With all the money and time I've put into my hatch, I decided that it was time to get full coverage for it. So I called my insurance agent about adding full coverage for my 92 EG hatch. I explained to my agent that the car isn't just a stock '92 hatchback. It's got expensive wheels, suspension, a motor swap, etc, etc. Her response:

Which isn't much.

She suggested a couple of places that do appraisals of classic/muscle/modified cars. They use them whenever they have to process a claim for an "out-of-the-ordinary" automobile. She told me if I had my car appraised by them, it will be a lot more likely that I'll get the car's true value, and not kbb value.

Of course, having your car properly appraised by one of these places costs money. $300 to be exact. I figured it was worth it to ensure that I'll get a fair price for the car in case the old lady on the cell phone behinds me decides to slam into my hatch.

When you call them, they schedule an appointment. They come out, go over your car with a fine-toothed comb and take pictures...of everything. Every angle, inside the car, inside the engine compartment, under your car. Don't try to bullsh1t them by pumping up your car into something it's not...they know a repainted fender when they see it. They check the body integrity to see if the car has bondo, so don't even try to tell them your car is completely clean if it's had body work...they'll know. They ask you questions...lots of them. You explain all the mods you made, giving specifics on what they are. If you've put an expensive JDM ITR steering wheel in, you tell them about it.
They make a laundry list of all the mods, gather their pictures, and go do research on the car, the parts, etc, and in 2-1/2 weeks or so, you get an appraisal.

If your car is stolen, hit, etc, you go to your insurance company (or the offender's insurance company) with the appraisal. It takes the wind right out of their sails when they try to lowball you with an insulting offer. The best part is that you've got pictures of everything BEFORE the car was jacked, so they can't claim that your car was in sad shape before.

This isn't to say that the insurance company won't TRY to screw you, but with a proper appraisal in hand, you'll have an excellent chance at getting what your car is really worth.

So, if you've dumped a lot of money into it putting on rare parts, an engine swap, tuning, suspension, custom paint...do yourself a favor and get it appraised by a specialty auto appraiser. Otherwise, you'll be fighting tooth and nail for every dime from the insurance company and you'll still walk away feeling screwed.

fm

 

good info

 

Good info.

 

You don't even need to have it appraised. You can tell them the dollar amount that you want the car to be insured for. You could insure it for 20k if you want. Of course then your insurance premiums will be much higher.

 

Nice! Great idea and hopefully helpful to some.

 

there is an easier way you go to the dmv and change the value of the car

 

Then you just gotta hope the guys running over your car with a "fine toothed comb" don't end up being crooked and coming back to jack your **** later or telling other people about your ****, after all they would know exactly what you have. Just something to keep in mind.

 

good info, what kind of impact did this have on your insurance premium?

 

I appraised my 94 Si through one of the references my insurance gave. I submitted the appraisal and my insurance stayed the same for full coverage at 9600. I can only drive the car 7500 miles annually, which is about twice as much as I ever drive it after the restore and upgrades.

 

good info

 

bsmith100,
You miss my point. Yes, you could just have your insurance company cover your car for $9500, but what happens if some clown in his SUV plows into the back of your car while on his cell phone? Do you think your insurance is going to pay out your claim? No, they're going to go after the guy's insurance company. And what makes you think they're going to give you $9500 for a totaled 92 Civic? You will be fighting for every red cent and I guarantee you that you'll walk away feeling like you've been had.

The point is to get documentation on the condition and mods to your car to justify the $9500 you think the car is worth.

Matt93eg, if you go with an appraiser that your insurance company recommends, this won't be an issue. If you go to Craigslist...yeah, you might have a problem.

fm

 

does anyone know if having a salvage title effect trying to get full coverage??

 

good question. it would suck if you couldn't and had dumped a bunch of dough in a salvage title shell

 

my point exactly....i recently bought a 95 civic and it has a salvage title(stolen)...and i live in los angeles were a honda goes missing every hour. i plan to invest pretty good money into it but never thought of getting it fully covered until i read this thread...now i wonder if its even possible??

 

Thanks for the good info

 

I, too, would like to know. It's best to just talk to your insurance company before putting a lot of money into it...only they will know.

fm

 

FWIW, when the appraiser looking at my car was going through it, one of the first things they asked me was if it held a salvage title. It doesn't, but I didn't think to ask her what if it did. I imagine it would probably just affect the final valuation of the vehicle.

They will also take things like if your swap is BAR'd (if you're in CA)...a BAR'd car will definitely be valued higher than one without a BAR sticker.

fm

 

I have recently been looking into more insurance myself .I currently have full coverage but thats only good for book value .I called somebody I know in the business and he quoted me on "Agreed Value Coverage" I said 15k he said there was almost no difference for 20k so he quoted it and it was $1200.00 per year for 20k in coverage which is not so bad actually .But like previously said I am sure the insurance company would still fight me tooth and nail for every penny of that regardless of the agreed value .Thats how insurance is they are crooks things sound great and til you actually have a claim then they try to screw you.

 

Good information i have shop that was going to charge me 100 bucks to go though the car.

 

ya this is true most of the time. I have state farm and unlike most insurance companies down here. They actually pay.

 

I have SF too...never had any issues with any claims I've made with them.

fm

 

Did we ever get an answer to the salvage title question?

 

great idea thanks.

 

or you can wait 20 years(thats what mine is others may be different idk.). after that you can claim it as a classic car and do what you said but without having someone else come look at it. basically claiming its worth 20k cuz it is im sure premiums and whatnot would go up but when its broken or stolen at least your covered. im still 2 years away but i havent dumped enough into my car for me to be too worried yet.

 

Great information, thanks.