Ins appraisal low, what now??

[walker]

Well I got a call from state farm ins today and they finally got thier sorry butts over to look at my truck, a '67 C-10 lwb. They offered me $3485 if I keep the truck. The body shop estimate came in at $6500. The damage to the truck is:d/s front fender/inner fender, tire/wheel, bumper/brackets, grill/trim, hood, radiator/core support, d/s a-arms/spindle, power steering ram/tie rods, d/s bedside, p/s dent in bedside. That is the basic list of parts that need to be replaced. I went through some catalogs and came up with a rough figure of $3500 in parts if I bought all new stuff. I have some of those parts at home, a bumper,fender, fender well, side trim, hood(dent in the front middle).
I spoke with an appraiser today and he told me that the trucks vaule can be between $4000 and $8000. It only had 86k miles on it, big back window, a/c,p/s,p/b,no rust,
So, what do I do? Do I acept thier offer and make the best of it? Or do I hire and appriaser and take state farm to arbitration? Either way I am out of a car, as they said that now that they have told me of thier offer they want the rental car returned.
I am very frustrated with this as I miss my truck and want it fixed. If I fix it myself it is going to take some time and I will have to get somthing else to drive to work(80 mi round trip). Or I could finish fixing my '67 Scout(needs a new head and emission test)
Thanks for letting me get this off of my chest, any help is appreciated, Andy

[walker]

Here's a pic(maybe)

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Bummer ,I would fix it and keep the truck . Most of the part's should be easy to come by on this board with out breaking the bank!!!

[sbrban]

Do you have full coverage insurance on your truck? Was the accident your fault? Were there any tickets issued to anyone. Is state fraud-I mean farm your insurance co.?

[72MARIO]

I would fight it and try and get more that truck is worth alot. Get it appraised and then show the insurance company the appraisal. They will give you the option to buy it back then do that and use the money to fix it.

I think that would work ?

[walker]

The other driver was at fault, he was cited, state farm is his insurance co. I have liability only on it as my ins co won't insure anything over 20 years old and I had not gotten around to getting insurance with another company( the truck was on the road 2 days after I finished with the engine)

[stllookn]

Get two more quotes in writing and take that to them and refuse their offer. Call an attorney to find out what you can do. I had a friend that kept the rental car until the deal was settled and they had to pay for it. Not sure what insurance company however.

[cdowns]

if it was his fault and he was ticketef for causing the accident !! i'd have the laywer that's handeling your back injury claim also handle the claim for the truck !!!

[frogsmakr]

cdowns is right......i got $7200 for my '67 a few months ago. The frame was bent.......lawyer that was handling my injury claim handled it.

[junkyardjohn]

I GUESS THIS WILL BE (OR OUGHT TO) A LESSON TO EVERYBODY READING THIS ........... GET AN APPRAISAL & AGREED UPON COVERAGE WITH YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY BEFORE YOU HAVE AN ACCIDENT .... INSTEAD OF TRYING TO ARGUE HOW MUCH IT USED TO BE WORTH AFTER IT'S WRECKED!!!!!!
SHOOT ... SUE EM!!! IT SEEMS TO BE THE AMERICAN WAY, & AFTER ALL... SOMEONE ELSE SHOULD PAY FOR YOUR LACK OF PLANNING. I'LL BET YOU GET AROUND TO FINDING AN INSURANCE COMPANY THAT OFFERS THE PROPER COVERAGE NEXT TIME!!. OR MAYBE NOT.

[SCOTI]

The idea of getting more estimates is good but you'll prob run into a couple of problems: 1) Most reputable bodyshops work w/ins. co's not against them (don't bite the hand that feeds you sort of thing). When I was hit & faced a similar situation, most of the dealership bodyshops, or nationwide type shops wouldn't give me an estimate.... they would only work w/the insurance co. 2) Even if the estimate is for more, that doesn't mean squat to ins.co's. Their adjusters are well versed in collision estimating & typically will come close to shops.

Now, that being the case, here's what I did..... I went through & made my own estimate. I inspected all the parts & tried estimating labor/materials compared to what the ins.co. figured. For example, they estimated repairing my pass bedside @ 9hrs of labor ($306) + 2hrs labor ($68) for paint/refinishing. I amended their estimate & requested a repro bedside because my truck had no bondo @ all (it still has the original faded paint & never has had any work done). I changed their estimate to include the cost of the bedside, but I reduced the labor hrs involved since it takes only 1/3 of that time to swap one out (I left the repair/refinish as it was). I did a thorough job & found several things the estimator missed. Some things they actually over-estimated IMO. They figured more for labor to repair my front fender vs. what a good clean used one could be bought for so that's more $$ in my pocket. They didn't account for my a-arm hitting the curb so I included that as well as the mechanical labor to replace it + an alignment.

All in all there was give & take w/their estimate & I came out about 1K more. I sent the estimate back to them along w/my own detailed appraisal of the trucks value & included all receipts which verified actual costs (remember, you can't include labor costs either).

They (StateFarm) originally offered me $1800. I wound up getting $3700 ($4200 minus salvage so I could keep the truck). For $1K, I accumulated used L/R front fenders, a pass door, L/R swb bedsides & spent the rest on a sweet little 74swb. $3400 isn't too far out of the ballpark.... just work on them a little more.

Oh yeah, most attorneys won't touch something like this unless your injured. They won't make any $$ on just property loss so it's not worth the time to them............

[rangernsk]

I was faced with a similar situation 2 years ago. A guy in an Acura pulled right out in front of me and I got the best of him. But I had a fair amount of damage on the front right side. Of course he was at fault and his insurance company said my truck was totaled. (but It was still drivable, I had to pull the acura out of the intersection since it wouldn't start)

They offered me $2000 for my truck and I told him I bet you would, then I went on to tell the adjuster I had receipts for recent new parts on the truck. I just rebuilt the 402 and had about $4000 in receipts. That seemed to effect the situation in a hurry. They then told me they would give me $6000 for the truck or $4000 and I keep it and I kept it. It will be repaired back on the road next week, I hope. My advice is don't take their first offer, just explain to the ins. your justification for the value of your truck and see if they come back with a better offer. Just my $.02.

[dtlilly]

Hmmm, the more they mess with you, the more your back and neck should hurt. Get an attorney and a chiropractor.

[gonebad2]

Get to the doctor FAST with complaints of Horrible headaches, hurting neck and your left arm that is constantly going numb. Not to mention you haven't been able to sleep right since the wreck. Just be careful when you are dealing with scum(insurance companies). I feel for ya man.....Hope all turns out well for you....Good Luck

[junkyardjohn]

YEH --- FAKEING INJURIES TO GET A SETTLEMENT FROM INSURANCE COMPANYS IS A GREAT IDEA. BUT BE CAREFUL .. IT'S ALSO CALLED INSURANCE FRAUD & IS KINDA AGAINST THE LAW. YA DON'T WANT TO END UP AS BUBBAS ROOMATE (AKA HIS B!TCH)

[gonebad2]

I knew a guy that did that once. Seems he made out pretty good. But it wasn't a car wreck. Good advice though. Would not want to end up keeping cell for Bubba.

[Ironhorse]

Junkyardjohn speaks some words of wisdom as to the insurance appraisal before the fact of being involved in an accident. Won't help in this case but to those reading this post: If you are driving your truck after a considerable amount of work, restoration, plus blood, sweat and several cases of cold beer don't shoot your self in the foot and drive your truck without a stated value for proper insurance coverage. May cost you a bit more or maybe less depending on how you have it insured. My own 71 4x4 is a stated value at $9,000 and I don't consider it a "show truck" . This is from a well-known local auto restoration/appraisal shop noted for restoring Dusenburgs, Cords and Auburn vehicles. My agent has pictures and a written appraisal sheet in my files at his office and I have my own copies in my safe. (A little extra insurance)

As for this particular case I would most definetly visit with a local reputable auto body shop aka auto restoration shop with pictures and receipts of all work done along with a brief but accurate description of amount of labor you have done your self. Your time may be a hobby or labor of love to you but it does have value in todays commercialized world. Face it, these trucks are becoming a true CLASSIC in every since of the word. 20 years from now when someone sees a fully restored 72 Cheyenne Super in the paper for $25,000 there will be other people who say "I used to have one of those, sold it. Wish I still had it."
Talk to anyone who had a 55 T-bird, a Tri-five Chevy, a mid to late 60's muscle car.

For what my two cents are worth, fight 'em for every damn dime. It isn't "just an 'ol pickup"

[SCOTI]

Ironhorse.... who are you insured through?

[gonebad2]

That is some good advice from John. Not all insurance companies will do it though. I know there are insurance companies that specialize in classic car and truck insurance. Try using google and look up classic car insurance. I talked to an agent at the last Hot August Nights Swap Meet. It's very reasonable if you only insure it for pleasure use, store it in a locked garage and not used as a daily driver.

[chevyhouse]

Originally posted by dtlilly
Hmmm, the more they mess with you, the more your back and neck should hurt. Get an attorney and a chiropractor.

[Ironhorse]

SCOTI, I have my auto insurance through National Farmers Union with a local agent. Don't like doing insurance over the phone or by email. If I have a problem I want a face to face sitdown with my agent. My truck is insured as an antique with limited useage but no stated mileage requirement. Also have my homeowner's insurance there so perhaps that helps for a total package lower cost.

[fatfords]

Walker,
I had a very similar situation with my '56 F-100. A guy hit me, his fault, his insurance (Farmer's) declares the vehicle a total loss and offers me $1800 if I want to keep the vehicle, with a "SALVAGE" title, or $2500 and they take it.

At the recommendation of my insurance agent (State Farm) I contacted a local street rod club and got in contact with an appraiser who does specialty/collector/hot rod appraisals. It was MY RESPONSIBILITY to prove that the vehicle was worth MOREE than the declared TOTAL LOSS value of $2500.
The appraiser looked over the vehicle very closely (at the time of the accident the frame clip, engine & drive train were complete, the body work was done, but it was in gray primer and no interior work). He appraised the vehicle, in the damaged condition at $7500. I provided the claims adjuster with the appraisal and catalogs with the replacement parts required. It doesn't hurt to use someone's catalog with higher prices here. We ended up settling for $3850, which was not enough to take it someplace to get it fixed, but it did cover getting all the replacement parts. I would have fixed it myself anyway.

My recommendation would be to find an appraiser familiar with old/custom/hot rod vehicles and get it appraised in it's current condition. Take along any documentation you have regarding the "pre-accident condition" including pictures, reciepts, etc. Then load up the appraisal and all the other documentation and go to the State Farm adjuster and present your case showing that the value of your truck exceeds the "total loss" value the insurance company is offereing. Chances are, they will revise their offer. Just remember that they are trying to settle for the least amount of money possible. The burdon of proof that your vehicle is worth more than "the book says" is yours.

Good Luck and let us know how this turns out!

[sbrban]

If you do not have full coverage insurance or a rental car policy the other insurance co. does not have to allow you a rental(at least in Iowa). As far as dealer repair shops go-don't even waste your time going there. You are the one that has to prove everything,get a couple of real estimates from reputable independent body shops (be willing to pay them for their time to write the estimate-they are a lot more willing to write an estimate rather than saying it's totalled).The ins. co is going to try to get you to sign off fairly quickly on this too-don't take your time,ask questions,don't be in a hurry to take a check. As for everyone saying" I'm gonna fix it myself anyways" so what! Do you go to work and tell the boss -Aw don't worry about this weeks paycheck-I gotta be somewhere so I might as well be here working for you. Think about it-the vehicle needs to be repaired-I bet the insurance co. isn't gonna put a note in your file-he's a nice person,he's fixing it himself so let's offer a discount on his policy. They're in this to make money,why shouldn't whoever fixes the truck get paid for their time as well!! The only thing I don't get paid for is playing or pooping, if I"m working I hope I'm gettin paid! You should have documented the value b4 the accident, it would have helped you a lot more, I've got agreed value of $13000 on my '71 burb and it's not even close to being done but just in case The ins. co. nows what I'm starting at.(hagerty ins.)

[BtnkBndt]

fatfords,

Can you let me know who you used for your appraisal?
In the DFW area?

Thanks.

[fatfords]

BtnkBndt.
He was in Fort Worth (River Oaks) and was active in the local NSRA, possibly the president of the local chapter. If memory serves, he owned a shop called "Custom Classic Connection" or something like that, and they speciallized in 67-72 Chevy trucks.
I will look in my file when I get home this evening, after all the little neighborhood beggers (and my own) go to bed!