[s-cars] insuring the Urs4

[Tom Green]

  The means I use to insure the car for it's full value is to  
document condition through photos, maintenance and upgrade records,  
including all receipts.
  I have used that approach and it works, especially when you have  
recent receipts that exceed their expected value.  My only sticking  
point is performance upgrades need to be declared to determine rates.

The local agent friend can do a lot for you--maybe in the condition  
documentation area--and might make a claim look better to the home  
office.
This mostly concerns collision coverage, but the average joe includes  
the full range of protection in one policy, including liability to  
meet state law and
for asset protection.  This is probably why you won't see many  
concrete answers in this forum since the information tends to be very  
personal.

My advice is to drive it like you know you won't get your money out  
of it if your insurer totals it and you know you won't get your money  
back if you sell
the car.

Tom








> Alex asks?
> Just wondering how you guys insure your UrS4s -- do you go through  
> a regular insurer like State Farm or Allstate, and insure the car  
> for its book value, or do you use some sort of collector car  
> insurance, especially if your personal investment in mods far  
> exceeds its book value?
>
>   Alex Williams

> JP Burns answers:
> Hi Alex,
>
> I am an insurance agent and insure my UrS6 as I would any other  
> vehicle on a
> normal auto policy.  I only have liability on the car since it is  
> paid for
> so I "self insure" quite a bit but it is worth it for the savings.
>
> At least with the products that I sell the UrS does not qualify for  
> any
> collectible status, nor will you ever get your money back for mods  
> in the
> event that the car is totalled without complete documentation of  
> those mods,
> and even then only if your persistent and lucky.
>
> There are specialized policies out there where you can "declare"  
> your cars
> value and pay the according premium but again, it's not worth it.  HTH
>
> John

> Bob "chips" in:
> I use State Farm but I also would like to hear what others
> answer.  My mods are probably worth more than the basic car itself.

> Marc also:
> I have a "stated value" policy for both of my cars, an UrS4 and an  
> SC'ed
> '91 Miata. This allows me to peg the value of the car to a dollar  
> figure
> that I declare. I figure both are worth about $10k to me counting
> repairs and upgrades. Edmunds claims the Miata is worth $2000 and the
> Audi is worth $6500. Everyone on this list knows that you can't buy an
> UrS that isn't a complete mess for that kind of money, and don't  
> get me
> started on the Miata--the 'charger and engine management alone are  
> worth
> more than that.
>
> So, the bluebook value of these cars is significantly less than I have
> into both of them.  I've already had to do battle with the insurance
> people when my previous Audi ('87 5000 CSQ) was totalled--some dirtbag
> in an F150 tail-ended it and made a big mess out of the rear end. They
> wanted to pay me $3500 for the car and I had at least double that into
> it. In the end I argued with them for two weeks and eventually was
> forced to accept about $4500.
>
> HTH,
>
> Marc