Just Destroyed FFR #1069
 

Anyone with insight in the insurance business please reply with advice. I hit a bluff last night in the FFR and I'm pretty sure the car is a complete loss. 4" tube frame is bent upward now, motor got pushed forward about 6". Anyway I have comp/collision insurance with State Farm. I don't have an agreed upon replacement value of the car. How is the insurance company going to handle this? Who do I need to do the repair estimate? Joe blows garage isn't going to know how much it will cost to fix. Anyone with insight/advice please reply. I have posted with this same topic on the FFR Forum. Thanks in advance, Bryan.

Oh, by the way, I'm a little beat up, a few stitches, swollen legs and hands, but I walked away.

You have very important e mail!

Nuke , glad you lived to post ,real sorry bout your car, good luck with the man.

KK

ps how did mmmmmmm never mind

When your up to it,,,,,,it might be helpful to others to learn some details about what can go wrong when your driving your Cobra.

Glad your OK!

Ernie

State Farm may cover you for the cost of the kit or kit parts but not the labor involved. Sorry to hear about the damage, good to hear you are ok. Good luck with State Farm.

Nuke,
More than likely they are going to handle it as they would any other "normal" car loss. They will have a staff appraiser write an estimate on the vehicle. This is where it is important for you to explain to the appraiser what your car is, how it is built, etc..., as there is a good chance the appraiser won't be familiar with the car.
If the car is fixable, you will need to find a shop who has the ability to tow it. State Farm may or may not pay for the whole tow, depending on how far it is. But even if they don't, you should pay whatever they don't, because as you know, not every shop can work on it. State Farm will pay the labor, parts, etc... to put the car back into pre-loss condition if it is repairable.
If it is a total loss, they will have to come up with an actual cash value for it. For normal cars, this is fairly easy, and there are several methods. But again, the FFR (or any Cobra) is different. You will need to provide them documentation to prove the value of your car. Receipts, other ads for FFRs similar to yours, etc....

I work as a Special Investigator in the claims department of a very, very large auto insurance company (not State Farm). Let me know if I can help.

By the way, what is a "bluff"?

Steve

Thanks for the replies, Steve what I'm calling a bluff is where they channel a hill and put a road in the middle and on both sides is just rock walls. I'm going to talk with my agent this morning, I'm trailering my car to his agency. I'll keep this updated. Thanks again, Bryan.

First off, I'm sorry for your loss (if only for a few weeks/months/etc), along with your pain from the injuries to yourself. On the other side of this reply, with the response shown below (clipped for clarity), you can see that you found youself in a situation that you never thought could or would happen to you. This, and only this type of attitude is what causes most people to underestimate the power of their own particular cars. Not just Cobras, but any high performance vehicle...I believe that before you ever get behind the wheel of a high performance car, you should take a defensive driving course, which would have possibly helped you avoid the dangerous situation in which you not only placed yourself, but your passenger, and the people on the road around you.. The loss of your car for awhile, and how you are going to deal with the insurance company should be the least of your worries or concerns after such an episode....Guess we all place our own priorities on family differently............Sorry to be such a downer, but the car can be replaced, but a life cannot be..............What happens the next time you (or anyone else who reads this) try to show off to a crowd????The life you save could be my own...........


Bill S.


PS: And yes, I saw your original post before you sanitized it on FFcobra.com

Hmmmmm.....must have hit the nitrous button....OUCH!

OK...lets see now....how's your math?

Cobra + 400hp (more or less) + ego - attitude + nitrous = OH NO!

Roscoe

Bummer about the accident. I enter my first ownership very cautious as I have heard many horror stories like these. I think it is important for people to post these type of accidents to show how easily things can go wrong. Fear may keep us a little more on the safe side than we usually would be. Good luck with the insurance company!

I'm not happy to see anyone wreck their Cobra and I hope Nuke gets out of this with the minimum of problems.

However, there are underlying problems here and this is a perfect example of some of the issues that are posted here and other forums on a regular basis.

It is obvious that there are insurance problems in every state. We hear all the time about people who have not been able to renew or have been raised outrageous amounts on their insurance. Well why do you think this is? Why do you think insurance companies are pushing premiums up and/or outright refusing to write Cobra owners?

I'll tell you why: It's because of irrisponsible drivers....period! Y'know when Shelby shoehorned a 427 engine into the Cobra his mechanics commented on how unsafe the car was. Now we have people building these cars who feel they must have 600+ horses into a 2200lb car with Paxtons and nitrous! What is it? Ego? Insecurity? What?

Then these same guys go out without a clue of what the dynamics of the car is and drive it like a Supra; probably after watching Fast and the Furious. Anyone ever think of taking a course or two on just how these cars handle? How to drive them? How to handle them when they break loose? How NOT to break the tires loose?

To take the attitude that this is just an insurance claim problem is myopic and immature. This is a serious problem which is going to bite us all in the ass if we ignore it or take the attitude "watch that deer in the road, hehehe".

Roscoe

I don't know what caused the accident (it would be interesting to get some details). But I can certainly relate to "getting in trouble" with the loud pedal, been there more than once.

If in fact this accident was related to use of the loud pedal NOTE it was a 302. MY 302 is pretty much stock. But it is certainly capable of putting the back end where the front end USED TO BE in a heart beat while I'm "driving"!

Interesting comments I've heard from Big Block high horse power car owners: They CANNOT put the pedal to the metal except with some serious thought about the end result of doing so. Even at 80 plus, you STILL got to "think" before you "floor it".

For MY safety I run DOT approved Yokohama race tires on the street. I want MAXIMUM traction at all times!

Ernie

Ernie,
It may be a 302 but he's got that Dual bottle Nitrous (Nitrous Express) to get him into trouble.
Roscoe

Just for everyones info, I have never had the nitrous bottles filled. The car is a show car, always trailered. And 99.9% of the time driven like an accord. I will have pics of the car posted within the next couple days when they get developed.

Nuke;

Sorry to hear/read about your accident....Like Klayfish,I'm in the insurance business on the claims end of things....The only thing I might add to Klayshish's excellent advise would be to contact FFR and get quotes on a replacement frame and body and any other "factory" parts needed to repair your car. This will help the appraiser as he will have no idea of replacement parts cost unless he owns an FFR also and he in all probabilty doesn't. Possibly FFR could send you an itemized list of parts-cost-shipping for your car,this would help tremdously....

Also, if possible, when the appraiser comes to look at your car,if you could have it up on jack stands so he could get a good look at everything and good photos to document the damage,it would not hurt things and make the claims process go quicker and smoothly.... Any help you could give the appraiser will only help your claim...

If the car is deemed a total,then your documentation of what you spent on the car will be needed to place a value on it including labor...The more complete documentation you have the better,any and all receipts and expenses in a folder would be very helpful in determining the value...

Hope this helps..

David

If its' a show car and always trailered, then did it fall off the trailer against the bluff?

Just curious...

Well I'm sure you're smart enough to know that you can't park your trailer at the show with your car on it. You have to get it as close to the show as you can and drive from there. Enough with the sarcastic crap.

Look---
 

Guys, this fellow cobra owner/driver just had a helluva experience and is lucky he's made it through. He just asked for help. Let's help. If he wants to share "lessons learned", he will. That would be his help in return.

Thanks, and I think I've had enough of this and the FFR forum. You guys feel free to vent as necessary at my expense and blame guys like me for your insurance problems. Thanks to any and all who have made the attempt to give advice. I have received some very informative emails from guys who understand the insurance business and I really appreciate their advice. Thanks again.
Bryan.

He is admitting HE made a MISTAKE. I like that - most would blame the car or the conditions.

I could see blaming him if he made a post saying the car was unsafe and he would never own or drive another. He posting admitting to a driver error and asking for help.