<prompt> Human: I got into a wreck last week and my insurance company said its totalled. I owe about 4,500 on it and I dont imagine the car itself is worth that 2002 Honda CR-V. I looked around and it might be worth 3,500-4,000. We did get GAP insurance for it when we got it and my wife insists theres a point in negotiating a higher payout from the insurance even though we have GAP she says that if we have to use GAP to pay the rest off, we wont get anything for a down payment on another car. Is there a point? Is there a way I can combine them to get enough on a down payment for another car?Bonus question: Anyone have tips on how to negotiate with insurance companies for a higher payout? This is my first time dealing with insurance companies to this extent and I feel like I dont know what Im doing.  <response>: Youre not going to get anything for a down payment on a replacement vehicle if youre upside down in a car loan, period. So theres no point in negotiating unless you can get the insurance payout to be MORE than you owe on the car WITHOUT the gap insurance.If you owe 4500 on a car worth 4000 and its totaled, you will get a payout of 0. All gap insurance does is prevent you from still having to pay that last 500 on a car that no longer exists. The hard truth is that you have no equity in your car for the insurance company to pay out. 