jlutherva

As I understand it, with track insurance, if the damage is over 60% of the declared value, the insurance company will total the vehicle. They will then pay you the declared value minus the deductible and the insurance company will then own the car. You can buy the car back from them for the average of the salvage bids.

Does anyone have an experiences with these salvage bids on a well-equipped race car?


Jim

Werks

I would think that the salvage bids would be similar to those of the same model year street car unless you have stuff like a cage in it, only a driver seat etc. etc. in which case I would think that it would probably be less. Taking a wild guess I would think that most of the people buying cars at salvage auctions are going to either dismantle the car or try and re-build it for sale as a street car and would not even have a clue what some of the trick parts that we might have are worth.

Also in regards to them paying out and them then owning the car it really depends on the amount of coverage that you have and the value of the car. When I inquired about this 7-8 months ago the max coverage offered was $100k. I was seeking a higher maximum insurance coverage (dollar value) than what they offered. When asked about the gap in coverage and how it would work in a total loss situation they checked with the underwriter and told me that if the car was a total loss and I had purchased the maximum amount of coverage that they offer but the car was worth more they would just pay out the max coverage amount minus the deductible and call it a day, I would keep the car. So it really depends on the value of the car that you are insuring and the available coverage that you buy.

jlutherva

Werks,
Thanks for the response. This is a race car w/ cage and lots of goodies. How do you go about putting a value on a race car? Using the insurance form, the value would probably approach $100,000, but I won't have anywhere near that much in it. If I go with track insurance, I would only be insuring it for maybe 60-70% of my actual cost. If the car gets totaled, I just need to be mentally prepared to walk away with the insurance payout.

Jim

Werks

I just figured out what my replacement cost would be to purchase a similar year car and all of the parts and got as much insurance as possible to cover that. Bottom line is if you have say a '09 Z worth $50k, a $25k sequential, $5k carbon/carbon clutch and $10k in brakes is it is not a $50k car it's a car that would take $90k to replace and that imho is what it should be insured for. This is no different than an agreed value insurance policy, you are paying for the amount of coverage that you want. Want less, pay less. Want more, pay more. Just have the receipts and/or proof of the items on the car so that you can substantiate the value of the loss if the car is ever totaled. Also the whole point of buying insurance is so that you do not have to worry about walking away with a loss, so if you are going to get insurance you should get it for the value of what you are insuring not 1/2 or 60%, you are already paying for it no sense in skimping on a few extra dollars. Just something to think about....