"BLCKSTRM" (BLCKSTRM)
01/19/2016 at 21:46 • Filed to: None
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"BLCKSTRM" (BLCKSTRM)
01/19/2016 at 21:46 • Filed to: None | 2
| 8 |
Opponaut vicali posted some bad news about 6:00 this afternoon - a friend’s old Toyota Pickup got in a slight fender bender. Despite not being that bad, the truck will likely wind up getting totalled because old car.
The situation caused several others (including myself) to worry about their older - but well maintained - vehicles.
A few years ago I was nearly in the same boat with my E36 M3 Sedan (manual)- had a close call after getting rear-ended. You couldn’t even tell I’d been hit from outside the car. I had to forgo some work and agree to some repairs instead of replacement parts to get the bill below the threshold, which was based on the comps they found. I got lucky when they found additional damage after getting deep into it and agreed to go ahead and do the repair properly, but what about next time?
Which brings me to my question:
How can a car with no scheduled maintenance in the last ten years be compared to an up-to-date (and even upgraded) daily driver that passes a track inspection every year?
They seriously looked at me like a dog reading a newspaper when I raised the issue. They deal with cars all day every day - how can they not understand this?
How do comps work on something like this? The poster child would be an E30 M3 - Edmunds lists the base retail price at $8,700, while the cheapest one on autotrader is $35k, and the most expensive over $100k. How does this work?
And the above answer may or may not answer the more difficult question about my car. An E36 M3 will regularly sell anywhere from $3k to $12k depending more on condition and maintenance than mileage. Without getting into the whole unicorn argument (I have a manual sedan), how do you fairly price something worth such a wide range?
Especially in this case, where there are clear, common things that are neglected on the cheap cars and updated on the expensive cars (suspension refresh / reinforcement plates at the top of the list, common upgraded also on there). My experience was that it didn’t matter - they just took a flat average.
And if you don’t like what they tell you, is there a way to challenge it in a civilized manner (providing your own comps, receipts for parts you’ve replaced or work you’ve performed), or do you basically have to go to court?
And for bonus points, are there insurance plans that will go to bat for you with a “restored” (or at least well maintained) old-ish car?
Cherry_man1
> BLCKSTRM
01/19/2016 at 21:55 |
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That last part I wanna know as well just in case anything happens to the Gran Torino, god forbid, because where in the hell are they gonna find a comp for it?
iSureWilll
> BLCKSTRM
01/19/2016 at 22:07 |
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I’d like to see what others say but... About 10 years ago I had an e30 325is. Got totaled by the insurance company and they valued the car helaciously low. I produced receipts from the previous 12 months of about $2000. They gave me an additional $1000 for the car and I bought it back from them for $400 and parted it out.
I know there are plans where you insure a car for a certain value so if it gets totaled them that's the value you are paid.
GUYMANDUDE
> BLCKSTRM
01/19/2016 at 22:23 |
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Do not fight the machine. Conform or die. You cannot win. Resistance is futile.
Big Bubba Ray
> BLCKSTRM
01/19/2016 at 22:25 |
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You ought to look into agreed value insurance. Grundy, Hagerty and whatever other classic car dealers out there offer that. I’m looking into agreed value insurance when I begin work on my Datsun. I’m terrified of something happening to it and an insurance company not paying out what it’s worth.
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BLCKSTRM
> Big Bubba Ray
01/19/2016 at 22:42 |
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People keep throwing this out there, but I’ve inquired in the past - it is usually mileage based.
Definitely NOT for a daily driver.
You just get hosed either way.
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Big Bubba Ray
> BLCKSTRM
01/19/2016 at 23:00 |
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Ya if you go through Hagerty they have mileage restrictions but I’m not sure about Grundy or other ins companies. You can choose your mileage, i.e 2k miles, 4k miles, etc, and the rate goes up from there depending on how much you want to drive it. The stipulation is that it can’t be your daily driver, which I assume your beautiful M3 is.
Insurance is a bitch and it takes a bunch of digging. Look around at some mainstream companies like Progressive/State Farm/whatever else and see if they will offer an agreed value on your DD as long as you can provide receipts or anything else to prove what it’s really worth. They look at dollar values, not sentimental values so having a somewhat approximate value of the car may help. Best of luck to you!
JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
> BLCKSTRM
01/20/2016 at 12:51 |
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I honestly worry about my C30. KBB has it going for around $8k private and $6500 for trade in.
That’s ridiculous. I don’t ever see them below 10k! There isn’t even one for sale within 25 miles of me right now. If they go off book value, I’m screwed.
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BLCKSTRM
> JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
01/20/2016 at 13:12 |
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You’re only screwed if you get in a wreck and incur more than around $5k in damage.
Watch that rear-view mirror!