my 94 rx7 was stolen from a mechanic in dover delaware in october. the car itself has an immense amount of aftermarket parts in the vicinity of $15k on a 95k mile body. the insurance company is trying to screw me over on it, not even meeting blue book's price. there is a clause in my insurance document stating i can have it appraised at my own cost by a certified appraiser and they will do the same. the two appraisers will basically come out with a price by a neutral party or "umpire". so my question is:

are there any certified appraisers on this site that can help me out? all i have are photos before it was stolen from the shop i had installing new parts and fresh extended street port for me and receipts for a lot, but not all parts.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

also, please dont spam my thread with "i hate insurance companies" or "thats just they way they are" kinda stuff. i wanna keep this as clean as possible.

i attached two pics just so whoever is reading this can get an idea.

thanks, gene

 

A quick Google came up with

http://www.autoappraisal.com/insurance.htm

I don't know if they can help you, but it's a place to start. They will probably know of somewhere that can help (if they can't) if you were to call them.

 

i was hoping for someone in the rx7 community. thanks for putting that up though. if no luck here ill take a look.

 

Sorry for the loss.
Aren't you suppose to get those appraisals BEFORE a claim?

 

before i purchased my FD i had to get it appraised so they bank would approve my loan. I used http://www.automotiveappraisals.com/

u just have to fill out this packet they mail u and include picutres, receipts etc... its pretty thorough, with sections where u describe the car as best u can for the interior, exterior, mods, options, all that good stuff.

If no one on here can help u should check it out, they helped me. i hope they can help u. and no im not affiliated with them, im just trying to help out a fellow FD owner

good luck man

 

sgt blue, are you psychic? because im not, how was i suppose to know the car was going to get stolen from a garage? again, please dont spam my thread with useless information. thanks in advance for all those that read this.

powerstripe, thanks for the site. always a good thing to talk with someone that has actually gone through the process. it sounds pretty good. i just might check them out.

 

www.speedforsale.com, I havent personally done appraisals but I know Jeremy Blackwell(owner of Speedforsale.com) has done many on high dollar Supras. Contact him and see if he can help, Im sure it will be me in the end doing the appraisal though.

Good luck
David Jerome

 

If it was stolen from a shop, doesn't the shop responsible for your car?? If not, wouldn't the shop at least help you get an appraisal and be a witness of all your mods? My experience with something like this (except accident caused by another driver), I had to talk to the insurance adjuster and provided documents of all the mods. Also, you need to look at your policy with fine comb because some policies clearly states non OEM parts will be covered (including wheels, stereo, engine mods, etc).. Hence why people pay extra or go with appraised value (including aftermarket parts) insurance.

Good luck!

 

djseven, thanks. thats exactly the type of company that i have been looking for.
if anyone else knows of companies like these please let me know.

herblenny, most of my mods i either have a receipt for or have a photo showing it was on the car. either way i have the proof. i was planning on getting it appraised after i got it back from the paint shop (body kit was supposed to be installed) which was scheduled the same weekend i was supposed to pick it up from the mechanic's garage it was stolen from. its just plain bad luck. again i would have never in a million years expected this to happen.

 

I agree.. This is why businesses are insured. I would take aim at the business as well. G

 

A few thoughts:

1) Civil suit vs. the shop for the value of the car. Their insurance may/may not cover it, but it's not your problem. If the car was stored on their private property at the time of the theft I believe it has to be their responsibility according to law.

2) I don't think it means anything to get a car appraised that doesn't exist. An appraiser could estimate a number, but it's not an appraisal until the car is in front of them. You might need the expert opinion of an appraiser to support your civil suit (as well as receipts and photos showing installed condition of all your mods).

3) Your insurance company, for lack of better information, is insuring your car for the 'stock' setup at fair market value, say $15k. If your car is worth more than that, you needed to present that when you got insured or when you added the stuff that cost more, and get gap coverage. Or use a different plan that uses an appraisal to determine value. But in either case, your car costs more, presents more risk to them, and *you'll pay more to insure it*. You can't take an insurance policy for car worth $15k, put another $10k into it, lose the car, and tell your insurance company to pay $25k to you when it was agreed the car was only worth $15k. Every time your car changes value substantially, you'll need to adjust your insurance policy to cover it.

4) I suspect you may have an issue with the depreciation of mods. Mods depreciate immensely, so if you take a $15k car, add $10k worth of parts, you'll never sell it for $25k. More like 18-20k. I see modded FDs selling for the price of stock ones. It will never be what you paid into it. Mods are worth very little installed on a car.

Dave