subculture

I posted last week looking for suggestions regarding a repaint. Unfortunately, this weekend someone decided to rear end me at enough speed to set off their airbags (I was at a standstill) and so now my car looks pretty bad... I'm thinking my insurance will call it a total loss, but I wanted to ask the group if there was anything I could do about getting the real worth of my car since there's no current blue book for it. I said I bought it for about 3K but I've done a lot of work on it (no receipts) myself and would consider the current value somewhat higher (It ran really well with perfect electricals, but needed a paint job). Considering the age of the car, is there anything I can say to my insuance to get a fair value of it? Given the situation, I think it's pretty cut and dry that the other person was at fault, but I'm worried that I'll get really shafted by my insurance and that I won't be able to recoup my loss (considering how much time I spent underneath it, it's more of a heartbreak than a monetary loss) Any advice is appreciated... hopefully I'll be back on rennlist in the future with another ride.

thanks,
-- anshuman

Doug&Julie

Are you a PCA member? The PCA has valuation forms that are pretty easy to fill out. However, since the accident has already happened, I'm not sure if this is a route you can take.

Having said that, most insurance companies will give you the "replacement value" of your car. It might help to find ads for cars in similar condition to present to your insurance agent/adjuster. That's one way to determine value, anyway.

Good luck.

Scott5

I think insurance companies will give you as little as you're willing to take. Don't use the same fairly passive tone as you used with us; be a little more agressive in presenting the car's condition.

Do some research in various classified web sites and try to get what it would cost you to get another equal condition car...

- And next time, ask your regular insurance agent to give you a quote for a declared value policy.

Good luck,
Scott

HarryD

If you go over to Pelican Parts (http://forums.pelicanparts.com) and do a search on insurance, you will find several recent threads on this topic and strategies to get a fair settlement. You may want to try the same search here also.

I needed to do this several years ago for my totalled 912. The data the adjusters have easily available does not cover our cars. The more data you can give the adjuster, the better your case will be. In mycase, I gave him several pagesof recnet ads for cars like mine plus data from Excellence. Got what I needed!

Some sources for pricing to consider are:

Excellence magazine valuations
Hemmings (check the NADA and CPI Valuation tools you can link to via this site)
<a href="http://www.enthusiastcars.com/index_framev1.html" target="_blank">http://www.enthusiastcars.com/index_framev1.html</a>
PCA Valuation committee
Pano Ads
etc.

Be sure you show data for comparible cars, not beaters needing total restoration.

Be firm, be patient, if need be, contact an attorney. Good luck.

neilk

Like Harry said, do a search for insurance on the 911 board at Pelican. Also, do a search for posts on insurance by Motion. His car was totaled but he was able to get fair value for his car because he fought the insurance company.

A few good tips were given to me on the early911sregistry.org forum. I was backed into two weeks ago and State Farm is willing to pay for some of the repairs. It will probably be a fight to get them to pay it all, but if you don't fight get ready to be screwed.

pig4bill

Why would you be worried about your insurance? You said it was the other guy's fault, his insurance pays. You still have the same problem, though. Get your documentation ready beforehand. The first time the adjuster talks to you, he will want to cut you a check, so be prepared to argue with him.

Also, watch every freakin word you say to him. If he calls you on the phone, the first words out of his mouth will be "And how are you doing today, Mr Victim?". And you will say "Fine" or "Okay" like everybody does, and he will note that victim was fine on the day I called. So, ALWAYS say "I've been better" or something nondescript and hint your neck is sore and you had trouble sleeping. If he thinks you're going to sue for whiplash he might be a little more flexible on the car payout.

BTW if your neck IS sore, go see your doctor. If you ignore the pain, that's a strike against you later on.

dbelleperc

Here is the link to NADA I connected you right to the Porsche 1974 spot were you can find the blue book value. <a href="http://www3.nadaguides.com/Values/ValueTrim.asp?UserID=52072100E7DC4&DID=37769&wSec=2&wPg=1205&CategoryId= 13&MakeId=1144&Year=1974&ColorId=" target="_blank">1974 Porsche 911 Blue Book Valve.</a>

subculture

Thanks for all the comments... my insurance is taking their time returning my calls. Unfortunately, I didn't know much of the stuff mentioned (PCA valuation, classic car insurance) really existed beforehand so in terms of prior records I don't have much. I'm going to go with looking for ads for comparable cars and making sure I find a shop of my own choice to make estimates. And of course not taking their first offer. Anyone wanna take a guess at damage estimates?

<img src="http://www.fac63.com/miscImages/lj/accident_1.jpg" alt=" - " />

jlkline

How about a more creative solution...negotiate a good total loss price, then buy it back from the insurance as a salvage car as cheap as possible. The car will have a salvage title, but then you could

- Choose to repair it and put it back on the road
- Part it out yourself and recover the cost of buying the salvage and then some depending on condition of the goodies still OK
- Transplant the good stuff (looks like drive train survived) into a car in need of running gear...maybe even a racer?

my $.02.