Thanks Ron, just a bit banged up but I feel way better now. Especially since the adjuster didn’t total my car. It’s at a Mustang shop and I think they are going to start working on it this week.
That is great! I am happy to hear it. Hopefully the shop can get it back in action soon.
They said about a month, but I’m in no hurry. We had our first snow of the season and it’s 25 degrees out. I think it will be more like 6-8 weeks, we’ll see.
!Hi John! So glad to see you are OK. I just read the entire post and found a lot of really valuable information from so many members and I appreciate your posting all your experience with this unpleasant event so far. As I think everyone knows, I have a large collection of these cars and my insurance bill from Hagerty is quite high every year. I wonder if the forum can give me any advice on how best to manage my risk while "getting the most bang for my buck" from the insurance company? I know I am in a unique situation because I have over 25 cars in various states of repairs, and in addition to that I live in Alabama where they don't title cars this age but they do require a registration certificate and tag, and in order to keep the tag you have to have liability insurance. Unfortunately Hagerty does not allow liability insurance only, but you can get a minimum value of $3500 on the car in order to pay the lowest rate. That works fine for my crappy cars that are only really worth $3500, but what do I do about a car like my 72 R code convertible that just went through a $80,000 restoration? I rarely drive the car. I have the car insured for $70,000. After reading about your experience so far, I think I'm going to knock down the values of my cars to try to lower my rate, which runs about $2,500 a year. My concern is that if I put a high value on my cars (or even what they are probably really worth), the insurance company will always try to fix the car and NOT total it out because they want to spend less money. I really thought at first glance that the insurance company was going to total your car. If I had been you, I would have asked for the "guaranteed value" of $35,000 and taken a little less to keep the car. But it does not sound like you would have been given that option when the car could be repaired for $14,500. All this really makes me wonder what kind of a fight I would get into with the insurance company if I got into a wreck with my R code, and let's say the car is nearly vaporized in the accident, but then the insurance company does everything they can do to fix the car (and based on what we have all read from yours and other peoples' experiences, it looks like ANY car CAN be fixed if there is enough money available, in my case $70,000 for the R code), what I would be left with is a car that would ultimately be worth FAR less that what it was before the accident (who would ever want to pay top dollar for my car with the stigma of the accident hanging over it)? Anyway, your experience has given me lots of food for thought. I am (fortunately or unfortunately) in a very unique situation when it comes to these cars. I have been collecting them for so long, and it seems I can never turn one down if it comes up for sale and has something going for it that I think will make it a great addition to my collection. The sad thing is that I can only drive one car at a time, and most of my cars have not been driven in years. Three are kept at my house (the nicest ones), and the rest are either at my shop (where really NOTHING can happen to them, seeing as it is cinder block and steel, so not really flammable), or out somewhere at other shops at various stages of restoration (where they SHOULD be covered by their insurance). I guess everyone on the site wishes they had my kind of problems
I think we need a road trip to see your Mustangs. ::thumb::
Hi John! So glad to see you are OK. I just read the entire post and found a lot of really valuable information from so many members and I appreciate your posting all your experience with this unpleasant event so far. As I think everyone knows, I have a large collection of these cars and my insurance bill from Hagerty is quite high every year. I wonder if the forum can give me any advice on how best to manage my risk while "getting the most bang for my buck" from the insurance company? I know I am in a unique situation because I have over 25 cars in various states of repairs, and in addition to that I live in Alabama where they don't title cars this age but they do require a registration certificate and tag, and in order to keep the tag you have to have liability insurance. Unfortunately Hagerty does not allow liability insurance only, but you can get a minimum value of $3500 on the car in order to pay the lowest rate. That works fine for my crappy cars that are only really worth $3500, but what do I do about a car like my 72 R code convertible that just went through a $80,000 restoration? I rarely drive the car. I have the car insured for $70,000. After reading about your experience so far, I think I'm going to knock down the values of my cars to try to lower my rate, which runs about $2,500 a year. My concern is that if I put a high value on my cars (or even what they are probably really worth), the insurance company will always try to fix the car and NOT total it out because they want to spend less money. I really thought at first glance that the insurance company was going to total your car. If I had been you, I would have asked for the "guaranteed value" of $35,000 and taken a little less to keep the car. But it does not sound like you would have been given that option when the car could be repaired for $14,500. All this really makes me wonder what kind of a fight I would get into with the insurance company if I got into a wreck with my R code, and let's say the car is nearly vaporized in the accident, but then the insurance company does everything they can do to fix the car (and based on what we have all read from yours and other peoples' experiences, it looks like ANY car CAN be fixed if there is enough money available, in my case $70,000 for the R code), what I would be left with is a car that would ultimately be worth FAR less that what it was before the accident (who would ever want to pay top dollar for my car with the stigma of the accident hanging over it)? Anyway, your experience has given me lots of food for thought. I am (fortunately or unfortunately) in a very unique situation when it comes to these cars. I have been collecting them for so long, and it seems I can never turn one down if it comes up for sale and has something going for it that I think will make it a great addition to my collection. The sad thing is that I can only drive one car at a time, and most of my cars have not been driven in years. Three are kept at my house (the nicest ones), and the rest are either at my shop (where really NOTHING can happen to them, seeing as it is cinder block and steel, so not really flammable), or out somewhere at other shops at various stages of restoration (where they SHOULD be covered by their insurance). I guess everyone on the site wishes they had my kind of problems
I think we need a road trip to see your Mustangs. ::thumb::
Ya wow, you have quite the unique situation there! I guess I would try to do the same thing.Hi John! So glad to see you are OK. I just read the entire post and found a lot of really valuable information from so many members and I appreciate your posting all your experience with this unpleasant event so far. As I think everyone knows, I have a large collection of these cars and my insurance bill from Hagerty is quite high every year. I wonder if the forum can give me any advice on how best to manage my risk while "getting the most bang for my buck" from the insurance company? I know I am in a unique situation because I have over 25 cars in various states of repairs, and in addition to that I live in Alabama where they don't title cars this age but they do require a registration certificate and tag, and in order to keep the tag you have to have liability insurance. Unfortunately Hagerty does not allow liability insurance only, but you can get a minimum value of $3500 on the car in order to pay the lowest rate. That works fine for my crappy cars that are only really worth $3500, but what do I do about a car like my 72 R code convertible that just went through a $80,000 restoration? I rarely drive the car. I have the car insured for $70,000. After reading about your experience so far, I think I'm going to knock down the values of my cars to try to lower my rate, which runs about $2,500 a year. My concern is that if I put a high value on my cars (or even what they are probably really worth), the insurance company will always try to fix the car and NOT total it out because they want to spend less money. I really thought at first glance that the insurance company was going to total your car. If I had been you, I would have asked for the "guaranteed value" of $35,000 and taken a little less to keep the car. But it does not sound like you would have been given that option when the car could be repaired for $14,500. All this really makes me wonder what kind of a fight I would get into with the insurance company if I got into a wreck with my R code, and let's say the car is nearly vaporized in the accident, but then the insurance company does everything they can do to fix the car (and based on what we have all read from yours and other peoples' experiences, it looks like ANY car CAN be fixed if there is enough money available, in my case $70,000 for the R code), what I would be left with is a car that would ultimately be worth FAR less that what it was before the accident (who would ever want to pay top dollar for my car with the stigma of the accident hanging over it)? Anyway, your experience has given me lots of food for thought. I am (fortunately or unfortunately) in a very unique situation when it comes to these cars. I have been collecting them for so long, and it seems I can never turn one down if it comes up for sale and has something going for it that I think will make it a great addition to my collection. The sad thing is that I can only drive one car at a time, and most of my cars have not been driven in years. Three are kept at my house (the nicest ones), and the rest are either at my shop (where really NOTHING can happen to them, seeing as it is cinder block and steel, so not really flammable), or out somewhere at other shops at various stages of restoration (where they SHOULD be covered by their insurance). I guess everyone on the site wishes they had my kind of problems
Kevin,Hi John! So glad to see you are OK. I just read the entire post and found a lot of really valuable information from so many members and I appreciate your posting all your experience with this unpleasant event so far. As I think everyone knows, I have a large collection of these cars and my insurance bill from Hagerty is quite high every year. I wonder if the forum can give me any advice on how best to manage my risk while "getting the most bang for my buck" from the insurance company? I know I am in a unique situation because I have over 25 cars in various states of repairs, and in addition to that I live in Alabama where they don't title cars this age but they do require a registration certificate and tag, and in order to keep the tag you have to have liability insurance. Unfortunately Hagerty does not allow liability insurance only, but you can get a minimum value of $3500 on the car in order to pay the lowest rate. That works fine for my crappy cars that are only really worth $3500, but what do I do about a car like my 72 R code convertible that just went through a $80,000 restoration? I rarely drive the car. I have the car insured for $70,000. After reading about your experience so far, I think I'm going to knock down the values of my cars to try to lower my rate, which runs about $2,500 a year. My concern is that if I put a high value on my cars (or even what they are probably really worth), the insurance company will always try to fix the car and NOT total it out because they want to spend less money. I really thought at first glance that the insurance company was going to total your car. If I had been you, I would have asked for the "guaranteed value" of $35,000 and taken a little less to keep the car. But it does not sound like you would have been given that option when the car could be repaired for $14,500. All this really makes me wonder what kind of a fight I would get into with the insurance company if I got into a wreck with my R code, and let's say the car is nearly vaporized in the accident, but then the insurance company does everything they can do to fix the car (and based on what we have all read from yours and other peoples' experiences, it looks like ANY car CAN be fixed if there is enough money available, in my case $70,000 for the R code), what I would be left with is a car that would ultimately be worth FAR less that what it was before the accident (who would ever want to pay top dollar for my car with the stigma of the accident hanging over it)? Anyway, your experience has given me lots of food for thought. I am (fortunately or unfortunately) in a very unique situation when it comes to these cars. I have been collecting them for so long, and it seems I can never turn one down if it comes up for sale and has something going for it that I think will make it a great addition to my collection. The sad thing is that I can only drive one car at a time, and most of my cars have not been driven in years. Three are kept at my house (the nicest ones), and the rest are either at my shop (where really NOTHING can happen to them, seeing as it is cinder block and steel, so not really flammable), or out somewhere at other shops at various stages of restoration (where they SHOULD be covered by their insurance). I guess everyone on the site wishes they had my kind of problems
Good point Don. Thanks!Kevin,Hi John! So glad to see you are OK. I just read the entire post and found a lot of really valuable information from so many members and I appreciate your posting all your experience with this unpleasant event so far. As I think everyone knows, I have a large collection of these cars and my insurance bill from Hagerty is quite high every year. I wonder if the forum can give me any advice on how best to manage my risk while "getting the most bang for my buck" from the insurance company? I know I am in a unique situation because I have over 25 cars in various states of repairs, and in addition to that I live in Alabama where they don't title cars this age but they do require a registration certificate and tag, and in order to keep the tag you have to have liability insurance. Unfortunately Hagerty does not allow liability insurance only, but you can get a minimum value of $3500 on the car in order to pay the lowest rate. That works fine for my crappy cars that are only really worth $3500, but what do I do about a car like my 72 R code convertible that just went through a $80,000 restoration? I rarely drive the car. I have the car insured for $70,000. After reading about your experience so far, I think I'm going to knock down the values of my cars to try to lower my rate, which runs about $2,500 a year. My concern is that if I put a high value on my cars (or even what they are probably really worth), the insurance company will always try to fix the car and NOT total it out because they want to spend less money. I really thought at first glance that the insurance company was going to total your car. If I had been you, I would have asked for the "guaranteed value" of $35,000 and taken a little less to keep the car. But it does not sound like you would have been given that option when the car could be repaired for $14,500. All this really makes me wonder what kind of a fight I would get into with the insurance company if I got into a wreck with my R code, and let's say the car is nearly vaporized in the accident, but then the insurance company does everything they can do to fix the car (and based on what we have all read from yours and other peoples' experiences, it looks like ANY car CAN be fixed if there is enough money available, in my case $70,000 for the R code), what I would be left with is a car that would ultimately be worth FAR less that what it was before the accident (who would ever want to pay top dollar for my car with the stigma of the accident hanging over it)? Anyway, your experience has given me lots of food for thought. I am (fortunately or unfortunately) in a very unique situation when it comes to these cars. I have been collecting them for so long, and it seems I can never turn one down if it comes up for sale and has something going for it that I think will make it a great addition to my collection. The sad thing is that I can only drive one car at a time, and most of my cars have not been driven in years. Three are kept at my house (the nicest ones), and the rest are either at my shop (where really NOTHING can happen to them, seeing as it is cinder block and steel, so not really flammable), or out somewhere at other shops at various stages of restoration (where they SHOULD be covered by their insurance). I guess everyone on the site wishes they had my kind of problems
Find out if Alabama is a diminished value state.
If so I think you can argue for a payment of the different of the cars value from before VS after the accident.
After first snow falls around here is when I put her away for the season. The crap they treat the roads with kills cars. Ron
Could your improperly functioning brakes contributed to your accident? Just curious if you think you could have stopped before hitting the pole if the brakes had been working properly.
Not really sure, but a good question. I guess I may have been able to slow down a bit more. Pretty sure I still would have hit that pole though. It’s so close to the side of the road.
Mark, sounds like a plan to have a members meet up. How about next year's All Ford Show at Ford HQ? Hopefully still on!
