What's the value difference on a 3rd gen Firebird with regards to one being a V8 and the other a V6?

I've got a V8 Firebird 3rd gen that someone totalled. The other persons insurance company used V6 Firebirds as their comparables. I pointed that out, and they talked like they adjusted for the difference which I don't believe they did since it isn't mentioned in their report. I did ask them why they didn't just use a V8 as a comparable to begin with, but they acted like it didn't matter.

So, I was just wondering if there is a big difference between the two? I know V8's are worth more, but not sure how much. It seems like V8 cars are what people go after and avoid the V6 cars. So, I'm thinking there probably is a big difference as to the reason why they used V6 Firebirds instead of V8 Firebirds as comparables.

 

Typical scumbag insurance company tactic! Don't fall for it, raise hell! There most certainly is a difference. Just got to Autotrader.com or Cars.com and do price comparisons for V8 and V6 cars. For these cars people will always pay more for the V8 all else being equal, especially if its one of the more powerful V8s.

Call up the very same insurance company and do an anonymous price shop on you car and see what the difference between the 2 cars is. I'm sure they'll have higher rates for the V8.

 

I've talked to them for a long time now. They aren't budging. But they act like they have the final authority on to the value of my car. Also they act like they have the final say on what the comparibles are. As I came up with my own comparibles that have alot higher value than their comparibles. Though their compairables don't have a listing of where they got it. Just make mileage and options and value. So, I can't call up the seller to find out what is wrong with the car.

As one problem is, people sell cars with problems. As if their compariables are cheap because the engine say has a blown head gasket, then that isn't a compariable.

In the past, when checking on good priced cars. I'd call them and find out it needs this or that. So, no telling what needs to be done to the cars on their comparibles.

But my guess is the V8 cars were going for too much, so they went with the cheaper V6 cars that probably need alot of work done to them. Which mine didn't need anything as it had alot of preventative maintenance done to it.

 

No question, they're deliberately ripping you off.

You DO NOT have to accept their "settlement offer", no matter how much bluster and BS they lay on you. You are under no legal obligation to them to just go along with whatever they want. They on the other hand are legally obligated to "make you whole" after their insured damaged you.

As to how much the diffference between a 6-cyl and a V8 car might be, that's a little harder to pin down, because so much of the "value" of older cars is determined by their condition. Also, there's not as much difference in value between say a TBI 305 car and a 6-cyl car, as there would be between a better car to begin with (say, a 350 car) and a 6-cyl car. So there's no one "right" answer to your question, which is, what is the DIFFERENCE BETWEEN whatever they're offering, and the FAIR MARKET VALUE (not the typical Firebird-owner "rare" spank-off "value" claims) of YOUR ACTUAL CAR. You gotta be somewhat careful that whatever YOU'RE demanding is at least SOMEWHAT honest and based in fact, as well.

Find an attorney. If the $$$$ in question is worth it.

 

Figuring up a value is kinda hard. My own insurance company told me to go by Nada Guides. Nada Guides seems fair when I see alot of these cars going for around $8k and above that don't need any work done. But looks like they used two comparibles. But I can't check the cars out as they didn't list the ad. So no telling the condition. They could be up on blocks for all I know.

But I told them around the value of other cars I was finding, and it was alot higher than their comparibles. But they mentioned they don't have to pay replacement value. I don't know why they keep mentioning that. As I explained I was using the comparibles to get any idea as to the value of mine, just like what they supposidly did.

I do have an attorney as I had an injury. But he doesn't deal with property damage much. But he did tell me I need to have another estimate done. As he said they won't settle for more than the estimate of damages. As their estimate that was done to the damage is higher than their settlement offer, but less than what I want.

But their estimate didn't include all the damage, so I'll have to figure out how to get the car from the lot, and have someone redo the estimate so ALL the damage is included as they left out alot.

The suck thing is I just got done replacing all the fluids and filters, all the rubber hoses, new plugs, wires, cap/rotor, ball joints, new battery, all new brakes, caliper, rotor, pads, rubber brake lines, etc. plus a ton of various things. When I got all those things done, it got wrecked into a few days later. I kept a pile of receipts. As I explained to the insurance company it will cost me thousands to have all of that redone on another car. As I went through the car bumper to bumper doing all those things so I wouldn't have to mess with it again for like 5 years other than oil changes and brake fluid change.

I also had a $500 hood bird sticker on the car that I would have to redo if I got another Firebird. But the insurance company says they don't have to pay for that, only what the car is worth. I don't get it, someone tears up your property and doesn't have to put you back where you were before the wreck. If I had a $10k paint job, they'd say they don't have to pay for that.

 

do you still have access to what's left of the car? I'm pretty sure the first step is to get an appraiser to inspect the car and give a value of its value before the accident (they can do that)

Sofa is 100% correct. it does make a difference if you are talking about a 305 TBI, or a 350 TPI.

I have honestly one of the nicest v6 third gens out there, bumper to bumper, but I know that I would have a very hard time selling it for more than $2500 to $3000. The market and demand just isn't there for it. However, if it had a TPI engine, I bet I could sell it for over $5000. It's that nice

 

I couldn't find a decent running 3rd gen Firebird regardless of engine size for less than around $5k. The ones less than $5k needed work or didn't have maintenance history. Which means I'd have to dump at least $2k in them to get me back where I was. I had to look in the next states over then some.

There was a Firebird I saw broken down, banged up, didn't run, up on blocks, wheels missing, and the guy was asking $1.5k just for that. You wouldn't think an old 3rd gen would be worth alot, but looking at what's for sale. Nada Guides seems accurate to me. I had seen several for way over $10k, but those were more the show room cars.

My engine was a 305 TBI. But I think they chose two V6 engine 3rd gens for a reason as I say they were cheaper than the V8. But I know what they are offering, you can't buy a car that runs.

An Appraiser costs alot of money. The problem is mine is more mechanically sound than appearance wise. Alot of appraisers only care what the car looks like even if the engine oil hasn't been changed in 10 years and the transmission slips and needs a rebuild.

They had the car hauled out of town. So, that's a problem. I'd have to have someone go to the car, which they wouldn't be able to get a full assessment of the damage as they couldn't look underneath it. Or I'd have to have it hauled somewhere to have the estimate done. Then I'd have to sell the car off to a junk yard or something as I can't store a junked car.

One body shop said they would have to tear into it to get an estimate done and talked like the other persons insurance would pay for it. But their insurance had told me they wouldn't be paying for anything as they had someone already look at the car sitting in the lot and do an estimate even though they didn't write down all the damage or even price everything out.

Does the $500 hood bird decal even matter value wise? Cause that would have to be redone if I got another Firebird. If for example you have a $500 hood bird decal installed, and someone totals it out the next day. I don't see how they can say they don't have to compensate you for the hood bird decal. It's like someone crashing through a wall into your house tearing up your expensive painting. Then they say they don't have to replace the painting because it doesn't add value to your house.

The car wrecks are the worst thing. They come up with every excuse they can make up to explain why they don't have to pay you anything or compensate you for things damaged in the wreck that you had done to the car. I think they should have to put you back in a place before the wreck. If your car had a hood bird decal on it. Then it should be set up to where you're in a position to have a hood bird decal installed on your replacement car at no cost to you.

 

sounds to me like you would be better off letting them total out the car, get what you can for it, and then buying back the title (usually for a couple hundred) to get the mechanically sound parts off if it

it would help your case if you had pile of receipts from the upgrade you recently made to the car.

 

Noway, that would mean I'd have to pay mostly cash (90% cash) to buy another Firebird when I already had one. They are offering next to nothing. Their value is what it would cost to buy one out of a junkyard or something. I'm not taking junkyard price for my car I just put thousands into.

With the thousands I had just dumped into it. If I take their offer, then the position I'd be in is someone stealing my car and then robbing me. So, it's like if someone right now stole your Firebird/Camaro and also stole a couple of grand off you to. I don't think you'd say "okay thanks". The money is mostly tied up in new fluids, hoses, brakes, battery, etc. plus alot of other things. Not worth keeping a car for.

I think what I'll do instead of trying to figure up a difference in value of V6 and V8, especially since no one has yet thrown up any figures. I'll just tell them to redo the compariables with a Firebird with V8. If they don't, then if it gets to court, I'll tell the judge their compariables aren't of the same car. Then show him my list of compariables that have a much higher value and show him my pile of receipts. I'll take my chances as I have nothing to lose as the worst of it would be me being ordered to take their lousy offer.

I ended up getting another vehicle anyways since so much time had passed. Different model. But I had to go back through and change all the fluids and other stuff just to get me back to where I was. Still need to do the brakes on it even though I just did a full brake job on the Firebird right before it got totalled.

 

Changing fluids and doing brake jobs doesn't affect the "value" of a car. That's stuff that every car owner does (well, they DO, don't they??) on a regular basis, because THEY HAVE TO. However all that may be, there's not "thousands" tied up in that; MAYBE $200 at the most. Stretching the truth THAT MUCH doesn't help your case when you're pleading to be treated HONESTLY yourself.

Similarly, the value of one of these cars doesn't go up by $500 just because the hood decal costs $500 to replace. Even if you just bought a brand new one and put it on yesterday. Doesn't work like that.

The "value" of a car is what it would cost to go out on the open market and buy another similar car in similar condition. It is NOT what it costs to go to the dealer and buy every individual part of it new and re-assemble the car part by part. You can be 100% assured that you will NEVER be compensated on that basis, or even anywhere close. Don't even TRY that, because you will not be taken seriously. Think of it as, that $500 hood bird decal loses $495 OR MORE of its "value" at the instant of installation. The fact of being attached to a car eliminates its value.

Likewise, no insurance company will pay ONE RED CENT for any kind of aftermarket anything, or any modifications of any kind, unless they are declared IN WRITING and the appropriate premium paid. That's what "declared value" is all about.

Does ANY OF THIS give somebody the right to hit your car and for an insurance co to screw you? No... but you gotta be REAL CAREFUL about TELLING THE TRUTH in such matters, or you'll just get dismissed as just another blowhard.

Also: a 305 TBI Firebird just isn't "worth" a wholehelluvalot, hood decal or no. And the difference in "value" between a 6-cyl one and a 305 TBI one is not all that great, and can easily be overwhlemed by the CONDITION of the 2 specific individual cars whose "value" is being compared. From the insurance co.'s point of view, I'd be especially interested in looking at how much you ACTUALLY PAID for the car - in other words, its ACTUAL FAIR MARKET VALUE - compared to what they're "offering". I'm sure the insurance companies know, just as well as I do since they have EVEN MORE experience in dealing with it than I have had, that Firebird owners IN PARTICULAR tend to get much more wound up about how "rare", "valuable", "irreplaceable", "one of a kind", "desireable", etc. etc. etc. their cars are, than owners of virtually ANY OTHER model, and HAVE BEEN since the 70s. That attitude seems to go with that model of car for some reason not readily apparent to the rest of us. Meaning, with THAT kind of car MORE THAN ANY OTHER, you better HAVE PROOF of any claims of "special" "value", because you can be sure they've heard that song plenty of times before. That means, because of what kind of car it is, you have a somewhat higher burden of proof being applied to you, than maybe would be applied to owners of some other models of cars. Is that "fair"? No. Is it "right"? Probably not. Does that generalization apply to YOU PERSONALLY? I have no clue but I hope not, and I'm not accusing you of it. But is it REALITY? You can bet your last dollar it is.

Again, does that give the co the right to try to screw you? Or that their "value" offer is RIGHT? NO, I AM NOT SAYING THAT. But, what I AM saying is, you better have facts and documentation on your side to back up any claims you're trying to make, and NOT be stretching the truth by claiming that you "added" "thousands" to the car's "value" by doing a little scheduled maintenance, otherwise they will toss you out on your ear and treat you like a liar... with good reason.

 

I didn't list everything that was recently done to the car, just part of it that I could think off the top of my head. There was alot more, i.e. plugs, wires, cap, rotor, harmonic balancer, new ball joints, new control arm bushings, etc. a ton of stuff not even mentioned. You must of stole your parts out of a junk yard to do all of these things for $200.

But the new battery alone was almost $100 as I got the best one you could get. The two front rotors alone were $100+. The new EGR valve was around $50 I believe. The front brake pads were around $60 or more. Then there are other things like the cost of brake fluid flush, front calipers, all new rubber brake lines installed, rear drums, rear master cylinders, rear drum pads, etc. That doesn't count the radiator hoses, coolant flush, thermostat, transmission filter fluid and filter, power steering flush, new fuel filter, I had the A/C charged up which cost like $60 or so as I recall, etc. A TON of other stuff.

You can't do a small fraction of that for $200.

Does "The "value" of a car is what it would cost to go out on the open market and buy another similar car in similar condition." = "replacement cost"?

As I know the other insurance company say they don't have to pay "replacement cost". That's what makes it hard to figure up a value.

For what's it's worth I paid almost $5k for the car when I bought it.

So, new battery and two front rotors = $200+ So, you must be assuming I had all the rest of the 30+ other parts replaced and/or fluid flushed for free then?

I didn't say doing thousands to the car increased the cars value. Just mentioned it with regards to what I'd be losing also including the car as well. Though, I do believe a car that had thousands recently done to it like all new fluids, brakes, battery, etc. + a ton of other stuff would make the car more desirable and/or worth more than a similar car that hasn't had an oil change in years.

No one does this kind of maintenance. I know someone who has factory installed fuel filters, 10 year old tires, 10 year old fluids, 10 year old everything else, etc. Another guy hadn't changed his oil in 3 years let alone anything else. He's driven the car for over 3 years and had done nothing to it. People don't do anything to their cars unless they have to.

Ask your neighbor when he's flushed his brake fluid. I bet he'd say something like "never."

My Firebird isn't the same as a Firebird that has no maintenance history like alot of them out there are. I know as I've bought and sold vehicles, and it's funny calling owners selling cars who don't know the maintenance history of their own car.

 

NONE of those "maintenance" items like rotors, battery, plug wires, etc. - even if they DO total more than $200 - increase the "value" of the car. Too bad, but that's just the way it is.

You'll get plenty of "sympathy", mine included; maybe even some "pity", and definitely some various other intangibles like "moral support"; but all of that, plus $1.85, will just barely buy you a cup of coffee. Get past that, and you'll have to fight the "legal" battle over MONEY, which is a whole other matter altogether.

Sounds to me like you need to buy the car back for its salvage value QUICK so you can get all your rotors and batteries and whatnot back, and then go out and do a little better job of car shopping next time so you don't pay too much again for a base-model car (you can buy a Z28 convertible for less than you paid for that lesser car), and hire an attorney. But don't expect miracles.

 

I don't really agree that maintenance has no bearing as to a car's value. I've paid top dollar for cars that have a good maintenance history compared to similar cars that has no maintenance history. The cars for sale that have a good maintenance history always are for sale for more than ones that don't. If you had two similar cars, I don't think you'd pay the same for car A that hasn't had a oil change in years with lots of wore out parts, compared to car B that has a ton of recent maintenance done to it and doesn't need anything. There were some well maintained cars in the past that I've tried to buy that were too high, but the seller wouldn't budge because of all the "extra" maintenance they did to it. So, yes it costs more to get a well maintained car than one that needs a ton of $ to be put into it.

I don't know where you are finding these "cheap" 3rd gens at. There aren't any cheap ones in 1k+ miles from me. They are all expensive or the cheaper ones are junk cars. Besides it would cost me more to travel 1k miles to get a decent 3rd gen than what they are offering, so not worth it. I already replaced the car with something different anyways as too much time had passed messing with them.

My original plans was to get another 3rd gen, but not at the expense of me paying $5k out of pocket for one that I already had as that seems to be the going rate for a decent one within a few states over. Not counting the expense of going and getting it and doing whatever maintenance that needs done to it. As I doubt it would have all fresh new parts on it.

One attorney I talked to told me of a guy not long ago had a $4k paint job on his car. Literally the next day after it got painted, it got totalled out by someone. Their insurance company offer was $500. The guy got an attorney, and their offer then changed to $4500. The attorneys I've spoken with have told me all my receipts of stuff done to it helps me out alot. As I can show the judge my car wasn't some junk car needing a ton of $ put into it. So, I have a better shot of getting what I'm asking for than what they are offering. These attorneys told me this insurance company is screwy and if it was a different insurance company. I already would have gotten a fair settlement offer. As this is a no name insurance company. None of the attorneys have heard of them before, that's how much of a no name company it is.

But I'm willing to take it all the way to court as they talk to you like they have the final say of what you get. They have errors in their report and they refuse to fix them which costs me money as if they fixed these errors, then they'd have to raise their settlement offer. The one person I talked to on fixing one of these errors, they said they "compensated" me for the difference in the report. Even though it wasn't mentioned in their report. I asked her to show me where it says I was "compensated" at in the report, she pretty much just wanted me to trust her. So, I had her look through the report, then she starts talking about other things. I then tell her she never answered my question of where in the report they "compensated" me for the error, then she hangs up the phone.

They remind me of a cars salesman. I know they tried to screw me on my injury as I have a ton of medical bills worth more than any of these cars are worth. And you have to do settlement talks before a suit is filed. But their offer for the injury claim was less than what I paid for gas to get to all of my doctors appointments. So, I guess they were saying I pay for all my medical bills myself and I forfeit all my other claims. Yeah, we laughed at them and filed suit. So, that's the type of people I've been dealing with.