I actually managed to get a little more for my stereo system once, but only because I had every receipt and had listed it on my policy beforehand. Otherwise, nope—most of the time, they just shrug at aftermarket stuff. It’s frustrating when you sink money into mods and they basically don’t count. Has anyone had luck with classic or specialty cars? I’ve heard those get treated differently sometimes, but maybe that’s just urban legend.
Has anyone had luck with classic or specialty cars? I’ve heard those get treated differently sometimes, but maybe that’s just urban legend.
- Had a ‘72 Chevelle on a specialty policy a few years back. They did treat it differently, but only because I had it appraised and agreed value written in. Without that, it’s just like any other car—blue book, minus your mods.
- Regular insurance? Forget it. Aftermarket stuff is basically invisible unless you jump through hoops (photos, receipts, declarations, etc.).
- Classic/specialty policies usually want proof of value up front. If you’ve got that, you’re golden. If not, they’ll lowball you just like with a daily driver.
- Learned the hard way: if you don’t list every mod, you’re out of luck. My buddy lost a set of custom wheels because he “thought they’d notice.” Spoiler: they didn’t.
- Urban legend? Not really, but it’s not automatic either. Specialty coverage is a whole different animal, but you have to do the paperwork.
Honestly, it’s a pain, but if you’re risk-averse (like me), it’s worth the hassle. Otherwise, you’re just rolling the dice every time you park it.
- Totally agree on the paperwork being a pain, but it’s really the only way to get what your car’s worth. I had a late-model S-Class on a collector’s policy (long story—rare trim, low miles, yadda yadda). They wanted *everything*—photos, service records, even proof I kept it garaged. Felt like applying for a mortgage.
- One thing I’d add: some specialty insurers actually have their own appraisers, and they’ll come out and look at the car before writing the policy. That helped me, since I had a couple of rare options that don’t show up in the usual guides. But yeah, if you don’t spell it out, they’ll just default to the lowest possible value.
- I’m still a bit skeptical about how “agreed value” works in practice. Had a friend with a classic Porsche who thought he was covered for $80k, but when it got rear-ended, the insurer tried to argue “market value” was lower. Took months to sort out.
- In my experience, regular insurance just isn’t built for anything out of the ordinary. If you’re driving something special, you really do need to jump through those hoops... or risk getting burned.
I get where you’re coming from with the skepticism around “agreed value” policies. It’s a fair concern—there’s a lot of confusion about what those terms actually mean when the rubber meets the road. But I do think it’s worth pointing out that, at least in my experience, most of the issues crop up when the policy isn’t super clear or when there’s a disconnect between what’s on paper and what’s actually been documented.
The “agreed value” is supposed to be just that: a value both you and the insurer sign off on, and that’s what they pay out if there’s a total loss. Where it gets messy is if there are modifications, rare options, or market fluctuations that weren’t discussed up front. I’ve seen cases where someone thought they had everything covered, but then they added aftermarket wheels or a custom paint job and didn’t update their policy. Suddenly there’s a gray area.
On the flip side, I’ve also seen plenty of claims where agreed value worked exactly as intended—no haggling, no drawn-out process. But yeah, it does depend a lot on how thorough both parties were when setting up the policy. If you’re just going off “market value,” you’re at the mercy of whatever comps the adjuster can find, which is never fun for owners of anything even slightly unusual.
One thing I’d push back on a bit: not all regular insurance is hopeless for special cars. Some mainstream carriers have classic or collector divisions now, and they’re getting better about things like stated value and even sending out their own appraisers. It’s still not perfect—definitely more hoops than insuring a Camry—but I wouldn’t write them off completely.
Honestly, it all comes down to communication and documentation. Painful as it is to dig up every receipt and photo, it saves a ton of headaches later. And if you ever do have to file a claim, having everything spelled out makes it way harder for anyone to argue “market value” after the fact.
Here’s the nuts and bolts of how insurers usually decide if a car’s “totaled”:
- They look at the cost to repair vs. the car’s value (either market, stated, or agreed—depends on your policy).
- If repairs hit a certain percentage of the car’s value (often 70-80%, but it varies by state and company), they’ll call it a total loss.
- Sometimes, hidden damage pushes the repair estimate up after teardown, and that’s when you get the dreaded call.
One thing I’ve seen trip people up: aftermarket parts or mods. If you haven’t documented them with your insurer, they’ll probably just use stock values for their math. That can sting if you’ve sunk a bunch into upgrades.
I’ve had a friend fight tooth and nail over a “borderline” total because he wanted to keep his project car. He ended up buying it back as salvage, but it was a paperwork headache. If you’re worried about this, it’s worth asking your insurer up front how they handle mods, and what their threshold is for totaling.
It’s not always cut and dry, but having receipts, photos, and clear communication with your insurer makes a big difference.
