‘85 GT Value (Page 1/1)
jaredaltizer SEP 18, 09:52 PM
I post on the forum tonight with some very unfortunate news.

I bought my 1985 Fiero GT in March 2017, and have taken very meticulous care of it since then. Paint was absolutely perfect, interior was pristine minus the typical tear in the bolster on the driver’s seat. The only exterior problem was a small crack in the tail light. 102k miles. Some dumbass frat boy made a left turn without looking to see if anyone was coming, I had the green light (and a dog in the passenger seat) and he pulled out directly in front of me, we collided when I was doing 40. Needless to say, it’s totaled.

American Family offered me $3,960.65 for the car. Any tips on how to negotiate more?

Not sure if this would affect the value or not, but I spent all of June and most of July swapping my engine that spun a rod bearing with a 46,000 mile motor. In addition, I did the clutch and all the things you should do when the engine is out. I also rebuilt the engine when it was in the car because it had an oil leak, so all gaskets are pretty new. Any chance this’ll help me out?

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'85 Fiero GT [4-speed]
‘86 4cyl (Parts Car) [5-speed]
'95 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 [6-speed]

Darrelk SEP 18, 10:55 PM
I've been in quite a few accidents over my lifetime. None of them were my fault. Insurance companies of course want to settle for as little as possible. First, are you personally doing these negotiations or is your insurance company doing this? Either way did you keep any receipts or records of the work you did to the car? This would help prove that you were restoring the car and that it wasn't just a static "daily beater." Negotiating directly with insurance companies is not easy....my wife was injured in a supermarket. Two attorneys we talked to said she would have a long difficult case with probably little in settlement monies. She collected all of her medical records and tracked all of her lost work time. They offered her $2000 to start. After she dogged them for the next 15 months they seemed quite happy to write her a check for $15000.
Patrick SEP 19, 01:49 AM

quote
Originally posted by jaredaltizer:

I had the green light (and a dog in the passenger seat) and he pulled out directly in front of me, we collided when I was doing 40. Needless to say, it’s totaled.



How's the hound?
olejoedad SEP 19, 07:07 AM
In many states the insurance company must settle within a finite amount of time.
As you were not at fault, you have the advantage in the negotiations.
Document your investment in the car, the value of similar 85 GT's ( the only notchie GT model) and keep saying 'NO' to their offers until you are satisfied with the settlement.
Do not sign any releases of any kind.
Keep the car, do not let them take it.
How are you feeling? It sometimes takes a bit for the aches and pains to kick in.
Were you traumatized? How is your dog?

Do not let them settle this quickly. Time is on your side.
stapler8 SEP 19, 07:41 AM
I'm in Canada so things might be different stateside, but this is what happened after I totalled my bike:

Got an offer of $1500, declined it, then went around on Kijiji and Autotrader to find cars for sale (had to be by dealerships), and sent them as many links as I could.

Then I got the receipts for everything I had on the bike. Exhaust, luggage bag, helmets, etc, and emailed them to my claim guy.

After that, I got $2500 for the bike and $550 for the stuff on it. Took a few months of telling the insurance company to get off their ass, but that's how it goes.

Just don't sign anything releasing the car to them until it's paid out, they might try to pull one over on you so they don't have to spend time on it. Make them do their job.