Question: How can I get the insurance company to pay me more for my car that is totaled?

Answer: It's not as easy as it might seem to someone not practicing in this area of law. I've been at it for over 30 years and I'm still fighting over valuations. One of the problems we always run into is when there is little evidence of a cars previous condition and thus its pre-accident value. I've been buying cars since being a law student in 1978 and my methods are more than most people are willing to do. Whenever I buy a car or truck the first thing I do is open a file and label it with the year, make and model of the vehicle. Then into that folder I file every document having to do with that vehicle. Nothing is left out. Starting with the purchase agreement and including documents for all oil changes, paperwork for accessories I've added and any work orders. I can literally prove the initial value with purchase price documents, work orders for things like oil changes, maintenance records and mileage at time when oil changes take place. I can prove this from day one. If there is an accident I also maintain copies of the relevant records like accident investigation report, damage repair estimates, repair orders and receipts. So when you come to a lawyer after an accident and ask them to prove the impossible, forget it, because the mistakes you made won't allow anyone to argue with the insurance company's valuation from its database of recent sales. Proving damage to your vehicle starts with when you buy it.