Accident

[alleyoopmgv]

Glad to hear you wear ok. That sucks, hope it all goes well for you.

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

That really sucks,hope you have a shop that knows how to pull things back to where they belong:angryfire:

 

[Meep-Meep]

Glad no one was hurt and I'm sorry to see this. I hope you don't get bent over a barrel by the insurance company.

Keith Martin, publisher of Sports Car Market, has a price guide he puts out for subscribers and I'll take a look and see if your car is in there. Not all models are covered, so if your car is a 318 chances are it won't be there. Here is some info http://www.sportscarmarket.com/platinum-auction-database/price-guide

You will also want to look at auction results to see what sold and maybe you will find a comparable survivor vs a restored car. NADA guides I think has a classic car value table and there may be a few others.

Best of luck.

 

[BobC]

Ouch ! glad to hear everyone was ok

 

[pturner]

so sorry, BUT

be slow to do anything, dont sign anything, dont take any money as:
1. any signature could be used to give access almost any records on you or the car including health records.
2. any money given to you relieves them of any future liabilities, so dont take not even $1, even if they say damaged uncovered later will be considered. are you OK?? what if your back starts hurting a few weeks from now?? this would also not be covered as their liability is relieved.
3. they want to pay you fast as this closes the case.
4. if you have any idea you will fix the car, make them send a check to the shop doing the work, this still leaves YOU open as you have not taken any money.
5. they have no one or no system to correctly estimate the value of the car, YOU are the only person able to give it a dollar value.
6. dont let them talk you into totaling the car, as then they will own the car and you will have to buy it back from them. it will also take the title and you will not be able to title it later. it is not their car and will never be their car----it is YOURS.
7. be an A-Hole from the beginning, and then you can back down later after they see you cannot be run over easily.
8. tell them you want to send the car down to Jeff Lilly in Texas to repair and restore it. he could totally do it but it will be expensive, he is one if the best.
8. the insurance company has one and only one agenda--to pay out the lowest amount of money.

was there a minor in the car with you? if so the court will make them hold the case open until the minor is 18.
maybe this helps, hope you get an adjuster who has some concept of old cars and will be human about it.
i am sorry, i am 57 and i cannot find but a few people i can trust anymore, no one or no company has YOUR best interest at heart (especially if they tell you that in the beginning).
PT in Tennessee

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

That totally sux *** man I would have a resto shop rebuild it and make them pay plus some upgrades, sue their asses off hasslhoff!

 

[nelsontoddpa]

be slow to do anything, dont sign anything, dont take any money as:
1. any signature could be used to give access almost any records on you or the car including health records.
2. any money given to you relieves them of any future liabilities, so dont take not even $1, even if they say damaged uncovered later will be considered. are you OK?? what if your back starts hurting a few weeks from now?? this would also not be covered as their liability is relieved.
3. they want to pay you fast as this closes the case.
4. if you have any idea you will fix the car, make them send a check to the shop doing the work, this still leaves YOU open as you have not taken any money.
5. they have no one or no system to correctly estimate the value of the car, YOU are the only person able to give it a dollar value.
6. dont let them talk you into totaling the car, as then they will own the car and you will have to buy it back from them. it will also take the title and you will not be able to title it later. it is not their car and will never be their car----it is YOURS.
7. be an A-Hole from the beginning, and then you can back down later after they see you cannot be run over easily.
8. tell them you want to send the car down to Jeff Lilly in Texas to repair and restore it. he could totally do it but it will be expensive, he is one if the best.
8. the insurance company has one and only one agenda--to pay out the lowest amount of money.

was there a minor in the car with you? if so the court will make them hold the case open until the minor is 18.
maybe this helps, hope you get an adjuster who has some concept of old cars and will be human about it.
i am sorry, i am 57 and i cannot find but a few people i can trust anymore, no one or no company has YOUR best interest at heart (especially if they tell you that in the beginning).
PT in Tennessee

Outstanding advise on all accounts- fortunately (and unfortunately) this isn't my first time dealing with this stuff, just the first time it has to do with a classic.
Again- thanks so much

Todd

 

[nelsontoddpa]

"She"..oh,oh.....:confused5:

Yep-- she. I really try hard not to have any bias on things people can't do anything about (gender, race, etc), so I'll just have to see how it goes.
[not to say that I don't have any bias---I just try to keep it in the realm of the person's behavior...]

 

[65 Plymouth Satellite 426]

That's Sickening!

 

[luther]

Don't know about your state, but in Calif. you can choose your own body shop. I didn't like the body shop the offender's insurance picked, & went to another--just so happened to be a Chrysler body shop with a manager that loved the look of my 73 RR & did a great job!
Hope you can choose a decent body shop!
--Luther

 

[Meep-Meep]

For what it's worth, and just as I suspected, my SCM price guide shows only a 67 R/T rag top to be valued between $29.7K - $44.4K. One can assume a lesser model = less money. However, as you know, restored cars are basically a dime a dozen but they are only original once, so I put that right with #5 on PT's list. Best of luck to you.

 

[detmatt1]

So sorry to see this and glad noone was hurt, yet...Go find that guy that hit you and punch him in the head, was he playing with his phone? I'm actually just kidding but that's gotta be frustrating! Some good advice was given, nice work guys!

 

[shag766]

as mentioned a couple of times prior. sign absolutly nothing until you are 101% satisfied. over the many yrs. of business owning multiple vehicles i have been down this street. you are driving this boat capitain. good luck.

 

[hunt2elk]

Wow, that sucks. I remember how upset I got last year when some kids were throwing rocks at cars and happened to hit my RR doing $2000 worth of damage. Mine was only in the shop for a week. I can't image what is going through your mind. As far as a woman doing the adjusting, they aren't all bad. We have a 35 year old insurance agent with a husband that has numerous muscle cars. She knows exactly what it takes to restore and own these kinds of cars.

 

[Donny]

man, this is a big bowl of suck, but, I think you can find parts and a shop that will and can fix it. I am sure the Insurance company will be eager to write you a fat check, then sign away any future responsibility for it and any repairs! I was going to say, and will say as PT did in Tennessee to take it to a MOPAR specialist/restoration person for fixing. I hear and see Jeff Lilly's work is good, I've been trying to get his cars for Media Blasting for a while...good luck with your fix up!

 

[Meep-Meep]

The once original, virtually undisturbed car is no longer and can't be brought back. So in an effort to bring any of that value back to that car, I have to agree that taking it to a highly respected and well known MoPar shop is the only way to go. If you had to sell the car in the future it would be to your advantage as well as the buyers that it was done by a specialist. I guess it's brand recognition or something like that. For example, you have two hemis. One built by Ray Barton (or some respected big name) and the other by Joe Blow. Both built correctly with the same quality parts and the price is the same. Which one will sell first?

 

[Bruzilla]

And folks wonder why I'm a fan of red light cameras.

 

[nelsontoddpa]

The once original, virtually undisturbed car is no longer and can't be brought back. So in an effort to bring any of that value back to that car, I have to agree that taking it to a highly respected and well known MoPar shop is the only way to go. If you had to sell the car in the future it would be to your advantage as well as the buyers that it was done by a specialist. I guess it's brand recognition or something like that. For example, you have two hemis. One built by Ray Barton (or some respected big name) and the other by Joe Blow. Both built correctly with the same quality parts and the price is the same. Which one will sell first?

I'm getting so much great advise here... Thanks again to everyone!!!
Not a lot of Mopar specialists in this part of the country, and shipping it....eh- not to sure on that.
I do have it at the body shop of my choice which is one of the high end shops around here and the owner has a passion for classic cars.
I didn't buy this to be a show car, but at the same time, I know that I wouldn't pay the same amount for a car that has been in a major collision versus one that was unmolested. Even if the car is repaired, it's my intent to get the insurance company to compensate me for that loss in value.

 

[nelsontoddpa]

I just spoke by phone to WS27 from this site who took the time to PM me and discuss the situation. I can't tell you how much I appreciate him taking the time to connect and discuss a few aspects of dealing with the situation.
I've always been impressed at the level of knowledge on this board. Thank you again to everyone!

 

[bigredbird]

Sometimes it feels like the bad drivers are aiming for your car when you are driving a classic. No matter how careful you are, you know they are out there. :sad7:

Exactly. And you know they're out there because they're the ones riding your back bumper while talking (or texting) on their cells, or pulling out of the mall driveways right in front of you without looking -- and the friendly "Meep-Meep" of a Roadrunner horn just doesn't seem to send the right message to these idiots who wouldn't recognize - much less respect - a classic if it was made of diamonds. I try to keep a 20-foot space on all sides of my car, but that only seems to work like a magnet to lure bad drivers into the extra space. :angryfire:

Sorry about the Coronet! I think the red-light runner would've been wearing the imprint of my shoe on his face if it'd been me....