patient-wolf-9505/16/2026

Lawyer said don't sell my wrecked car — but won't tell me why. Anyone dealt with this?

So I'm in a frustrating situation and could use some outside perspective from people who've actually been through this.

About six weeks ago someone blew a stop sign and T-boned me at an intersection. Pretty clear-cut in my head, but the other driver is telling their insurance a totally different story, so liability is still up in the air. No cameras at that intersection, no independent witnesses that stuck around — basically my word against theirs.

My car is older and wasn't worth a ton to begin with. It's drivable but there's visible damage and something feels off with the suspension. A buddy offered to buy it from me as-is, which would at least give me some cash toward something reliable. I only carried the minimum required coverage, so my own insurance isn't paying for the car.

I texted my attorney about selling it and got a two-word reply: don't yet. No explanation, no follow-up, nothing. I've asked twice more and gotten radio silence. I get that they're busy, but I'm the one sitting on a sketchy vehicle I can barely afford to keep insured.

Does keeping the car actually matter for a disputed liability case? Like, could the physical damage pattern help prove the other driver was at fault — the angle of impact, where the crumple is, stuff like that? Or is my lawyer just being overly cautious?

I genuinely need a second vehicle soon and the space situation at my place is getting tight. Trying to figure out if holding onto this wreck is actually protecting my case or if I'm just being strung along.

Anyone sold or gotten rid of their car before liability was settled? How did it go?

9 replies

Most helpful first

clear-bison-3905/16/2026
Not legal advice, but I can tell you the short answer to why your lawyer said that: the physical condition of your vehicle can be evidence. Accident reconstructionists and engineers sometimes examine the actual damage — not just photos — to establish the direction and force of impact, which directly speaks to fault. If you sell it and the buyer repairs or scraps it, that evidence is gone forever. In a disputed liability case that could matter more than you'd think. I know the lack of explanation is maddening, but the instruction itself isn't arbitrary.
- bold-swift-3125/16/2026
  Went through almost the exact same thing last year — other driver denied everything, liability dragged on forever. My lawyer also told me to hold onto the car and I was so annoyed because I desperately needed a replacement. Eventually they did have someone look at the damage pattern to support our version of events. Ended up being glad I waited. It sucked in the meantime, but it paid off.
silent-dove-6325/16/2026
Also worth knowing — if the other side's insurance finds out you sold the car before liability was determined, they WILL use that against you. They'll suggest you sold it to hide something or that the damage wasn't as bad as you claim. Adjusters look for anything that makes your story seem less credible. Don't hand them that ammunition.
gentle-kestrel-3445/16/2026
From my time on the other side of this: we used to flag files where the claimant's vehicle was no longer available for inspection. Even if we never actually inspected it, the fact that it was gone made our defense team more aggressive. It signals — fairly or not — that there's something you didn't want us to see. Keeping the car available, even just in theory, takes that card off the table.
- sharp-vole-7975/16/2026
  The term you might hear is 'spoliation of evidence' — basically, if relevant physical evidence is destroyed or transferred after a dispute begins, it can create legal headaches for you. In some cases a judge can instruct a jury that they're allowed to draw negative conclusions from that. Your lawyer probably flagged this risk in their head and just failed to explain it to you, which is genuinely a communication problem on their end. You deserve a real answer — push for a 5-minute call.
daring-fox-2145/16/2026
Honestly the radio silence from your lawyer would stress me out more than the car situation. Two texts with no real answer? You should be able to get a quick explanation at minimum. Is there a paralegal or assistant at the firm you can reach out to instead?
swift-swift-5975/16/2026
Keep the car, get the call. Those are your two immediate moves. Document everything with a full photo/video walkthrough of the damage today if you haven't already — every angle, close-ups of every impact point. And don't let 'don't yet' be the last word — your lawyer works for you, and you deserve to understand the reasoning.
brave-newt-5985/16/2026
Few questions: did you get a written statement from anyone at the scene, even something informal? And has either insurance company sent anyone out to photograph or inspect the car yet? Because if the at-fault insurer has already done a full inspection and it's all documented, the physical car may matter a lot less going forward. The calculus changes depending on where things stand.
clear-swift-5565/16/2026
I know this feels like being stuck in limbo, but the fact that your lawyer said don't yet rather than a flat no is actually kind of encouraging — it implies there's a point where it will be okay to sell. Once liability gets sorted, or once the vehicle gets formally inspected, you'll likely get the green light. Hang in there.