[TimsTA]

Anyone have any thoughts about how accurate their car valuations are? Not for insurance purposes but maybe just a “Ballpark “ figure on what a car might be valued at.

[Jerry H.]

Originally Posted by TimsTA

Anyone have any thoughts about how accurate their car valuations are? Not for insurance purposes but maybe just a “Ballpark “ figure on what a car might be valued at.

Their insurance is based on the price of the vehicle; the higher the 'valuation', the more $$$ they make. So you figure out how accurate they are.

[Firedup6975]

I can honestly say I have Hagerty they claim they raise values according to the market, and my cars have been up graded in value twice. They contacted me for permission to up grade them for an additional cost to my yearly premium, or choose to keep the valuation they are at. Would I actually get what their values are set at? I don’t think so if selling. If they get wrecked? Not sure never had to cash in on a claim, and hope I never have to.

[TimsTA]

So their valuation tool is basically for what they will cover a car up to, not just for a general WIW? Part of the reason for the question I guess is if you ask 20 different people what a car might be worth you’ll most likely get 20 different answers.

[mgarblik]

Most of these valuation tools, if they are any good, use broad based research and are updated at least yearly. When I want to know what a car is worth, I look at numerous guides out there and try to come up with an average. Auction sale prices, actual sales on E-bay, Hemmings actual sales, collector car trader, bring a trailer Edmunds, NADA, Kelly are all good sources to base your average off of. It's important to use ONLY actual sold prices when using classifieds however. Cars advertised with crazy asking prices and being listed for three years are not a useful data point

[keith k]

Originally Posted by Firedup6975

I can honestly say I have Hagerty they claim they raise values according to the market, and my cars have been up graded in value twice. They contacted me for permission to up grade them for an additional cost to my yearly premium, or choose to keep the valuation they are at. Would I actually get what their values are set at? I don’t think so if selling. If they get wrecked? Not sure never had to cash in on a claim, and hope I never have to.

Hagerty policies for classic cars are typically what's referred to as "agreed value" policies. You're paying a premium based on that agreed value, which is why they raise your premium when they raise the "value" of your car.. So if the car is ever considered a "total loss", they pay you the agreed value.

[GT182]

My GTO's value goes up every year according to my insurance company.... Classic Car. I don't ask what they put on it for value. Tho my rate went up when I had to have my windshield replaced.... by $11.00/year 3 years ago. But it came down a bit last year.

I've thought about selling it but only if I could find the right 79 Formula Firebird. Or maybe a 10th Anniversary TA 400 4speed.

[1965gp]

I’ve borrowed against my cars before and USAA’s values seem to be in line with Hagerty

[formula kid]

With the way that the economy is now you see the value of cars dropping, just like the stock market. The longer we are not working you will see great deals on cars that you were priced out of the market for.

[NAPA68]

Originally Posted by TimsTA

Anyone have any thoughts about how accurate their car valuations are? Not for insurance purposes but maybe just a “Ballpark “ figure on what a car might be valued at.

I assume you are referring to their valuation tool? If so, I have found it to be reasonably accurate. They are pulling information from so many portions of the market that most of us do not have access to.

That having been said, one also needs to be REALLY honest about the condition of the car as well as any pedigree issues (numbers, accidents, rebodies, etc.)

It will be interesting to me what the tool will reflect moving into the future. Certainly, they pull a good amount of info from the auctions. Have cars taken a hit? Absolutely. I also think it will be a great time to find a blue chip car, perhaps even at a discounted price.

Tim

[TAKerry]

They are an insurance company. They make money by running numbers. I think there values are fairly accurate. This is the basic valuation, not what an individual has on their personal car. As was stated, one needs to be honest with themselves as well when evaluating their car. A no. 1 condition car is a trailer queen with zero miles, Pebble beach concours quality- very few cars fit this category. No. 2 is at least as good as factory correct, fresh off a resto, and few miles, again, very few cars hit this mark. Most of what everyone has is a #3 or lower.

[unruhjonny]

I have often wondered why other companies don't do "agreed value" insurance;
Our rates either stay the same or go up, on depreciating assets - then heaven forbid we have an accident, these days it soesn't take much to write it off, and I can about gaurantee that we wouldn't get a large enough payout to replace the vehicle.

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by unruhjonny

I have often wondered why other companies don't do "agreed value" insurance;
Our rates either stay the same or go up, on depreciating assets - then heaven forbid we have an accident, these days it soesn't take much to write it off, and I can about gaurantee that we wouldn't get a large enough payout to replace the vehicle.

You actually answered your own question when you said that your daily driver is a depreciating asset.

It would create a "moral hazard" if your 2010 Toyota Camry that is realistically only cost $5,000 to purchase used at a dealer was insured for the cost of a new 2020 Toyota Camry.

The current system pays you what a 2010 Camry with like miles, options and condition would sell for at a dealer, less your deductible.

How much more do you think they should pay?

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by The Champ

You actually answered your own question when you said that your daily driver is a depreciating asset.

It would create a "moral hazard" if your 2010 Toyota Camry that is realistically only cost $5,000 to purchase used at a dealer was insured for the cost of a new 2020 Toyota Camry.

The current system pays you what a 2010 Camry with like miles, options and condition would sell for at a dealer, less your deductible.

How much more do you think they should pay?

I think that it's criminal to charge the same, or more year after year for insurance when the theoretical payout diminishes each year;
If the value goes down, so should the premium.
The flip side, is if an agreed amount is what the policy is based on I would have zero problems.

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by unruhjonny

I think that it's criminal to charge the same, or more year after year for insurance when the theoretical payout diminishes each year;
If the value goes down, so should the premium.
The flip side, is if an agreed amount is what the policy is based on I would have zero problems.

The cost for bodily injury, property damage (not to your car), medical payments, uninsured motorist, etc is the same whether your car is new or old.

The physical damage portion (comp and collision) of your insurance policy should drop a little as your vehicle ages, but not as much as you'd probably like.

The vast majority of physical damage claims are to repair the vehicle - which costs roughly the same - old or new. A replacement fender is a replacement fender. A replacement radiator or grille is a replacement radiator or grille. A replacement windshield is a replacement windshield.

And once again, I seriously ask you the question - how much should you get paid for your 3, 5 or 10 year old vehicle? The actual cash value (less the deductible you selected) which is what it would cost to buy the same year, model, trim level with similar miles, options and condition is what your policy pays right now.

How much of a bonus do you expect for totaling out your vehicle?

And anything over the true value of the car creates a "moral hazard" to folks that are inclined to intentionally total a vehicle to make a profit on a car they no longer need or can't sell.

Now having said that, there is an option available from several daily driver insurance companies called a "replacement cost" rider. What this does for owners of a brand new vehicle is if the new vehicle is totaled while you have the rider in force, you will get paid the replacement cost of a current model (or equivalent) car that you totalled. So if you bought your 2018 car or truck new and had the rider put on your policy, and totaled it out today, you would get paid whatever the new 2020 model would cost (less your deductible).

Another option is "gap insurance" - which will pay you the difference between what you owe on the car and what the actual value is. This coverage is for those that owe more than their car is worth because of financing negative equity or those that choose to purchase with no money down.

[unruhjonny]

You make some very good point, and I do not want to seem to diminish anything you've said;

Originally Posted by The Champ

The cost for bodily injury, property damage (not to your car), medical payments, uninsured motorist, etc is the same whether your car is new or old.

The physical damage portion (comp and collision) of your insurance policy should drop a little as your vehicle ages, but not as much as you'd probably like.

Nailed it.

When I bought my car (see sig) brand new it was classified as high risk, because of the number of kids writing them off;
The vin indicates it’s an SS, so there was no getting around the fact that inept drivers were taking these cars and wrecking them at an astonishing rate.
My only regret in buying the car, was not being aware of just how much I was going ot get dinged for having a high risk car.
Also, in addition to the high risk factor, insurance companies now classify ANY two door car as a sports car

My policies have NOT dropped, even though my car is probably worth less than ¼ of the original purchase price – but here’s the kicker to me;
If the car is written off, insurance companies are incline to just look at any Cobalt, not an ’08-’10 SS.
The same can be said about my wife’s car, a 2008 Caliber SRT4.

Now, small disclaimer;
I have actually seen some drops, by shopping around, and changing insurance companies - but why should I have to do that?

My brother late last year was hit while driving his ’09 Caliber SRT4, and in spite of the fact that he had ridiculously low miles (iirc he had something like 30k miles), or that it was an SRT, the insurance company tried to pay him off, “market value” for a "pedestrian" ’09 Caliber.
Not funny.
He was beyond mad, and to me, it seemed understandably so.
He had to fight with his company for over a month and pay out of pocket to get his car back so that they didn't force settlement upon him.

Originally Posted by The Champ

The vast majority of physical damage claims are to repair the vehicle - which costs roughly the same - old or new. A replacement fender is a replacement fender. A replacement radiator or grille is a replacement radiator or grille. A replacement windshield is a replacement windshield.

I don’t disagree with you.

Originally Posted by The Champ

And once again, I seriously ask you the question - how much should you get paid for your 3, 5 or 10 year old vehicle? The actual cash value (less the deductible you selected) which is what it would cost to buy the same year, model, trim level with similar miles, options and condition is what your policy pays right now.

How much of a bonus do you expect for totaling out your vehicle?

I’m not looking for any bonus.

I just wished it was possible for you to get your vehicle insured annually at an agreed upon value (based on market prices of similar vehicles), so that should the unexpected happen you should have roughly enough to purchase a replacement vehicle.

It is worth noting that both ’08-10 Cobalt SS’s and ’08-09 Caliber SRT4’s were built in VERY low numbers (probably because both models were launched at the height of the 2007-2010 global economic down turn) and with the values/asking prices that I have been watching, the values of more pedestrian version of these cars have a chasmic price difference from these specialty models.

Originally Posted by The Champ

Now having said that, there is an option available from several daily driver insurance companies called a "replacement cost" rider. What this does for owners of a brand new vehicle is if the new vehicle is totaled while you have the rider in force, you will get paid the replacement cost of a current model (or equivalent) car that you totalled. So if you bought your 2018 car or truck new and had the rider put on your policy, and totaled it out today, you would get paid whatever the new 2020 model would cost (less your deductible).

I had that coverage for my car for the first couple years, it was an additional expense on top of the policy cost.

But, to bring things back around I am a Hagerty customer, and have an agreed value to the three vehicles which I have insured through them.
I only wish they would extend as a courtesy to policy holders the opportunity to have the same style insurance on their daily drivers, if they are specialty vehicles.

[red1975pacer]

Originally Posted by GT182

My GTO's value goes up every year according to my insurance company.... Classic Car. I don't ask what they put on it for value. Tho my rate went up when I had to have my windshield replaced.... by $11.00/year 3 years ago. But it came down a bit last year.

I've thought about selling it but only if I could find the right 79 Formula Firebird. Or maybe a 10th Anniversary TA 400 4speed.

Ill sell you my 25k mile 79 4 speed for 32k TATA Mershons, an Ohio classic car dealer wants it in trade for one of their cars

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by unruhjonny

I’m not looking for any bonus.

I just wished it was possible for you to get your vehicle insured annually at an agreed upon value (based on market prices of similar vehicles), so that should the unexpected happen you should have roughly enough to purchase a replacement vehicle.

That is exactly what your current daily driver insurance carrier is supposed to do.

Any adjuster that tries to pay you for a Cobalt LS instead of an SS is just plain wrong. The vin - as you noted - lists it as an SS and all auto value guides will have a current value for the SS version which will be more than an LS.

I spent 10 years of my life selling commercial insurance. I know what the policies state and how things are supposed to be handled. I've been driving for 50 years and in all that time I only had one time where an insurance adjuster tried to screw me.

That was a State Farm adjuster - my daughter was hit by a State Farm insured - and their insured admitted to my daughter, myself and the investigating officer that it was her fault.

The State Farm adjuster tried to force me to turn it into my own company as he said it was a 50/50 deal.

I knew he was wrong. I asked to speak to his manager. His manager tried to claim it was a 50/50 deal. I then requested to speak to his manager.... Ultimately I ended up talking with the Regional Manager in Minneapolis (I lived in Wisconsin at the time).

I told the Regional Manager that he had two choices (I was a little frustrated at this time). One was to pay the claim and two was that I would take them to small claims court.

State Farm paid the claim.

Back in May of 1980, I was forced off the highway and went end over end. I walked away from the accident with a broken wrist and a chipped tooth. The car was totaled. I had just bought it new in December of 1979. The car was a 1979 Caprice Classic Landau. I got paid the amount that a very low mileage '79 Caprice Classic Landau could be bought for at the time.

This is how things should work. And if an adjuster tries anything else, don't argue with him - ask for his supervisor.