For some of us that may have older cars that are not as expensive as they were 20 some years ago, and thus show on certain automobile pricing guides with prices that are a fraction of the MSRP back in the day. The point is the value to the owner and the trouble value to find something comparable especially if you factor in any sort of repairs needed to bring another car up to the same standards as the one you now own. What I'm hitting at is insurance company's that pay out nothing if an older car has a minor fender bender and thus they total the car. Same goes if you take it to a shop and they mess something up and don't want to pay for the mistake, they can send it to their insurance, and of course if the cost is higher than the car value I'm sure they would just total it out. So you would think there needs to be some laws that prevent that sort of practice especially when a certain car is approaching collector status, ie getting difficult to find in good condition.

 

Antique/Classic car insurance is available from a number of companies. It is specifically tailored to the needs and values of older vehicles.

 

Exactly, I have an agreed value policy on my RX-7, so if something happens and it is totaled we have agreed to an amount beforehand.

 

Aside from you "collector" status comment. It makes no sense to keep collision on an older car. At the 7-10 year mark or 125k, why would one want collision on their car? For example, if your car was worth 0-$5000, why would one want to pay $1250-2000 for liability and collision.

A minor fender bender is cheaper to fix if you pay for it yourself. Consider how much you are saving if you did not have collision for years 7-20 of your old car?

A friend of mine was paying $1900 a year for full coverage of his Acura he bought in 2002. He had minor accident last year and his insurance gave him $2500 for the car and elected not to repair it for him. How much money did he waste by having full coverage after the car was 8 years old?

 

I'm not talking about "our" insurance its the other guys insurance. How does that work with a 100,000 dollar collector car?
And yeah the guy with the 2002 car, if it was in top shape he should get what a full restoration would cost on a car like that.
Or ask them to find the replacement, unless they wish to pay a years wage and travel expense to find the replacement. Hmmm just cheaper to pay the 50,000 up front.

 

It depends on the circumstances. In your example, it's probably not worth it, depending on how much of the premium is liability and how much is collision/comprehensive. But sometimes it does make sense. My wife's car is 10 years old and 130k miles, is worth $8-9k (trade-in value) according to KBB, and she pays $800/yr for full coverage. We'd probably save a couple hundred of that if we dropped collision/comprehensive. But if it got totaled and wasn't reimbursed by another driver's insurance, we'd be out almost 10 grand.

There's a lot of variables at play. Hard and fast rules like 7 years or 125k miles don't fit all (possibly not even most) situations.

 

This is where uninsured/underinsured coverage would come into play. Of course, you'd then have to make sure the same provisions exist as the personal coverage.

 

Keep in mind that insurance rates and laws are a lot different in Canada than in the US.

I know for me to keep comprehensive insurance(ie tree falls on it, stolen) is next to nothing, like less than $100 a year for both of my vehciles. I think for both of mine for collision its an extra $200-300 a year, makes sense to keep it even though the cars aren't worth much(around 5-6k each).