Bad weekend

[Keith True]

When my coupe was destroyed on 7 March,2020,the adjuster was there I think two days later.After looking around he said I kind of assume you'd like to keep it if possible.He said they do stand to recover pretty good money on old cars,so they really do like to take them.He got on his phone,and a few minutes later he said I was going to keep it,and they were going to deduct $765.from my settlement.He said that the biggest factor in their decision was the fact that they were going to have to hire a bulldozer to get behind the house and drag it a couple hundred feet to where a truck could get to it.Funny thing is the car is still insured with them,for $765,the value they put on it at the time of loss.With the low value it is free of charge,and is still listed on my policy with the other cars.They told me that when I fixed it to just send them pictures and they will up the value to whatever it should be.Cherished value didn't exist in my state at the time,but they told me it was coming,and when it happened here they let me know and I bought it.I pay $28.for it and it covers all 4 cars.

 

[1928Mik]

Yeah, I have Hagerty, Cherished Value is the way to go. Still can't figure out why the fire dept guys didn't want to help you right the car to eliminate a fire hazard since those guys are all about safety.....?

 

[1930artdeco]

I just looked at my insurance on my cars with Hagerty and upped them all to reflect current replacement/repair costs. I bumped my Townsedan to 50K and added the Cherished car thing. I hope that is enough on the A.

Mike

 

[JayJay]

Nope. When we had the flood here a year or so ago, my daughter's Model-T Speedster was in one of my lower buildings that was right next to the river. This river is controlled by the TVA, and since 1912 when they built the dam, it has never been out of its banks, ...until this time. When the water finally receded, her car's engine had river silt packed around the spark plugs. I had $25k of insurance on it. An adjuster came out to document it, He asked me what it would cost to fix it. I told him I ran the numbers and it was over $20k for parts & labor. I gave him those figures on a spreadsheet, he took a picture of the license plate, the VIN, and the water line still on the side of the body. They wired $24,999.00 into my bank account two days later. The Claims agent called me to verify that I had received the money, and then rewrote coverage on the same vehicle for $10k. The Title never left the safe, and no branding whatsoever on the Title to know it was ever totaled. A car collector is foolish not to pay the few extra dollars annually just to have Cherished Value added to their policy.

Not to quibble, but did you ever follow up with DMV to be sure the insurance company didn’t flag the title in their system? So if anyone was to do a title search it would or would not appear? Perhaps Tennessee works differently than The People’s Republic of California, but I’m pretty sure insurance companies are required to do that here if they total a car.

 

[Jim/GA]

I just looked at my insurance on my cars with Hagerty and upped them all to reflect current replacement/repair costs. I bumped my Townsedan to 50K and added the Cherished car thing. I hope that is enough on the A.

Mike

Hagerty pushed back when I tried to increase the Stated Value of my '29 Phaeton by 10%, so Id like to hear if you got any complaints from them.

I'm working on documentation.

 

[ModelA29]

Still can't figure out why the fire dept guys didn't want to help you right the car to eliminate a fire hazard since those guys are all about safety.....?

Their boss would rather put out a fire or hose the battery acid, oil and gas off the road than have one of his firefighters out on a work comp claim with a bad back. Most times you'll only see them snipping a battery cable if they can get under the hood.

 

[alexiskai]

Their boss would rather put out a fire or hose the battery acid, oil and gas off the road than have one of his firefighters out on a work comp claim with a bad back. Most times you'll only see them snipping a battery cable if they can get under the hood.

I was talking to a guy who works with fire depts and he said that a worker's comp claim in which the worker was totally disabled (back injury could do that) costs the city $580k.

 

[al's28/33]

now if we all call hagerty, they will smell something fishy and start raising our rates ....

 

[German guy]

WOW! It looks done to me. I am pleasantly surprised that nobody was hurt. Gather all of your receipts and sue the other driver for any amount not covered by your insurance....including the deductible. Also demand the phone records to see if she was using it at the time.

 

[Gino]

Very sorry to hear this, I’m glad all are ok.
I WOULD KEEP THE CAR! I would modify it into something it is not. Call it a conversation piece but I would have fun with making into say a Munster type drivable car. Then if possible buy a second Model A.
But I would not be able to part with that car. Hope I’m helpful. God bless.

 

[P.S.]

now if we all call hagerty, they will smell something fishy and start raising our rates ....

I suspect they have already been "triggered". I have 8 cars (7 are Model As) on my Hagerty policy, and I just received a notice that my annual premium (due in 2 months) includes a "moderate increase" in premium cost.

 

[old31]

Oh oh. A "moderate increase" is like saying you are "a little bit pregnant"!

Let us know what the increase is.

 

[WHN]

Luckily no one was riding in the rumble seat or in the front passenger seat.

We are getting to the point where driving these cars might not be possible.

 

[Synchro909]

Luckily no one was riding in the rumble seat or in the front passenger seat.

We are getting to the point where driving these cars might not be possible.

I recently had a club member express a similar view after we talked about self drivingcars and all of the sensors on modern cars. "How are we going to compete?", he asked.
I said that all of those cars are programmed to avoid a coliision so I will be driving as usual and not worry about them - they will get out of my way!!!

 

[JayJay]

Where I live (San Francisco peninsula) is one of the test areas for the Waymo self-driving cars. They’ve been on the road here for a couple of years. After some initial skepticism and shock at seeing nobody in the driver’s seat I have to say I’ve been impressed with them. They seem to drive pretty predictably, and are fitting right into what is the usual horrible Bay Area traffic. When we need a ride we’re still using Lyft because Waymo is more expensive, but I am becoming a believer.

But that begs a question: there are hundreds of these things out there during the day, but where do they go at night? There must be little Waymo nests that they go to get charged up, but I’ve never seen one. One of life’s little mysteries I suppose.

 

[1930artdeco]

There is a video out there I am sure of the Waymo lot where a car pulls into it and can't seem to find a spot. Then it starts to bash other cars on its own. Might be on you tube somewhere.

Mike

P.S. My premium went up quite a bit but I have three cars and really upped the numbers factoring in what it would cost to repair my cars correctly.

 

[Colorado kid]

Depending on your settlement and where location you’re in Colorado, Classic cars in Greeley has a nice coupe and Steve at Bert’s have a few nice cars when I visited recently.

 

[Karl Wescott]

Depending on your settlement and where location you’re in Colorado, Classic cars in Greeley has a nice coupe and Steve at Bert’s have a few nice cars when I visited recently.

And it would be a REALLY GOOD idea to price those cars as an argument for the loss value of your car when fighting the driver who was at fault. Any stated value with Hagerty is only binding between you and them, not the third party who hit you.

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

And it would be a REALLY GOOD idea to price those cars as an argument for the loss value of your car when fighting the driver who was at fault. Any stated value with Hagerty is only binding between you and them, not the third party who hit you.

Imagine you take your 3rd party to court for a jury to decide a fair value fir your Model-A. Then the 3rd party's Attorney ask you, "Mr. Model-A Owner, I see on your policy where you were willing to accept a total amount of $15,000.00 from your Insurance Company should anything happen to your beloved Model-A, ...however you now are unwilling to accept that amount from my client's insurance company? Is this because you are trying to take advantage of her and her insurer as retaliation?"

How do you defend yourself on that one??

 

[Jeff/Illinois]

Very sorry for all of this happening to you. Yes I agree that Coupe is lost... if you want to stay in the hobby take your check and start shopping for a different car. I don't believe I'd go through all of the hassle of rebuilding THAT one. There are too many good Model A's coming up for sale today.

Greg, thank you for posting all of this. It is a reminder to the rest of us that this could happen to any of us at any time. Accidents DO happen fast. As well as you fared in your Coupe, I believe I'd seek out another one. Or even a Tudor. Thank goodness you weren't in a Roadster. We would never be talking to you now.

Please keep us updated as this plays out.