Hey All - So here's my off-the-wall question for the day ...

I have a 1995 Ram 2500 and I'm not sure whether or not to cover the vehicle with collision. I use Geico and asked the agents there and of course they've said "yes, absolutely", but due to a past experience with another insurance company, I'm hesitant and here's why.

Years ago I had a 1980 Dodge van I bought new and had it for about 20 years putting around 200k miles on it. It looked good and ran great. Then, one day, someone in another van rear ended me while I was driving about 35 mph. Turns out, they had some type of seizure and hit me going about 50 mph and pushed my van (with my feet on the brakes) about 80 feet stopping short of hitting a pole. No one was hurt but the other driver still had their foot on the gas burning up their tires until someone opened their door and took their foot off the gas.

The drive train in my van shifted back as the engine and transmission bolts broke loose off the frame. All I had was second gear (the van was a manual shift) and my driver's seat locked back in the position farthest from the dash. Not a comfortable way to drive home, but I made it. My point here is, the insurance company told me they wouldn't pay out for the accident because my van was too old and they decided it was totaled. I didn't even get anything from then other driver's insurance company.

On the upside, a friend of mine any myself were able to shift the entire drive train forward and reinstall the engine and transmission bolts, as well as replacing the driver's seat bracket. Although I was able to get the van back on the road for under $100, the collision insurance I paid for was worthless, or maybe it was the insurance company, which I've since left and gone to Geico. So as you can see, the van was not totaled and fixable for next to nothing, which brings me back to the million dollar question ... Since my 2nd Gen truck is 24 years old, do I get collision or is it just not worth it?

What is everyone else doing as far as collision insurance on an older truck such as this?

 

Your insurance company ripped you off.

I personally don't carry anything than what the law requires I have as far as insurance goes. I tend to keep my vehicles for a long time, and I have only had one that was wrecked.... (yep, lucky on that score) And even on that one, I got 500 bucks from the other guys insurance, (he was at fault) and it cost me 50 bucks to fix it...... So, unless collision, (and all the other stuff they make you pay for to get it....) is DIRT cheap, I would skip it.

 

The only other thing I have other then state minimum is, an insurance policy that covers everything aftermarket. Like my lift, tires, rims, etc.

 

Take 1/2 the money they would charge for collision and tuck it away. You'll come out farther ahead.

 

Now there is a great idea.

 

When I was a kid, I knew a guy that “self insured” everything...
He had an account that he squirreled away money that he would have otherwise paid an insurance company... by paying himself and accruing the interest, he soon had more than enough to replace a total loss.

Considering I’ve never had to make a claim on my insurance, I should have done the same.

On my truck I now only have the required minimum.

 

If you have an accident and damage the truck(or any vehicle that is "old" according to the insurance co) they will only give you blue book for it even if it has low miles and was in perfect condition prior to the accident. For old vehicles you can look into classic/collector car insurance but then you most likely will be limited to 2500 miles a year.

 

I go by what the vehicle is worth. I generally use $3000 as the cut off. More than that, full coverage. Less than that, I go with what the law says I have to have plus comprehensive. This covers a deer hitting you, tree falling and taking out the windshield or any of a number of other things you can't control. I've only had one car totaled over the years and it took 10 people picking up pieces to clean the accident scene. The drivetrain and frame pieces were winched onto a flat bed and a dump truck carried the rest off. with the road rats we have around here (Deer) I make sure to have comprehensive.

 

Yeah, that's putting it nicely ... lol

I dropped them like a hot potato and luckily, I was able to get the van back on the road with minimal expense.

 

Wow, a lot of good stuff here. Yeah, as of now I only have liability, which is required and comprehensive, since deer around here come outta nowhere and are the size of buffalo (just me exaggerating). But collision is what I was debating on getting. I think it would cost about $150-200/year, but I'm not sure how much coverage that would be for, and on a 1995, if I'd only get blue book value, well I'd need to do some math.

I like the idea of stashing money away and self insuring. I did do that in the past once with health insurance, but unfortunately, I ran into some financial problems and you know where that money went. But that might be what I may do now, after double checking on cost and repair scenarios. Using the $3000 cutoff ol'grouch mentioned seems to be worth using in the equation.