Apparently, insurance company repairs as well as 'total loss' claims are
> lowballed as a general practice. I just read an article at
>formatting linkthat says that you can get on average, the ~$2K
> difference needed to get a replacement ride (vs. trade-in)... for sure, if
> it was not your fault. Anyone got any experience with using a local 3rd
> party appraisal to get more $$ back?
If you have receipts showing improvements or things that improve value like a recent major overhaul, custom rims, etc you can often get some of that back just by asking.