4x4 Shuttle Bus TOTALED - What would YOU pay?

[cherokee1989]

Hey Everyone,

Long story short my van is being declared totaled after it was hit by a semi truck while parked on the street near my house in December 28, 2018. I only had a few months to use it in all it's 4x4 glory before it was undriveable after the accident. Needless to say it's been a joy dealing with the insurance company the past 3.5 months. I just heard back today that they are valuing it as $15,000, which I feel is really low in my opinion just based on what I see 4x4 vans go for and how unique this vehicle is. My insurance company, State Farm, basically told me I need to hire an outside appraiser out of my own pocket to fight for a higher value. Does anyone have recommendations on appraisers who are competent in valuing 4x4 conversion van's? Any help is appreciated!

To have a little fun with this, I'm throwing a poll up to see what everyone thinks the value is. Basically if you saw this thing on craigslist or the forums here, select the range you think is fair to pay for it.

Anyways, on to the pictures, because that's really why we view posts right?! I have several in my original build thread here too plus all the specs of the chassis: https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/2006-e350-van-terra-build.201418/

Pics of accident:








Pics a few months before:








Don't have many good pics of the interior, but gives you an idea:

 

[SDDiver5]

From the insurance companies perspective, its a shuttle bus. Not a sweet 4x4 that you put your time and money into....The conversion and sweet rims and tires are 15k alone. I'd say it's closer to the 40k mark.

Sorry to hear this happened to you!

 

[eporter]

Dang, those turtle top vans with the passenger and side doors are pretty sweet. I’ve definitely been keeping an eye out for one. Here is one I saw for sale last year. Comparables are no doubt hard to find.

 

[Raul]

That suck. This was one of my favorite builds. They need to offer more, but you may try to negotiate a very low buy back price so at least you can get the parts back for another van or fix it a re-build vehicle

 

[Redheddedwonder]

man that sucks! hopefully you get what you need from insurance. I have been trying to get my van appraised for insurance too, right not they told me if I totaled it they would give me bluebook value. I spoke with an appraiser in the area and he stated to get as much paperwork as possible on the 4x4 conversion before he came to appraise it. It was only going to be a couple hundred bucks to appraise, not bad if it gets you another $20k from the insurance.

 

[BritKLR]

Sorry, but why is your insurance company assessing value since the truck hit you (at fault)? Aren't you working with the trucks insurance company? Also, do you want it repaired or totaled? If you want it repaired get a bid, and submit it to the trucks insurance.

Either way your going to have to fight. Built up older vehicles will always be an issue with insurance unless insured for an appraised value. When a mini Van jumped a stop sign and I t-boned it with my built FJ60 his insurance immediately wanted to total my 60 with minor bumper (Thank Mr. ARB), paint damage. After a long fight, proof of value, photos and I wanted it fixed they gave in. Even provided a rental car. Good luck.

 

[greg.potter]

When I was insuring my Unimog I ran into the same thing - the insurance company had no idea how to value it. If you are close to a big cener and look around you should be able to find appraisers that specialize in antique / vintage vehicles, sports cars or other "specialty vehicles" that should be able to help you out. I also found that pointing the appraiser to sites with similar vehicles for sale was worthwhile.

 

[ericvs]

Do you have receipts for everything you did on this rig? When I was with State Farm, they said all I needed was receipts for all the stuff.
I feel like you are probably pretty close to their bs number just in parts with the UJoint and axles etc.
I had to deal with state farm for a stolen bike recently and it sucked. they didn't cover it, so I switched insurance.
I hope you get a better outcome than me.

 

[cherokee1989]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone! Hoping to get this squared away this week. I got in touch with my agent and he suggested, like many of you did, to send in ads of comparable rigs. Found a few on craigslist, but it's slim pickins due to them charging for vehicle ads now and I'm sure it's just a bad time to sell due to the circumstances of the world we live in. Good thing the expo classifieds have several rigs sold and current with prices and specs. That will help a lot!

As far as why I'm not dealing with the other guys insurance company, I don't want to get into too many details at the moment. Basically they offered only $5000 for my rig!!! Then told me the only way to get more is to go through my own insurance company and then my insurance will notify them for payment. Anyways that's the route i'm doing.

Never been in a situation like this before, first accident, especially one that was a total lose (supposedly). Honestly this has really turned me away from ever wanting to build a custom rig like this or any 4x4 van really. Sad too, because I considered this rig the end all be all for me and the perfect rig for my needs. Oh well, the search continues for a new project...

It's definitely possible I may buy the salvage rig back and part it out, or just sell it whole for a project for someone else. Hate to see all these great, nearly new parts go to the scrap yard! I'll update once I know more, so if anyone's interested in converting their Van Terra, keep an eye out for parts in the classifieds

 

[simple]

This doesn't help you now but for future reference when insuring an unusual vehicle make sure the company knows its value when they are writing the policy. The annual premium will be a little more for a more valuable vehicle but you'll have a leg to stand on if something like this happens.

 

[tdferrero]

Receipts are your best friend. Hagerty or another specialized insurance provider is your other best friend for the next time. Agreed value is a must for any custom built vehicle.

 

[cherokee1989]

This doesn't help you now but for future reference when insuring an unusual vehicle make sure the company knows its value when they are writing the policy. The annual premium will be a little more for a more valuable vehicle but you'll have a leg to stand on if something like this happens.

Receipts are your best friend. Hagerty or another specialized insurance provider is your other best friend for the next time. Agreed value is a must for any custom built vehicle.

Yep those are good points, if I ever have or build another vehicle like this, I will be getting it appraised by an independent company and incorporating that into the policy.

As far as having receipts...I do have all receipts for the 4WD conversion and interior work. The appraisal company that State Farm used, basically picked items they thought were important items of the build, multiplied the parts cost by 0.72 and came up with the value. Currently fighting this right now to have them use all costs of parts associated with the build.

 

[ujoint]

Without any $$ for the interior I'd say that it's worth 30-35k. 20k for the 4x4 swap, 15k for the rig & extras would be a fair price.

 

[ujoint]

And I agree with the other guys, a stated value policy is important. You'll pay a higher premium but what this happens you'll be covered. Some companies won't do a stated value so you have to look at different routes. A commercial policy (what I have) or an RV policy.

I have stated values on both of my vans. No inspections or appraisals, I just tell them how much I want it covered for.

 

[tdferrero]

And I agree with the other guys, a stated value policy is important. You'll pay a higher premium but what this happens you'll be covered. Some companies won't do a stated value so you have to look at different routes. A commercial policy (what I have) or an RV policy.

I have stated values on both of my vans. No inspections or appraisals, I just tell them how much I want it covered for.

This, though I think I'm some sort of an anomaly. I have agreed value for my Land Cruiser and 2007 Saturn Sky for the max price available without an inspection, and it's about $100 monthly for the pair. With USAA, they were almost $100 each.