Untimely end of my restored Jetta

[55mpg06]

Hi Guys. I hope this is OK to post here since it sort of deals with my N/A engine. I recently fixed the possible cracked head problem. My “new” coolant reservoir cap was faulty.

Thursday saw the end of my precious Jetta.  :cry: It is now a Jetta hatchback with the back seat 2 inches closer to the front, the gas cap is no longer lined up to the door on the side of the car (4 inches farther forward) and the seats are in a permanent totally reclined position. Someone rear ended me when they didn’t see me turning while they were passing someone else on a clear, dry day. He was a new driver and told the officer that he “didn’t want to lock the tires since he heard it was bad for them.” Oh well, hit me at full speed instead, go figure. :roll:

I was wondering what should I be aiming for value wise when I see the assessor Tuesday? This is my car and what I have done over the last three years (yes I have receipts).

1986 Jetta Diesel N/A
Heated seats, power windows, power locks, power steering, rear seat headrests, custom insterment cluster, fitted seat covers (seats and headrests), ski bag, extra ¾” sound insulation on floor under carpet, new performance exhaust, low profile driving lights mounted in bumper, projector fog lights under bumper, 100% rebuilt engine on semi-synthetics, infinity speaker system, MP3/CD/Tape deck and changer, rear defog, sunroof, trailer hitch. Yes I was going to keep it for a while.


New PPG epoxy paint, inside doors and outside. No Bondo or thick filler on car. Any panel that had rust or deep dents on it I replaced, graphics on sides.
New break system – brake lines, drums, rotors, pads, e-break cables, ect.
Transmission bearings and all seals replaced.
New H/D Clutch
New Power steering Pump
100% rebuilt head
Rebuilt block (rerung, new bearings, seals, “the works”)
New Bosch Injectors
New Bosch Glow plugs
New VW water pump
New premium Bosch alternator
New block heaters (yes 2 of them)
New fuel filter
Rebuilt injection pump (last fall)
New low back pressure exhaust
Headlight covers
Sound insulation (trunk felt on entire floor under carpet)
New C/V drive Axles
New Timing Belt
New sunroof and trunk seals
I think that is about it. I will be trying to get the car back too since the front half (not the doors though) could be parted out. Any ideas what value I should be looking for? Or what it should be assessed at.

[Vincent Waldon]

Sorry to hear about your loss !!  

Unfortunately I think what you will find is that the adjuster will not give a rats ass about all the great things you did to the car... my last two similar experiences have ended the same:  they look up the value of an 86 Jetta in the blue book, decide the car is not worth repairing, and write it off... you then get a cheque for $1000 and have the fun of trying to actually replace your ride with that money.

What I've done the last few times is to turn around and buy the car back from the insurance company (I'm in Alberta... dunno if ICBC does this ?), part the sucker out, and get twice as much again in parts.  I bought my first Beetle for $500, got $1000 for it when they wrote it off (rearended like you) and made $2000 selling off the parts... cost me $75 to buy it back.  Your rebuilt engine alone will be worth a lot, as will the tranny.

Best of luck... if you do decide to part it out my parents live in Kamloops and I might send them your way for things like the exhaust, fog lights, driving lights, heated seats, cluster... !!!



Vince

[aljohnso]

I have read that you can get car insurance for heavily restored cars where the value is written in the policy - you can set it for what you want.

You pay accordingly, of course.  (A bit late, I know... condolences)

Allen

(if you start parting, let me know - I'm interested in the tranny - got a 7A?  Maybe other stuff...)

[SMOKEYDUB]

buy the car back they offered up to 2600 for my smashed to *** na diesel jetta.

[LeeG]

Make sure they deal with it as a Diesel, not just a 86 Jetta.

Take the reciepts in, ICBC will take recent work into consideration as value added.  If you did the work yourself, ask them to consider the market value of that work ($50 - $70 per hour).

Start printing out ads from the buysell.com or craigslist.

Point out that diesels in good shape are hard to find and you spent x months trying to find this one and you dont want to have to spend another X months looking for the next one, so they need to pay a premium price to help you get one quickly.

ICBC can be generous, particularly when you are 100% not at fault.

Don't sign your car over to them until you have a deal in place.

Hope your OK.  They are probably more concerned about the medical/legal aspect than the car.  Go see your doctor for a check up.  Dont downplay any injury out of macho, if you tell them its doesnt hurt bad, they will make a record of what you said.   If they give you the gears about the car claim, start to complain about how taking the bus and walking is making your injured ____fill in blank___ hurt.

[myke_w]

Also, if possible, use real market sales figures, like eBay past auctions of similar cars for evidence of worth..