Question about totaled leased car

[TheIncredibles!]

My DD had an accident and her car was totaled. UGH. We leased the car, it's a 2018 with less than 7000 miles on it.

We have not heard from the insurance company yet and they are not returning my calls. I know we have gap insurance but I have no idea what they are going to pay for the car or what we have to do next.

In the meantime we have a rental car that I am driving and DD is driving my car. We would like to get her a new car this weekend but we have no idea if we are free to just go and get her a new one of if we have to wait for the insurance company. Also what happens if they pay more than what the payout is left on the car? Would we get the difference for a down payment on a new car?

What a pain this all is but at least everybody involved in the accident is ok.

 

[Allison]

I definitely would not go get a new car until I had definitive answers from the insurance company.

 

[Skellingtonj]

I definitely would not go get a new car until I had definitive answers from the insurance company.

Same. But I have no idea what the insurance company is going to offer.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

Why don't you go ahead and do your car shopping so that you are ready when you have the answer from the insurance company?

 

[LYSE]

In the unlikely event that you get more from the insurance than the pay out you pocket the difference.

If you get less gap has you covered so you don't come out of pocket.

I would NOT buy or lease a new car until your insurance makes it's decision, then you can rush things before it's officially paid off but the ball is rolling toward the pay off.

 

[GreatLakes]

I don't lease vehicles but I would assume the insurance would pay lessor, not the lessee. They actually own the car, you are just paying to drive it. I supposed they could pay the lessee and they are then responsible to make the lessor whole with the payout.

It isn't really something I thought that much about before. It's no help to the OP but I'd be interested to hear how it plays out.

 

[bigbabyblues]

I'm sure it will depend on your insurance policy and how much is left on the lease. As a pp mentioned, I would assume anything paid will go to wherever the car is leased through, not to the policyholder. A quick google search found this, but I don't know how accurate it is:

https://www.leaseguide.com/articles/leased-car-accident/

At any rate, I wouldn't buy anything else until you hear from the insurance company. I'm glad your dd wasn't hurt.

 

[Lewisc]

Start shopping. Your rental car benefit terminates when the insurance company settles.

The only issue is if the insurance company thinks the car can be repaired

 

[stsomewhere]

CAll the car dealership that you leased from. They might be able to answer your question. The insurance is going to pay the car dealership , not person who leased the car.

 

[Klayfish]

I can give you very solid answers, I do this daily.

First, are you sure the car is totaled? Before buying another one, you want to be completely positive. I've seen plenty of people buy a car when they think their old one is totaled, and it isn't. Result isn't pretty.

If you are, then yes, you can absolutely go buy another car. As others have mentioned, the initial payout will go to the leasing company. That would be true if wasn't a lease and you had a loan on it. The first obligation is to the lienholder. If you owe less than the cars actual cash value (ACV), then you get the difference. If you owe more than ACV, gap insurance will come into play.

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[tvguy]

I can give you very solid answers, I do this daily.

First, are you sure the car is totaled? Before buying another one, you want to be completely positive. I've seen plenty of people buy a car when they think their old one is totaled, and it isn't. Result isn't pretty.

If you are, then yes, you can absolutely go buy another car. As others have mentioned, the initial payout will go to the leasing company. That would be true if wasn't a lease and you had a loan on it. The first obligation is to the lienholder. If you owe less than the cars actual cash value (ACV), then you get the difference. If you owe more than ACV, gap insurance will come into play.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Yes, WAIT until the insurance is settled. This happened to my son a year ago. Crashed his car, bought a replacement, next day the insurance company called to say they had approved the repairs! I have to admit I was shocked that the insurance wasn't going to total out a 2006 Ford Taurus with 180,000 miles with $6,000 damage (before the $1,000 deductible). My DDIL hated that car, and hated that my son kept it up, but THAT is why the insurance said they were offering to fix it, the near perfect physical condition. But he got lucky, insurance said he had an option of getting the Actual Cash Value of $3,500 and they would total it. After the $1,000 deductible he got a check for $2,500.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

I can give you very solid answers, I do this daily.

First, are you sure the car is totaled? Before buying another one, you want to be completely positive. I've seen plenty of people buy a car when they think their old one is totaled, and it isn't. Result isn't pretty.

If you are, then yes, you can absolutely go buy another car. As others have mentioned, the initial payout will go to the leasing company. That would be true if wasn't a lease and you had a loan on it. The first obligation is to the lienholder. If you owe less than the cars actual cash value (ACV), then you get the difference. If you owe more than ACV, gap insurance will come into play.

Let me know if you have any questions.

The body shop has had the car for almost 2 weeks, they called Monday and said the car is definitely totaled and to expect a phone call from the insurance company probably Wednesday. All airbags deployed, the front drivers tire whatever etc is smashed in, the frame is bent to the point that the interior passenger side is off kilter and the front and back side panels plus both driver side doors are smashed beyond repair.

Never heard from insurance Wednesday so I called and left messages yesterday and today...nothing. My online claim hasn’t been updated either.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Are you calling the insurance company? Or your insurance agent? Monday, call the other one.

 

[Klayfish]

kaytieeldr has a good point. Are you sure you're calling the insurance adjuster and not the agent. Do not call the agent, 9 times out of 10 they don't understand a single thing about claims and really can't offer much help. Even the very few who do understand claims can only act as a "middle man", which isn't what you're looking for. If the adjuster isn't calling you back, that's unacceptable. Call and request to speak to the claims manager, or director.

So if the car is totaled, then yes, go and start to look for a replacement. You may also want to find out what the loan payoff on the totaled car is. I know it's a lease, but in this situation it's treated exactly like it was a purchase. So ask the leasing company what the payoff amount is and then compare that to what the car is worth (you can find that online, look for cars for sale similar to yours, or ask me I'd be happy to give you an idea). That will give you a decent starting point.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

I have been calling the people I have been dealing with for the claim. I have not called our agent.

 

[tinatark]

I've heard that NYE is probably THE BEST day of the year to buy a new car. Maybe get a confirmation from the adjustor that the car is totaled, and shop. You will not have any overage to add to a new car, and like a pp said, you will have to turn in the rental car pretty quickly after they settle. I would shop.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

Just heard back from the insurance company. The amount they are paying is greater than the payout on the lease because we put a decent down payment on it to reduce the monthly payment. Does this money come back to us or are we beat?

 

[kaytieeldr]

As far as i know, and klayfish will correct me if I'm wrong, the will pay the balance due to the leasing company and issue a second check to you for the rest.

 

[Klayfish]

As far as i know, and klayfish will correct me if I'm wrong, the will pay the balance due to the leasing company and issue a second check to you for the rest.

Spot on. The insurance company will pay off the loan first. Any money leftover will go to you.

 

[Hrhpd]

Just heard back from the insurance company. The amount they are paying is greater than the payout on the lease because we put a decent down payment on it to reduce the monthly payment. Does this money come back to us or are we beat?

In our paperwork when we have leased cars, and that is just our experience and may not be standard, it is not the lease amount owed if a car is totaled, but the value of the car. Others more experienced please correct me if wrong. If the car is totaled, replacement value of the car may be more than what you owe on the lease. In that case, the entire amount will go to the owner of the vehicle not the lessee.