Low mileage T-5R worth?

[xjflexer]

What I believe was your car was on an insurance auto auction website the other day. It isn't on the site anymore. Dod you buy the car back? It looked to be in beautiful condition, minus some VERY prepairable damage tot he left front.

[rspi]

I have actually received phone calls from insurance companies on more than one occasion. Asking me questions about pricing on the T-5R's, insurance claims. They did not identify their reason for calling until after I gave my opinion.

I have actually considered getting an insurance rider to cover my worth opinion. If someone smashed my wagon and they tried to give me $3,500 I would freak out.

[ThinAir]

I have always wondered about this subject. How does one put a price tag on something that only has "true worth" for a minority of people? Specifically unique automobiles that don't scream "special" to anybody but those who know, but are truly special. T5-Rs, VR6 Corrados, Quattro Coupes...these are some of the things that make me happy just knowing that they are out there. It is just a shame that their true monetary worth is not appreciated when you really need it. I am really sorry to hear about your loss White.

[kcodyjr]

That's an argument for explicitly insuring it to a predetermined value.

[QuirkySwede]

#1 Regardless of what anyone tells you, absolutely no one with the insurance company is your friend -- they are your opponent.

Insurance companies stay in business by bringing in more in premiums* than they pay out in claims and commercials.

They WILL lowball you every time simply because many will accept. Blue book is batted around like the standard when it is just an average based off limited data. Many sales and transactions are not included (e.g. private party sales) because they do not have access to that data. Many will exclude a variety of items such as sales tax (which you have to pay when buying a replacement vehicle) at the properly calculated % (some will only do state % and leave out the county % and city % that is tacked on -- 2-4% more adds up), title fees, registration fees, transfer fees (if moving plates), inspection fees (common if vehicle has out-of-state title), just to name a few. Many states declare a vehicle that costs more than 75% or so of its value to repair as totaled and must be re-titled as a Salvage (not road-worthy) vehicle, and then pass an safety inspection before it can be re-re-titled as a Rebuilt Salvage (street legal and road worthy) which are three more fees in that case. Save those documents because a car that was totaled due to hail (cosmetic) is easily worth more than one that was due to flooding (destructive: wiring, drivetrain, body, corrosion, interior, ...).

Document, document, document, research, research, research, as if it was your job... because it is -- you ARE getting paid to do it in the form of increasing what the insurance company pays you. Getting quotes from dealers and independent Volvo shops is a good start (give them the HIGHEST one or two). If they want to push blue book, ask them to provide the history and photos of the vehicles those calculations were based on. Did they have a blown motor? Were they rusted out? Was the interior shot? Were they base models? Request comparison photos. Just because others settled for X value (on average) doesn't mean you have to, and as a average, it means some settled for more, some less, because...?

* The insurance company will in turn sell your vehicle at auction to mitigate what they paid you. This is where "salvage values" come from in part, but again the value paid varies by the condition of the car and how much the buyer thinks they can get out of it by parting it out or such. If you want to keep it, go get LOCAL salvage quotes too (what they pay in Florida will differ from what they pay in Colorado because the market is different) and give them the LOWEST one or two. Do not rely on the "values" the insurance company provides. You play Hi-Lo because they WILL play Lo-Hi with values.

Don't let an insurance company rush you into settling. If you can not get an insurance company to come up to value, simply tell them "Just find and put the same year, make, model, trim, optioned, mileage, serviced, and condition vehicle in my driveway titled under my name, I don't care how much you pay for it, and I'll sign my car off to you. Occasionally a company WILL find such a car, but more often they will just return with a higher offer. If they refuse to settle for a fair value including all expenses it takes to put it in your name, and you have documented your price via multiple sources, take it to civil court as you will win by virtue of the preponderance of the evidence and third party quotes you provided versus their "internal" (read: biased) quotes. If the company wants to settle after you've filed, make sure they include your court filing fees. Any part of the car not included in the settlement (e.g. bike rack) should be removed before turning over car or having photos taken.

[rspi]

Any part of the car not included in the settlement (e.g. bike rack) should be removed before turning over car or having photos taken.

The last time I seen a car get hit they locked the car down at the towing companies lot. They gave my friend 1 shot to get personal property from the car. They would NOT let anyone take any parts off the car. Get the insurance company to add for new parts and extra features.

[fischerms80]

Reason I ask is because I recently totaled mine aftera old man decided to turn in front of me in an intersection. Progressive only offered me 2800 for it and I'm waiting on their second valuation. I'm also contemplating whether or not I should go the appraisal route for proper valuation.

Definitly get a 2nd repair quote. After some idiot hit & run my 1994 850 Turbo and caved the left rear door & dented the left quarter panel. State Farm's prefered shop quoted 2400.00 for the repair with a vehicle value of 3700.00. If I accepted that quote SF would of totaled the car. I had a 2nd quote by an Independent shop for 1900.00. SF accepted this bid. Economic loss can vary by insurance companies from 51% to 80% of Re-sale value. In my case it would appear to be around 60%.