Hagerty To The Rescue

Veteran’s Day Parade Ended With Hagerty Insurance

I’ve had my Pop’s 1959 Cadillac now for about a year and a half.  I originally put insurance on the car just to be legal.  My insurance was through USAA which is a great company and all of my other cars are insured through USAA.  Unfortunately, USAA classic car insurance is none existent.  I was able to insure the Caddy but only at the amount of what it was worth new so about $5k, that’s with full coverage, so as you can guess I only had liability on the car.

Granted I was nervous to drive the car.  I feared something happening to he car while I was on the road.  It’s one thing to be concerned for myself but I was mostly concerned about other drivers.  I’ve been filmed by people driving and people stare and spot to look constantly.  I have no problem with this other than there attention is spread thin and the last thing I want is someone then running into me.

Luckily, no one has ran into me and I hope it stays that way (knock on wood).  Accidents are not my only concern with driving such an old vehicle though.  Many things can go wrong and a few things already have in my short time of owning my Pop’s car.  The most recent was during the Veteran’s Day Parade in Mooresville, NC this last year 2015.

In 2014 I had my first opportunity to cruise in the Veteran’s Day Parade.  I had only had the car for a few months and had only changed the oil.  The car ran perfectly and I was honored to drive my Pop’s car a Navy Veteran, in a Veteran’s Day parade as an Air Force Veteran myself.
The Veteran’s Day Parade in 2015 was a little different.  The car ran fine at first but within 10 minutes the car started to show signs that he was struggling to keep cool.  As I was driving in the parade I could see steam expelling from the passenger side.  I nervously watched as the temperature gauge slowly started to creep.  I was trapped though in a straight line with no exits in site and if the car overheated and broke down in the middle of the parade it would have been disastrous and embarrassing.

After about another 10 minutes I knew I had to make a decision and right after someone walked up to the car and told be it was steaming I passed everyone in front of me on the left side.  My hope was the motor would start to cool down once I started moving faster but it didn’t.  I was able to then exit the parade only to have the car die minutes later around the corner.  I had a sign of relief that I had made it through the parade but also mostly just annoyed that it happened in the first place.

I waited for about an hour to ensure the engine had cooled down and was able to walk to a gas station and put a gallon of antifreeze in the radiator.  Mind you there was no sign of leakage and no broken hoses, nevertheless the car refused to start again. I had waited an hour and feared my parade trip may have just blown my motor, even though the oil wasn’t milky at all.

Fortunately, I had just got full coverage through Hagerty about a month earlier.  I have never had Hagerty Insurance and I had yet to use or even put my ID cards in the car.  I was able to look up the phone number online and was quickly talking to a real person. She was able to look up my coverage and had a tow truck in route within 30 minutes all at no additional cost to me.  She even called right after the tow truck arrived just to ensure I was being taken care of.
I hate that my 1959 Cadillac Coupe De Ville had to be towed, but I the flat bed tow truck delivered my car right inside my garage.  I was even told I could have my car towed back out of my garage to the shop for free as well.  I’m glad I was covered by Hagerty and I’m confident if I need them in the future they will be there for me and my Pop’s 59 Caddy.