this is my worst nightmare. im one of those people with a 20 year old Ls400 in perfect condition mechanically and cosmetically. you know how hard it is to find a 1995 model that hasn't been absolutely beat to death these days? took me 6 months for me to find mine. im so so sorry for your loss cause even though yours is much newer than mine, its rare in your area to begin with plus you have the salt/rust issue on the roads up there that eat at cars like termites thru wood. good luck on your hunt for the next one, cause the 430s are getting JUST old enough at this point to have a hard time finding a pristine one, and old enough now for insurance companies to just write them off even with minor damage. I would sue the F'ing pants off the guy.

 

My thoughts exactly. Plus inset that blue a pretty rare colour for these cars? maybe that would give you some leverage. good luck.

 

I have stated insurance coverage on anything that I own, that is rare, or to me is irreplaceable. Problem solved.

 

To finally follow up, I squeezed $10g plus tax (13% here) out of them.

Now deciding if to grab a good GS I see here with only 105,000 km (~65,000 miles) as I can buy it straight cash or to wait for a good '04-'06 LS.

Long term plan either way is an LS460 SWB in about 18 months.

The struggle continues...

 

04-06 LS please

 

Glad to see you got a decent amount. Generally with insurance companies the longer the claim goes unsettled, the better the offer you will be able to get. They will usually try and float something low in the beginning to see if you'll bite and will eventually increase it in order to close it.

I am told some companies get bonuses or incentives for settling quickly, so if a claim is dragging on it will start to be an eyesore on their books.

 

Go the LS route for sure. Even if you find a suitable 430. A GS is a nice car but a step down from an LS.

The 460s are great but larger than the 430s. Living in an urban setting and parking on the street the 460 will be a bit tougher on parking.....