At what point do you drop collision on your car?

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

When I look at the cost of new cars and compare that with the cost of classics with a lot more character and charm, and a lot more fun to drive, I would never buy a new car, or for that matter a used ''modern'' car. One advantage of classics is that they often go up in value while you own them rather than down like a new car or a used ''modern'' car would. My last two ''winter'' cars I drove in the US (I keep generally two convertibles for warm weather), a 1968 Oldsmobile 442 with a number of rare options, and its successor, my Studebaker Hawk, I sold for more than I paid for them, and that was after putting thousands of miles on each. The only thing major I did to either while I owned it was a paint job on each, and my profit on sale covered that on each of them, too.

Before moving overseas, I had my eye out for a good deal on an MGA to replace my MGB. I liked the MGB just fine, but like the older MGA styling better. As to a new wintertime car, something I will need to look for whenever I move back to the states, I would love to find a good deal on a Jag Mark IX, but an Opel GT would fit the bill as well, or perhaps another Studebaker Hawk. Anything I buy will not only look good, but it will have chrome bumpers and will NOT have a computer in the engine.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

The disadvantages of driving a classic IMO are:

***I would not want to just drive it everyday, treating it like my Pontiac POC.

***Having owned and driven them when they were not classics, at their best, I found them to be very temperamental. Now that you mention it, yeah, I had a poor man's Corvette, to, an Opel GT. I had to adjust the carbs all the time. (Of course the good thing about that is that I actually could adjust the carbs, or do whatever other tinkering needed to be done.)

Fergetabout the XK150. Even pre-classic, it was problematic to keep running or repair. When I was in college and it had to go to one those exotic car shops, we would up sitting with the shop's owner in the State's AG's office to get it back. While it was sitting on their back lot, they used it for parts for other customers. It went in with an automatic and when I went to pick it up it had a cobbled-up 4-speed. (or vice versa)

If you wanna see that car in prime, watch the movie Diamond Head. It is the car Yvette Mimieux drove when she came back to the islands from college on the mainland. If my mind's eye is working right, I can picture her getting into it as she got off the private plane when she came home, and scooting off with a trail of dust behind her.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

For a Jag sports car, the XKE would be my choice, but for a sedan I like the Mark IX, although the Mark II is fine as well. But for a Brit summer car, my preference is the MGA, unless I could find another Sunbeam-Talbot Alpine.

With the exception of a Triumph Spitfire which was a bit on the tempremental side, my classics have been reliable.

One car I wish I had sat through a classic auction for would have really been a fun car for winter. It went real cheap as a ''no reserve'' auction at a classic car show in Charlotte because most classic enthusiastics turned up their noses at it because it had the incorrect drive train. That incorrect drive train, however, would have made it a better daily driver. It was a late 1930's Rolls Royce and the story behind it was that someone had found a convertible Rolls of the same vintage without a drivetrain, and bought this one for a drivetrain transplant into the far more valuable convertible (or Drop Head Coupe as the Brits would say) body, leaving this car without a drivetrain. Someone then bought this Rolls body, restored the exterior and interior to original but installed a Chevy V8, Chevy transmission, and Chevy rear end. Shortly after finishing the car, he was diagnosed with advanced cancer, hence the auction. I had no idea it would go anywhere near as cheap as it did (from memory 4-5K) so after looking over the auction cars, I went to see the rest of the show. I wished later that I had stayed to bid.

The disadvantages of driving a classic IMO are:

***I would not want to just drive it everyday, treating it like my Pontiac POC.

***Having owned and driven them when they were not classics, at their best, I found them to be very temperamental. Now that you mention it, yeah, I had a poor man's Corvette, to, an Opel GT. I had to adjust the carbs all the time. (Of course the good thing about that is that I actually could adjust the carbs, or do whatever other tinkering needed to be done.)

Fergetabout the XK150. Even pre-classic, it was problematic to keep running or repair. When I was in college and it had to go to one those exotic car shops, we would up sitting with the shop's owner in the State's AG's office to get it back. While it was sitting on their back lot, they used it for parts for other customers. It went in with an automatic and when I went to pick it up it had a cobbled-up 4-speed. (or vice versa)

If you wanna see that car in prime, watch the movie Diamond Head. It is the car Yvette Mimieux drove when she came back to the islands from college on the mainland. If my mind's eye is working right, I can picture her getting into it as she got off the private plane when she came home, and scooting off with a trail of dust behind her.

[RESORT2ME Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RESORT2ME]

... Kelly has it's value at 20% of what I initially paid for it. ... Would liability give me enough coverage?

Love this one even 10 years later and 105k miles.

What do all of do about car insurance?

Find out from your insurer, what max they will pay on damaged (or totaled). Adjust your deductable to a point you feel comfortable with.

At that point, find out how much full coverage will cost compared to Liability only.

I can afford to take the hit of being totaled, but I'd rather not when Full coverage isn't that much more.

Another thought... the back injury claim (hit on 31 August 2009) is still not done-with. Their insurance topped out at $10,000. If I didn't carry coverage, I could be looking at paying bills, that their insurance doesn't cover. (may be 40 to 50 grand).