Hello,

My insurance is due and and I noticed my 1990 Toyota SR5 Extended Cab V6 PU is listed at a $2500 payout. My truck was bought new by me and has remained in California, no rust. Odometer has 188K. Truck has a few small door dings and one small dent behind bumper on pass side, color is blue.

What should I value this at? If I were to replace it what would the cost be? Not interested in selling it and I do drive it ~ 5K miles per year.
Album of ARB install; https://www.yotatech.com/g/album/2866989
Truck Pics https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f177...w-pics-240826/

Thanks,
Glen

 

Have the insurance company do an appraisal on it. I had to do that last year. You will need to take it by there, take some photos and fill out a description form. It’s not a hard process.

I just looked at the link with your pictures. I’m spitballing $10-$12k.

 

It's more complicated than one would think. At least it was for me dealing with AAA, Farmers , and Geico on this very subject. Good luck getting a straight answer, or the same one twice. And what the agent says vs. the insurance companies 800 customer service rep is exhausting.

I just take pictures of everything I've done, save the receipts of all the parts I've bought, and take screen shots of similar vehicles that have passed through auction to have ammo if i ever need to fight that fight.

 

That is an excellent point. Some carriers are more receptive to collector interest vehicles than others. I used State Farm last year when I bought and restored my 1991 and they were pretty easy to work with. They inspected the vehicle and took some pictures. I took more pictures documenting the work that had been done and the condition of the truck and submitted those. I spent some time on Bring a Trailer and took screen shots of auction prices of trucks comparable to mine in age, condition and trim level. Anyway, they took the data package and came back about a week later with a value number. It was close to my estimate so I said ok.

Where you don't want to be, though, is in the position of paying premiums for a $2500 truck and then expecting a check for $15,000 if it gets destroyed in an accident. That's a tough sell and you're smart to get the number negotiated ahead of time.

 

Don't buy collision coverage; I don't. I don't even carry comprehensive. (I do, of course, carry liability coverage.)

What you know is that auto insurers make money. A lot of money. Statistically, they know that in the long run their insureds will always pay way more in premiums than they collect on losses. (That's how the premiums are set.) So keep your money. If you're unlucky enough to have a total loss, then you're going to be out-of-pocket what it takes to get another 30-year old truck. Suck it up. If you're so strapped for cash that you absolutely cannot afford $2,500, then get yourself a bicycle.

But what if it's a super-duper restored collector's-car champion? as dbittle points out, it is possible to get "stated-value" coverage. For a big price. Again, the insurance company knows that you'll pay way, way more in premiums than you'll ever collect in losses.

If you don't carry collision coverage, you'll never have to mess with an insurance adjuster, or try to "buy back" your totalled truck, or have to deal with a "salvage" title.

(My advice is a little different with a brand-new car, where the value is much higher and more defined. I'd recommend you carry collision for about the first 3 years, and comprehensive for about the first 5. But you're just throwing money away getting collision coverage on an 8-year old anything.)

 

Yeah, I had that very conversation. I asked how much would I see, after my deductible, if the 4Runner got totaled. Never did get an answer, even after rewording half dozen times.

Saving receipts, pictures, auction stuff is if someone hits me and I have to fight their insurance company. Worse comes to worse I’ll just take the insurance co and the driver to court. Nothing says I have to accept what’s offered, and just because they have insurance doesn’t mean the offending driver is no longer responsible.

 

Your "damages" are the value of the vehicle, whether fighting an insurance company or trying to convince a judge. Your insurance agent is never going to guess what an adjuster years down the road will find. Just because you say it's $15,000, or some moron on a Bring-A-Trailer paid way over value, doesn't prove your loss is any higher than what it would cost to replace it with a similar vehicle. Similarly, what you paid for shocks, or a radio, or Acura seats, just doesn't matter.

Keeping track of what "comparable" vehicles go for on CraigsList is a reasonable tactic. Finding some super-high auction result on eBay isn't worth much at all.

But you can avoid all of this hootin' and hollerin' by just dropping the collision coverage as soon as you can. If the accident isn't your fault, the other party is the one who has to pay to repair/replace your vehicle. So when you buy collision coverage, you're wagering with the insurance company that you are a much, much worse driver than average! Are you?

 

Of all the insurance companies I dealt with as a service manager, State Farm was the most consistently fair

 

No collision / comprehensive. But I try to get uninsured/underinsured coverage (I gamble on my driving abilities, not those of other drivers). Some companies don't let you do uninsured without collision/comprehensive.

Get a quote for the collision/comprehensive, then just put that much money aside.

 

Yep. They appraised my truck at $13K, which was about what I thought it was worth too. Premiums aren't too bad either. Anyway, the OP has gotten a range of opinions and options to ponder.

 

Thanks for the replies!
I talked to insurance company today and they upped my 90 truck to $10k. Auto insurance in California started billing by miles driven a few years ago. I have 5 vehicles and I'm paying less now than just a few years ago by a large amount. As one poster said above, the increase from $2500 to 10K was like 12 dollars additional per 6mos. I can live with that.

Thanks for the replies all.