PaulY wrote:
friedgreencorrado wrote:
Perhaps I misunderstand, but it seems Canadian law (or at least the ICBC) doesn't make much distinction between the "legal" (i.e., "who's at fault") investigation of the accident and the "practical" (i.e., "what's the vehicle worth") aspects of the incident.
And I apologize for not remembering that you don't have any money at the moment...you actually mentioned that when someone else here suggested having the car appraised. Will this end up in front of a magistrate at all, or will it just be decided by the ICBC's bureaucracy?
Ha don't worry about it, I'm just happy to get help and advice on this.
Yes there is a distinction between legal and practical. Legal determines who's at fault which determines the premiums you pay and your driving record. Practical is between you and the adjuster. They tend to go with what the car is worth given comparable sales and i believe the book value. What I paid doesn't come into the equation cause say my dad gifted the car to me, then i'm technically out 0 dollars but I'm out a car worth x amount. So I have a deductible but since the other chick is at fault, she pays it through insurance. So I don't have to lay any money down.
Also the value to fix it is determined either by them or a body shop approved by icbc. Any reputable body shop is certified by icbc to do estimates and repairs. They work from standard rates so it's all on par no matter where you go as long as they are icbc approved.
The issue is they look at the cost to fix, say 2 grand. Then they look at the value, say it's 3 grand. If they can sell what's left of the car through auction for 1500 then it's a write off. Cause they pay me 3 grand and they make 1500 so only out of pocket 1500 as oposed to the 2 grand they would have had to pay to fix it. So i can't change the fix it cost but I need to prove it's worth as much as possible. I just can;'t find any comparable for sale in Canada.
That actually doesn't sound much different than the US, except for everyone having the "same insurance". I'll bet that for most non-enthusiasts, it works pretty well.
But of course, the "practical" phase seems to be the same PITA for Canadian enthusiasts as it is for those of us in the US. 
There really is a vaccum around the kind of cars that folks like us appreiciate.
They really are worth more than their more plebeian contemporaries, simply because they're better machines...but there still doesn't seem to be a way to explain that to folks that aren't like us. Unfortunately, most of the people in the various auto "support" industries don't seem to be enthusiasts. Dealers, finance, insurance, traffic enforcement...it's sad, but it seems that very few people who see these crates as anything other than an "appliance" actually work in the industries that wouldn't exist if cars did not..
Perhaps the fact that there are so few 9000s to be found in your locality can be turned to your advantage? Yes, the bureaucrats will dither over the fact that there isn't enough data to place an accurate dollar value upon the car, but shouldn't the fact that there is so little data be "proof" that the car is rare-and therefore valuable?
Once again, just grasping at straws for ya here..
