Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Know Your Trailer

Almost 11 years ago we went trailer shopping at one of the Horse Expos. We did it on purpose so we could get a demo trailer at a discounted price. Going in we really wanted a Hawk trailer. They unfortunately did not take us as serious buyers and did not put any effort into selling us a trailer. So we walked out and looked at other brands. When we came to the Gore trailers, they had want Mom wanted in features and the guy working totally sold the trailer to us. When it came to financing, I set what I could pay a month and they made it work. They even gave us the ball off their truck when we came to pick up the trailer and ours was too big.

That said, since this is the biggest purchase I have ever made, I know that trailer and it's features. When the insurance came back with the first offer, I was sorely disappointed. My brother happens to be an adjuster and he told me to request to see the comparable. When they sent the report, I was ticked.
Hmm, my trailer does not have mangers

Uh, yeah not swing and the tires are only 3yrs old

How do they miss some of these features?

No dressing room! What???

They did not even have the right features on my trailer and they left some off which significantly lowered the value. The insurance person told me to send a list of missing features and my own comparable. My brother helped with that part. They missed things like the roof vents, the dressing room and the spare tire. And they also said my trailer had swinging doors instead of a ramp. This was a definite learning experience.
I worried the longer I did not hear anything back from the insurance. I sent a couple emails and finally heard back a week after. I guess they had to go back and forth with the appraisal company. I held my breath as he started to tell me the new value. I let it out with relief when he said the new value was $9805, just over $1300 more than the first value. With tax added I got my $10k. I did not request a copy of the new report even though I was curious.
At that point I was just happy to be moving forward. My loan was accruing interest and the bank holding the lien was not giving me the right information about how to pay off the loan. My Dad gave me the money to do it, but it still took so long. I hope no one has to deal with First Federal. Now I am waiting for them to send the title, so I can send it to the insurance and then finally I can get the money. Which means I still cannot buy a trailer until then.
We have one more show and DaVinci still may need surgery.

Someone rubbed his eye :(

Anti- rub protection


I hate not having a trailer. I really wish I could afford another Gore, but sadly I am not in the position to have another 12yr loan. At least since I knew my trailer I got the money to get another decent trailer. Whatever we end up with, I will definitely keep a list of the features and when we get new tires. I just need to find a trailer to use in a couple weeks. Fingers crossed.


2 comments:

  1. Wow, good for you to check it over and argue. I swear that they want your money but not to pay it out!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ugh good lesson learned, thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete