Rob’s Blog: A Public Service Announcement

Here’s something that may surprise you as much as it did me.

For years I auto-paid my classic car insurance premium and lived with the illusion that if the worst happened, and my car was badly damaged, I would be reimbursed the “fair market value.” Nothing could have been further from the truth.

Since this light bulb moment of insurance deception, I have had this discussion with other classic car owners who were under the same misconception as I. Here’s the way it really works.

In my world, my sixty-two year old Jaguar is valuable for a variety of reasons. First, the simple fact it has survived sixty-two years. Second, it runs, has all its parts, and still looks pretty go. Plus, the laws of supply and demand work in my favor.

Many insurance companies have an opposing view. In their collective minds, my car is worth almost nothing BECAUSE it is 62 years old. What it looks like is irrelevant. The law of depreciation trumps everything in the collector car world. The over riding fact is it is old and therefore worthless due to depreciation.

If I had gotten into a bad accident with my old insurance company, they would have “totaled” the car and paid me the scrap value which would have been almost nothing. For years I never got the memo that told me this. When I found out, I immediately changed insurance companies.

That led me to a whole new approach to insuring old cars, such as “stated value” policies.  I’m humbling myself in the interest of maybe saving one of you from suffering the loss of your car, but possibly, the investment value it has as well.

There are many classic car insurance companies, but beware, they have strict rules, and lots of hoops to jump through before they will insure your treasure. One requirement in particular is to keep your car behind a locking garage door. Only two garages on my whole block even have a garage door.

There are lots more restrictions too, so if you shop around, keep in mind the way you use your car. Going out for a Sunday drive may be a thing of the past. Driving to work…not any more, and a quick trip to the market for milk and eggs…go ahead, but your insurance will be void if something happens.

The list of things you are allowed to do with your car might be a very short one if you obey the policy rules to the letter. So, for what it’s worth, if you survive the first hit, it might be worth reading the small print to make sure your insurance company doesn’t hit you harder the second time.

In the interest of learning more about this topic, I invite members to contact me with stories and experiences they have had, both good and bad. Maybe sharing them with each other will make all of us more knowledgeable on the subject.

Drive careful and have a great weekend.

Aloha, Rob

Rob’s Blog: 46th Annual St Patrick’s Day Parade

St Patrick's Day Parade photo

For those of you who like to test the limits of your British car’s cooling system, here is an opportunity coming up in March that should do the trick. The annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade will take place on Friday, March 17th.

The club has paid the entry fee for members of the British Car Club to participate in this event. It is not a British Car Club event so I/we have nothing to do with it except pay the entry fee for our members.

For information, you need to get online and find out who is in charge, and what they expect from the participants that morning. The link below should get you there.

Have fun, and good luck,

Rob

More information at:
http://fosphawaii.ning.com/events/46th-annual-st-patrick-s-day-parade-in-waikiki

Rob’s Blog: Another opportunity to save a classic car

 

Anyone interested in a 1974 MGB project? I got a call from the friend of a friend on the North Shore, who wants to “just get rid of it.”

Whatever that means, it is has a current registration, runs poorly, and has a ratty interior.

1974 MGB interior photo

The owner’s name is Bernie. Call him directly if you’re interested. Phone number 808-589-6242.

Aloha, Rob

Rob’s Blog: Christmas Brunch Reminder

Next week Tuesday the 12th is the RSVP deadline for sending your check for the Annual Christmas Brunch. It is $16 per person and receipt of your check will be your RSVP.

You may also combine next year’s dues with the brunch check. The dues are going up a little. So a single membership is $20 and a family membership is $25.

Don’t forget… THERE IS NO MEETING TUESDAY.

The years spectacular brunch will be on Sunday the 18th, 10:00 a.m. at Josh Greig’s house. I will be sending a follow-up reminder with directions at a later date. So far there has been a great response to this event. We’re already close to the same number of people we had last year.

Thanks to everyone who has sent their check already. Here is where they go:

Dave Luengen
91-1138 Lanakoi St.
Kapolei, HI 96707
(check payable to: British Car Club of Hawaii)

Aloha, Rob

Rob’s Blog: Horsepower of a different kind

Hawaii Polo Club image

Due to weather issues the event has been rescheduled to August 7th.

The British Car Club has been invited to take a front row seat at the North Shore polo matches on July 24th. Prior to the actual event, there will be a full-on lunch and time to visit with people outside the confines of our usual garage environment.

Think hitting a little white ball with a stick is tough? Try it sitting on top of a horse at a full gallop. Horsepower of a completely different variety will be on hand. Members who went to a match in the past said it was great fun, and the welcome mat was really rolled out for the club.

We will plan on meeting somewhere and caravan to the venue with lunch and the games to follow.

If you’re interested in going along on this outing, contact me so I can get a rough idea of how many will attend. The Hawaii Polo Club needs a head count.

Also, at the request of our hosts, there is a need for “someone to drive Murph around the polo field, preferably in a convertible Rolls Royce.” I’m sure that one of our members can accommodate this request.

Who is Murph you’re asking?

Murph Dailey is considered the First Lady of Polo since she and her late husband Fred Dailey founded the club 53 years ago. Here is an opportunity to repay their hospitality and show off one of our nicer cars at the same time. If you’re interested in helping, here is a contact number to call: Connie, 202-306-0848.

Gates open at 11:00 a.m. but the first match doesn’t begin until 2:00 p.m. You’re welcome to arrive ahead of gates open or if you prefer to arrive closer to 1:00 p.m. just let me know so we can alert the gate as to we will start arriving.

They have a full bar (credit cards & cash) available and Mexican cuisine (cash only). We are also welcome to bring our own food, beverages, grills, pop up tents, etc., if we would like to have a full day near the ocean.

More details on our arrival plans will come later, but for now, give it some thought and see if you can make room for a different kind of afternoon.

Aloha, Rob

Rob’s Blog: New Car Joins the Club

Mark Rosen's new Lotus Super-7

When the past, present, and future all meet inside one garage, there’s no telling what might happen. Club member Marc Rosen was at such an epicenter the other day when he parked his “new” Lotus Super-7 next to his recently sold Mini.

He stopped by my house shortly after he picked it up from the Matson dock and, understandably, wanted to show it off. I would, too.

The only improvement I could suggest was a cool pair of leather goggles and maybe a white scarf trailing in the slipstream. The polished stainless bonnet and red fenders make his new baby look like it’s going a hundred miles per hour standing still.

Like any new car owner, he already has a punch list of things he’d like to change. My second piece of advice for Marc: “Before getting into changes, just drive the snot out of it for a while and enjoy your new toy.”

Keep your eyes open around the Kailua area, this little car is hard to miss.

Aloha, Rob