I have a '90 Firebird that has had major upgrades done in the last year (largely due to info on this board). I bought the car new and have paid for full coverage ins the entire time. I need to make sure the adjuster doesn't try to write the car off. Any help would be greatly appreciated. The damage consists of hood, fenders, nose and ALL related parts (crushed). The structure in the nose was not damaged, only sheet metal, and the cooling system was not opened by the impact. The radiator support was bent some, but I'm not sure how bad. The car has the following mods: ZZ4 w/Tpi, T56, Baer SS Brakes, SLP headers and cold air and clutch, Hotchkis springs and rear suspension, Spohn torque arm and crossmember system, KYB shocks/struts, Polygraphite bushings throughout, Kenny Brown SFC's, and new ball joints/tie rods. I tried to leave very little untouched on this car and make sure it was done right, I don't want to lose it now. Sorry to be so long winded, hopefully there's enough info for someone to be able to answer. Thanks, Rob.

 

If you have reciepts for the mods, then you can prove how much you have spent on the car, therefore you can fight it if the insurance tries to total it.

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1983 Firebird
TH700R4 Auto
Small Block 400
LG4 ECM, Intake, Carb, Distributor, etc.
Soon to be non-computer.
Clarion Head Unit 45X4
2 Pioneer 400W 12" Subs
Third Gen Performance
"A four cylinder is half an engine."
"Ponies can run, but birds can fly..."

 

I absoltely will fight if it comes to that, but I would rathe avoid that if possible. I kept very good records/receipts on all the mods done, so that shouldn't be a problem. I was looking for opinions or ideas to use with the ins adjuster to avoid any more problems than necessary. I jus don't want to dag this thing out any longer than I have to.

[This message has been edited by 90FFBird (edited October 22, 2001).]

 

The best thing you can do, If your lucky enough to have a friend at a repair shop or friend of family etc, have the car there when the adjuster comes to look at it. They will always try to get out of paying to fix an older car, but the people that work at repair shops deal with adjusters all the time and know how to talk to them and what they can add money to fix this or lower cost to fix that, Next would be go on the Kelly blue book site and get the book value of your car, then add in your mods, They wanted to total out my car for 2000 worth of damage when the book was 5400, Also if they try to be a pain in the a** tell them you don't want the check for the worth of the car tell them you want them to go out and find a replacement. See if they can find a car in the same condition as yours odds are they can't, then they have no choice but to repair it. Did the car come with a 8 in it orig? Hopefully it did, if not hope you told them you put it in there, if not you will get nothing, For the reason that is no longer the car they had insured. Well hope I was a help , and good luck.

 

Yes the car was a V-8 orig (TBI305), so I shouldn't have a problem there. From what I can tell, Blue book value is about 4K. I'm afraid it's going to be very close to being totaled. I have a good friend that owns a good body shop and painted the car almost a year ago. He has the car now. Hopefully things will work out, I just want to do everything possible to make sure. Don't wanna lose my baby now. Thanks for the replies, Rob.

 

Hopefully the frame isn't bent. The Insurance company will have to wait until the body shop can do a frame inspection before they can give you an answer. If the frame is bent beyond a certain amount (I forgot how many inches) then the car cannot be repaired because it is unsafe structurally to bend the metal back. It is also against the law and the Insurance company will have to total the car. You can however try and get the Insurance company to pay you top dollar for it provided you have all receipts and pictures. I had a customer that we did a show quality paint job on his 1971 malibu and it later received numerous rock chips from a semi he was following on the freeway. It was going to cost about $3500 to repair the car but, the insurance company wanted to total his car out. The customer then showed all of the receipts to the insurance company along with pictures and several months later the Insurance company agreed to pay. It might take awhile but it's worth it at the end.

[This message has been edited by GKK (edited October 22, 2001).]

 

Even if they do total the car they have to pay you what the car is worth RETAIL. You need to do your homework on this. Check local papers, Auto Trader Magazine, Hemmings and Etc. Older cars are a pain to insurance companys. The value is not easy to determine one 90 firebird is not equal to another. The care they have received ??? Some people treat their cars very poorly.

If they do total the car then you should be able to buy it back for 5 - 10% of the agreed value of the car.

Good Luck, Sorry about the Firebird

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1992 Z/28 305 Purple Haze

 

When some kids threw some rocks over a bridge at my car while traveling down I69, I had an estimate done by a local bump & paint shop. Fortunatly it was only $1200 in damage... The guy at the bump shop recalculated the damage but for only a few bucks more, & put the cost over $1500, then the 'puter told him that it would have been totaled. The guy at the Bump shop told me that chances were they would not total it even if it was over the $1500 because it was a nice car.

I repaired the damage myself, since the cost was under $1500 the ins company wrote me a check, without looking at it. After I got the car all nice again, I had the car appraised for $11,000. Now I have the leather interior & Baer Brakes, & my value is up to $16,000.

All of you with really nice cars: Pay the 50 - 100 bucks for an appraisal. My insurance did NOT go up, because the car was originally $11,000 anyway...

As for your predicament, I would be there when the Adjuster comes and looks at your car. Have your reciepts ready, all of them... that will help your case...

John

[This message has been edited by okfoz (edited October 22, 2001).]

 

Thanks for all the help. The frame should be fine. The heavy cross bar at the front of the frame just barely went under the other vehicles bumper. The actual impact was fairly light, but the parts that absorbed the blow were also soft (plastic and sheet metal). Hopefully I can make arrangemnts to be at the shop when the adjuster is there. Thank again for the help, Rob.

 

Great news, the Nationwide adjustor took a look at the car and was impressed by what he saw in the way of upkeep and "improvements" to it. He fairly quickly decided the car was fixable and started locating parts. Thanks for the help and advice offered by everyone, Rob.

 

So I can't have your brakes? Just kidding. Making fun of the "parts vultures" that start asking for parts when someone wrecks their car.

I'm glad you're getting your car fixed. It sounds like a really nice car (and will be once again). Sometimes it doesn't take much to cause a person to give up on their car, so I have respect for the people who can take something they think is a total loss, and bring it back to life.