Total noob here, actually the significant other of an Enthusiast.

Right, so unfortunately I was driving my hubby's beloved 89 Olds Custom Cruiser and was in an accident. A car turned infront of me, and we were doing 45 to impact. This iron lady is a tank, but it pushed the frame back a clean foot. The other driver is 100% at fault but we are fighting with their insurance company about the pay out.

My hubby is furious. He LOVED this vehicle! It was in excellent condition, all original, interior fabulous, low mileage. The cost to fix the frame and other damage is not something that is feasible, so the insurance is obviously going to total it out. The problem is, we want them to pay out a replacement value. He loved that thing, he wants another, in the exact shape that our now totaled one is in.

I have searched all over the US online looking for like vehicles to prove what the replacement cost is going to be and I am having a terrible time finding more than one or two. This is what led me here actually.

Can any of you other Oldsmobile lovers help me? I've seen mention of an Oldsmobile Guide, where do I find that? Are there any tricks to finding other Olds Custom Cruiser enthusiasts, or other pricing guides?

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

 

Welcome to the site, sorry to hear of your misfortunate accident. I don't have any helpful advice for you, hopefully you will find something that meets your expectations. Good luck.

 

Bump, I hope you can get it taken care of. That really $ucks!

 

Unfortunately, while you and your husband look at this car as wonderful piece of automobile Americana, the rest of the world looks at it as just an old used car. Yes, an '89 is now more than 25 years old, so by many definitions, it's now an antique, but it's just an old station wagon, and station wagons never command a large value.

The Old Cars Price Guide puts the value of one of these in just below showroom condition at about $5500. Your insurance company may choose to use something like this as a value guide, adding or subtracting based on the particular options on your car and its actual condition.

What is the insurance company offering, and what do you think it's worth?

As far as comparables, I would search craigslist for '88, '89, and '90 Custom Cruisers as they're all likely to be similar in value for similar condition levels, and '90 was the last year for the box-wagon body style.

Keep in mind, also, though, that craigslist and any other cars-for-sale site will only show asking prices, not what the cars actually sell for, so your insurance company might, understandably, be reluctant to use any for-sale values you find as an indicator of actual value.

Good luck. It's a shame you lost the car, but there are others out there. A car can replaced. Not so with humans.

 

A quick craigslist search didn't turn up any '89 Custom Cruisers, but here's an '88 that doesn't look too bad. 150,000 miles. They're asking $2000 (that may not help you!).

http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/cto/5208309187.html





Here's another '88. Far lower mileage (35,000). Not sure I like the wheels, but otherwise looks very nice, and a price ($4000) perhaps more in line with what you'd like for yours.

http://santabarbara.craigslist.org/cto/5194936706.html





I couldn't find any '90s, either, except for one that was modified. You're right in that there are not a lot of these out there, at least at the moment.

 

Just wondering - Can you have the frame pulled/straightened at a shop and then have your husband do the work on it at home? Here's why I ask:
1. The front end is the same (hood, bumper, header panel, rad support, etc) on ALL 1981-89 Custom Cruisers, and 1981-1984 Ninety Eight/Delta 88 models. That means there's plenty of donors out there. Only the fenders are unique because of the upper ridge line. Parts cars are out there for the 81-89 model year of CC.

2. A low mileage CC is worth more to you than the Insurance company. If you can get them to pay you directly for the valuation you want and keep the wreck, you'll be ahead of the game if self repair is an option.

3. Grills are really the only thing that changed on these cars in the damage area you're indicating.

4. You know your car history and whether it's worth doing the repairs or not. An insurance company is never going to pay you what you ask, even if you find another one in identical condition. And I seriously doubt they'd pay the ask on a top condition 89 CC if you found it.

5 Shop rates are the major reason the insurance company won't repair this car. Labor is expensive now and most shops have adopted a replace, rather than fix attitude to make the most money. If you do the labor yourself, you're way ahead of the game. Then just find someone who knows how to paint.

Post some pics of the wreck so we can see if the repairs may be a non issue.

 

Have you gotten a quote yourself from a competent collision repair shop? Given that it's a solid frame and not a unibody, cutting off the damage and replacing the front clip is a relatively simple exercise provided the impact was straight on and not at an angle. Finding good body parts at a scrap yard isn't that difficult if you're willing to spend some time on the phone.

I do have to wonder, tho ... if your frame may already be rust compromised. There's very little left on the road today with the structural strength to inflict that kind of damage on a CC. I commonly refer to other cars as my crumple zone. If you shortened yours by a foot of frame and aren't hospitalized .... that's worrying.

 

I wonder if the OP meant the front of the car was pushed back a clean foot. That's altogether different than frame damage which would be very significant if it was pushed back 1 foot.

Maybe this isn't as badly damaged as we are thinking? Could be just the front bumper struts are collapsed and the header panel crunched?

 

Ok here you go! One year newer but close. If you need me to look at for you let me know. Next town over!




https://lansing.craigslist.org/cto/5225565861.html

Pat

 

Sorry to hear about the misfortune...
Since the whole front end on these is a bolt-together, repair is very possible. Just depends how bad the frame is bent (and of course that unbolts, too.)

It sounds like yours was a creampuff, so nada says 5400 as a clean retail.

http://www.nadaguides.com/Classic-Ca...n-Wagon/Values

The BIG wagons are not easily replaceable as no one makes them anymore.

Best of luck to you!

 

One question no one has asked is "How was the vehicle insured?... Since it is over 25 years old it could have been insured as an antique and the payout process could include both insurance companies coming to a compromise on the antique insured value.... if it was not, then the insurance company most likely will only pay out the maximum based on standard NADA, KBB, values etc....

 

We didn't ask because it's unlikely the OP wouldn't have mentioned it if it were. She specifically says they're fighting the other driver's insurance. Classic and Antique insurance policies have all their own rules and requirements to deal with ... a nightmare I personally avoid. But if they had it, it would be their agent fighting the other driver's.

 

Simplest way to handle it. Have a lawyer draft a letter to the other insurer. Amazing how quick that gets results once they realise you're serious about things. They're counting on you caving in and going away, and they don't want a protracted legal battle in court. Especially since THEIR driver was at fault.

 

The reason there are antique auto policies is to properly insure an antique car. You and the insurance company agree on a value and that what it is insured for. I personally have had a couple claims that were immediately paid and I was completely satisfied. A regular car policy just sees a 26 year old car and the fact that you have taken great care, it's low mileage, it's rare, etc. etc. means nothing. It is too bad, that this might be an expensive lesson. Maybe a lawyer helps, but I'd bet the first thing he asks you is what was it insured for? Was it an agreed amount for a collector car or was it for the general value of a 26 year old car?

 

As of this moment, there have been 13 replies to the OP's original post, and I note that she has not been back to this thread since she started it. She did not provide very much information about the kind of insurance she had or anything else, and everything since then has just been speculation about what she should do if this is true or that is true.

1. We don't know what kind of insurance policy she had. In fact, the whole tone of her post is more along the lines of "help me find another '89 Custom Cruiser" than it is "I'm having trouble with the insurance, what can I do." She did mention that the insurance wants to simply total the car, and she seems OK with that as she is looking for another car.

2. Regardless of what kind of policy she had (insurance from a collector car insurance company or a "regular" policy through a "regular" insurance company), no insurance company is going to agree to a value for this car above what the market is for it. It's value doesn't change just because someone regards it as a "collector car". It is what it is. Station wagons never command much value, and those that are as relatively new as this one, even less. On a good day with the wind blowing in the right direction, this car is not worth more than about $5,000 give or take $500 or $1000. She's not ever likely to get a five-figure settlement out this, and that's one of the things she has not told us. Exactly how far apart are the parties invovled? How much has the insurance company offered, and how much do the OP and her husband think they should be getting? We don't know.

If the insurance company has offered $2000 and the car was in as good a shape as it sounds, then, yes, they have case. But if the insurance has offered $5000 or even $4000, that's pretty good, and they ought to take the money and move on. Custom Cruisers of the vintage of this one are not hard to find, and pretty good ones can be had for that kind of money.

 

Yes, we don't know much. I just did a Kelly Blue Book search. That is one, but not the only way to determine value. It only went back to 1992, so I punched in 1992 CC in very good condition with all the options. They came back with a private party Price (not a trade-in) of $1667.00. Agreed price for antique car means you and the insurance company agree on a value. It may require an inspection and appraisal, because the insurance company won't agree if it is not realistic

 

Just to compare why collector cars should be insured with collector car insurance, Old Cars Report Price GuideMay/June 20156 lists 1989 Custom Cruiser #1 condition at $12,500, #2 $8750 and #3 $5630. Regular insurance won't be paying those prices, but a collector car policy would.

 

OCPG #1 condition is "better than showroom new and not driven," and there are likely very few '89 Custom Cruisers that meet those conditions, and #2 is "showroom," and it's unlikely that the OP's car falls into that category, either. So you very quickly get down to #3, which is "car show condition," which is probably what the OP's car could be described as at best, but maybe not even this if it's a daily driver.

So this puts it at most a $5,000 or $6,000 car, and it may very well have been between #3 and #4 in condition, which the OCPG puts at $2,500, so it might very well be a less than $5,000 car.

Now lots of people poo-poo the OCPG, and that's fine, but what do you think an appraiser would use to value a car like this, given that there are very few out there, relatively speaking, that have changed hands and that he can get sales information about? He'd use something like the OCPG, if not the OCPG itself, perhaps NADA, Kelly Blue Book, probably other sources he has, maybe average them, throw in a bit of Kentucky windage, and come up with a final number. In the end, regardless of method, that number is likely to be, at best, something in the mid-four figure range.

 

That's actually a good point. I checked with the appraiser who evaluated my car and he based his assessment on what cars of it's year and condition actually sold for during the past 6 months before the appraisal, as compared to production numbers, survivor cars, and options. I'm sure he also factored other things in, but I didn't ask a lot of questions about what because I was more interested in 'how much' at the time.

I realize that there are several ways to get an appraised valuation, but it's also important for the insurance company to see that appraised value before they accept the car as a client. Otherwise it's as you say - it's one guide against another.