Carolina AutoMasters

Interesting. I adjusted a claim almost identical to this one, but with a brand new Pontiac Solstice with a Z06 drivetrain in it. The most any of the insurance companies would pay would be fair market value of an unmodded vehicle. Everything else would either have to get paid by the owner or the shop. Alot of times people don't realize that when they mod a vehicle, it's not worth more. It's actually worth less in most cases. The best thing to do if you heavily mod a vehicle is to take out an extra insurance policy(stated value policy) or an additional ryder.



In this case, I wonder if the shop owner could actually sue the car owner for loss of income from this person damaging their name? Don't know....
 
David Fermani said:
Interesting. I adjusted a claim almost identical to this one, but with a brand new Pontiac Solstice with a Z06 drivetrain in it. The most any of the insurance companies would pay would be fair market value of an unmodded vehicle. Everything else would either have to get paid by the owner or the shop. Alot of times people don't realize that when they mod a vehicle, it's not worth more. It's actually worth less in most cases. The best thing to do if you heavily mod a vehicle is to take out an extra insurance policy(stated value policy) or an additional ryder.



In this case, I wonder if the shop owner could actually sue the car owner for loss of income from this person damaging their name? Don't know....
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What you mean is to an insurance company its not worth more? With my custom you need a "specialty insurance" company like Grundy or Haggerty who will let you have it repaired at the shop of your choice and they will reimburse you for it. Maybe you can elaborate on that a little David but that is how I understand it.
 
qballjr13 said:
What you mean is to an insurance company its not worth more? With my custom you need a "specialty insurance" company like Grundy or Haggerty who will let you have it repaired at the shop of your choice and they will reimburse you for it. Maybe you can elaborate on that a little David but that is how I understand it.
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yea that's what he(David) is saying



when he sayed "stated value policy" he is talking about a "specialty insurance" company like Grundy or Haggerty

so you guy's on on the same page
 
This is just another one of those insurance things...like the homeowner's insurance company that used to advertise their "replacement value" insurance on TV. Cars are the same, they don't insure you for the value to replace the car, only the current value of the car. Unless you get them to come out and appraise your modded car for it's "actual" value (for which they will charge you extra), they will just assign it the standard actuarial value based on the age, (assumed) condition, and mileage. I'm presuming that I could get that kind of policy from my regular insurance company, but I have never had the need, it may be that the two previous posters are correct that you have to go to a specialty insurance company.
 
Actually stated value policies are being offered by more and more companies these days & are usually a fraction of the amount of a standard policy in alot of cases.



By law, all insurance companies allow you to get your vehicle repaired at the shop of your choice. They can't tell you or not allow you to go somewhere to get it fixed. You can take your Focus to the Ferrari dealer if you want, but there's a chance you'll be paying the difference if their rates aren't reasonable or customary.



As far as value, cars with extensive modifications are worth less than ones that are stock (according to insurance companies and alot/most car dealers). Just because you installed a $1500 exhaust system to your Vette doesn't mean it's worth more. The factory exhaust costs more, so you decreased its value. If you add a $5000 supercharger, ir doesn’t mean it's worth $5000 more. It's actually less marketable and appeals to a smaller audience, thus theoretically making it worth less.



Also, every insurance company pays ACV (actual cash value or fair market value) when a vehicle is deemed a TOTAL LOSS, unless you purchase a specialty replacement value policy. ACV's are usually calculated by 3rd party companies and they base their information on current vehicles sold and for sale. They then calculate this raw data (sale prices) and adjust according to options, mileage and condition.
 
Yeah, this is all over the internet on other fourms where I frequent too. I am sure this stuff goes on more than we would like to think...:O
 
Yeah, I think the shop owner is getting uncalled for bad publicity because 1 of his employees took his customer's vehicles and wrecked it. People in the Vette forum want this guy to go to jail and loose his house over a $50,000 car. Seems like the guy tried to amicably resolve the misfortune and he's getting raked over the coals. I understand he's responsible for his employees, but you know as well as I do, that things can happen. That's why you have insurance in the 1st place.
 
I only read a page or 2 on that post. He is getting a lot of bad publicity, but from what I read he should have never let his employee take a customers car home for the weekend.
 
Just playing devil's advocate here. How do we know he allowed his employee to take the vehicle home? If he did, by not knowing how the accident happened, how do we know that the employee acted wrongly causing damage to the vehicle? What if there was something mechanically wrong that caused him to crash? If we don't know, I can't pass judgment without proof or strong reasonable suspicion. There's alot of people playing judge and jury without hearing both sides.



I've had past employees take dealership cars home when I was on vacation. You can't control everyone. People that plan on doing something wrong, don't usually ask permission to do it prior to doing it.
 
The shop owner already admitted fault and offered to pay for everything. The owner isn't responding according to the last post of the thread.
 
I'm taking an educated guess saying that it's probably due to the insurance company's failed attempt to negotiate a settlement.
 
Such thing as a phone. He could have called or something. Do not no full story but would be pissed if somebody drove my car around and wrecked it.
 
This isn't the first thing Jeff Creech has screwed up. He has bad publicity all over other boards too... as well as good publicity (as anyone is bound to have SOME good things happen in order to stay in business). So, at best, it's a crap shoot. I don't have personal experience, but I'd never take my camaro to that guy considering other things that have spread onto the net and this story. That's just the icing on the cake. If this was taken care of immediately and responsibly, the guy that got his car wrecked would have no basis of posting on the internet. But, obviously he does, so something had to go wrong. What went wrong, I'm not sure, but I think it's pretty logical to assume it wasn't dealt with properly to begin with, hence why the original poster has spread it onto the net.



I dunno. Whatever. Everyone always likes to get involved in everyone else's business. Whatever happens, I just hope it gets settled correctly.
 
Crazy. I was strongly encouraged to have my car tuned by them after I had a heads and cam package installed on my LT1 Camaro.
 
LS1 Eddie said:
Crazy. I was strongly encouraged to have my car tuned by them after I had a heads and cam package installed on my LT1 Camaro.
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He has done good things. But it's hard to go to someone with a record of doing bad things like the OP in here.
 
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