Dad's GN stolen (1-5-08)

Hey, Alan,

Next time, leave a big, hungry, angry dog in the back seat....or splurge for a trunk monkey!
 
any idea how much theyll give ya for it? was it just standard insurance company or was it collector car? did you have to have an appraisal? I am paranoid as hell for mine also this summer with the detroit crime rate. It seems as the economy gets crappier, all of the inner city folk seem to have been coming to the burbs to steal our stuff
 
Only going what NADA says to have an idea till the (regular/ non collector) insurance co. gives us a price on what they think it's worth. We sent em' as much receipts possible of the paint job, tranny rebuild and some other stuff. Which they more than willingly accepted to get an idea of what the car's worth. We also sent them pics of the car after the paint also to give them an idea of what the condition it was in at the time till recent.
 
Also get NADA values, Hemmings collector car info on the GN, any specialty mag article on the valuation. etc- anything to establish and firm up the valuation of the car.

When mine was stolen, the insurance company wanted to settle for about $4500- it's only a Regal, right?

I was nice and persistant, and ended up with a $14k settlement.
 
SouthernCal GN said:
Also get NADA values, Hemmings collector car info on the GN, any specialty mag article on the valuation. etc- anything to establish and firm up the valuation of the car.

When mine was stolen, the insurance company wanted to settle for about $4500- it's only a Regal, right?

I was nice and persistant, and ended up with a $14k settlement.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Will do!!!:wink:
 
Ok. The car hasn't been found and we got an offer of $9400. Going by NADA we thought the car was worth at least $12k. What do you guys think? The ins. agent was helpful in informing us about the "Right to Recourse". Which is a 30 day long period where we can prove the car is worth more than they offered. One of the guidelines was to find a similar car for sale in the same condition and mileage within 25 miles of my father's home. Dealers only and w/ an acception to consignment dealers. No private sellers:eek: . My question is: Should we settle for the offer ? Or otherwise. We really don't know the car's real value. We are just going by NADA and a few cars for sale here and other bb's as well as some old car trader books and similar. This car was no way near a daily driver. It did have 134,000 miles and a showed some wear to the driver side seat. But other than that the car looked and was well kept w/ no rust btw. We're not trying to get a fortune for it, just an honest amount. The few mods were: 60 turbo,50lbs injectors,stretched ic,3200 stall converter and rebuilt 200r4 by Dynotech,rebuilt engine by Dynotech 60,000 miles on rebuild,th 3"DP, holley intank fuel pump,adjustable fpr,and an aftermaket dual exhaust. Going by this what do you think the car was worth? I did find a few cars in the area but none of them were close to the mileage my pops car had. They were listed over $15k. I will keep searching for cars in my area, but in the meantime you guys are the ones to ask at this point. Thanks again..:redface:
Alan
 
turboculosis said:
Ok. The car hasn't been found and we got an offer of $9400. Going by NADA we thought the car was worth at least $12k. What do you guys think? The ins. agent was helpful in informing us about the "Right to Recourse". Which is a 30 day long period where we can prove the car is worth more than they offered. One of the guidelines was to find a similar car for sale in the same condition and mileage within 25 miles of my father's home. Dealers only and w/ an acception to consignment dealers. No private sellers:eek: . My question is: Should we settle for the offer ? Or otherwise. We really don't know the car's real value. We are just going by NADA and a few cars for sale here and other bb's as well as some old car trader books and similar. This car was no way near a daily driver. It did have 134,000 miles and a showed some wear to the driver side seat. But other than that the car looked and was well kept w/ no rust btw. We're not trying to get a fortune for it, just an honest amount. The few mods were: 60 turbo,50lbs injectors,stretched ic,3200 stall converter and rebuilt 200r4 by Dynotech,rebuilt engine by Dynotech 60,000 miles on rebuild,th 3"DP, holley intank fuel pump,adjustable fpr,and an aftermaket dual exhaust. Going by this what do you think the car was worth? I did find a few cars in the area but none of them were close to the mileage my pops car had. They were listed over $15k. I will keep searching for cars in my area, but in the meantime you guys are the ones to ask at this point. Thanks again..:redface:
Alan
Click to expand...
Hell no!, thats their job to offer you a lowball. as far as the dash knows, youve got a 34k mile car right ;)
And I doubt youre going to find any GN's on used car lots. Show them the few stragger GNX's from the dealers on ebay. They wont know the difference. Id counter their 9400 with 25k honestly and laugh in their face like it was an insult to you. They already know the highest theyll be allowed to pay and its not their first offer. Stand firm and keep letting them inch their way up to that price
 
i agree, you need to get more than that. They have more $$$ in their other pocket to offer you. The oldest trick in the business. Don't fall for it.
 
I'm a insurance investigator and believe me when I tell you they are low balling you.They figure you will accept the first offer they give and walk away. You'll have to fight to get whats fair. Go see your agent immediately and sit down with them. Tell them exactly how much you will settle for and don't give up. GOODLUCK!:cool:
 
honestly, i got "fair market value" for my 88 iroc in 2005. they gave me $4700 for a car that needed tons of work (interior, engine, suspension, paint/ body) just to be presentable. it was my daily driver so i didnt care. just stand your ground and NEVER take there first offer. if it was me i wouldnt take less then 16k for that car. good luck.

buickbert
 
Okay, I'm an insurance adjuster and have settled hundreds of total losses. Let me just start that laws vary from state to state and NJ is the worst state for insurance. Alot of companies won't do business in NJ due to the laws/fraud. First, how did the insurance company arrive at their ACV (actual cash value)? We need to know how/what they based their value to see how we can increase it. Secondly, finding comperable vehicles within 25 miles is a joke, you sure it's not 250? What you need to look for is a vehicle within your local market. Typically that will give you a couple hundred miles to work with. Not considering vehicles by a local party is crap. Generally insurance adjusters like private party vehicles because they are not in "retail" condition like what you'd expect at a car lot so their prices are generally less. You need to check on that. Lastly, you should have a "appraisal clause" in your policy. This is there incase you can't agree on a value. Generally, you hire your appraiser, the insurance company hires theirs and the two will meet to come up with a binding value. Hopefully it won't come to that. If you have a copy of your policy, I'd be more than happy to read it to let you know exactly what your rights are. I'll do a little research on NJ insurance laws and get back here in a little bit.
 
Okay, I found the law on total losses in NJ. Unfortunately I can't cut and paste it (just another reason why NJ sucks!! :))

It starts at the botom of page two where is says Adjustment of Total Losses:

http://www.state.nj.us/dobi/11_3_10.pdf

It looks like the laws in NJ are very customer friendly. First ask to see how they came up with your value. See if they'll accept the two book value option. Or make them produce an available vehicle. But the 25 miles for a comperable vehicle is BS. There's nothing about that in there. Only mention about 25 miles is that if they find a similiar vehicle available for purchase, it has to be w/in 25 miles of your home unless you agree to a different distance.

Keep me updated. PM me with your phone # if you'd like to discuss it firther. I'd be more than happy to help anyway I can.

Greg
 
Thanks for the input and advice guys. Yes, we will be fighting this to the end. What's right is right and that's it. We can't thank you guys enough for the support and willingness to help a fellow enthusiast out. We just wasn't sure about the car's worth and clearly it's not the lowball offer they gave us. We'll keep you guys posted.

Alan
 
I Remember

A few years ago I had to investigate a warehouse theft in Newark, NJ at a trucking company and met with the owner. I sat down with him and asked alot of questions, afterall they reported that 300 cartons of TV's simply disappeared in 1 week. No forced entry, no alarm activation and for some strange reason the video recording system for the cameras didn't have a tape.No employees in the warehouse would speak with me either.
So,after awhile the owner became agitated with my line of questioning and told me: "We're done, have a good day Mr. L" And two goons escorted me to my car.
It pays to keep asking questions and NEVER be satisfied with the answers either.
 
In the end...............

As of now the car hasn't been found w/ out any leads either. But we got an additional $6000 for the car from the ins. company. All in all we got $15,700 for the car but not without a fight. It took alot of research as far as the law was concerned and just plain facts and figures of what these cars are really worth and going for. We're happy to say we got enough for the car and will finally be in the market for one. Thanks for all the help and support guys, we (I'll say it again) deeply appreciate the help and advice you guys have given us. For those of you that got lowballed by the ins. co. on your loss, keep annoying them w/ facts,emails,current car prices and literature. They will have no choice but to admit what's right is right.:wink:
---Alan
 
Cool!!! I'm glad that it worked out for you guys. That definately seems like a better settlement.

Greg
 
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