Craig B

Now that I've had my 1968 Ninety-Eight Town Sedan repainted and a new vinyl roof installed, I would like to have it appraised so it can be properly insured (I currently ensure my cars through State Farm). I've been told by my agent that once I have the appraisal the can can be insured for that amount. I'm not looking for an overinflated appraisal; just a fair one that will allow me to adequately insure my car. Thanks for any info!

kjr442

I don't know how close you are to Kingmon Az 86401 but my B07 Delta was appraised at Mohave Auto Appraisal 2707 Georgia Ave. 928 753 4894
Good luck, Your car looks great.

Have you seen the 12,000.00 1970 98 on ebay? It has your color I think.

gearheads78

Don't insure a classic car with state farm or any other main line insurance for that matter. Go with Hagarty, Grundy , ect and you tell them how much you want it insured for. If you go with State Farm and just for round numbers the car is appraised for $10,000. If 3 years from now your car is stolen or totaled State Farm will depriciate for the 3 years use and what they deem as wear and tear. You might get $6500.00 out of it.

On the other hand you have Hagarty and 3 years from now the same thing happens you get a check for $10,000.00 no questions asked and no appraisal needed.

Aron Nance

X's 10 on Richards advice!!!!! Generally much cheaper, but limitations on how many miles driven and other things. You need to check it out, compare, and make your own decision. Good Luck!

RAMBOW

X10 x2

Regular insurance companies have what is called Stated Value policy's.
You state the value, they price it acordingly. But when a total occurs (damage or theft) they calculate the value based on what they consider the market value. In 99% of the cases this does not benifit you, and you wind up scrambling to "prove" what your own car was worth before it was stolen or damaged. Thats why they tell you to have it appraised- but its still not a guarantee you will get that dollar ammount if its totaled.

hagarty, Grundy, etc... the classic insurance companies have what is called Agreed Value policy's. You tell them what its worth- they will agree with you, and that becomes the value. No questions. If the car is totaled or stolen- the AGREED upon value is the dollar ammount you get. No appraisal needed unless you put a really out of left field value on it, or its heavily modified (full on custom car).

next time you talk to state farm ask them specifically if their policy is AGREED value or not. I can tell you from experience that it is not, but they will throw some fancy insurance terms at you to confuse you and make you think they have you covered.

jaunty75

As has been more or less noted, the only reason to do this is if you plan to use the car at all as a daily driver. If you plan only to drive it around as a hobby vehicle, never leave it unattended in the parking lot at the local shopping mall or at your place of work, and take it to and from car shows, parades, limit yourself to some total annual mileage that you and the insurance company agree to ahead of time, like 1000 miles or 2000 miles or something like that, etc., then all you need is collector car insurance from any of the companies mentioned or others. I personally use J.C. Taylor. I pay less than $150 per year for my two collector cars.

State Farm, which I also use for my everyday cars and homeowner policy, and companies like it are not in the business of insuring collector cars. As has been noted, they'll treat it as an everyday car, and you'll pay more for the insurance. If you plan to drive it as only a collector car, then you'll be overpaying for insurance.


P.S. For what it's worth, the February 2011 issue of the Old Cars Price Guide puts the value of a 1968 Olds 98 4-door sedan in #2 condition (showroom condition) at $8,500. In #1, it's $12,200, but their #1 is defined as a vehicle that is better than showroom new and not driven, but rather is trailered, wherever it goes. To quote their condition guide, "there are very few #1 vehicles." I'm guessing that your car doesn't meet their #1 condition criteria.

Collector Car Market Review puts the value of this car in their #2 condition at $6,050. In their #1, it's $8,775. I don't know if your vehicle reaches the level of their #1, even after the repaint. Their #1 isn't quite as strenuous-sounding as OCPG's #1.

http://collectorcarmarket.com/menus/.../68ol9898.html

I'm sure a professional appraiser looking at your particular car will do all the adds and subtracts pertinent to it and come out with a final value. But I'm guessing that, in the end, it will be somewhere in the $8,000 to $10,000 range.

m455sx

I have my Olds insured by State farm, I have put antique tags on it and i set the price, i used a price guide from muscle car review published in 2007 when prices were higher. incase something happens to them and it isn't depriciated, but laws do vary from state to state.

gearheads78

Is it a stated value policy? If so then yes they can adjust the price in the event of a total loss. Agreed value is the only way around this.

oldcutlass

I like J C Taylor, my Plymouth was insured for $28k and it ran $130/year. The Cutlass however as a daily driver just carries liability only. I have not really looked into insuring it as an Antique as of yet.

jaunty75

If you insured it as an antique, as I'm sure you know, you would no longer be able to use it as a daily driver.

What gets you the low rate on your Plymouth is the fact that you don't drive it much (1000 miles per year?), always park it in a locked garage, demonstrate that you have another car that you use as a daily driver, etc.

oldcutlass

The plymouth averaged about 2500 miles on it per year until I sold it a few months back. Since I only live 3.5 miles from work I used to drive it most sunny warm days. I parked behind the previously enjoyed cars building where no one messed with it.

Now I drive the Cutlass almost everyday (cept the really cold days) rain or shine! So it will probably see about 3500 miles per year. I still could put the antique car insurance on it, but...?

jaunty75

Did your insurance company know this? Like I've said, antique car insurers normally require that the car be stored in a locked garage and not be used as a daily driver. It doesn't matter that it was only 3.5 miles away and that you were parking it in a secluded spot. You took a potentially big risk. If something had actually happened to your $28,000 car while it was parked in this secluded spot and you had tried to file a claim with the insurance company, they might very well have refused it because you had violated the terms of the insurance contract. They would probably have asked why the car was located at your place of employment, and you would have been going "duh, uh, duh, uh" as you frantically tried to come up with some plausible scenario as to why your car was parked there that would convince them to pay your claim. Good luck with that.

Could you? Not if you are using it as a daily driver, unless you lie to the insurance company. But all the risk is on you because, if something happens to the car while it's parked at the store or where you work, it would be obvious to the insurance company that you had violated the terms of the contract, and they would likely deny your claim.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but insurance companies are not stupid. If they were, they would not be in business long. You may think you're getting away with something by agreeing to the collector car insurance restrictions, obtaining the policy for that nice low price, and then proceeding to violate the terms of that agreement, rationalizing it as you do by saying to yourself that it's "only a few miles each way" and that "I'll park it in a good hiding place."

But woe is you if something should happen while you are violating the policy's terms and you are found out. The odds are that this won't happen, but there is always the small chance that something could, and the result could be very costly to you.

442much

If you want an appraisal, talk to your insurance company. They'll recommend a few. An appraiser is not someone you recognize, it's who your insurance company recognizes.

mike623

Not to high jack a thread here but jaunty75 could you tell me what a 1970 Cutlass Supreme Convertible numbers matching in #2 condition would book at?

joe_padavano

X2. Insurance companies are just looking for a reason to disallow a claim. The reason why antique insurance is low cost is because the car is specifically NOT used as a daily driver. Good luck trying to collect on a claim if the insurance company finds out the accident happened while the car was used for commuting.

442much

Some ins. co's even have a mileage restriction.

jaunty75

They pretty much all do, but this can often be negotiated. You keep it to 1000 miles per year, you pay one rate. You think you'll drive 2000? They'll allow that, but the rate will be higher. I'm sure there's an upper limit before they tell you to forget it and go buy regular car insurance instead.

jaunty75

Sure, but remember that these price guides don't get into the level of detail of "matching numbers" and the like. Certainly something like that would have an effect on the value of the particular car in question. These price guides give very average values.

Having said this, the February 2011 Old Cars Price Guide shows the value of a '70 Cutlass Supreme convertible in #2 condition at $17,500.

Collector Car Market Review, which is always a bit more pessimistic than the OCPG, puts a #2 condition car at $14,800. In #1, they show a value of $20,800. If you read the descriptions of these condition levels, they're not really exactly comparable. For the OCPG, #2 condition is showroom condition. That's approaching #1 for the CCMR.

But taking all this together, it would seem that your car is worth something in the high teens.

mike623

Cool. Thanks for getting back to me on that.

oldcutlass

Not going to argue, I drove my plymouth on nice sunny days. I live in a small town. And my work parking is secure!!! Needless to say a claim was never filed!!

jaunty75

Weather has nothing to do with it. Town size has nothing to do with it. Secure parking has nothing to do with it. You were lucky is all. But luck sometimes runs out!

oldcutlass

Sheesh Jaunty...give it up

jaunty75

Hey, I'll write whatever I damn well want to write, OK? No one is making you read it. I don't recall someone dying and leaving you in charge.

RAMBOW

With all the people who have classic car insurance who occasionally drive their cars to work... who occasionally go to mcdonalds...grocerystore... etc etc...
If Hagarty,grunty,etc etc were to start hodling a hardline & deny claims because of inapropriate use, there would be many MANY people posting (and bitching) about that online.

In 12 years in the hobby, i have never seen anyone report a classic claim as being disputed by their company.
In 12 years i HAVE heard many many times of people bitching that their NON-AGREED Value, non classic insurance is ripping them off as far as the value of their damaged or stolen classic.
I have also heard great things about both hagety & grundy from people who have made claims.

I'd much rather take a chance at justifying how I was using my classic car when it was damaged/stolen, than have to justify its value after its been trashed/stolen.

Besides, The wording of the classic policies gives you plenty of loopholes when it comes to the way the car is used.

As long as you infact do meet the basic criterea (a locked garrage at home, and a 2nd vehicle 10 years or newer as your daily driver, and less than 2500 miles (they don't check they only ask) I seriously doubt they would deny your claim, unless it was just totally blatant. (stolen from in front of your apartment where you don't actually have an a garage- or smashed into while parked at the local shopping mall.

Just about anything else could be claimed to be within the bounds of normal "limited" use...
Pleasure driving
To or from a car show, or club event
For testing purposes or for mechanical work

Every time i drive it its pleasure driving... Every time i drive it i'm testing it, and Just about everytime, i wind up at another gear head friends house with the hood up- which makes it mechanical work.

jaunty75

Or parked at your place of employment?


In all of these examples you give, you are with the car all the time. That's the point. I do the same thing. I drive my old car to my friend's house, to car shows, or just for pleasure. I'm always with the car. The collector car insurance companies don't want you using it as a daily driver mostly because the car is left unattended. You leave it out in the parking lot for 8 hours while you're at work and anything can happen. Ditto if you park it and walk away for even a few minutes at the shopping mall. It can be vandalized or stolen in a minute.

oldcutlass

I work at a car dealership - it had a parking space away from traffic and hazards where I can keep an eye on it no matter what! My car was in more danger sitting at car shows with little kids and little ol men in wheel chairs running around than at my work.