I need to get some opinions on the value of my 1987 Volkswagen Jetta! Help!

Is it drivable? All the goodies in the world won't help your bottom line if it is not. Also if the body is that bad it won't be worth much either. Have you talked to a body shop? It is amazing how well they can sometimes restore a really damaged body.

Anyway, a 1987 vehicle with, as you said, an unrepairable rear end will not be worth much. I've seen vehicles of that vintage that are drivable and without dings go for $600 or less.

Perhaps you can part it out and net more cash that way. Your insurance company is being generous.

Good luck.

Sorry for your loss Vanessa! I hope you are OK. Well if you just bought it show the bill of sale to the insurance company. Take out that stereo system, or show the receipt to the insurance company too. Are you renting a vehicle that the insurance co is paying for? Do you have the 1987 Jetta in storage where there are charges per day? How does your neck and back feel? Are you feeling OK or having some stiffness?

Try to find another just like it and have the insurance company ship it to you and install the wheels and stereo system.

JMHO later, dave (One out of many daves)

If you are willing to sue the kid (and in effect his insurance company), perhaps you could get more money. If you are not willing to sue, ....

Try

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I am trying to work things out with the insurance company, but they will not believe me that the Jetta is worth more.

I am looking up ads on Craigslist.org right now, and I have found a few, but they are not the same as my car, and far less in value, and I do not want to show these ads to the insurance company, because they will see it as confirming what they said, and that my Jetta is worth less.

I am hurt..and yes, I feel like shit. I am suing them for liability of injuries and such, however, I need a car now, and they are not porviding me with one. They won't even offer me a legitimate value for my little Jetta, which I truly miss and loved a lot.

I don't feel like myself without my Jetta. *tear*

No, I am not looking for the value of the car AFTER the accident. I am looking for the value with it being in good condition.

And it's not my insurance company who is being "generous" it is the kid who hit me's insurance company...and my car is worth more.

I know it's ruined now, but it was worth more when it was new...BEFORE he hit me. Hence me wanting to know the value. I'm not trying to get screwed here.

Plus, I can't find another Jetta just like mine for the price they're offering me. So in a sense, i could ask them to find on JUST like it, to a tee, then see if they can comply.

I doubt it, though.

Papa wrote:

On Tue, 05 Dec 2006 04:29:02 GMT, "vanessa_vw" wrote: It's the agents job to close your case as cost effectively as possible for the insurance company. Your cashing any check which they may send to you would settle the case for them as to the value of your car loss. I would VOID any check you feel is less than satisfactory and promptly return it to the agent. Vanessa , you don't expect

2,250.00 do you? You drove the jetta for 7,000 miles, got that much worth out of it . Towing fees from the accident site / storage fees / (for the place it was towed to) and rental temp replacement can be asked for too. Medical claims are another bag of worms.

Vanessa:

In the 38 years I have been driving, three vehicles have been "totaled". So far, all by the "other guy". That being written, each of the three also happened to be high-mileage (none under 150,000 miles) and all more than 10 years old. In each case, the Insurance Company attempted to give me the so-called "book value". My approach, successful, in each case was to respond as follows:

I will find a replacement vehicle that is a reasonable approximation to the one that is lost. You will pay for that vehicle. Or, you will find such a vehicle and pay for it. If that vehicle happens to cost less than your number, then you were right in your evaluation. If it costs more, then you were wrong. Either way I am made whole... which is the point after all.

If you are going through (or eventually will go through) the other guy's insurance, add the codicil: "And when I have my replacement vehicle, THEN I will sign the release, not before."

Peter Wieck Wyncote, PA

did you ask that ins. co. to find you a similar vehicle?

what is your location? zipcode or city will do! Let us help, we might be able to pull up some ads with prices on similar Jettas. Here is a new VW-specific classified site.

I once helped someone looking to replace their wrecked Jag. She got a much better Jag than hers was before the accident and saved the ins co about $4K (valued at $18K, but only cost $14K). Oh and the owner selling got his asking price too. WIN-WIN-WIN situation, except for the idiot that hit the Jag.

So being realistic..............what would make you happy..........vehicle wise? The exact same Jetta might not be easily found, but maybe a newer one like up to 1992,or maybe a different vehicle like a Cabriolet could satisfy you! BTW AFAIK I have never seen a 1993 Jetta. ODD!

my $0.02 later, dave (One out of many daves)

This is the only 1985-1989 Jetta that popped on CarSoup in their entire database. In Minneapolis metro. '89 Jetta GL Wolfsburg 129K miles. $2,195 OBO. Quite a bit of "new" stuff on it. Appears stock from the photo's and clean. No interior pictures however and no mention in the ad so inside might not be good as yours.

Sorry about your loss. However on a car that is nearly 20 years old this is a tough call.

Not to be a negative nancy on this but:

1. What you *paid* for the car and what the car is *worth* are two different things.
2. Accessories like stereos, etc. do not add value to the car as a whole in direct proportion to the retail price that you paid for the accessory.
3. Anything over 10 years old is going to vary greatly in perceived value by its owner because by the time a car reaches that age, the condition of the vehicle tends to vary a *lot* (they're either thrashed or have been babied...and as the car gets even older, cars are often "restored"). This doesn't necessarily translate into blue book values well.

Good luck with your claim but it's going to be a tough battle. Most likely you're going to have to show comps from sites like autotrader.com, etc. for similar vehicles in your area/county/state. And you're going to have to take the low with the high...if someone has a mint Mk2 late 1980s Jetta with only 50K miles on it that is $3000 asking price, then there are three decent condition ones for $1400 each, and bringing up the rear is a "it doesn't always start" rustbucket Jetta that someone wants to "get the hell off my front lawn" for $100, the fact that you paid $1850 for yours could still mean that you overpaid for yours and that might be just too darn bad. It's just really tough when cars get to be 15 or more years old because the condition can vary greatly and the market can as well...someone might put that $3000 Jetta in autotrader.com and not get a bite but put it on vwvortex.com and an enthusiast would snap it right up. But because someone paid $3000 for it doesn't really mean it's worth that much. The condition and desirability of older cars just varies too much to easily determine a price for a given sample. But hold fast and don't settle too early for their first offer. I guess what i'm saying is hold out for what you can but also set your expectations realistically. Good luck!