Advice needed: Cab damaged in garage accident

shaefer

shaefer

Member
Good afternoon everyone,

This weekend a neighbor accidently backed her car through our garage door and hit my 68-C Cabriolet. The car is (or was) in beautiful condition.

I've never had to worry about appraisals or involving insurance, or whether I need to get an estimate from a restorer, or what restorers are recommended...it's a lot. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

It was always driven and kept very clean. We kept it original as well, save for the substitution of an alternator for a generator. The car was parked forward in the garage so most of the damage is to the rear where the neighbor pushed the garage in and pushed the car forward into the opposing wall. The garage door is still draped over the back of the car (thank goodness the top was down, no damage to the wood) and we can't move it until they come to de-tension the garage door spring (unless the wire breaks before then). The trunk, which was strapped to the parcel shelf, was shoved forward against the rear body panel. The rumble seat was open and looks like it also caught a good bit of the hit. Rear bumpers are pretty bad off, so are rear fenders. In the front, the bumper is toast, one of the brackets holding the bumper is broken and the bolts sheered off, and both front fenders are pushed in. Thankfully there's no damage to the radiator, the hood and doors close, and it doesn't appear that the frame took any damage.

My question is...well, what do I do? We've been contacted by her insurance and I have contact info for a private appraiser that should be able to shed more light on things than what I assume State Farm's appraiser will do. I harbor no ill will towards the neighbor, she's sweet and it was an accident. But I really don't want to end up in a fight with insurance or anything like that. I'm actually an attorney and do some insurance defense, but this is far from a typical accident (at least in my book). Of course I am not signing anything until I fully understand. I'm mostly just curious what pitfalls to avoid or what other things to watch out for. I've documented as much of the damage as I can without having better access to the car.

I'm 41 and I've worked on and routinely driven this car since I was 15. My dad passed away in 2016 and it's officially been mine since then. I cherish this car and it means everything to me. It's funny, the only reason dad wanted this particular A was because it was black and yellow. As a Georgia Tech grad, it was simply meant to be. He didn't even know what a 68-C was until one of his patients told him. That same patient, Monroe Wade (god rest his soul), taught us everything. In the process, my dad and I became closer than ever. We would often work on stuff that wasn't even broken, just so we had an excuse. I now have three kids of my own and I love sharing this car with them. I just want to do what is necessary to get it back into at least the same condition without more headache than is necessary. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
 
Last edited:
So sorry to hear of this freak accident.
Be as sure as you can to receive compensation sufficient to completely restore the car to the condition it was in before the accident.
Also, consider monetary damages due to diminished value. For example, if a Ming vase is broken and repaired it no longer is as valuable as one that was never damaged to begin with. A case involving an old Porsche (if I remember correctly) set a precedent in cases of this nature.
Finally, contact the high-end specialty dealers/auction houses to get recommendations on accident/restoration appraisers who specialize in antique cars. Even a capable all-round adjuster can’t be expected to know what it takes ( including potential hidden damage) to adequately put a number on it.
 
What a heartbreak. Your neighbor must have been traveling pretty fast or driving a Hummer. That’s a lot of damage. I admire your calm attitude. I wouldn’t have responded like that.
 
You need to be made whole. That varies by state. Some just require repair - hammer and bondo. Some allow you to spec new original manufacturer parts only. They'll tell you to get 3 estimates and they'll pick one. Don't fall for it your car and you choose who and how it gets repaired. Since it's old they'll tell you it's not worth much and try to total it and buy you off. Do you have Hagerty or other classic insurance? If so it may be worth it to you to repair it under that policy and let them fight with the other carrier whose client was 100% at fault.
 
Sorry to hear about your situation. Unfortunately, this kind of insurance cluster is something I have to deal with on a daily basis. I would strongly suggest that you get the car to a reputable shop that you trust and have them inspect it and write up what it really needs to repair it back to pre-loss condition. Then let them deal with the insurance appraiser. At the very least, I would insist that they send an appraiser out to inspect it in person, no photo estimating. All states are different as far as laws regarding whether they can do a photo estimate or not. In my state(CT) , it’s mandatory that they send an appraiser out to do an in-person appraisal if the car is at a shop and the owner requests it. As long as the neighbor’s insurance company accepts 100% liability, which seems likely, they’re legally responsible to make you whole again. Where it gets tricky is that their insurance company is likely not specialty insurance and demonstrating exactly what needs to be done on an antique car so that you get properly compensated is an exercise in futility. Assuming you have collector car insurance of your own, you’re much better off putting the claim through your own company and letting them subrogate with the responsible company. Sometimes they’ll waive your deductible in a situation like that and sometimes they’ll get the deductible reimbursed by the other company. There will be much less of a fight about what type of parts get used on the car if you go through specialty insurance.
 
I just remembered another important reason that you might want to go through your own insurance. If you have collector car insurance, you likely have agreed or some type of stated value policy. Say you have an agreed price policy for $30k, they should be able to write repairs up to within a penny of that value and let you keep the car. If you go through regular liability insurance, they typically will deem a car to be a total loss at a percentage of the actual cash value of the car. That’s a big problem on a car like an A that tends to have a value that’s less than what it actually costs to repair or restore them. I’m not sure what the laws are in Georgia regarding retaining a salvage vehicle if it’s totaled. Some let you keep them, some won’t, and others can go either way depending on the type of damage it sustained. Bottom line, the car clearly has sentimental value and you don’t want to lose it because an insurance company is only looking at dollars and cents.
 
Sorry to hear about your situation. Unfortunately, this kind of insurance cluster is something I have to deal with on a daily basis. I would strongly suggest that you get the car to a reputable shop that you trust and have them inspect it and write up what it really needs to repair it back to pre-loss condition. Then let them deal with the insurance appraiser. At the very least, I would insist that they send an appraiser out to inspect it in person, no photo estimating. All states are different as far as laws regarding whether they can do a photo estimate or not. In my state(CT) , it’s mandatory that they send an appraiser out to do an in-person appraisal if the car is at a shop and the owner requests it. As long as the neighbor’s insurance company accepts 100% liability, which seems likely, they’re legally responsible to make you whole again. Where it gets tricky is that their insurance company is likely not specialty insurance and demonstrating exactly what needs to be done on an antique car so that you get properly compensated is an exercise in futility. Assuming you have collector car insurance of your own, you’re much better off putting the claim through your own company and letting them subrogate with the responsible company. Sometimes they’ll waive your deductible in a situation like that and sometimes they’ll get the deductible reimbursed by the other company. There will be much less of a fight about what type of parts get used on the car if you go through specialty insurance.
 
I'm so sorry to hear about the accident. I think Brent Terry may be a good resource in this case. I'm sure he's busy, but he may be able to provide some good insight.

Red
 
Sorry to read of your loss.
I know I am in a completely different jurisdiction so what I say is likely not relevant but the principles may help.
Here, the right of an insurance company to write off a damaged car is given to them in the policy fine print and applies ONLY to the car insured in that policy. In this case, where the damage is 100% caused by the other person, assuming they are insured, their insurance company does not have the right to write off your car. There is no agreement between you and your neighbour's insurance company allowing them to do that. Consequently, you can insist that no matter how much damage has been done, the car is repaired properly (to your satisfaction) and entirely at their cost. You, as the owner of the damaged car may come to an agreement with the insurance company for some other arrangement by way of a separate, private treaty.
If you make a claim on your own insurance, the pay-out is limited to the insured amount which may not cover the repairs and you must find the rest. In other words, the car might be written off by your insurance company. Again, over here insurance policies for collectable cars allow he owner to keep the salvage (wreck of the car) and that has some value.
The considerations on which way to go are complex and you are the only one who can make that decision.
Good Luck!
 
Last edited:
Synchro, That’s interesting to hear how they handle total losses in Australia. I wish the same applied here in U.S. but insurance companies have a bit more leeway in how they choose to settle the loss here. They regularly will total vehicles at less than the value of the car, regardless of which party was liable. It makes a bit more sense on late model cars because they can have a salvage value of several thousand dollars so the insurance company can recoup that money after they pay you the full value of the car. As far as the law is concerned, they complied because they paid you more money than the damage was, but they still take your car that might have been repairable. Our laws vary by state but in all cases they greatly favor the insurers, not the insureds. It’s not fair but that’s how they do it. In my collision shop, at least 25% of the vehicles that come through the door get totaled by the insurance company and most of the time with less damage than the value of the car.
 
see what the appraiser has to say. if youre happy with the appraisal, get the car repaired and move on. if not, let the insurance co know that they are light. they will bring the price up just to get this claim over with.
this isnt a daily occurrence for the insurance co either, so they will want to put this behind them.


In the end, not a big deal. Nobody was hurt and that is what really matters.
 
Y'all, thank you sincerely for the advice. My vehicle is insured by Cincinnati (not sure the policy limits) and the neighbor has State Farm (not sure her limits...yet). An adjuster has called and she seemed surprised to learn that a vehicle was even damaged. In fairness, the neighbor is deeply sorry and I think more than a little embarrassed. I wouldn't be surprised if she told State Farm that she went through the door and damaged some things while leaving out exactly what. Needless to say, the adjuster was a little surprised to learn what was inside. And I assume she'll be even more surprised to learn that it's a *relatively* unique car, being that it's a well-maintained, original, drivable 68-C. I wouldn't expect that to matter to anyone who didn't have a reason to know, so for now I'm not pounding the table over that detail. I've got a classic car appraiser coming to look at it, and he will report to my insurance and State Farm. Oddly enough, it's an older gentleman from my church who knew my dad and has seen us driving this car on many many many occasions, so he has actual knowledge of at least some of the condition prior to the accident.

I am absolutely going to take the advice I've received here and stick by my guns on the appraisal and potentially diminished value if an argument needs to be made. I'm actually an attorney, though my expertise is not in insurance or property damage. That's where I draw a lot of my patience from because I regularly see others in our profession fume and flame over the smallest things and ultimately create a longer more drawn out process than it would have been had they just listened. I'm also being cautious not to fall into the old adage about a lawyer who has himself as a client.

I'm sure I'll have some more questions going forward, particularly about repairing it and who comes recommended, etc. Until then, I am so grateful for the input. Thank you.
 
Very sorry to hear of your accident . Some years back I had parked my 68 B cabriolet outside a friends house . It was half on the street and half on the grass verge . An elderly man pulled out of a driveway across the street and hit my car hard on the left corner . He was driving a late model Ford dually truck the collision took his right front tyre clean off his right front rim . Tore up my rear fender ,running board splash shield and brackets . Front fender buckled at rear end and wheel and axle bent Rear corner of the body pushed jn jamming the trunk lid .The door dented below the handle etc etc . I feel your pain I had the car for over 40 years and loved it dearly . The driver admitted full responsibility the sun was in his eye and he just did not see my car . Turned out he only had one eye anyway .I took my car to a well respected antique car restorer for a repair estimate . His insurer insisted I took it to a modern car bodyshop as well ,they did not want to know and would not take the job on anyway . After months of haggling I was paid out $ 15000 equiv, I kept the car and repaired it myself .The door was the worst being wood framed a real bummer to get straight especially the area under the handle . Your car can be repaired stick by your guns and dont get fobbed off by low ball offers . Luckily my son was in the auto insurance line of work

John in Suffolk County England .
 
Man that sucks, nobody has commented about your home owners insurance, you should contact them, her insurance your car insurance and possibly your homeowners will make you 100% again !
 
one other thing- realize that claims on your own insurance can raise premiums for you in the future and or have your policy cancelled. it does happen and happened to me when I recd roof damage to my house in a storm.
Liberty Mutual paid the claim and immed dropped me. Was a pia to find another carrier.
 
Liberty Mutual is just plain bad. Had insurance with them for over twenty years and a hurricane ripped out our shingles to the point it needed a new roof. They paid for new roof and then dropped us. Same story. They advertise all the time and I just shake my head. No-no.
 
In my experience, ALL insurance companies are bad. If big business had an enema, they would stick it in the insurance industry.
 
The shop to complete the repairs on your wonderful car should be nothing less than a highly reputable organization with a proven record of having completed high-point show cars, even if it is many miles from your home.
 
I would STRONGLY suggest you find a restoration shop with a good reputation and a lot of experience with Model A Fords and get them involved with the estimate and the ultimate repair of your Cabriolet. This seems to be a lot more than just a dent in a fender which could be taken care of by a good local body shop. You need a shop with specific knowledge of this particular model car. You do not want just a local body shop do the repairs.
This car has a lot of sentimental value to you and it would not be the same to just replace it with another Model A Cabriolet in equal condition.
Even if you have to ship the car to a restoration shop out of your area, it would be worth it to have it repaired correctly. A good restoration shop can also help you navigate the insurance settlement process.

My opinion,

Chris W.
 
I recently had an insurance claim for a fender bender, and here is how it went. The insurance company sent an appraiser to my home by appointment to survey the damage to the car. I was present while the appraiser went about his business. The appraiser was knowledgeable about Model A's. Several weeks later I received a very generous check from my insurance company to have my Model "A" professionally repaired. I did not need or obtain any estimates on my own. I did not have to show any proof that the damage to the car was repaired. I made my own arrangements to have the damage repaired. I did some of the work myself, and I also used the services of some skilled local club members to do the work.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top