I took time out to have some fun this last weekend, but it was definitely not restful, and right now I pretty much just need rest. I need a day to just sit and relax and do nothing. Maybe I'll get that on Wednesday? I hope so.
By the way, I love the way Melissa worded this part of the letter: "Please find enclosed the comparable vehicles used in determining the value of the loss vehicle." I did not find any cars enclosed, nor do I think any of them would have fit into the envelope the letter was in!
This will confirm our conversation of October 30, 2009 wherein I advised you that I had completed the market evaluation of your 1998, Honda Civic, VIN#: [number], License # [number].
The settlement amount is as follows:
$3,354.00 Actual Cash Value
( $532.45) Less Salvage Retention
---------
$2,821.55 Taxable Amount
$246.89 Sales/Lease Tax (8.75%)
$15.00 DMV Transfer Fee
$18.00 Salvage Certificate Fee
---------
$3,101.44 Net Settlement
Please be advised your vehicle will be issued a salvage certificate and will need to be re-registered. Enclosed is a copy of the California DMV Re-Registering Requirements.
Please find enclosed the comparable vehicles used in determining the value of the loss vehicle.
Should you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact me between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday at (800)827-1570, ext. 3416.
Sincerely,
MERCURY CASUALTY COMPANY
MELISSA MILLER
Total Loss Appraiser
MD Rancho Cordova
So. Yes, I'm pissed. And I'm going to fight for a fair settlement instead of this one that is way too low. I paid $4000 for my car, and all the cars I've looked at online that are comparable to my car (read: not shitty, as good or maybe a tad better than my car) are at least $4000, but most are closer to $5000. And why am I being charged for salvage/junking fees? It isn't my fault my car has to be sent to a junkyard.
She did include a list of "comparable vehicles" that she apparently used in determining the value of my car, as she said. This list contains cars that are almost exactly the same as mine in year, make and model, but not all of these cars even list a VIN number, which is basically a big sign saying "I'm a POS" or they are already sold, which doesn't help me one bit. These cars are also mostly located in the Bay Area, which doesn't help me, since I can't exactly take the time to go down there and shop for a car. One of these "comparable" cars also has 230,000 miles on it, whereas my car had about 166,000 miles on it. How is that comparable? If they're going to give me money to compensate me taking days off work so I can drive down to the Bay Area and look at these cars that are most likely pieces of shit, I might take a stab at it, but as it stands, I do not want to take this offer and will do everything I can to fight for more. They just aren't taking into consideration the fact that my car was extremely reliable, and it's difficult to find a car that is comparable to what I had because of its reliability. And to find something comparable, I need more money.
I feel lost and overwhelmed with everything right now. I don't have time to deal with this, nor do I even know how to go about it. I have too much schoolwork right now even if I didn't also have this to deal with, and on top of that I have been having really bad allergies today, which has prevented me from getting the reading done that I desperately need to do. Right now I'm letting some Benadryl hopefully start to work. I'm wishing I hadn't taken on the role of script writer for this group play project we're supposed to do in my Shakespeare class, because the teacher is requiring the script to be due tomorrow, which is way too early. I haven't even read the play yet, and we're not even supposed to perform our little play for the class until the end of the semester. I just don't feel in a state to deal with this, and yet I must. I'm already not going to my Spanish class tonight because I need the time to work on this Shakespeare shit, among probably talking with my dad about the problem with the insurance company, and I also have to write a short paper for my Senior Seminar that's due tomorrow. When do I breathe? I mean, I guess I took time out to have some fun this last weekend, but it was definitely not restful, and right now I pretty much just need rest. I need a day to just sit and relax and do nothing. Maybe I'll get that on Wednesday? I hope so.
By the way, I love the way Melissa worded this part of the letter: "Please find enclosed the comparable vehicles used in determining the value of the loss vehicle." I did not find any cars enclosed, nor do I think any of them would have fit into the envelope the letter was in!