Photo courtesy BMW Group “Even Mr. Cumberford would have to admit that the “painfully undistinguished two-part grille” of the Cord is really not as bad as the all-time ugliest two-part grille on the planet, found on new BMWs.” Lowballed “Accidents Happen” by John Draneas (October, “Legal Files,” p. 46) was another excellent article. After my Mercedes 280C was T-boned by a truck and totaled, my insurance company offered me almost nothing for the car. They said their offer was based on the comps they found. I asked for copies of the comps. Their idea of comps turned out to be everything […]
Photo courtesy BMW Group
“Even Mr. Cumberford would have to admit that the “painfully undistinguished two-part grille” of the Cord is really not as bad as the all-time ugliest two-part grille on the planet, found on new BMWs.”
Lowballed
“Accidents Happen” by John Draneas (October, “Legal Files,” p. 46) was another excellent article. After my Mercedes 280C was T-boned by a truck and totaled, my insurance company offered me almost nothing for the car. They said their offer was based on the comps they found. I asked for copies of the comps.
Their idea of comps turned out to be everything from running cars to parts cars. Some of the comps were years old. I objected.
Next thing I knew an adjuster from my insurance company arrived with a check for the original amount they offered. He said take it or we go to arbitration and if I lost, I had to pay for the cost of arbitration.
It was an eye-opener to be treated like this by a company I had been a loyal member of since 1977. If your insurance company lowballs you, ask for copies of their comps. You might be unpleasantly surprised. — Will Samples, Dallas, TX
Hit-and-Run
I always enjoy John Draneas’s column. This month was no exception. I want to ask about an item he did not cover: What do you do if the person who did the damage runs?
As you might guess, this happened to me. The person rear-ended my car and scooted off. I thought I got the license number, but misplaced two of the digits, which really bollixed things up.
To make the story short, I did find the car that hit mine, let the police know, but got nowhere. The person claimed they were at work, a classic “I said, they said” stand-off.
Fortunately, my insurance company did pay for the work related to the incident. Is a dashcam the best defense here? — Jon Bernardi, San Marcos, CA
SCM Contributing Editor John Dreaneas responds: Don’t sweat it. You did the best you could. A dash camera might have caught the plate, but then you have to live with the thing on your dashboard. Good insurance is the best defense.
Island Life
I enjoyed this month’s article by Jeff Lavery (October, “Collecting Thoughts,” p. 40). I recently trailered my 1961 Jaguar E-type to Martha’s Vineyard with a U-Haul car hauler. Thanks as always for the best automotive journal ever. — Josh Mazer, Annapolis, Maryland
Kidney Punch
Even Mr. Cumberford would have to admit that the “painfully undistinguished two-part grille” of the Cord (October, “The Cumberford Perspective,” p. 54) is really not as bad as the all-time ugliest two-part grille on the planet, found on new BMWs. — Ron Sable, Tucson, AZ
Leave a Reply