Insurance Dilemma
 

The book value on my very nicely maintained 2001 XJ8 is less than $2,000, a fact that struck me when I recently retittled and registered it for an out-of-state move.

I am driving it much more and it has occurred to me that one good whack in an accident would be a shame for any of use how prefer seat time in a classic. I fear a big smash would leave wiith a paltry insurance check and not much else except my life, I hope.

With this aged Jaggy, what are the wise options for insurance should I need bumper, fender, front end or more? I have carried the usual complement of coverage but wonder now if I should switch to some other type of coverage and carrier.

What would would be the maximum miles I would be allowed to drive if I opted for a different policy? Would coverage be cheaper? Would a 15 year old dowager qualify for such senior coverage?

You should have a long talk with a few insurance agents. They can advise, if you want to know how to change the bent fender we can help.

Carry just liability. Save $2000 to buy another X308 and shift best parts if worse comes . .

You can get an agreed or stated value policy, but you may need an appraisal to back up the value you assign.

Hagerty and some of the other collector car insurance companies are just starting to pick up some of our late model Jags, but you are usually limited to a few thousand miles a year.

Some even limit how and where you can drive it: To and from car events or the repair shop.

Hagerty does not have this clause though.

I have my other classic car insured with Hagerty and it only costs me about $800 a year for 3K miles, full coverage and an agreed value I am happy with. $0 deductible, 500K limit on liability and a staff that understands classics and our attachment to them too.

There are other companies out there too that do a good job, but I am not familiar with them.
Vector

This is company dependent ... mass market insurance companies .. Allstate/ State Farm etc. Are white bread insurance companies.

I have all my insurance with Chubb -- they insure both of my 02 XJR's at 18.9k . That's what they determine it would take to find me another car within a week to replace what I have.

Good insurance is not what you can sell something for. Good insurance provides you the funds to replace.

As a man with shall we say a checkered driving history let's just say strictly liability is a good move w/ older cars lol.

The problem with our older Jags is that due to their low KBB value, almost any minor collision damage will "total it" if you have full coverage insurance. I bought my XJS in So Cal and trailered it back to San Jose. My wife, who agreed that it is a beautiful car asked if I should insure it before the move. I told her that the insurance company would never pay for any repairs as they would exceed the assessed value of the car. I paid 1200 bucks for the car, almost any repair of any kind exceeds the value of the car. The problem is then that the car would be labeled as a salvage title vehicle, which will lower the resale value but especially make the car hard to sell. Better to just have liability coverage. If it gets damaged then YOU decide if you want to put the money into the repair. The insurance company will never pay more than the car is worth. You can always sell a car with a dent or minor collision damage. I just sold my 1970 Mustang which was a salvage title car. It had fairly minor damage to the rear tail lamp panel and trunk floor. This poorly repaired damage was only noticeable from inside the trunk, and I had fully inspected the rest of the under carriage and body. I had no problem buying, painting and fixing up and using the car. I did have a problem finding a buyer when I decided to sell it, until I lowered the price quite a bit.

Everyone on this forum knows that they will spend more on their car than it will be worth. Most of us don't want to put our money in a salvage title car. I learned my lesson. Nothing wrong with deciding to fix your own car as long as it doesn't result in a salvage title.

I have to disagree with your assessment of "book value". My 97 XJ6L went off roading due to another driver last year, took out a wheel, 2 tires, complete subframe and all associated ancillaries, total bill was over 3k for parts and labor plus one month in a rental car. There was never any talk by the other drivers company of totaling my vehicle or its book value. He had Geico and they covered everything, no problem.