There has been a lot of chatter lately about insurance. I have a claim going with Hagerty that's just getting started so I thought I'd do a thread & post updates. Situation - I had the car parked in the garage. Sheetrock let go from the beams & fell on the car. Most of the damage is to the pass side fender but the hood & pass side door got scratches too. Called it in to Hagerty & sent them an estimate & pics tonight.

 

Pffffft that'll buff out... Hopefully they'll step right up and get you fixed quick.

 

Most take care of problems quickly they don't get many claims and word of mouth is a killer in this business.

When I had a issue they (Grundy) sent out a inspector to check out the car then had me go to whomever I wanted for repairs. It went easier than I expected, the hard part was getting parts in a hurry.... Tedd

 

Good luck on that repair. Still very stressful to go through. Body shops are one of the dustiest places a car can go to. It ends up that the work is done but if you start with a restored car the dust is painful. Small problem in the scheme of things. Hope things go smoothly for you. Al

 

You have a homeowners claim in, right?

 

Why? No deductible from classic insurance. Home owners would be a bare minimum of $500 and most likely a $1000


Unless there is more damage to the garage or other items?


Pat

 

I called the home owners policy. They'll cover contents of the garage EXCEPT a car. So if I had a damaged shovel or broom I'm covered. Damage to the garage wasn't enough to make a claim.

 

Yeah, I've been delaying if anything. I wanted to wait until the end of the season to get it fixed but might do it now & get it over with. Interesting with Hagerty - they said they never actually close the claim. If the shop finds more damage they'll readdress it & cover it if need be.

 

Can you recommend a good body shop?

 

Can you?



I've had no luck. One guy I went to was all gassed up to do the job, took about 100 pics & then never gave me the estimate. Tried reaching out a few times too, and this was a guy that did a bunch of work for a friend of mine. I'm talking to two guys right now. Have an idea which one I'll go forward with but not 100% decided. I don't know much of their work, just going by the conversations I had with them. I'll be glad to let you know how it works out.

If you are going 100% out of pocket it almost pays to ship it out of state. NY labor rates are sky high.

 

I too have Hagerty and am curious on their handling of claims. Please let us know!!

 

I would strongly suggest that you find yourself a reliable restoration shop to do the repairs. I would take my daily driver to a body shop, but my classic and antique cars deserve better. I had my 1962 Chevrolet fixed at a body shop, and the repair was excellent, but since my car was originally painted with lacquer, I got lacquer matched to do the painting. Unfortunately, they were not experienced using lacquer, and had a heck of a time shooting the paint. I recently had some additional work done on the car, and the restoration shop had no problems shooting lacquer, since they were familiar with it. It cost a little more, but when the paint is almost $300 a quart, you don't want to waste materials. This is why we insure with a specialty insurance broker, not a general lines broker. Your car deserves the best quality of a repair. Your car, your choice, but if it doesn't come out the way that you expect, don't expect your insurance company to pay to have the work done over again.

 

It looks like the perfect opportunity to roll a new OAI hood into the repair estimate

 

I think those are a dying breed in my area. I am currently talking to two guys. My concern is that they'll take the car in as side work and it will sit in the back until they have downtime. One place is a pretty straight collision shop but they have an older guy who was a judge at the Olds Dustoff car show and he would manage the job. The other place is actually the closest body shop to my house and someone on here referred me to him after he worked on his '67. This place has been around forever and the guy is pretty old school. Mostly a collision shop as well but in his office he has plaques hanging up of classic cars they did that were in magazines.

 

IDK how easy it is to hide a $2K-$2500 hood in an estimate but that is in the works.
I am back & forth on the wing. To me they are two great tastes that taste great together but not sure if I want to drill my trunk lid.

 

That's a bummer your Olds was damaged. Hopefully you can find a good shop to make it "good as new."

 

One good thing - every shop that looked at it said it would be no problem matching the paint & all commented on how healthy the paint was. I think its about 10 years old but its always been garaged.

 

Just heard back from Hagerty - over the weekend I submitted pics & estimate through E-Mail. Estimate was the highest I got but also the most comprehensive. They caught some stuff the other guys missed. Hagerty is paying out no questions asked. They aren't even sending someone to see the car. I couldn't be happier with how they are handling this. Droptopron strongly endorses Hagerty!

 

WOW at last something really nice to hear, Thanks for letting us know.

 

Now to pick a shop & make the car better than its ever been