I wonder if it would help to have located replacement sheet metal and have pricing before they look at it. At least that way they know the parts can be bought and then it's down to the labor for them to figure out. At least you have Grundy, State Farm, All State and the likes would total it just so they wouldn't have to deal with it.
Classic car adjusters are familiar with our cars. If they come out and try to total it, get your own estimate for repairs and resubmit it. Don't take a total loss payout unless you think it's worth it. If it's your own insurance company your options aren't great but that damage doesn't look anywhere near enough to total it. Frank is right, Hagerty has the best track record, but my insurance company offers to do an appraisal and I can get full coverage based on that value.
....I was glad he didn't say Progressive. It would definitely help to do some parts searching, print out your proof, have all if not some of your ducks in a row. I even had some ebay ads. We haven't dealt with Grundy before, so I don't know how low they'll want to low-ball you. If you lived near southeast Wisconsin, I'd be more than happy to help you. Good luck sir. Remember it is still your car.
I asked my State Farm agent about insurance on my Maverick and he actually told me I would be better off to look towards Grundy or Haggerty - that was surprising
Thanks everyone for the support. I talked to the insurance adjuster and the appraiser came out today to look at the car. I am feeling good about the car getting repaired.
Depends. The appraiser that looked at mine took overall condition and modifications into account. I don't think there is a Kelly blue book number your going to pin down but having it appraised before something happens is always a good idea. Knowing what he used to justify the payout would have been nice info to know.
This is an issue I have been dealing with. I paid for an appraisal from a large appraisal company. State Farm is balking at the number they gave stating that they could not find sales of cars comparable to mine. We all know how few Mavericks are left and how few restored ones get sold. Then there are the modified cars with huge amounts of time and money invested in them. How do you come to a reasonable appraisal? I'm fighting with State Farm now. Hopefully they will come to an agreement with the appraisal company. I cannot go with Hagerty because I plan to drive the car. They would not insure me. I'm wondering if we could start a ongoing thread to track the higher end sales that we come across so that we have a database to draw from if another one of us experiences an accident. Sorry to hijack, but somewhat still on topic. Micah
In all honesty, kick State Farm to the curb. I was dropped by them for one ticket and a claim on a snowmobile. For a classic car, you can't beat the specialty insurers.
If you have an old car that is in very good condition (not just any old heap), you're gonna need an insurance company like Haggerty, Grundy, or American National. The main-stream car insurance companies are gonna be of no use if your car gets damaged. All they care about is "book" value, and want to pay out as little as possible.
If you have a car that needs an appraisal.....then you have a car that should not be driven daily. All of the classic car insurance companies allow you to drive your car....just not everyday.
I tried to purchase this 74 Maverick from a used car lot. The car was WAAAY overpriced. He kept it on the front row at the lot. The car was involved in an accident on the lot by a vehicle losing control on the highway. I tried to purchase the car after the accident with no luck. I did get a test drive in the car beforehand!
Looks like the one I found last weekend... http://mmb.maverick.to/threads/seen-in-the-wild-today.86870/page-13#post-1058231
GEEEZ, now THAT is a total loss, could be fixed, but if I was doing the fixing it would need both aprons/support, to do it right, and no-one would be the wiser once I got it finished.
