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Dear Motor Medics,
I have a 1969 Ford Mustang that was my first car. I have restored this car twice and drive it often. It is my baby and I have great feelings for it. My question is about car insurance. I have the car insured with my other daily drivers and take the insurance off in winter to save money. Last winter my worst nightmare happened. It was a nice day so I decided to take the car out for a short spin around the storage lot. I pulled the nose of the car out of the garage and was hit by someone driving down the aisle. The car suffered extensive damage and my company said it was not worth what I thought it was and I was in a dropped coverage month anyways. How can I be sure I get the right coverage for the value of the car year-round without going broke?
Scott in Rushville, Illinois
Dear Scott,
Accidents will happen but you can at least cover yourself when they do. Not all insurance companies deal well with classics. You need a company that will work to get you affordable agreed value coverage that is good all year round so you know you are covered and for how much in the unfortunate event of a loss. I use Berkley Classics for my specialty car insurance. They are one company that provides affordable agreed value coverage on a year-round basis.
Take care, the Motor Medics
Dear Motor Medics,
My wife made me do the grocery shopping last week and I tried to tell her I was not good at it, none the less she made me do it anyway. I even tried excuses like saying there’s no room for all those groceries in my Corvette so she tossed her Buick keys at me and I hung my head and went shopping. I got ten bags and put them all in the back seat, trunks are over rated. I thought it would be a good idea to set the milk on the floor until I adjusted the seat back and tore a hole in the gallon container. No worries, I went back for more. I never told her about the milk, it spoke for itself. After a hot long Monday at work she called me, boy was she nice too. Do you have any idea what a gallon of rotten milk smells like on a hot day in a closed car? What can I do to remove the smell? We can’t drive the car it’s so bad.
Bad Shopper in Hastings Nebraska
Dear Bad Shopper,
Trunks are not over rated, and they have removable floor carpet which can be cleaned, and that is not so easy with interior carpet. The likely fix will be new carpet and some heavy floor pan cleaning. If done right away sometimes a shop vac and antibacterial cleaner works; once sour, usually replacement is the only way.
Take care, the Motor Medics