Classic Car values

Some kid decided to he was tired of waiting in the left hand turn lane this weekend so he pulled into my lane and trashed my Triumph GT6. His insurance company acknowledges that it was his fault and will pay for the repairs but the adjuster was honest with me and said "What's the car worth? I've never had to deal with a restored classic before, can you show me what other similar cars are worth?"

So the balls in my court now to get some comp prices. I've been looking at current for sale prices on eBay, Craigslist, Hemmings, GRM and a few specialty car sites but it's slim pickings for restored GT6's right now. There's a few cars that just need paint, floorboards and an engine rebuild, but that's not really and apples to apples price comparison. I've kept the receipts for the work I've done on it, but that alone won't determine free market value.

Does any one know of a database of past classic car sales, maybe an auction house, where I can get some prices on restored cars? Any ideas?

Thanks

mike

Ouch I hate to see this happen. Perhaps a good British restoration shop will offer an estimate of repair. Sports car market magazine is where I would go for a value.

Cheers Ron

Hey Mike this is Andy from CMS. I can get you the last years sales prices at auction as well as the values from the two best price guides out there. I will get it to you in a few days. How nice was your car? How much did you have in the paint? Any issues? Was it a show winner and if so what shows? Andy

You will also need to read all the fine print on not only your policy, but HIS as well... His fault, his company pays. That said, if your car isn't covered by a "classic vehicle" policy, they are gonna pay you what the "book" says it's worth. Good luck. Cheers, Scott

Sounds like you either have a recent hire or an adjuster that works as an independent and is lazy. The data is out there to come up with a basic value. There are several guide books that can be used such as NADA for collectible cars, CPI (Cars of Particular Interest), and the magazine type guide called something like Collector Car Market (been a long time since I bought one). If they use Pathways/Autosource he can call in a value request to the specialty department. He's either lazy, inept, or both.

We adjusters hate collectible vehicle claims. They take forever to settle and gather information on. Doesn't matter how much you like cars, they are usually a nightmare.

To everyone else: if you have a collectible car, absolutely have collector car insurance coverage. If the other company that hits you is too stupid or unwilling to fix your car for less than it's really worth, you can simply use your own coverage and let your Hagerty/Grundy/etc fight it out with Generic Insurance on your behalf. This is the extra protection a stated value type policy gives you.

Case in point: had a claim on a 1965 Mustang that really was only worth $5-6k at the time as it was nothing more than a decent driver. But, the owner had bought it new and it had a lot of sentimental value. Collector insured for $10,000. He got it fixed. Had he not had collector insurance, it would have been a total based on it's Actual Cash Value (ACV).

Thanks for in info. The car wasn't a show car but a well restored daily driver. I have it insured as a classic with State Farm for an agreed upon value. My agent said I can always go through them to get it fixed but the preferred method would be dealing directly with the other company.

thanks

mike

I would be reluctant to give a $$ figure, unless it is the Agreed Upon Value from your policy.
If you have an appraisal and receipts since the appraisal was done, that can be used as supporting documents when discussing. I agree with DDavidV that the adjuster is wanting you to do his research for him.

GWGarrard

This Vast autos website scans many listings on many websites. It's a pretty good place to go to get a feel of what is for sale and current prices.

http://www.vast.com/cars/used-for-sale-Triumph.GT6

Mike,

I am really sorry to see that! (Especially a GT6 in the color I want to paint mine!)

Check out this site for values:

Gold Book Classic Cars

Good luck!

Tad

OFracing,

My Dodge Caliber was totaled in a similar situation yesterday. Other driver admitted fault today. My company (Farmers) is paying me and then going after the other guy's company(state farm). Sure it's easier for them if you go thru the other guy's policy but you might want to "discuss" their responsibility to represent you. I'd also discuss it with your agent assuming you have your life, other cars, house and other coverage with him. Agents have more influence than they want to admit to. They survive on renewals and referrrals. Sometimes they need a gentle reminder. My agent went right to the boards for me on my first call.

Here's another tack, Mike. About 3 years ago my wife and I were cruising through a parking lot in our '87 RX-7 GXL when another driver came blasting out of his parking space only to plant the rear bumper of his SUV squarely on our hood. He was insured through AAA. On Monday morning, before I could call my company, AAA called me and told me to take m car to the repair facility of my choice and have them call with the billing info. All I had to do was drive it to the shop and go back to pick it up about a week later. I don't know if this will work in your situation, but for me it could not have been easier. BTW, guys, this is NOT an ad for the afore mentioned company. I have my insurance through the gecko people. Cheers, Scott

Agents are feast or famine. I've worked with some good ones who really did serve the customer and others who were a PITA simply because they didn't want the customer calling and bothering them while they counted their commissions.

Every company out there operates a different way, and you'll also find they change how they operate every 5-10 years in many cases. I quit Nationwide several years ago and wouldn't have referred my worst friend to them but now they are back trying to please their customers (mostly because they found pissing people off wasn't good for retention). It's a very cyclical business.

The adjuster showed up at my house yesterday. he says he was sent from a different office to do my claim because he has classic car experience.

The guy was in his 50's and used to autocross an MGB. Said he wanted to cry when I took the tarp off he car. He looked it over very carefully and told me they we'll get the car running again. I named the shop where I want to have it fixed and he said no problem. I gave him the estimate from that shop and said it was it was low, they missed some frame damage. He was going to his boss, "a Kid" he called him, to explain the claim and get me the money to fix it.

This was the lizard company, not my insurance company and if they keep their word than I'll be a happier camper.

thanks mike

I've been with those guys for 6 years now, Mike, and have never had a problem of any kind. I hope that they're able to sort the problem to your satisfaction. Cheers, Scott

That picture just hurts. Glad to hear its getting resolved. I'm getting my classic insurance coverage back next month and not driving until then!

Score one for the lizard. There's a reason I work for them now. If it works out for you, dropping a letter to the home office, attention Tony Nicely with fond comments about the adjuster will do some nice things for him.

Mike that is great news and kudos to the lizard for sending out someone who knows classics! I wish they were all that good!

Please post pictures of the "after."

BTW, what color did is your GT6? (I mean other than green. ;))

Sorry for the delay. There are few recent auction results for the GT6. As for value, the price guide we tend to use is called Cars that Matter. It is by far the best price guide for classic sportscars. Their price range for your GT6 is between about $5,400-$10,000. I would lean towards the $10,000 mark and say from your description that is replaceable for around $8,700.

In reply to OFracing: My heart bleeds for you. The GT6 is one of my favorite Brits and BRG is the best color. I want to get a GT6 stablemate for my TR8 eventually.

Sownman wrote: This Vast autos website scans many listings on many websites. It's a pretty good place to go to get a feel of what is for sale and current prices. http://www.vast.com/cars/used-for-sale-Triumph.GT6

this is really nice dude. a 1968 for just $1500! but it has a problem with mass air flow sensor. their site is still working even though this thread is already 2 years old.

Check this: http://carpricegraph.com/usa/triumph

I'm the guy that built carpricegraph.com. It's exactly what you ask for in the first post - a database of car prices. I show them on a graph so you can easily see all the prices at the same time.

Let me know what you think!

Is it just me and my old version of Win XP, or do the graphs not work?

Stu

Well, I'm only testing the site on Internet Explorer 8 and 9, as well as Chrome and Firefox. If you're running XP, you may be running a version of IE before 8.

Well, I'm only testing the site on Internet Explorer 8 and 9, as well as Chrome and Firefox. If you're running XP, you may be running a version of IE before 8.