violacleff Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 This may be lengthy but some of you may want to read this. I had the adjuster who was a woman come to my house to see if my car was worth fixing or if it was a total loss. Since she came when I was not home, I left her the reciepts for some of the recent work I had done to try and show her that this was not a typical 240z. The next day she called me because she did not understand my receipts. For instance, haltech, Turbo install, etc... Well stupid me for trying to explain the concept of a stand alone ems when later in the conversation I find out that she doesn't know the difference of a carburator and fuel injection. So I'm thinking to myself, how is she going to determine the worth of my car if she doesn't know what a carburator is? I was pretty pissed. Little would I know that her ignorance would be a blessing in disguise. So I'm talking to her again today, and when I tell her that I've spent big money on high performance parts, she tells me that now she's concerned when I say high performance because AAA will not insure you if they look under the hood and see "What do they call it? Nitrose? Nitro lines?" I said "nitrous". She says "yeah anything racy like that. So I'm thinking to myself "oh crap!" I then backpeddle and proceed to tell her that when I say high performance, what I'm really speaking of is modern technology and parts that make the car more safe to drive. So high performance suspension just means suspension that makes the car handle like a modern car, "and this is why I was explaining the difference of EFI vs Carberation for mainly better gas mileage, but they aren't race parts just better parts." Never mind I have reciepts from "Speed Machine" and "Road Race Engineering"!!! Well we are going to tow the car to the body shop to get an estimate of possible damage under the hood. I'm kinda nervous now, as she has not seen under the hood since it won't come off. I'm counting on the fact that if you can't spot a carburater you probably can't spot anything other than nitrous. I'm just hoping the anodized stuff doesn't scare her. Sorry if I spelled carburater wrong throughout the post. You guys know what i'm talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 280ZForce Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 damn man...good luck on that. ignorance can really be a bliss eh? keep me posted man...maybe i'll roll w/ u for the shop day rendevous but just cuz she cant spot that stuff, doesnt mean the mechanice can't u know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruez Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 And that, my friend, is why I have vowed to get mine appraised before it goes back on the road when its completed. I have taken the shaft before on the same thing... I got an offer of $1200 and they keep the car, or $800 and I keep it. I kept it (of course) and had to start over... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RB26240Z Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Always make sure you get it in writing (in the policy) whenever you are insuring the z. If it's written it will be paid for. I know lot of the insurance policies have exclusions. Just because it's says it's covered in one paragraph, it could mean an entirely different thing when it's under an exclusion in another section of the policy. When in doubt, have your agent explain it to you, it's their job to make sure your policy covers for what you think you are paying for. Henry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 I'll give you one better... BLKMGK on this site has a 700+WHP Toyota Supra that was totalled last July when a Sears Repair Van pulled in front of him at a left turn yield green intersection. Jim (BLKMGK) hit the guy "T-boning" the van with his $60,000 Supra. State Farm is the company insuring the van. Jim's car has been sitting in storage SINCE JULY while they fight over the numbers... Jim was injured in the accident, and lost wages while he was out with his injuries. He has receipts for 90% of the modifications to his Supra, including a lot of custom paint and bodywork... You can't buy a clean, stock 95 TT Supra for less than $25K and Jim's was SHOW quality. They offered him $20K to settle. Needless to say, Jim has a lawyer and is going to go to court. These insurance companies are getting more and more strict on what they will allow in covering damages to higher end vehicles... So be forewarned. You may be better of in taking the hit and letting your own insurance company fight it out with that of the offending driver... State Farm Basically told Jim that the mods were his choice and they weren't about to pay for them... I'll keep you guys posted on what happens in his case... This is very interesting, because all of us have significant cash dumped into our rides... Might want to talk to your insurance companies about "agreed upon" value with an appraisal. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 All of which is why I will only carry liability on my 36 year old car. Trying to argue, "what it is worth" with an insurance company is a losing proposition in my opinion. Couple that with most people's over inflated worth of their own vehicle. Just because you dumped $30K of new parts in your car doesn't make it worth $30K. Jim would be better served getting his Supra money back in the form of chiropractor fees and a pain and suffering settlement. And now will come the hand full of guys who "forced their insurance company to pay what THEIR car was worth".... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twoeightnine Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Yes exactly! The car has an undisputed hard value. Performance parts not included. Insurance companies can only be had in the punitive area. They will wiggle and worm about it, but if you stick to your guns and have a Lawyer to waive around they will write a check. As for the 30 year old Z, if one has it restored to "like new condition" regardless of "extras", can one get classic car insurance for it? Does any one know how that works? But I do think that in the above case having an adjuster that is not performance savy may indeed be a blessing! Good luck violacleff!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Hagerty. Tell then what you've got, tell them what it's worth. Done. It just can't be your daily driver. You can't use it for commuting, errands, going to school, etc. For a lot of guys here that's not an option. But for the rest of us it means we can drive out money pit Z's with peace of mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 I had to try about 8 different insurance companies before I found that State Farm would insure for agreed value. Then I had the car appraised and wrote them a letter detailing ALL of the mods. Brake mods, camber plates, heims jointed LCAs and TC rods, the whole bit. They agreed to insure it for $15K. Later on I changed to "classic car" insurance, I think I'm paying $120/year for full coverage 100/300 liability on the classic car plan. Hagerty seems like the most understanding insurance company when it comes to this stuff, but I was pleased with my State Farm experience. To put $60K in any car and not have any agreed value with the insurance company is just not a good idea IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twoeightnine Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Thanks Dan! I see the numbers are about $400 per year for 25K? Thats what I'm looking for. I have a ground up with goodies going on and it's never been intended to be a daily. Weekend warrior and show hog only! Thanks for the heads up! http://www.hagerty.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darrel Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 You can also try grundys. They have no mileage limit as long as it is club outings, etc. They are more leniate when it comes to the year of car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynekarnes Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 my buddy went through same thing when the 65 fuel injected corvette roadster was "totaled" by the insurance company. he refused to sign anything. picked up the vette from the tow company impound before the insurance company could get to it ( often when no death or extreme human damage is done, they will claim the car, auction or destroy it, without owners consent, put hands in the air and say, whoops !!! " ). he had restored the car himself, all the body, paint, rebuilt engine, trans, rear end, suspension, frame off, all himself. after the accident took him about 6 months, convinced em to pay him to start from scratch, restore his vette all over again. they paid for all parts and material, he did all the labor. think it cost them around 7200 bucks. that was around 1981 or 82. one of the companies that advertises in the meyers manx dune buggy club's newsletter maybe something to consider. i have no experience with them. i do know that dune buggies are hard to insure, figure if they insure em, may not have issues with modified z cars. Irma Huizing Insurance Agency. fax 714 449 1973 voice 714 449 1970 sorry, ad doesn't show email nor website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest iskone Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Man, I've learned my lesson already. Stated value forever!!! I'm going to try to go through Hagerty for my 240, but I pay $150 a month on my truck. Who knows what it'll be on my 240. Isk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violacleff Posted March 11, 2006 Author Share Posted March 11, 2006 Well the bigger issue for me was the fact that AAA won't insure you, if you have "high performance mods". I think the way around that is to get an appraisal first that way the insurance company never sees your reciepts. I had this done back in 2002 when I first bought the car, but they were saying that it wasn't worth as much 4 years later. Thats when I had to try and explain all the money that was spent in the last year which was...well, high performance upgrades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 I have Farmers ins. on my house and all my vehicles. I had agreed value coverage on the Z for $20k. It was still a very cheap premium. When the Z had its dance with the Z28, it destroyed the custom rear panel. Farmers didn't even bat an eye....I took it to my neighbors bodyshop, and it was fixed...no getting multiple quotes or anything. My premium didn't even go up. I will stay with farmers because of the excellent treatment I received!! When I initially insured it, I just sent my agent a link to my website. it had pictures and all the mods I had done. No problems at all...... Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 Well the bigger issue for me was the fact that AAA won't insure you, if you have "high performance mods". I think the way around that is to get an appraisal first that way the insurance company never sees your reciepts. I had this done back in 2002 when I first bought the car, but they were saying that it wasn't worth as much 4 years later. Thats when I had to try and explain all the money that was spent in the last year which was...well, high performance upgrades.If I'm understanding you correctly, AAA may be able to get off without paying anything. You may have been better off not telling then you had all the modifications that you made. I have a relatively stock engine that you may want to consider throwing in your car before they get the hood open. That way you can either put your engine back in or put it in a replacement car if they want to total it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 Well I did successfully fight State Farm back in 1995 when my Solo2 car was totalled by a plumbing truck. My little 260Z got me $8000 for my receipts and negotiations. But my guess is a lot of people have tried this enough that the insurance industry has changed their proceedures over the last decade. Jim "assumed" that he'd be able to prove that these cars are rare just by vertue of pricing comperable available examples, and providing receipts for his modifications... In the past this would have been sufficient if you were the victom of someone elses negligence. I mean, lets think about this guys... Shouldn't you expect replacement of what you had 2 seconds before the incident? Why should Jim lose his $60K investment? Mind you, I'd have gotten better insurance coverages and a stated value... I know Jim is so upset over this, he hasn't touched any of his car projects since the accident... Makes me wonder if he'll bail on modified cars altogether... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 Getting an insurance company to SELL you a stated value policy is the easy part. Getting one to make good on one seems like a whole nother issue. It has been my experience that insurance companies' questions get a lot more pointed when it is their money and not yours. I would actually like to hear from anyone who actually collected a stated value on a totaled vehicle. I have received insurance settlements on both damaged and one totaled vehicle. But in all those cases it was pretty easy to determine the worth of the vehicle. How much more difficult is it when even apraised values can change from year to year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 These last two posts make good points. Here's how my dad explained it to me when I was looking for insurance for my Z(he was lawyer for an insurance company before he retired): If you have a 20 year old Ferrari in fair shape it might be worth the same as a brand new Toyota Camry. The insurance company should not be worried about what kind of car you drive, they should be worried about the VALUE of the car you drive. If you have an agreed value policy, you've been paying for the insurance based on the cars VALUE, not it's model or the name of the manufacturer. Pop's point is also unfortunately correct, but it's true with ANY car. The insurance company is going to try to low ball you regardless. Having an appraisal and an agreed value policy just makes it that much easier for you to prove your case, and the most important thing is that you've paid premiums based on the value of the car. Even that doesn't mean they won't try their hardest to screw you over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spork Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 I had a long talk with a couple of state farm adjusters not that long ago about stated value insurance from thier company. They wanted me to switch my vehicles to them. They said that we could set up a stated value policy on my z, no mileae limitations and so on and it would be $xxx.xx a year. I then asked if the car was totalled in some horrible accident, does that mean I'd receive the "stated value" I'd been insuring the car for. They said "No. It means you will get paid up to that amount, but no garuntee of receiving that amount. We will re-appraise the value of the car after thae wreck and decided what's worth then." You're still stuck deending the value of your car. I'm with hagarty with my Z. My brother went through a similar claim on his '61 caddy. It was insured for stated value through state farm and was hailed on. They totaled the car and gave him $3000.00. He obvioulsy bought it back, but the car was worth about $7-8,000 at the time. He fought for several months (but didn't lawyer up) and finally lost. Just an FYI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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