Hello:

Sorry to hear about the accident! You will need to be your own advocate in these matters. If you have documentation for recent repairs and upgrades, dig out those receipts. Look for similar cars online and print out the asking prices for those vehicles. The $3500 appraisal will definitely help. Make sure it is well-understood that you imported this Southern car yourself and that you are a Volvo enthusiast with specific knowledge of these cars. Some insurance companies now run a retroactive 6 month search Canada-wide to arrive at a value for the car-- the rarer the vehicle, the harder that is to do, though.

If you get another one, look into classic car insurance with a specified value. My '69 Karmann Ghia has an appraised value of $11,900 in unrestored condition and the insurance is only about $200/year as a Sunday driver. Well worth the $150 appraisal fee for the peace of mind that the insurance company won't offer me $500 if the car is damaged beyond repair.

By being firm but reasonable and communicating well with my agent I was able to arrive at a settlement of $5750 for my '89 760GLE when it was wrecked in a single car accident (black ice and a big tree). That's for a car with 300K km and plenty of lumps and bumps. I had paid $3000 USD for it some years before.

Good luck!
--
Herb Goltz, Aurora, Ontario, Canada '92 245 w/130K mi, '92 945T w/200K mi