Collector Car Insurance Question for my 40

[KingBeeIII]

So, I was reading up on the DMV site about emission exemptions and found out that if you insure your vehicle as a "Collector Car" and it's 25 years or older, it's EXEMPT. This was news to me. So I called my agent and he found a liablity policy that would run me about $250 a year which sounds pretty reasonable. So my question is, do any of you do this too? Who do you use? Any draw backs or things I'm missing? I would love to keep my '71 legal for the ocassional drive to work or maybe even a CSC meeting but emissions has been a PITA.

Is this what you think of when you think of a "Collector Car"?

 

[Tools R Us]

Looks like a "Collector Car" to me!

Read the fine print, they like to hide little "gotchas" in those type of exemptions and polices.

 

[inkpot]

Looks like a "Collector Car" to me!

Read the fine print, they like to hide little "gotchas" in those type of exemptions and polices.

Howdy! As I understand it, your limited to about 500 miles per year. You cannot use it as a daily driver or even drive it long distance to a "show" event. It becomes a trailer queen, whether you want it or not. Theoretically, both you and your insurance agent can be held liable if you are tagged for driving too much. I have no idea how enforcement works on this, but if some enthusiastic young officer decides to check you out, your could be in deep dodo. John

 

[BwardeAZ]

Damn, I was getting so excited and then BLAM !! the third post came crashing down on me! Well better to get it over with early.

 

[Rkroelin]

Look into various providers - some have the 500 mile limit. I seem to recall a 6000 mile policy. These things are typically Agreed Value policies. With my insurance company you have to be 25 to get one.

 

[Cdaniel]

Been there, done that for a while.

It will be very difficult if not impossible to get the collector policy on any 4x4 short of a totally restored show piece. I had a British sports car some time back on one of those policies from Hagerty. Agreed value, limited mileage, cheap rate. You also must have storage for the vehicle and proof that you have other vehicles for daily transportation. I managed to talk them into insuring the FJ40 for while. I'm sure, had I not insured another car with them already they wouldn't have even considered it. Even then any claim off the pavement would be denied. Making a claim from an incident on the road to the trail was my only worry.

 

[RHINO]

$250 seems like alot for limited mileage collector ??? mine is $475 a year, regular old insurance, though i do miss the motorbike at $68 a year.

 

[JO MAOMA]

$250 seems like alot for limited mileage collector ??? mine is $475 a year, regular old insurance, though i do miss the motorbike at $68 a year.

does seem like alot, my land rover series IIa has a full coverage policy
(insured for a full cash value of $12k) very liberal mileage allowance and
it only cost me $127 a year.

 

[JO MAOMA]

doh! sorry Hagerty is who i use. only been with them for 4 months
but my buddy has had all his mopars covered by them for a dozen
years and loves them....

linky goodness

 

[KingBeeIII]

You guys brought up some great points. I'll check with my agent before committing. The mileage limit concerns me. Not that I've put more than 500 miles on it per year for the last 5 years, but I hate being told what I can and can't do. I believe the company my agent found was Austin Mutual and apparently they didn't need to see photos or inspect the vehicle. I just want to have my Cruiser completely legal without the trip to the shop to pass emissions and the trip to the shop again to undo what we did to get it to pass. Thanks fellas.

 

[Rkroelin]

You could just use one trip to make it legal and be done with it

 

[inkpot]

You could just use one trip to make it legal and be done with it

Howdy! Looking back, I realize you are dealing with a 71 FJ40. The only smog equipment you have is a PVC valve. No AIR pump, no EGR, no CATS. Just tune it up real tidy and it should pass smog anyway. Unless you are running a crazy carb and/or cam, it should be a cakewalk. John

 

[DSRTRDR]

Howdy! Looking back, I realize you are dealing with a 71 FJ40. The only smog equipment you have is a PVC valve. No AIR pump, no EGR, no CATS. Just tune it up real tidy and it should pass smog anyway. Unless you are running a crazy carb and/or cam, it should be a cakewalk. John

yeah right mine finally passed on the seventh test

but we also discovered a carb problem, and it has passed in previous years with less hassle

I believe that when all problems are taken care of, it will indeed pass reliably

I'd rather have a legal cruiser and insurance that pays than run the risk of not having adequate insurance

I called around quite a bit earlier this year: collector insurers wouldn't touch this with a pole I now have a policy from Safeco; it's stated value, so I finally managed to cover the eventuality of theft

 

[Cdaniel]

yeah right mine finally passed on the seventh test

but we also discovered a carb problem, and it has passed in previous years with less hassle

I believe that when all problems are taken care of, it will indeed pass reliably

I'd rather have a legal cruiser and insurance that pays than run the risk of not having adequate insurance

I called around quite a bit earlier this year: collector insurers wouldn't touch this with a pole I now have a policy from Safeco; it's stated value, so I finally managed to cover the eventuality of theft

A word of advice on stated value policies, actually three words...Receipts Receipts Receipts! Your statement of value is meaningless without documentation to back it up. A real certified appraisal is worth the money too.

And remember, a stated value policy is different than an agreed value policy. The "collector" policy with mileage and other stipulations are of the latter. The stated value insurance just documents an amount that the insurer is agreeing to "pay up to". That's where proof of value comes in.

With two over 40 year old daily drivers on the road and the FJ40, I've been down this insurance road a lot.

 

[Relix]

Howdy! As I understand it, your limited to about 500 miles per year. You cannot use it as a daily driver or even drive it long distance to a "show" event. It becomes a trailer queen, whether you want it or not. Theoretically, both you and your insurance agent can be held liable if you are tagged for driving too much. I have no idea how enforcement works on this, but if some enthusiastic young officer decides to check you out, your could be in deep dodo. John

SOunds like disconnecting the speedo cable would fix that problem..

 

[inkpot]

SOunds like disconnecting the speedo cable would fix that problem..

Howdy! Sure, that would work, but how on earth could you hold it back :whoops:to the speed limit? With the massive horsepower of an F/2F in front of oversized tires, you'd be flying past the rest of the traffic!!!!! John

 

[Relix]

Howdy! Sure, that would work, but how on earth could you hold it back :whoops:to the speed limit? With the massive horsepower of an F/2F in front of oversized tires, you'd be flying past the rest of the traffic!!!!! John

Yeah I know how that goes... Drive to work on the 101 in the right lane in the 40 causing traffic jams cause I'm going so fast!