THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

I am recognizing a trend that is disturbing. Parts cost a premium and the vehicles are rare.

Getting insurance coverage to protect your investment is wise. But as Responsible owners, any time a vehicle like ours is labeled as "totaled", by the insurance industry, Those who are in the Pinzgauer business should be contacted to assess how much is actually scrap and how much is salvageable. There may be opportunities to recoup the value of the wreckage in parts. Things like locker lamps, door knobs, etc are worth money and rarely get damaged. Front end collisions still leave good rear diffs, tail cones, springs, back doors, roll members etc... When further broken down, there are the brake backing plates, brake slaves, limiting straps and all kind of kit that cost money. I'm sure some folks would love to get some stock issued tools for their trucks.

Just think of other owners before letting a truck get put in the crusher. There is enough interest out there to financially support the salvation of every wrecked truck in this small community of owners.

The sum of the parts is certainly worth more than the Pinzgauer as whole. A wrecked Pinzgauer should be parted out until only worthless scrap is left. Or sell the wreck to me or Andre!

As someone with years in the insurance industry, let me say that the owner of the "totalled" vehicle is the first line of defense in loosing valuable salvage from the parts stream. In the unfortunate event of a "loss" DO NOT SURRENDER THE VEHICLE TO THE INSURANCE COMPANY! I cannot stress this enough.

Carriers will make you a "total loss offer" that would usually be the "pre-loss" value, as determined by a market value appraisal/book value review or similar, or the agreed price you set with your carrier at the policy inception.

That amount would be decreased by your deductible (as an insured, but as a claimant, none would apply). Basic math- Vehicle value ($25,000) less deductible ($500) = $24500 to you.. If you release the salvage. The insurance company would then transfer the vehicle to a salvage company or auction facility..and it sells for the highest bidder. Sometimes for big bucks, sometimes for practically nothing.

It is always best to have the salvage value determined by the insurance company reps before you settle the claim, and then keep the salvage yourself.

Frankly, most insurance appraisers have NO CLUE what your truck is. 90% of the people in the industry are kids 6 years or less out of school, and have had no training apart from what the carrier provided.

You will likely find that the value for your "weird old truck" is steel weight.. Hundreds of $. They are not going to know who to call to have a knowledgable assessment of value in its damaged condition, and haven't the time or inclination to figure it out. Again, basic math- Vehicle value ($25,000) less deductible ($500) less salvage value ($800) = $23700 to you.

Settlement with you retaining salvage would decrease your overall cash from the claim, but you can 1) part out the truck yourself, and quickly recoup the salvage cost or 2) sell it to any one of the fine individuals you find here on forum who make it their business repairing and supplying parts to the hobby.

I have "switched sides" as it were, and now assist vehicle owners in dealing with insurance companies like to take "easy route" (for them) at the expense of the vehicle owner. Not all are bad, but in dealing with your type of vehicle, they are clueless.. use that as an advantage.

Now, some states have very tricky laws re: who can purchase salvage, but almost all states allow the owner to retain salvage.

If you ever run into this unfortunate situation, feel free to PM me. I'll help you as much as I am able..

thanks for the information.

Cascade: Very interesting, I did not know it was that "easy". Is this true for all motor vehicles? (Motorcycles?) Thanks for posting this info! Regards, Kevin

kpoling wrote: Is this true for all motor vehicles? (Motorcycles?)

Pretty much, at least as far as older and collectible ones. But who can say that even a Yugo won't someday be valued by someone? And "Cash For Clunkers" didn't help the situation either!

The newer and more common the vehicle, boat, motorcycle or RV/Trailer, the easier it is for an insurance company to determine value..
Blue Book/Red Book/NADA Guides all exist for that purpose.

The relative speciality of the C303, Pinz, Mog, Haffy etc make it very hard to properly value the specific vehicle.

FYI- for the uninitiated, a total loss doesn't mean the vehicle can't ever be repaired.
Total loss in insurance-ese is a condition where the cost to repair a damaged vehicle is more than the value of the vehicle. In most states, the cost to repair can include rental costs for a replacement vehicle (read "rental," say, if your Pinz is your only means of transportation) and be decreased by the salvage value.

Say your truck is hit in the front, and you have a estimate from a collision center for $6500.00. The insurer agrees to that figure as well (fat chance, but let's not worry about that now).

The repair will require 16 days, including weekends, and parts will take 10 days to arrive.

A full size Dodge will be rented for $50.00 per day for 26 days, which will add $1300.00 to the cost of repair. So.. We are at $7800.00 as the repair cost.

Here is where things interesting.. Imagine the insurance company values your truck (incorrectly) at $10,000. They then put out a few calls and a local speciality salvage facility is willing to buy the damaged truck for $3000.00.

Guess what? Your truck is totalled, at least in the eyes of the insurer.

You will then have to prove your truck is worth more than $10,000.. Point them toward SAV, EI, or wherever.. Hopefully they will get the value right, and it won't total after all.

In the end, you want your truck to have the highest possible pre-loss value, with the lowest possible salvage value.

If the truck is really wrecked i.e. you / the insurance company wouldn't trust that it could ever be properly repaired, it's going away. At that point, retain the salvage as I said earlier..

.. and if you are smart, you'll adjust your policy to reflect an "agreed value" between you and your insurer of WHAT your truck is worth, before a accident happens.
In the event of a major loss, your insurer will pay up to that value.