Tracking Your Cars.. How and Why

[SW530]

Several years ago a guy rear-ended my wife while she was in my E-34. Bottom line is it was totaled and I received a less than satisfying settlement despite getting them to raise their initial offer considerably. I think, at least it's true in my case, if you like your cars to be well maintained, no matter how you pay for it, if you're one of those people who can't sleep at night unless your car is "right", you maybe be one of us.. One of us who's cars, even 20+ year old cars/trucks used for utility purposes, are worth significantly more than your insurance is willing to pay out or legally has to pay out if/when totaled.

My 2003 540i/6 is insured through State Farm's Classic Car program which by this summer should be tied into Haggerty's system where it's their programs and fee structure using State Farm as the sales and collection agent. State Farm has had their own system and to me it's fine, but they're changing to Haggerty and "fine" remains to be seen. Currently my 178,000 mile car has an agreed upon price if stolen, lost in any way, totaled in a collision, fire, etc, north of 20k. I don't want to get into specific numbers but north or 20k gives you some idea. At first they balked at that price and basically said "prove it." I took pictures, the same I've shown on this forum, and did some screen captures of 2003 540i/6's that sold on BAT. I didn't pick the cars that sold for the least, obviously. I did point out to them that the cars I showed them have significantly less miles and noted they claimed they had proof of expensive maintenance actions.. they didn't care.

It was all I needed and my agreed upon price was immediately agreed to. My annual premiums are under $600. My deductibles are all at Zero other than comprehensive which is $500 and the lowest they allow for this program. On my end I'm expected to "regularly garage" the car.. which i do. They assume because it's a classic car that you use it for recreation and not something you commute to work in. All true in my case. I asked "what if I used that car as a people ferry for drag week, with drag week happening up to three times a year. My agent said it fell under car related recreation and events.. Cool! So the E39 is covered.

But what about my wife's 2011 Subaru Legacy? We bought it new, it's in excellent condition with only 78,000 miles. Or will be in excellent condition once I get well enough to paint a bumper and front wing and finish it up. Talking to an adjuster (they'll talk to you if you take the time to call them) I asked "what would we get if this car was totaled, this is the car and it has only 78,000 miles, receipts for all the maintenance with no maintenance deferred, and is other wise in excellent condition." He didn't give me specific numbers but through a series of coughs and "I can neither confirm nor deny" he agreed I'd get in the neighborhood of $6500, maybe less. The trouble is where am I going to find another car that's maintained how I maintain my cars, how do I know for sure it was maintained and cared for like I do for my own cars? They can legally stick to their offer by showing 3-4 cars "like" mine without any regard to how it's been maintained, how nice the interior has been preserved, how it smells inside, if some 400 pound driver bent the drivers seat sideways.. none of that counts. Just the general condition. I doubt I could replace the car under.. I just couldn't replace it without getting really lucky. It would be a financial blow if it were stolen and I was given some paltry sum to replace it. We'd end up with another new car.. so I want to keep this car and not have some fine upstanding citizen with a bright future as the Governor whose mother says of my state "he's a good kid" rip it off and sell the parts on ebay.

Then there's my 2002 F150 Supercrew FX-4 with 232,000 miles that runs perfectly, had a new frame put on at some point because it looks new and is rust free while the body has a lot of rust. I rebuilt the entire suspension and put all new quality brakes/calipers/rotors/brake lines/master/power unit, even new rubber on the pedal.. And is shod with BFG KO2's with only 20% of the tread worn. Adjuster thinks I'd be lucky to get $1000 if stolen or burned up or whatever. New trucks of that type are about 50k in the same trim. It's not new, but $1000 certainly won't replace it.

And a couple more like that.

I'm thinking the solution is to know when they are stolen and to get them back asap before they're disassembled, cut up, or just borrowed by our future Governor because the 90yo lady upstairs needs a ride to the hospital and he had no choice.. And I don't want to pay monthly fees because.. well.. I"m cheap. My son is a sheriff's deputy so if the car was stolen and I knew where it was, I'm sure we'd get it back. I need an alert and tracking device.

I had "Tiles" hanging from my dogs collars for years in case one of them decided to explore on their own of visit the bitch down the street who's in heat more often than any dog should be. The trouble with Tiles is I've never been happy with frequency of updates.. Just not enough of them out there and then they have to have their own tiles and then install the app and actively choose to participate in the network and allow their phones to pass other Tile's information. But eventually Airtags came on the market and the dogs now have two devices hanging from their collars and I get updates all day long.. even if they're in my home indoors the new bluetooth 5.x can reach 1000 feet so it gets all kinds of hits as neighbors come home and cars drive by. I immediately bought a number of Airtags and these magnetic cases and enclosing them in the cases and then add silicone around the seam to be extra careful. I etch ID numbers in the cases so I know which one is which.. connect and label them in my phone, and on the E39 I put it under the rear deck. Each car has a reasonable out of sight location. Up in the headliner? You could probably just put a bare tag in the quarter slot of your change holder and no one would ever notice.

Initial testing shows on average I'm getting updates every 5-10 minutes which is fine as far as I'm concerned.. Lots of people have iphones and they pass the info without an app installed ore permission of the owner.. the owner has to shut off either the GPS feature of their phone, or directly tell it not to pass tag info.. Pretty cool devices.. and before you think its great to track your cheating spouse or whoever, Apple has went to a lot of effort to prevent it tracking people.. in the case I linked no one will hear the beeps or chimes and I doubt they'd know what to do with a message on their iphone that saids "an airtag is near" message. Eventually they might, but the way mine are set up time is if you track them down within a few hours the chances of anyone noticing is pretty slim.

So, anyone have a better way or any I missing something obvious? Would the classic car insurance be appropriate for your car? Would you benefit from the tag system? Is there a better system for cheap that wouldn't notify our future Governor?

[KeysCoupe]

And I thought you were talking about taking our cars out on a race track….
I’ve had a friend “hide” Airtags in his toolboxes. He has a history of getting them stolen in the past. So far, with the tracker, he hasn’t had his toolboxes stolen again. I don’t see why trackers wouldn’t work for a car, but I don’t know much about them.
-Donny

[FireTumbleweed]

My 2003 540i/6 is insured through State Farm's Classic Car program

I might look into this, how do they determine whether it meets "A motor vehicle 10 to 24 years old that has historical interest"

Obviously most of our vehicles meet the age requirement, but do they have a list of cars under historical interest? Currently I'd be lucky to get $5,000 even though like you my vehicle is in extremely good condition. (with receipts). Is there a mileage limit?

[analyte]

My experience with State Farm is their classic car policy is not an agreed value policy, but rather a stated value policy. I had issues with them on this point so I moved all my collector vehicles to a true agreed value policy elsewhere for peace of mind.

Not to debate, but anyone considering this type of classic/collector policy needs to read the fine print and ask questions. Make sure you know what you're paying for so there's no surprises if something unfortunate happens.

[SW530]

And I thought you were talking about taking our cars out on a race track….
I’ve had a friend “hide” Airtags in his toolboxes. He has a history of getting them stolen in the past. So far, with the tracker, he hasn’t had his toolboxes stolen again. I don’t see why trackers wouldn’t work for a car, but I don’t know much about them.
-Donny

Getting a toolbox stolen sucks. When I was 19 I think I knew I was quitting my position at Walker Buerge Ford in WLA where I was a squeaks and rattles guy.. my first position out of voc auto.. I think they hired me because it was my first position and I was thin and wirey enough to fit under dashes and other places that needed a bolt tightened or screw replaced.. I worked there for about 11 months, saved every penny and bought nearly every Snap-on tool I thought I needed and more. Knowing there would be a week between quitting and going to my new job at Peter West Datsun in Santa Monica where I'd landed the job of manager in their new tuner shop where they modified Z cars. I'd met the owner at Lyon's speedway a few times and he offered me the job. But knowing, I reinforced my detached single car garage at my duplex in Van Nuys,. A few friends and I rented a truck and moved my boxes into the garage under cover of darkness being as quiet as we could. By 3am they were on their way home and I was snapping the four heavy duty disc locks on the new hasps I'd just put in. I went in to get some sleep and by 8am a neighbor was pounding at the door asking if I left the garage door open. Sigh.. all that was left was a single box end offset wrench, 3/8's on one end and 7/16's on the other.. I still have that wrench today.. it lives with all my Craftsman tools. I didn't have the heart to re-buy Snap-on again.. 45 years later it still hurts.

[SW530]

I might look into this, how do they determine whether it meets "A motor vehicle 10 to 24 years old that has historical interest"

Obviously most of our vehicles meet the age requirement, but do they have a list of cars under historical interest? Currently I'd be lucky to get $5,000 even though like you my vehicle is in extremely good condition. (with receipts). Is there a mileage limit?

I'm not sure exactly. I do know that your agent is your best friend in getting the policy started. He interfaces between you and the underwriter and is the one to inspect the car and take the pictures if you don't and relay his opinion of the car. I took my own pictures and he liked the car and thought it to be in great condition for it's age. When I showed him a few articles showing that a Sterling Grey 2003 540i/6 was one of 1200 I think? And then showed them the screen captures of other 2003 540i/6's and what they sold for at auction (BAT) they immediately authorized the policy. When they did, they said it was a temporary policy and "their guys in underwriting" would have to do "the background" which would take three weeks. I had hoped they were lazy for the next few weeks.. But AFAIK there is no list and no mileage limit. Classic cars often have a ton of miles on them. WHat's important is how the car presents. I'd just spent nearly 4 weeks doing what paint correction I could and then ceramic coating it.. and the shine rocked. Still does. Something that's a bonus is that every late fall/winter when I put the car up I send him an email asking to suspend all coverage but comprehensive until I send him another email in the spring asking him to activate all coverage. So that helps with the price some..

- - - Updated - - -

My experience with State Farm is their classic car policy is not an agreed value policy, but rather a stated value policy. I had issues with them on this point so I moved all my collector vehicles to a true agreed value policy elsewhere for peace of mind.

Not to debate, but anyone considering this type of classic/collector policy needs to read the fine print and ask questions. Make sure you know what you're paying for so there's no surprises if something unfortunate happens.

They presented it as an "agreed value" and that's what's stated on their website. I didn't read the fine print.. should have now that you mention it. But I'll send off a copy of my policy to a lawyer friend and offer him some shop time for a review.. And if they haven't already, Garrity will be their underwriter by summer, might already be..

[MotorMouth93]

Getting a toolbox stolen sucks. When I was 19 I think I knew I was quitting my position at Walker Buerge Ford in WLA where I was a squeaks and rattles guy.. my first position out of voc auto.. I think they hired me because it was my first position and I was thin and wirey enough to fit under dashes and other places that needed a bolt tightened or screw replaced.. I worked there for about 11 months, saved every penny and bought nearly every Snap-on tool I thought I needed and more. Knowing there would be a week between quitting and going to my new job at Peter West Datsun in Santa Monica where I'd landed the job of manager in their new tuner shop where they modified Z cars. I'd met the owner at Lyon's speedway a few times and he offered me the job. But knowing, I reinforced my detached single car garage at my duplex in Van Nuys,. A few friends and I rented a truck and moved my boxes into the garage under cover of darkness being as quiet as we could. By 3am they were on their way home and I was snapping the four heavy duty disc locks on the new hasps I'd just put in. I went in to get some sleep and by 8am a neighbor was pounding at the door asking if I left the garage door open. Sigh.. all that was left was a single box end offset wrench, 3/8's on one end and 7/16's on the other.. I still have that wrench today.. it lives with all my Craftsman tools. I didn't have the heart to re-buy Snap-on again.. 45 years later it still hurts.

This hurt to read. Having my DIYer hodgepodge of Craftsman, HF, Milwaukee, and other mid to low end tools stolen would be awful but nice stuff would be so much worse.

[SW530]

This hurt to read. Having my DIYer hodgepodge of Craftsman, HF, Milwaukee, and other mid to low end tools stolen would be awful but nice stuff would be so much worse.

Other than losing the utility of the tools at a time in my life when I was certain I'd be a mechanic for the rest of my life (nope, that didn't work out, two short years later I was in the military learning new skills), is not being able to pass them down to my sons. I have various hobbies were I don't mind spending a bit of money, some work related, like my photography equipment, automatic watches, firearms, cars, tools. etc. etc, and now that my sons are all adults and I've learned what they really enjoy in the way of life and hobbies (all three are different. The two that look like me are really nothing like me, the one who looks nothing like me.. could be me), there are certain things I'd like to give to them.

And while I have a ton of tools of many types in nice boxes, imagine gifting a well cared for set of what are now vintage Snap-on tools.. I'm probably not the only one here who has his grandfathers and fathers tools.. the enjoyment I get every time I pick one up is indescribable. My grandfather was a contractor and built a lot of homes in the nicer areas of greater LA in the style of his favorite architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and I have to wonder how his power tools didn't kill him so those had to go, but I have the toolboxes he built, custom tools he made, the things I'd imagine he was most proud of and enjoyed using the most.. I kept those things.

The rest were just severely outclassed by modern tools and so well used they weren't work anything. My father was a carpet layer and specialized in repairs, but I have no need or desire for those kinds of tools past a few hand tools he let me play with as a kid when he took me on jobs. Later he told me about the million piece Craftsman tool set he bought but I never saw. After he died I found the tools in the original boxes in with the plastic still wrapped around them. I replaced my stolen Snap-on tools with mostly Craftsman so I gave the new unboxed tools to my brother. The tools I kept from the both of them I treasure and I try to explain the significance to my sons but their eyes glaze over in boredom.. But the son who likes cars, has become a quite good mechanic, and who we do all car things together.. he'll get the tools some day.. This is getting quite morose.. sorry.. but you get the picture. A vintage set of Snap-on;'s would have been a pleasure to pass down.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

The hell, I thought this thread was about another way too heavy car for the track!
I had a small SnapOn tool box full of all the usual 1/4”, 3/8”, and 1/2” ratchets, and sockets, extensions, all the most needed screw drivers, the common pliers, and cutters needed for side work on motorcycles, all SnapOn, stolen out of the back of my ‘86 Trans Am, back in 1995. The f’ckers busted out my rear hatch to get it, stupid part was, the drivers door wasn’t even locked….. I knocked out a quickie $1,000 job, then met up with some drinking buddies at the watering hole. I was so pissed off, I was ready to kill the first moron that would’ve pissed me off on the way home. I got lucky, my insurance actually took care of the loss, the busted rear hatch glass, after I provided receipts from the SnapOn guy that I dealt with. Now a days, if I carry stuff like that in my wagon, I keep the losers honest by keeping the cargo cover shut on the wagon.

[SW530]

The hell, I thought this thread was about another way too heavy car for the track!
I had a small SnapOn tool box full of all the usual 1/4”, 3/8”, and 1/2” ratchets, and sockets, extensions, all the most needed screw drivers, the common pliers, and cutters needed for side work on motorcycles, all SnapOn, stolen out of the back of my ‘86 Trans Am, back in 1995. The f’ckers busted out my rear hatch to get it, stupid part was, the drivers door wasn’t even locked….. I knocked out a quickie $1,000 job, then met up with some drinking buddies at the watering hole. I was so pissed off, I was ready to kill the first moron that would’ve pissed me off on the way home. I got lucky, my insurance actually took care of the loss, the busted rear hatch glass, after I provided receipts from the SnapOn guy that I dealt with. Now a days, if I carry stuff like that in my wagon, I keep the losers honest by keeping the cargo cover shut on the wagon.

LOL! I never even considered people would take the title another way than what I intended.. but now thinking about it, it makes a lot of sense. I did a few laps last year in my E39 and it was fun, but since I enjoy the car as a daily I won't do it seriously. I know how much work and money I put into the cars I do track and the E39 wouldn't last.. Well, unless I swapped out the engine with a LS or LT4.. pretty sure the Ford engines I know most about would be too big, at least the modern modular engines would be. I used to fantasize about putting a Chevy 350 crate engine in a late 80's early 90's XJ6, today that would be an LS.. I love the cars, hate the drive trains. I'd think a LS equipped E39 could be quite capable as a track monster..

So you're a reluctant member of the stolen Snap-on club.. they should give us a life time discount code, maybe then it would be worth replacing them.

[sleuth255]

The wife's Volt has built in tracking and we've gotten pretty dependent on it. Its nice for so much more than just peace of mind in case it gets stolen. We can time out/coordinate easier by quickly checking where the car is, and its also nice to have if she's running late. So I told her to register an air-tag to put in my car so she could have the same benefit.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Man, all the times back in the old days, I would go out and forget where I parked the car while out with the gang…..

[SanDiego1]

Other than losing the utility of the tools at a time in my life when I was certain I'd be a mechanic for the rest of my life (nope, that didn't work out, two short years later I was in the military learning new skills), is not being able to pass them down to my sons. I have various hobbies were I don't mind spending a bit of money, some work related, like my photography equipment, automatic watches, firearms, cars, tools. etc. etc, and now that my sons are all adults and I've learned what they really enjoy in the way of life and hobbies (all three are different. The two that look like me are really nothing like me, the one who looks nothing like me.. could be me), there are certain things I'd like to give to them.

And while I have a ton of tools of many types in nice boxes, imagine gifting a well cared for set of what are now vintage Snap-on tools.. I'm probably not the only one here who has his grandfathers and fathers tools.. the enjoyment I get every time I pick one up is indescribable. My grandfather was a contractor and built a lot of homes in the nicer areas of greater LA in the style of his favorite architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and I have to wonder how his power tools didn't kill him so those had to go, but I have the toolboxes he built, custom tools he made, the things I'd imagine he was most proud of and enjoyed using the most.. I kept those things.

The rest were just severely outclassed by modern tools and so well used they weren't work anything. My father was a carpet layer and specialized in repairs, but I have no need or desire for those kinds of tools past a few hand tools he let me play with as a kid when he took me on jobs. Later he told me about the million piece Craftsman tool set he bought but I never saw. After he died I found the tools in the original boxes in with the plastic still wrapped around them. I replaced my stolen Snap-on tools with mostly Craftsman so I gave the new unboxed tools to my brother. The tools I kept from the both of them I treasure and I try to explain the significance to my sons but their eyes glaze over in boredom.. But the son who likes cars, has become a quite good mechanic, and who we do all car things together.. he'll get the tools some day.. This is getting quite morose.. sorry.. but you get the picture. A vintage set of Snap-on;'s would have been a pleasure to pass down.

My dad was a heavy tractor mechanic and he would take me out with him sometimes (probably at mom's request) when some farmer's tractor would give it up out in a field in the middle of nowhere. He taught me a lot about engines, vehicles, tools, etc. and I got a laugh at his funeral when I told those in attendance that I knew the difference between a Phillips and a Flathead, a socket wrench and a monkey wrench, and that I can (and have) changed a tire all by myself, all thanks to my dad.

I was his only daughter and out of the many, many Snap-On tools he bought over the years, the only ones I have are a small socket wrench and set of sockets that (I think) was a gift from the Snap-On Man as a thank you for all of his business. I'm not sure he ever used it - it's only a 1/4 drive - he rarely had need of anything under 1/2 - but I will always treasure it. And I find that I need, and use, it frequently!

[JimLev]

Welcome to the forum.
Good story SanDiego.

[ross1]

And I thought you were talking about taking our cars out on a race track….
I’ve had a friend “hide” Airtags in his toolboxes. He has a history of getting them stolen in the past. So far, with the tracker, he hasn’t had his toolboxes stolen again. I don’t see why trackers wouldn’t work for a car, but I don’t know much about them.
-Donny

I initially mis-read this as "hiding airBAGS in his tool boxes", as in a booby trap.
I'll bet THAT would discourage the thief, albeit after the fact.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

I set up an airbag to go off on the bottom drawer of a Matco box, long story, everybody was busy running gags on each other at a shop I worked at. This guy Carter set up a firecracker in my toolbox, it went off when I got back from lunch and didn’t lock my box up before I left, ok, he go me, so paybacks a b!tch, I got him back a few days later, used a Hyundai dashboard air bag, a momentary switch, and a nine volt battery on his lowest drawer, he always threw stuff in there every time he’d get back from lunch. BOOM!!! He flew backwards about ten feet, landed on his ass, but the air bag blew so hard, it blew out the sides on his drawer, so that ended all the festivities, I ended up buying him a replacement drawer from the Matco man, it wasn’t cheap!

[ross1]

I also underestimated the power in one of these. Should have known better after seeing youtube vids of drunken Russians blowing their comrade half way into space after sitting down on one.
In a "hold my beer and watch this" moment a friend and I put an airbag under a 5 gl. plastic bucket expecting to launch it. Instead it made lots of shrapnel. Good thing we had the sense(right) to do it from a good distance but still both caught a little of it.
Those things can mess you up.