Vehicle Totaled 1997 Buick Century 18k miles

I purchased my grandmothers 1998 Buick Century for two reasons. One, I got a great deal and Two, it only had 17,500 miles on it.

Number two was the main reason. My thoughts were, that even though the car is a "older person" car, (I am 37) the car only has 17k on it and I could easily drive this vehicle for 3-5 years and avoid another car payment.

One month after I received it, my wife was involved in an accident. August 26th, 2007. The other driver failed to yield at a stop sign and slammed into the driver side door at about 35-40 mph.

She was sent to the hospital and is home now with bumps and bruises and mostly sore in the back, neck and had a headache. All the CAT scans performed on her neck back abdomen and head came up negative and she was released.

I guess this is a two part question. First, the car blue book is valued around $3200 - $3400 based on current mileage. Is there an opportunity to recover more then blue book based on the fact that I was going to not have to worry about having to purchase a new or used vehicle and make payments.

Due to the accident, I will have to purchase something and more then likely I will have to make monthly installments.

Can I get more then blue book based on this. The car was in perfect condition. It smelled new. Due to the accident and the roof liking I was told that insurance companies usually total them because of structural integrity.

Secondly, based on the accident and the injuries or trauma to my wife's body, should we consult a lawyer? I am concerned that she may have headaches (her head broke the driver window) or back and neck pain in the years maybe months to come. Is there opportunity to pursue?

We are not the types to sue but we want to make sure that we watch out for us due to possible future medical bills or pain as a result of this accident?

Thank you for your time,


Hit & Happy (No one injured)

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Hi Hit & Happy,

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Thank you.

Casey and Hector.