Date: Wed, 6 May 1998 09:59:40 -0400
Reply-To: Derek Drew <drew@INTERPORT.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Derek Drew <drew@INTERPORT.NET>
Subject: Insurance--The Real Dope (article by me, PART 2 of 2)
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This article continues a posting under the heading: "Insurance--The Real
Dope (article by me, PART 1 of 2)"
=====================================================
I had to consider carefully what he was saying but I decided to pursue my
other theory-that insurance settlements are not rational things at all.
The insurance companies prefer to negotiate and sort of hedge everything.
They gauge how much to pay you on how upset you get, I thought hopefully.
I got a boost by calling a body shop that advertised Rolls Royce and
Ferrari repairs. I figured they would have experienced situations similar
to mine and would have a point of view. The owner of the body shop told me
that in cases he had seen there was a legal benefit to getting letters from
three different official Volkswagen dealers, on their letterhead, stating
that the value of a car like mine was more like $18,000 instead of the book
value. "There is no sweat," he said. "All you need is three letters."
I never did determine who was right and what the exact legal advantage of
the three letters was. I simply set about obtaining the letters and doing
most of the work for the dealerships involved so the letters came out to my
benefit. If you read the letter I wrote to Giantco. Casualty carefully you
will see that I spent literally months preparing a convincing case that I
should have received $18,000 as a settlement for the car I bought for
$20,000. I worked particularly hard to remove all traces of anger and
frustration from my letter and overwhelm the insurance company with
documentation that they would be ill-inclined to dispute.
My attitude was that if negotiation was what they wanted, negotiation was
what they would get. I would open my initial salvo like Rambo blasting
into the room with 30 machine guns. Like a skilled card player, the
insurance company would decide it was too much work to argue with me, fold
its hand, agree to everything that I wanted, and send me a check. And that
is exactly what happened.
The net result was that I had bought a used car for $20,000 and over the
next year-and-a-half ran the mileage up from 10,000 miles to 48,000 miles.
The insurance company then paid me the equivalent of $18,000 for having
crashed it, meaning I had effectively paid only $2,000 in depreciation to
drive it 38,000 miles. Meanwhile, I had the opportunity to buy the wreck
back for $3,600 for parts. I wanted to do this because I intended to buy
another Syncro Camper just like the one I had crashed and I had a
reasonable expectation I'd need spare parts eventually. The $3,600 wasn't
a bad deal for the whole car, I figured, since the cost of a replacement
transmission at a dealer was $4,980.
The story had a happy ending since I located a brand new Syncro Camper for
$23,300 and have since transferred all my modifications over to the brand
new car.
A few closing notes are in order:
--don't forget to ask for sales tax
--don't forget to ask for the retail value of your car, not the wholesale
value the insurance company offers at first
--don't forget to ask for all your storage, towing, etc.
--act like you have all the time in the world. This puts pressure on the
insurance company since they are overworked and want to close out the case
as bad as you do
--consult Terry Shaw by phone. He was most helpful even though I didn't
need his services, and he might even disagree with some of what I have
written here.
--if you have a collector or older car, look in one of the official price
guides to the value of your car. If that's all you think it is worth, then
don't do anything. But if it is in especially good condition be certain to
have it appraised BEFORE THE ACCIDENT and send this appraisal to the
insurance company. Scan the ads in the back of Hemmings for sources of
appraisers in your area and for ads for collector car insurance.
--unless you are buying vintage insurance advertised in Hemmings Motor
News, buy insurance based on the ratings in Consumer Reports. The
companies that top the rankings are the ones that give you the best deals
in negotiations! (Tip: join the Good Sam club--an RV club--and get
insurance from top-rated National General).
Here is the secret letter that got me within $2,000 of what I paid for my
car:
March 13, 1991
Derek Drew
Butler Hill Road
Sommers, NY 10589
Donna xxxxxxx
xxxxxxxx Casualty
xx xxxxxview Blvd.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 00000
RE: File #000000000
Dear Donna:
Thanks for your letter dated January 4 offering me an insurance settlement
of $15,100 for my Volkswagen GL Syncro Camper minus $4,200 salvage and $500
deductible.
I am sorry to have not responded to your follow-up letters and phone
messages until now. Here's what's up.
Since the deer jumped out and wrecked my car I decided to buy another used
one just like it. After a month's worth of research I found that I could
not hope to find another one like mine near the $15,100 figure valuation
placed on the vehicle. I couldn't understand how this could be so, and why
there was such a large difference between selling prices of used Volkswagen
GL Syncro Campers and the $15,100 valuation. For this reason, I have
delayed my response to you until I could get a better idea of the market
for these vehicles.
I found that there are only 1,200 Syncro (4WD) VW Campers imported into US
and they trade very rarely. This is such a small number of vehicles that
it would take some real digging and research to find out about actual
trades and current asking prices. Given this, I suspect the $15,100 figure
is based on a what would be much more convenient--to make an extrapolation
from the prices at which the much more common two-wheel-drive VW Campers
trade. Such an extrapolation would might seem reasonable, but it yields a
figure that is not market reality. That's what I found out.
What follows are several charts listing information that I found out about.
Please feel free to call any party or dealer mentioned in this letter
directly.
USED VOLKSWAGEN SYNCRO CAMPERS CURRENTLY FOR SALE
Party
Description
Asking Price
1. Dennis Haynes (private individual) ph.516-563-8248
1987 Syncro Camper,,no power windows,no power doors,has 45,000 miles.
$18,000
2. (unknown) ad in New York Times attached. ph.718-343-3672
1987 Syncro Camper has 30,000 miles
19,000
3. William's Volkswagen of Lansing Michigan ph.517-484-1341
offering used 1990 with 22,000 miles on it
19,995
4. Vasek-Polak Volkswagen of Calif. ph.213-376-0935
offering used 1990 with 17,000 miles on it
23,900
5. Steve Loper (Private individual advertising in Denver
papers)ph.203-323-2975
offering used 1987; vehicle lacks many options,windshield, cracked and
dented bumper; had 60,000 miles on it
18,000
AVERAGE
-----------
$19,779
USED VOLKSWAGEN SYNCRO CAMPERS RECENTLY SOLD
Party Description Selling Price
1. Campbell-Nelson VW 1987 Syncro Camper $19,000
(authorized dealer) Used vehicle
ph.206-778-1131 sold to retail
contact Hugh customer
Wallenfels
2. Kinney Motors VW, Vt. Used Syncro Kinney bid
(authorized dealer) Camper $18,000 and
ph.802-775-6900 lost bid to
contact Fred Malone another VW
(see letter attached) dealer
I actually found a few VW dealers who said they did a sufficient volume in
VW Syncro Campers to have sold a used one or to say they felt they
understood the market well. Two of the dealers wrote me a letter stating
that I should expect to pay around $18,000 to $20,000 to replace my vehicle
with a similar one. Copies of their letters to me are attached. Other
dealers offered to write.
I am not making any of this up. Let me invite you to call any of these
authorized dealers and ask them what they think a customer would have to
pay to get a used Syncro
Camper:
VW DEALERS EXPERT AT SYNCRO CAMPER:
Volkswagen Santa Monica (Calif) 213-829-1888, Bill Rinker
Campbell Nelson VW (Wa.) 206-778-1131, Hugh Wallenfels
Kinny Motors (Rutland, Vermont) 802-775-6900, Fred Malone
Carter VW (Seattle, Wa.) 206-782-7474, Fred Turner Owasco
Volkswagen (Toronto) 416-668-9383, David in sales
I have read my New York State policy, and I see that if I disagree with
your offer I have the right to hire an appraiser of my own to produce a
contrasting appraisal of the loss. I have located a suitable, licensed,
automotive appraiser who represents individuals to insurance companies.
His fee is reasonable but I doubt there is a dispute about the quality of
my vehicle before the accident; it was in near perfect condition. The
problem is that, in the real world, it seems that vehicles like this-even
vehicles in worse condition-trade for $4,000-$5,000 more than the $15,100
valuation. And I don't think the issue is retail vs. wholesale. New York
State insurance regulations provide that coverage should be the retail price.
The second issue that gives me concern is that the salvage value of the
vehicle at $4,200 seems high. I canvassed salvage yards around the country
and was advised that they usually pay for wrecked cars up to 20% of their
wholesale value. The highest value any of the salvage yards would place on
my vehicle was $3,500. Unfortunately, my car was crushed along the length
of the driver's side, demolishing suspension parts and the factory camper
equipment-all of which is installed on that side of the vehicle. I think
it would be more fair to set to salvage amount at 20% of final vehicle
valuation.
Thirdly, New York State insurance regulations provide for you to pay sales
tax in addition to the settlement for the vehicle. Sales tax on a $18,000
vehicle would add $1,300 to the settlement.
Fourth, I spent $163.56 and $58.99 on towing and storage which I believe
should be reimbursed. Receipts are attached.
Here is what I believe would be a fair offer:
18,000
-for the vehicle (this is the minimum price I could find a replacement
vehicle for)
1,300
-for sales tax
222.55
-towing and storage (receipts attached)
-500
-deductible
-3,500
-maximum salvage value I was able to obtain
15,522.55
TOTAL
Sincerely,
Derek Drew
Attachments:
1. 1.Letter from Kinny Motors Volkswagen estimating usedSyncro Camper would
cost me $19,000 to $20,000.
2. Letter from Volkswagen Santa Monica estimating used Syncro Camper would
cost me between $18,000 and $20,000.
3. Last Sunday's New York Times ad offering 1987 Syncro Camper for sale for
$19,000.
4. Police Report
5. Accident Report
6. Hyatt's Garage receipt for $163.56
7. Towing Receipt for $58.99
May 22, 1991
Derek Drew
Butler Hill Road Sommers, NY 10589
Donna xxxxxxx
xxxxxxxx Casualty
xx xxxxxxxxx Blvd.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 10000
RE: File xxxxxxxxxx
Dear Donna:
We spoke yesterday by telephone. You advised me that your appraisal
service was able to confirm through a market survey that $18,000 would be a
fair valuation for my 1987 Volkswagen Syncro Camper prior to my accident on
November 29. You said they were also able to confirm that $3,500 was a
fair valuation for the vehicle after the accident.
You advised me that in order to settle my claim I needed to write you a
letter stating that I agree to settle on the terms you outlined to me and
that I wish to retain the wrecked vehicle.
Accordingly, be advised that I wish to have $3,500 deducted from my
settlement so that I may keep possession of the wreck and that I accept the
following settlement:
$18,000 valuation before accident
-3,500 valuation of wreck after accident
14,500 subtotal
+1,051.25 New York State Tax 7-1/4% (Westchester)
+222.55 Towing & Storage
-500 deductible
15,273.80 TOTAL SETTLEMENT
Sincerely,
Derek Drew
May 29, 1991
Derek Drew
Butler Hill Road Sommers, NY 10589
Donna xxxxxxx
xxxxxxxx Casualty
xx xxxxxxxxx Blvd.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 10000
RE: File xxxxxxxxxx
Dear Donna:
You made of me a request this afternoon that I send you, for your files, a
copy of the sales receipt for the Volkswagen Syncro Camper that I bought to
replace the one that crashed into the deer. A copy of the sales draft is
attached.
Sincerely,
Derek Drew
===================================
The material above is copyright 1991 Derek Drew (drew@interport.net) and
may be reproduced for any noncommercial purpose and may be reproduced in
the electronic Vanagon archives and CD-ROM. Reproduction in print is by
separate permission only.
________________________________________________________
Derek Drew New York, NY & Washington, DC
drew@interport.net
'90 Syncro Westfalia...
...seen off-road at http://www.tiu.net/~des/vw/drew/index.html
Note: most valuable Vanagon site on the planet (for owners) is
http://gerry.vanagon.com/cgi-bin/wa.exe?S1=vanagon
