My van (1990 Plymouth Voyager) was hit by a little old lady in a parking lot.The repairs are $2500 and the insurance company wants to give me $800 dollars because they say a comparable van in Idaho is advertised in Craig is list for that.Since l live in California, that is not an option, and l see vans around here for $1500 which they do not wanna pay.Should l take the little old lady to small claims court, or what?

get a lawyer, l suppose.

Well, they only have to give u actual cash value.

When l plug in ur car to kbb.com, if u have AVERAGE milage on it, which is 300K for a 17 year old van, if it is in EXCELLENT condition (highly doubtful), the kbb private party sale is $695, which makes $800 generous.

l used 90808 (Long Beach) for a zip code, for CA.

You do not get ''replacement value''. Even in small claims court, u get ''actual cash value'' of YOUR van. Which u can calculate, using private party sale value, at kbb.com.

If u sue her in court, her insurance company is going to defend her. You both will have to prove value of ur van. Not cost to replace, but value of YOUR van. And if u can not convince a judge it is more than $800, u will THEN also have to pay the defense costs of the other insurer, as they OFFERED u a reasonable settlement.

As others have pointed out, the value of the vehicle is subjective. The condition of the vehicles may not be the same, thus some adjusting may be necessary. Remember that it is a negotiation: if u can document why they should pay some additional money, they probably will.

Regarding filing suit in small claims court, be prepared to lose ur case also. The judge may determine that the $800 figure is appropriate. The other possibility is that if u file suit, the insurance company may be willing to pay more to avoid having to pay defense costs for their insured in court. If however, u really ARE being unreasonable, the insurance company WILL go to court & defend their insured.

My best advice would be to properly research the replacement vehicles in ur attempt to get the insurance company to cough up more money. Be prepared to show what a vehicle in the same condition & in the same location as yours was will cost. Good luck!

The insurance company should be using the KBB, not some stupid listing in Craig is List as Craig is List is not an official source for the value of any vehicle. It may be used for comparison, though. You could have found another listing on Craig is List & approach the insurance company with a higher figure to counter their claim. Courts use the KBB to determine value (wholesale or retail l do not know).

You will have to have ur ducks in a row to win against the insurance company. No lawyer will touch this case (not enough money involved).