RE: IML: '63 Le Baron vs American Family Insurance
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RE: IML: '63 Le Baron vs American Family Insurance



Always remember, insurance is a business. The less they pay you, the better their bottom line. That doesn't mean they will rob you, but it's a negotiation and they generally want to pay you as little as they can. Don't accept their first offer as gospel. Get documentation as to the value of your car, the cost of repairs and the cost of replacement parts.

The first thing you have to do is prove that the actual value of your car is quite high. That's the purpose of the e-bay and Hemmings quotes. if you can show the car is worth more than "just any old car" they will not be so quick to total it out. Remember, we can all spend thousands more to repair our car than the car is actually worth. The insurance company will not pay more than the total value of the car. Just because I spent $5,000 to put the engine in my '83 and paid $2,500 for the car doesn't mean it's worth $7,500. Most cars cost more to build than they are worth, insurance will not pay you more than the car is worth.

If have a mechanic or body shop, I would strongly urge that you have the insurance inspector look at the car at the shop. My girlfriend's Jetta got hit and she was in a hurry and the company came to her driveway the next day. By the end of the week she had a check for $1,200. Problem was no body shop would touch it for that price. We forced them to come and look the car over again with my friend who owns a body shop and a manila cream 1981 Imperial and they ponied up $3,600 for the repairs. The shop owner can explain everything that has to be done and wihy it will take x amount of hours. He'll also be more likely to do the work for the quote.

If you really feel strongly that their offer is not good you can follow up with the courts or arbitration as a last resort and if you are realistic and have everything documented you'll have a good chance of success. Just remember, be reasonable. As bad as some of you may have gotten the shaft from insurance companies they see tons of fraud. They'll no longer pay you just to go away. It's up to you to show them with reason, facts and figures why the job is worth more.

Good luck,
Robert Polistena (Esq.;)

From: FltSgt@xxxxxxx
Reply-To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: Mailing-List@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
CC: phart@xxxxxxxxx
Subject: IML: '63 Le Baron vs American Family Insurance
Date: Wed, 1 Dec 2004 23:37:50 EST

Hola

On Monday morning the kid up the street who has been one of the fastest
vehicles on the street failed to slow down after it had snowed. Due to the speed
he lost control of the '89 Jeep and from 55 paces away he started a hard slide
into our '63 Le Baron, backwards. When I asked what happened ( duhhh ) he
stated that he was only going 10, maybe 15 mph. ( At such a slow speed this was
able to knock the Le Baron over six feet backward into the neighbors parked
'78 F150 long bed. The 'Le Baron-F 150 package then went another foot before
stopping. )


Yesterday ( 30 Nov '04 ) when the American Family Insurance rep called it was
in her second paragraph that she used the words of "just total the car out".
When I told her that was not going to happen, she then said they would send
out a person to "take a look at the damage".


Today this guy calls and didn't have a clue of what it was that he was to
come and look at. But he did use the same " total it out phrase". ( It must be a
cheap way for the insurance company to get out of paying for speedy up the
street. ) After some time clueless calls back and wants to know which engine
did I have in the car. " ... a 413, which was the only engine for the car" I
replied. Clueless then said, " ... and how many cylinders does this engine have
?" I started to laugh but since I was in the mountains the cell phone went
dead.


After a couple of minutes clueless calls back and wants to know why the door
panels are off. I had to let him know that I had taken them off for restro
reasons. This time he wanted to know if there was a place for parts for the
car. I told him about the Neb and Calif connections. Then clueless asked for
their numbers. He said that he would get back to me when he found out the value
of a '63 Le Baron.


I'm so glad that I went in the house and took pictures while the skid marks
were fresh on the snow.

I told the local NAPA what had happened and they called my Gla Blue Le Baron
"...a cream puff". I liked that. They also said they would gladly print out
every item that I have purchased whenever I thought the car needed that part.


MY VINTAGE AIRSTREAM SONG

Oh Lord,  won't you buy me a Vintage Airstream.
My nieghbors have a Ford truck,  but that is not my dream.
I'll use a Coachworks Le Baron,  with a big four thirteen.
Oh Lord,  won't you buy me a Vintage Airstream.

Oh Lord,  won't you buy me a Byam beret.
My friends all wear stetsons,
But that is not my way.
Please show that you love me,
And buy one today.
Oh Lord,  won't you buy me a Byam beret.

Oh Lord,  won't you buy me an aluminum trailer.
My friends all drive new RV's,  but that's a poor spent dollar.
I'll work hard with my buffer to make it look cleaner.
Oh Lord,  won't you buy me an aluminum trailer.

Oh Lord,  won't you buy me a new sewer hose.
My old one is broken,  my wife's holding her nose.
I need a brand new one,  so I won't stain my clothes.
Oh Lord,  won't you buy me a new sewer hose.

Oh Lord,  won't you buy me a Vintage Airstream.
My nieghbors have a Ford truck,  but that's not my dream.
I'll use a Coachworks Le Baron,  with a big four thirteen.
Oh Lord,  won't you buy me a Vintage Airstream.


Rodger & Gabby Colo Spgs

'47 De Soto Custom w/Fluid Drive & passenger door mounted swamp cooler
'63 Le Baron w/F-Sweep trunk lid & std A/C
'66 Le Baron w/dual A/C & reverbed AM/FM
'70 Overlander - InterNational
'77 D150 w/360, NP 4 Spd, 12 Bolt Axle, OEM Buckets & etc


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