Am I only entitled to the fair market value of my car after a car accident? 23 Answers as of February 17, 2012

Yes. Typically, you are only entitled to the fair market value of your car.

Yes, however, in Alabama, the owner is allowed to testify as to his or her opinion of the value of the property. The measure of damages is the value immediately before minus the value immediately after the collision. You could, if it is your honest opinion, opine that your vehicle was reliable transportation, and as such, your opinion of the value is that it was worth $2500 or such. Under your stated facts, with the car being "totaled," your claim equals the value that you say it was immediately before the collision. Sometimes there is salvage value in the vehicle, that is due to be deducted, but I would think the burden is on the defendant to establish that. The above applies to personal property claims. If you sustain personal injury, there is no set formula. If you were recently hit, do not rush to settle until you are certain you sustained no personal injury. The statute of limitations will bar your claim after two years from the date of injury and not before. If you sustained no personal injury, thank God. Stay well.

If you cannot replace the car for a given amount, it is NOT the fair market value. Request that the insurer or liable party produce a market survey of recently sold vehicles of your make, model, and year. If an insurer refuses, you can report them to the Department of Insurance.

Yes, you are entitled to fair market value. You are not entitled to replacement value or loan value or anything else - only fair market value.

The fair market value is the replacement value.

Unfortunately, you are only entitled to receive the actual cash value of your vehicle. You may find this value by looking in the Kelly Blue Book and/or NADA Guide. Some insurance companies sell replacement value insurance so if you have collision coverage you may want to check your collision policy.

When there is a property damage claim, to determine the value it is either the market value of the item or the cost to fix same, whichever is less.

You should demand replacement value. Look for similar cars in the same geographical area and submit web links for those cars.

Fair market value is what it will cost you to go out into the market place and replace your vehicle. If the offer is not enough to replace your vehicle, then it is not the fair market value. You do not have to accept the offer. You can either hire an attorney to file a lawsuit for you or you can file a lawsuit in the Magistrate Court and represent yourself.

In MI, if you have collision, you are entitled to the value of the car, which is retail value. Do your research and replacement value is the value of the car. You need documentation for their file, a minimum of three sales is a good indicator of value.

You are entitled to the value of your car. "Fair Market" is a term insurers use. Pretend that you wanted to sell your car right before the accident occurred... you put an ad in the paper.... what would you get? That is the value.

Yes, you are only entitled to the fair market value of your car. This is one of the unfortunate losses people bear in an event such as this when the vehicle worth to the owner is more than the market value or monetary worth.

Correct. You do have the option of keeping your car and obtaining a salvage title for it which allows you to repair the vehicle.