Hi Guys,
Great show!
I have a 20-yer old Honda that i bought new and it is still in very good condition. My concern is that if i should have almost any kind of accident the insurance company would “total” my car and i’d have next to nothing.
Is there any insurance company that would sell me collision insurance for a “stated value,” i.e., an amount I would state that would be enough for me to replace my car with another?
No, this is not a scam to get a new lexus for a 1990 honda…i just want to have the assurance that if something should happen i can get back to about where i was before the mishap.
Yeah, i know your first advice will be to remind me that at this age i am lacking all kinds of new safety features and yada yada yada. Understood. But this car has run almost flawlessly for me for 220k miles and i have no reason to consider something else. Every year or two something breaks and it then costs me one or two “car payments” to get it fixed. I am MANY car payments ahead now and want to keep it that way.
Your advice and suggestions would be most welcome.
Thanks.
Tom McGilligan
San Clemente, CA
I doubt it. The risk of fraud would be pretty high with such an arrangement.
Your guess may be right but back in the 80s i did just that with an completely de-sustified Ford Gran Torino, got hit and the insurance company made good on the repairs. No fraud…they just FIX my car.
There is stated value insurance available for antique cars, but the car must be 25 years old, may only driven during daylight hours, garaged at night, etc. These cars go to car shows, are driven at moderate speeds and not used for daily transportation. You are driving 11,000 miles a year. The typical collector car may not even go 1000 miles a year. Most collector cars don’t have 220,000 miles.
It seems unfair, but if something happens to this car, you will probably lose. I have a good friend that has a 1990 Honda Civic. It got hit. She bought it back from the insurance company (the insurance of the person that ran into the car), and had it repaired. I don’t think it was worth it.
Your car will be totaled. Do not carry any insurance besides liability and drive carefully.
The insurance you have be your own money. Remember you are ahead, so money saved can be put toward either fixing this if wrecked or buying something new.
If Head & Shoulders shampoo can insure a football players hair for over $1 million, I imagine you can insure whatever you want for however much you want. But it will be EXPENSIVE. Lloyd s of London will insure anything if the price is right.
I Have A Car That Is Insured Through A Major Insurance Company As A “Classic Car”.
This is not antique car insurance. The car was not 25 years old when I took out the policy. I named a reasonable value for the car (what I thought a comparable replacement would be) and took pictures (engine photo required) and gave them to my agent.
The insurance is quite a bit less expensive (almost half) than that for my other cars, but I have indicated that this car is not my primary transportation. We have several cars, home, life insurance, etcetera, through this same company.
I don’t know if you have multiple cars or if your company offers this insurance.
Another thing is to keep all of your maintenance / repair receipts. I have experience with cars that were a total loss. Recent expenditures can argue up a higher value for your total as well as finding cars in excellent condition, similar to your’s, that are on sale and clipping or printing out the particulars on the cars and the prices.
My experience teaches me that one does not have to settle for whatever the insurer offers in the event of a total loss. You should be entitled to compenstaion that would allow you to find and purchase a similar replacement, not what their book value shows.
Also, it pays to have a good insurance company (with a brick and mortar local office) and an agent who will go to bat for you when you need it.
CSA
Is there an Allstate dealer near you? Allstate suggested that I purchase insurance for my 1979 Celica (registered as “Historical”) through an affiliate of theirs called “Hagerty”.
I was quoted a price for $1500 worth of insurance. (the car is in pristine condition, and was bidded up to $2600 on eBay two years ago. I never sold it)
You should ask yourself, “How much is my 1990 Honda worth?” Chances are, it is worth about $2,000 or less. Therefore, it should only cost $2,000 or less to replace. If you want to replace your totaled $2,000 car with a $5,000 car, that is your choice, but you don’t have to. The best way to get this kind of insurance is to open a savings account, and over time, deposit $3,000. Then you will have your own insurance without having to line the pockets of the insurance company.
Yes you can…but it’s a foolish waste of money. Insurance of this type is very very expensive…Unless it’s a very unusual or antique vehicle…then it’s NOT worth it. In fact this type of insurance is usually MORE then insurance for Antique vehicles.