Hi all:
I'm not sure of the correct thread placement, but I'd like some NAMers help in regards to finding comparable sales for modified Minis and it'd be great to have by early next week for the Total Loss Department's claim negotiation.

I obliterated my beloved Frackmobile Halloween morning at 9:30am. It had rained the night before & was the first rain of the season, so the roads were slick & oil laden.

I picked up my Frackmobile that morning from Custom Mini Shop where Dr.Steve had been diligently doing some customization work (Autopower bar, G-Force 5-pt harnesses & full suspension) over the past two months. I stopped by my office to pickup my friend/passenger & then went to drive to the end of Old Friant Road (Fresno, CA; distance 5 miles), with plans of driving straight back to our office. We went to the end of Old Friant Road with no problem, turned around & came back through the sweeping left-hand turn.

I briefly tapped my brake pedal as we approached standing water in my lane (20 yards out of the left-hand turn; hindsight's 20/20 & I know this was a mistake), but the car hydroplaned, spun 180 degrees & shot 90 degrees off the road into a giant palm tree, which I took straight to my door (driver’s side). We both were knocked unconscious & rushed to Community Medical's level 1 trauma center and my buddy's still recovering from his massive injuries (broken clavicle, collarbone, bruised lung, brain bleed, contusion, 3 cracked ribs, 9 staples in his head, etc.).

The CHP report says I was traveling 40mph, so I wasn't speeding but I was at an "unsafe speed for conditions" & in violation of 22350 v.c. If you click on my gallery you can see the work that Dr.Steve & I have been slaving away on to build my ultimate MINI and all that's left is a hunk of metal. The car actually folded longitudinally, the sunroof exploded out of the car (falling glass cut open my buddy's head) & upon inspection the Autopower roll/harness bar, M7 USS and strut bar was credited with keeping Frackmobile's structural integrity because the car was collapsing into itself. If that would've happened both my buddy & I would've died.

I have spent the past 5 years building this vehicle & it was my hobby, passion & way of being involved in the Central California automotive community (I'm the MidCal Minis coordinator).

When I got my policy with my insurance company, I was up-front with my existing modifications, intent to continue modifying & got a vehicle appraisal supporting all the work I'd done to the point. I was told by my counsel that "in the event of a catastrophic accident- the burden of proof will be on you to fully document & provide evidence of modifications/upgrade for valuation consideration".

Despite compiling a 4" thick complete itemized/categorized cost breakdown, +40 photos, documented authenticity (ie. imported Hamann parts), complete invoice records, price cross-checks, etc. I'm pretty much ending up with zero for improvements due to complete lack of comparable sales. I'm now aware that there's "stated value" insurance policies, but I'd not heard of them before this otherwise I would've done that a long time ago. eBay's not proven to be helpful in finding comps, so I'm hoping my NAM buddies can help. If you click on my 'Garage' you can see the complete build-up & more pictures.

My priorities were straight before the accident, but I'm definitely glad to be alive & am drinking in life to its fullest. Believe me, the sun's a little brighter & the sky's a little bluer after coming through this. Now I just need to get through each of my insurance investigations. If you can help point me in the right direction for modified Mini comparable sales so I can hopefully build up my "Frackmobile part deux" I'd really appreciate it.

Hopefully my story's a reminder to drive safe, respect the road conditions even when things appear to be a-ok & tell the people around you how much you appreciate them because things can change in the blink of an eye. What started as a quick run to the end of the road turned into a life changing experience.

Frackmobile before:





Frackmobile after:






More pictures in the MidCal "Big Thanks" thread: Big Thanks thread - Fracky crash

 

Such a sweet MINI, RIP!

 

Dude... I wish I could help you out... It's amazing you're even alive to write about it! ...Hope your friend fully recovers!

 

You had a nice lookin' MINI there. Glad to hear you and your buddy are gonna make it through alright. It's great you have all the receipts to back up expenses you have made on the car. I suppose it will all depend on your insurance company as to how they evaluate the expenses and what value they will place on it.

On a lighter note, it looks like the wing and wheels came out okay!

 

Wow - good thing you made it out ok.
I recently had an 'oops' in a '98 Subaru Legacy GT. Managed to find the same car (with fewer miles!) - this one is Scooby Deux.

My advice would be to remove as many parts as possible vs. trying to get insurance to cover them. If they're reuseable it can save you some trouble as well. As long as you replace any required part with OEM, the adjuster should be ok with it, and that should be easier/cheaper than convincing the adjuster to cover your specialty parts.

What did your buddy hit his head on? Did you fare better than him?

 

Based on his injuries, we think he had approximately 1" of slack in his shoulder belts. From the violence of the collision he came out of his seat to the end of the slack & "Snap!" the left-side of his body got hammered. The sunroof exploded out of the car & falling glass cut him on the back of the head. As far as me? I had some bruises & my hip hurt for 3 weeks but that's it. I'm 100% now. Crazy, crazy, crazy.

 

Fracky, I don't have good news to write. I've been watching the MINI market for some time now and modified cars only bring a small fraction of the investment on resale. It gets worse with cars like ours that are heavily modded with lots of custom stuff. I've seen a few on places like ebay that asked a lot but when the rubber hit the road the actual selling price was often less than the value of an unmodded car of the same vintage.

I guess I'm just lucky that my ins agent is not only a neighbor but a gearhead too that understands what we have in these cars. He ended up placing me with an agreed value policy on my car. It does cost about 200 bucks a year more but if I was to suffer a total loss I know that I could replace the vehicle as it sits.

Since I think you said the car is with Steve I'd have pull as much as possible off and either sell it our reinstall on new car. Hold onto all the stock stuff he pulls off, look for junkyard replacements for items when you can to put back on the written off car.

 

Glad you are still among us because Fracky, No matter what belief system you may have, you were being watched over.

Assuming they are totalling the beloved mini, have you given much thought to buy it back from the insurance co...? Usually pennies on the dollar ? Keep parts not damaged and build a new one, and sell OEM parts not needed.....

 

Well, you might want to look at your policy to see what it says about filing a dispute when you and the carrier cannot agree on a settlement price. Most policies say that you have to file for an arbitration claim. A simple process really.

The carrier, from what I know, is simply telling you to take a hike to see if you say **** it and accept their deal/offer.

If you reject their offer they may hike up the settlement value rather than waste time on a dispute hearing. That number might be more acceptable to you.

READ THE POLICY AND MAKE SURE TO TIMELY REQUEST FOR A "HEARING" AND MAKE SURE TO JUMP THROUGH EVERY HOOP SPELLED OUT IN THE POLICY. For example, if they say a letter saying there is a dispute must be sent to them within X number of days, send that letter within the deadline, even though it seems silly since they are aware there is a dispute from your conversations with them.

ALSO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T SIGN ANY PAPERS OR CASH A CHECK THAT SAYS "THIS IS FULL AND FINAL SETTLEMENT OF ALL CLAIMS."

What was your policy limit? Since your friend is going to have to go after your carrier, most likely for policy limits, I suspect that your carrier is going to want to save money where it can.

Note to others: You all may want to look at your insurance policies and see what it covers in terms of the car and add-ons and mods. Most policies may cover typical add-ons such as a set of custom wheels, but when you start getting into expensive mods, say $10,000 worth, you need to make the carrier aware of such and 1) see if they will cover it with a rider [addendum], or 2) not cover such as all.

Sidenote: Although I don't encourage people blaming others for their own conduct, make sure your lawyer has looked at that road to confirm it was properly maintained, there were no hazards that have been there for some time [such as a pothole], and that there were warning signs where needed.

I realize that you have accepted blame and that should be the end of the story, but if any of the above existed, then maybe others are comparatively negligent. Assuming we are talking hundreds of thousands of dollars here in claims, it is worth looking at all the issues.

WARNING TO ALL: This is why I do NOT drive on the road if I can help it, where fresh rains have just fallen. It's not only my driving that I worry about, but others too, who may also cause an accident. Wet oil is looking for an accident to happen. Wet, oily hills here in San Francisco are especially hazardous.

When it rains not only do I try not to drive but I also call all my friends and try to keep them off the roads. I realize most people cannot do that, but I tire of seeing the news announcing accidents that occurred after a new rain.

 

That is one way to go, buy the totaled MINI from the carrier.

When my friend's carrier totaled her Audi she got $7000. The carrier let her buy it for $268.

The car had only body damage. We had that repaired for about $1000 and sold the car [fully disclosing the damage] for $6400.

I suspect you can salvage enough parts to sell them individually on eBay and Craig's List. Worth hassle, usually.

 

Dr.Steve & I are just waiting to settle with the insurance company & then we'll tear into the car. One issue I have with the company right now is they don't want to give me any value for modifications (not even 10% of part cost), but want to charge me for those same parts on buying back the wreck. Trying to have cake & eat it too.

The biggest problem I have with all of this is I was completely up-front with my agent's office when the vehicle was first insured back in 2005. In fact, I provided a copy of the appraisal & letter wayyy back then and shared the fact that "the vehicle's modified & I'll continue to modify indefinitely". I'm thinking this could be an E&O deal due to: 1. non-explanation of policy & 2. failure to explain that what I was looking for wouldn't be covered under the policy I was receiving. I understand it's a business, but I've been paying all of my renewals in good faith that what I initially disclosed would be covered.

Insurance might be a good subject for the next NAM Alliance newsletter. Unfortunately, I'm finding all this out the hard way because it's not really much discussed topic & my agent never reviewed with me. One good thing which could come outta all this is an informed MINI community.

Oh yeah, as bad as the pictures are - you should see the car in-person. Post-collision the distance from the "relocated" door sill to center console= 6". My purpose in life must be unfulfilled & I'm happy to be sitting here writing to you guys.

Note: I've already started building the "Frackmobile part deux".

 

Does anyone know how to get specifics on the Minitor sale? That's a potential comp I'm aware of.