Legal Question in Personal Injury in Washington

Yes, there are some things you can do. Look for comparable 1990 Probes that are for sale. You might not find one exactly alike in model year, mileage, condition and accessories/options, but you'll get a sense of the likely range of value for your car. You're looking to get what's called Fair Market Value, which is the reasonable RETAIL sale value for your general area of the country.

I'd look around locally at dealers or in your newspapers/"Nickel Ads" and such, as well as online, at sites such as cars.com, autotrader.com, etc. Try googling it as well. When you have some documentation of favorable comparable Probes for sale, print them out or cut them out if it's in a print publication, and mail or fax them to the adjuster handling this. Then you'll have a better idea of what your car would have been likely to sell for before it was wrecked, and you'll know if he's lowballing you or not.

Another thing you can do to bolster the fair market value is to show any receipts for recent work done on the car. You don't get a dollar-for-dollar payment back from the insurance company for it, but it helps to show the good condition the car was in, thus enhancing it's saleability and sale value.

By the way, if you were injured in this accident, most lawyers will help by negotiating the property damage for little or NO FEE, if they're also handling the injury claim for you, which is typically handled on a contingency fee, which is a percentage of what they can get for your injury claim.

Since this was your only transportation, if the opposing insurer has not been paying for a rental, then you're typically ALSO entitled to "loss of use," which I usually peg at $25 a day, although it's negotiable, payable from the day of the accident until the date of their first offer.

Also, remember that every claim has a time limit, or statute of limitations. You should check on that with a lawyer in person, but generally it's a three-year statute in Washington for injury claims. If you were hurt, though, I wouldn't wait to see a lawyer about it. Most offer free consultations.

Finally, FYI, this note is not intended to form a lawyer-client relationship with you.

Best of luck in resolving this!

-- Sam Hochberg