My 77 308 may be totalled..Houston repair facilities?

You need to talk to carreaper. His first 308 was purchased with similar damage, so he'll have facts on those repairs.

Unfortunately, the resale value of any car takes a huge hit whenever any hint of frame damage is in the history. You can probably take a lower settlement and keep the car, but you better plan on KEEPING the car.

 

Sorry to hear about your losss..

Did you get the plate info of the guy who cut you off, were there any witnesses?

 

Greenfield Collision in North Houston (near 1960 and Kukeyndahl). Their work is superb. If they can not handle the job Ferda at Vintage motorcars car.

Sorry to hear that happened. I lived in Bayou Park after I graduated LSU...I know that curve well.

 

Hmmmmmmm........*thinking*

Man, I'm sorry Greg, maybe my advice wasn't the best, although from your description I certainly wouldn't expect an estimate of that magnitude.

Did you explain to FoH your acceptance of used/repro parts?

Keep in mind the insurance works for you, as does FoH....man, it sounded like a fender bender on the phone.

Bummer. If FoH cannot keep the price down I'd tow it to my guy..Sante Fe TX, he has the frame equipment as well and the shop rate will be lower/hour.
Let me know if you need some more phone numbers.

As I said earlier, the legal term is "Faulty Avoidance"....next time smack em'.....although then you have to explain THAT.....

 

I can recommend 4M Body in Lewisville, Tx. Long tow, but Jano's an Fchatter and has worked on a bunch of the local's cars.

 

Sorry to hear your misfortune, times like this I wish I still had my bodyshop to help you out. (Dairy Ashford & Memorial area) We worked on couple Ferraris, and a lot of Porsches, BMW's Rolls Royce, Bently, SCCA race cars etc... As for trustful shops that will work with you in the Houston area, I haven't got a clue. Keep us posted & don't let the insurance company beat you down.

 

One thing you have to understand about FOH is they have a reputation to up hold regarding the repairs to you car. Anything less than better than new is unacceptable to them. Most of the clients drive V-12's and 355's and up.

If they did a "good enough" job on your car it could hurt their reputation and that's the last thing they want.

Check a few other places before you decide it's over. Unless there's frame damage in which case you may want to total it.

Next time you buy a car for $28,500 and make $5000 in upgrades you may want to consider insuring it for more money.

 

My adice: Let Allstate pay you in full for the loss of the car. Since you are the owner of the car, tell the insurance company that you also wish to keep the "salvage". You have a right to do this. I am very good friends with Steve at FOH who wrote your estimate and he can advise you how to do this. You would have no money out of pocket, you get to keep the car (with a salvage title) and you get a check from the insurance company. Then it is your option on what happens next.

BUT DO NOT GET A CHEAP REPAIR. FOH is the best at doing CORRECT repairs.

 

Sorry, I don't know of any other. I have a Euro front valence sitting in my garage. I had intended to put it on my car but just have not gotten around to it.

If you salvage the car and keep it, let me know. I might be interested in buying some parts from you if you part it out.

 

I probably would. It's black (boxer trim) and used. THere are a few scrapes here and there but those are on the bottom. the rest looks pretty good.

Let me know and you can come take a look at it. I think new repro. ones are ~$600.

 

Thought you would be interested in this thread re: stated value policies....

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44768

 

You don't get to have your cake and eat it to...

If you get a check for a total loss you DO NOT get to keep the car for free salvage.
Your insurance company will SELL it to the highest bidder as a salvage. The buyer is then free to rebuild it, part it out, use it as a coffee table, or whatever.

 

Upgrades meaning what ? If wheels, stereo or other removables, can you get them back if they keep the car.
Seperate yourself from the emotional attachment to the car, your next will be better, stronger, faster; kinda like the $6 Million Dollar Man. Unlike him this one may not be able to be rebuilt (properly).

 

From my own past experience with a total loss vehicle the insurer allowed my to substitute any added on parts with factory type originals. ie: the new optima battery could be subbed for an older regular lead acid. The upgraded wheels and tyres could be replaced with the factory type wheels. Same with the stereo etc.

Insurance becomes problematic when a vehicle gets totalled because it is a time when everyone wants to cut their losses. Pay the minimum and dump the car. A decent adjuster will let you 'restore' the vehicle back to factory specs unless there are declarations for custom accessories like paint, bodywork, audio or wheels etc. Obviously if they've insured that extra liability and are going to be paying out on it they deserve the spoils.

No one ever wins on a t/l. Personally I'd take the cash and move on to something new. At least you're building on a fresh new memory.

Steve

 

Sorry Greg...wasn't trying to bum you out. I did an extensive amount research on stated value policies vs. agreed upon value policies for my Porsche (oddball older car). The bottom line difference is a little loophole that allows the insurer the option to pay ACV, actual cash value based upon classic car blue book, NADA, etc. With an agreed upon value policy, the payout in a loss is the agreed upon value on the policy. The price you paid for the car has nothing to do with how the insurance co. will determine it's value. Allow them to determine market value on your car - if it is not what you believe it should be, then it will be up to you to prove otherwise.

I'm no insurance expert but I'm a pretty good drill sargent so that was what I was able to get out of the interview process with various insurance agents.

 

Greg - Hope you get words of encouragement from FoH - if anyone can fix it, they certainly are the ones. Whatever the outcome is from this, the agreed on value is certainly the way to go. We've got that on the Ferrari and the car is treated just the same as our other five insured vehicles - no restrictions whatsoever just because it's a Ferrari.

Good Luck,
Carol