Insurance realted question.

[Nik]

I just had my 75 FJ40 and pickup involved in this really nasty hail storm we had last week and was wondering if any of the other board members had had any problems with their insurance companies not wanting to take care of stuff on the cruisers cause of the age. I'm almost afraid they're going to try and total it because in their eyes it's just a 30 year old toyota that shouldn't be worth more than a few hundred bucks and this one was beat pretty hard (softball sized hail). Anybody got any suggestions?

Thanks,
Nik

 

[ian]

Even if they do choose to total it (and it *is* their call), they have to replace the vehicle with the same make / model with similar options and condition. Basically, they'll choose the cheaper of the two options.

I went through this bullsh1t when my '81 Chevy SWB was t-boned and in turn, totalled. The pricks at the insurance company tried to push 4x4 SWB and 2x4 long box on me because it was so hard to find a decent late SWB. I ended up settling for $4500 which was about $2K more than I paid for the vehicle.

Interesting sub-story.. in our search for a replacement truck, we found a '76? pea green SWB in Spokane. Had OEM *gold* accents throughout and incredibly low miles. The guy said it was on the lot for over a year on account that it was so ugly (green and gold really is a bad color combo). Sold to the owner of a major dealership in Deer Park for $2000 the day before we spotted it. I imagine it is quite a collectible vehicle. Can't say I've ever seen another like it.

 

[HI^C]

do a search here, a lady posted a bit back about a totalled cruiser and insurance stuff, I posted in that thread my experience.

 

[desertdude]

get yourself and apprasial from Bob - http://www.usaautoappraisers.com

let him know we sent you

 

[Steve C]

Because you are claiming on your comprehensive coverage, you need to look at your policy and see how value is determined. Many people buy what's called "agreed value" insurance if they don't think that book value is what a car is worth.