Just wondering why it is that insurance compnanies hate fiero's so much and would rather write them off than fix them? It just seems that they write them off over a little dent or something and more so than any other car at least that is the case in Manitoba.

A Fiero is a 20-24 year old car. The BlueBook values reflect this. If you pour $10K into a Fiero it's still going to be worth the Blue Book value unless some collector or enthusiast recognizes the extra value and pays it. To the insurance company the Fiero is just another old vehicle.

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87GT 3.4 Turbo- 0-60 5.2 seconds
2006 3800SC Series III swap in progress
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If you pour $10,000 into your Fiero, keep all the receipts and have the car expertly appraised, it will be worth more to the insurance company. You probably will require a limited use policy though.

When your blue book value on the car is $1500, it doesn't take much to total the car.

quote Originally posted by Formula88: When your blue book value on the car is $1500, it doesn't take much to total the car.

Exactly...replacing a single panel with a used part may be cheap...but paying the labor, rental car costs, and especially paint work is often enough to total one out. That doesn't mean that you can't have it fixed...you can take the "total loss" settlement and buy the car back from them for next to nothing. Then you could repair it yourself.

However, unless it's above average condition, it's usually not worth it. There were tons of these cars made. If we ever want to see the values go up significantly, a lot of them need to be destroyed and/or parted out.

quote Originally posted by fiero86_gt: Just wondering why it is that insurance compnanies hate fiero's so much and would rather write them off than fix them?

I doubt that insurance companies have anything in particular against Fieros.

As others have aluded to on this thread, a more likely explanation for insurance companies' willingness to "total" Fieros is that the Fiero to them is just another 20-year-old car.

Given that premise, think about it. How much insurance money would YOU pay to a guy with a damaged 1987 Pontiac 6000? (That car would be 20 years old as well.)

It's called Actual Cash Value on most insurance companies contract. Which on a 20+ year old car that is not too valuable by normal market standards. Insure the car for Agreed Value @ whatever limit you can get if your state allows it that is the only way you are going to get anything near what it may be worth but most of those policies are going to be collector car policies and will be limited on mileage, use, years of driving experience and be kept in a locked garage.

Don't ever let anyone give you Blue Book value, especially the dreaded Kelley Blue Book value for Fieros! I don't know where the hell they get their BS, but it seems that they only take original value and industry-wide depreciation into their calculations.

Ask your insurance agents to look it up at Manheim Gold. They consistently update their database to reflect true value of classic and collectible cars. If your company has any problems with this, start by quoting their main page:

quote The Gold Book was established in 1968 and is the oldest continuously published authority on collector car values. Gold Book's database of collector car auction results and verified private transactions is the largest in the world. Its editors and auction reporters attend or monitor over 100 collector car auctions and private-owner sales venues in the U.S. and Western Europe each year. The Gold Book staff are members of numerous collector car clubs that monitor trends in the car-collecting hobby. The Gold Book is owned by Manheim Auctions, a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. Manheim Auctions has set the standard in the wholesale automobile auction industry for 56 years. With more than 34,000 employees at its 126 auctions and related businesses, Manheim is a global remarketing organization with 80+ auctions in North America and additional operations in Puerto Rico, France, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

BTW, Kelley Blue Book categorizes my car as "Fair" with a loooow value. Well actually, that's for an '87 and mine's an '86 so I bet they'd drop even further. Guess how much KBB says for this beauty?



Answer: $1000 to $1,100! I think *&#$ing not!

[This message has been edited by FieroGT42 (edited 06-05-2007).]

ya the way that they get their prices are pretty shitty.

because most people dont dump money into cars

quote Originally posted by avengador1: If you pour $10,000 into your Fiero, keep all the receipts and have the car expertly appraised, it will be worth more to the insurance company. You probably will require a limited use policy though.

Agreed. Spend the $150 to get a proper appraisal. At least you have something to show it's true value. Ideally, you should insure it for the appraised value. Only cost me $150 more per year, but it's definitely worth it when you consider I'll be getting $18,500 instead of $1850 if some drunk totals it.

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