Insuring older cars

I've been thinking dropping part of my insurance that covers my '94
Accord because I suspect that to State Farm it's worth less than to me.
So I called up my insurance agent to find out what they would pay if the
car was totalled. I suspect they figured out why I called and I just
could not get them to return my call. I wonder if there is any way I
could find this out from the Web. Any ideas?

 

Assuming you're talking about comprehensive or collision coverage for
loss or damage to your car, not property damage or personal injury your
car may cause-- they'll pay you as much below "book value" as they can
convince you to accept.

I'd bet "book" on a 16 year old car is isn't a whole lot more that the
cost of four good seats at an NFL game, a few beers for everyone and
later dinner at a table-cloth restaurant...

 

State Farm - enough said.
I don't know that buying comprehensive makes sense on with 2~3000$ car.
Between the deductible and the absurd book price they will pay you,
you're probably better off buying liability only and taking your
chances. At the least, demand they quote you a payoff value before you
give them another dime. If they won't cooperate, simply threaten to
move the house, etc., insurance to another company. I guarantee you'll
enjoy watching the wormy agent squirm!

 

when my 1994 Integra GS-R was stolen in 2007,my ins.company paid only
$3995.
It had only 70K miles on it,it needed paint and a little bodywork.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com

 

I've had State Farm for years and have never had a problem. I also carry
comprehensive on both of my ancient early 1980(s) Civics at a cost of
about $10 each for six months. Both cars range from $1,200 to $3,000
book value. I consider this a good investment.

JT

 

I think not. You're flushing $40 down the tubes. Would you really put in
a $250 glass or bumper claim on a car that old? They'd bump your total
premium twice what they paid you the next renewal...

 

And what's the deductible? $1000 deductible on a $1200 car isn't worth
much. You'd probably be better off putting the $40/mo into a bank
account and drawing interest on it.

 

Oh? I can't complain about how they handled my past few issues.

Convinced. I just called them and cancelled both collision and
comprehensive coverages, thus saving over $70 per 6 months in premium.
According to Kelly's Blue Book, I could be lucky to fetch $3,000 for it.
It's worth more than that to me.

 

Insurance is very personal, it seems. I've had Geico for many years
now, and have always heard horror stories about how they'd handle
claims. I had my first accident with them early this year, and tried to
handle it strictly through the OP's insurance (Allstate), which drove me
absolutely mad. When I called Geico to let them handle it, they took
care of everything within a couple of days, and fought with Allstate on
my behalf, never involving me for more than a few questions.

In the end, if this is what I can expect from them, I may never leave
Geico, no matter what they charge me.

 

At .05% he's still making money.

We dropped comp on our 96's in about 2001.

Look at the dealer price in "the book". Which ever "book" is less.
Then drop 5-8%. We currently carry comp on our 07 and 08, with $1000
deductible.
--

- dillon I am not invalid

"Get a shot off fast. This upsets him long enough to
let you make your second shot perfect."

-- Lazurus Long

 

You betcha... I don't give a damned about style, fancy technology and
the like. I do place a high value on reliability and servicability of
which the latter is not a factor in modern tin of any kind.

JT

 

Uh, the deductible is $250...

JT

 

Geico did a dynamite job when I had an accident involving a thrown
retred and a Jersey barrier. Plano cops listed it as "no fault" and I
submitted that as part of my claim. They jacked my rates by 20%. And
then threatened to drop me because I had a radar detector. So I said
AMF and went to State Farm. And now Progressive. We (my wife) have
had two accident claims and hail damage and our rates only went up an
amount I could attribute to inflation.
--

- dillon I am not invalid

Money can't buy happiness.
But you can rent it.