[s-cars] 1995.5 S6 Avant in Europa Blue/Ecru w/custom rearend mod.

Fri Sep 27 09:30:46 EDT 2002

I think such laws and practices vary widely by state (due to insane variances in state insurance regulation practices), even with the same company.  I know MI has some pretty non-standard rules and regulations compared to most other states.

I've found insurance agents (sales and/or claims agents) to be just as much sharks as HR people.  Their primary job responsibility is to get you in-the-door/settled/closed for as little cost to their company is possible, no matter how friendly they seem to be.  I've found in both circumstances that they will ALWAYS lowball you or claim a certain action is possible, because most people will just take their word.  I said no about 10 times to my insurance company's offers and was surprised at how much leeway they have.  I remember having to very specifically state that I was going to buy my salvage back, they didn't really offer it without me insisting on it.

(its not obvious how much I love insurance companies, is it?)

Keith "Captain Claims" Maddock

93 S4 (~6k in claims 2001) (PDX,OR)
95 968CS (have had it less than 24h, no claims yet) (Ko, DE)
RIP 91 200q20v (totaled, ~10k value, 1.5k buyback in 2001)
ex 01 S2K (~1200 in windshield claims 2001-2002)
ex 74 260Z (~1200 in break-in claims, 2001)

****************************************************************
Keith Maddock, TRW Automotive,  Koblenz, Germany
Slip Control Systems, Systems Design, Traction Control
+49 (0)261/ 895 2474     -    -    keith.maddock at trw.com

>>> Robert Myers <robert at s-cars.org> 10:50:07 26.09.2002 >>>
Leonard,

Am I off base again or did you mention State Farm as your insurance
coverage?  Several years ago when I totalled an '89 200tq I asked to buy
the car back for salvage and was told that State Farm does not allow such
sales.  I didn't pursue the matter but simply accepted the word of my
agent.  Perhaps I was fooled?

At 08:02 AM 9/26/02, Keith Maddock wrote:

>Leonard,
>
>My deepest regrets for the incident.  I had a 91 200q20v get totaled in MI
>a couple of years ago.  Here is my suggestion:
>
>Request ALL documentation to their method of coming up with a value for
>your car.
>Do NOT accept their offer until you do this.
>
>Verify their sources.  They used some company that got data from claimed
>"Actual Sales" of "Similar Cars" , "in my area".  As you know, 200's and
>S-cars are not common in MI!!  So this company ended up finding a few
>vehicle ADs, pawned them off as SALES.  I tracked this down, called them
>on their bluff, and then provided documentation from REAL actual sales of
>SIMILAR CARS, but nation-wide, as there were no recent sales "In my
>area".  I also deluged them with all documentation of the purchase price,
>all repairs in the last year, and got my garage to write a letter stating
>what they would consider the "market" value of the car to be.
>
>I forget what the rule is on this, but my company offered me the wreck at
>15% of the "total-value".  It was well worth this value to buy back, I
>paid $1500, sold $1200 of upgrade parts off it (swapped back my orig
>parts), and then ended up selling the salvage through a online auction for
>4100.  (the engine and drivetrains are worth that apparently!!)  Yours
>especially, with the relatively new engine.
>
>There is a salvage yard out in Zeeland MI, I forget the name, that likes
>to buy/repair/sell cars like this, you may want to call them up to see if
>they'd want to buy the salvage.
>
>Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions!!
>
>Keith
>
>****************************************************************
>Keith Maddock, TRW Automotive,  Koblenz, Germany
>Slip Control Systems, Systems Design, Traction Control
>+49 (0)261/ 895 2474     -    -    keith.maddock at trw.com
>
> >>> "Leonard Thatch" <lthatch at peoplepc.com> 04:17:01 25.09.2002 >>>
>This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
>--
>[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
>My location is in rural southwestern Michigan, about halfway between
>Chicago and Detroit.  I should know more about my insurance company's
>position tomorrow.  Does anyone have any specific advice about negotiating
>value on this car?  I know that they use NADA  as a basis which, to my
>inspection, suggests the value to be about $19,000 minus $3000 for
>miles.  I hope to convince them that it is worth more through photos and
>receipts for things like motor, clutch, flywheel, etc.  Any suggestions on
>this point would be appreciated.  Also, what is the car worth as
>salvage?  Thanks.  Leonard
>--
>
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Bob
*****
  Robert L. Myers   304-574-2372
  Rt. 4, Box 57,  Fayetteville, WV 25840 USA   WV tag Q SHIP
  '95 urS6  Cashmere Grey - der Wunderwagen    ICQ 22170244
  http://www.cob-net.org/church/pvcob.htm
*****