I was involved in a front & rear shunt this week and I think there is a good chance my car will be a total loss.
It was a 2000 year "X" reg. VW Passat 1.9 TDI PD115 Sport estate and I have had the car from new.
This car was in very good condition as it is not the family run-about and both the exterior and interior were pretty much perfect (apart from the odd stone chip).
The CAP guide for this precise model is £4,800 for clean, £4,275 for average and £3,725 for below average, all based on a 90,000 mile clock (i.e. average of 15,000 miles/year).
My car had actually done 100,000 earlier this week!!! So basically it has just over 10% more miles than average.
Based on this information, can I expect to be offered the "book" price (say somewhere between £4,800 and £4,275) less approx. 10% for the mileage, or am I likely to be "shafted"?
Whats even worse is that it had almost £50 worth of diesel still in the tank and a good set of Michelin Pilot sport tyres on it.........talk about "sick as a parrot"
Any informed opinion, or even better actual experiences of similar situations greatly appreciated.
Also, any ideas of what to replace it with, (I need an estate preferably)? Would you go new or say 18 months old? Audi, BMW, Subaru (no diesel version I know).
|
I had this scenario 2 years back, with a 2 year old 156 GTA. Wait and see what they offer you, then take it from there. If you think they've undervalued it, you need to show why. Go on Autotrader and find examples as similar as you can to yours. Fire off a nice polite letter explaining why you think they've undervalued it. Include fact that the tyres were new (and send the reciept if you still have it). Don't think you can do much about the diesel though.
I got an extra £1500 out of them from first cheque they sent to settlement, so its worth being thorough.
|
|
|
|
As mentioned, Autotrader is your friend, although it works both ways. Build a relationship with the claims engineer, or whatever they're called this year. The diesel can be claimed as an uninsured loss, providing someone else was to blame of course :-) Receipt, photo of fuel gauge and statement from recovering agent/garage. Not certain about the tyres.
|
|
|
Okay so the car is indeed a total loss.
The insurance company have finally offered me £3,900 (initially £3,800 but increased), but will not give me the £4,000 that I really am looking for. I have asked them for a day or two to consider this, to which they have agreed.
They say a similar vehicle near me is available for £4,250 at a traders, but it is on a "W" plate (so upto six months older) and is a "GL" spec. (lower than my "Sport" spec.), however it only has 87,000 on the clock as opposed to my 100,000 (but I know my mileage is genuine). They insist this vehicle would probably be available for £4,000 if i made a cash offer.
What would you do? The car at £350 more than my offer is older and a lower spec. (but maybe lower mileage)!
|
Tell them to sling it - and point out that the car they constantly refer to is not the same as yours.
Maybe go and take a look at it, becuase I doubt its in the same condition either.
|
just keep fighting them
they are all the same
|
total loss write off motor insurance valuations
www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombuds...m
....Of course there can be genuine debates about what represents a fair market value. Our starting point is to consider the approach the firm has taken. We would expect it to have consulted the normal trade guides and to have allowed for any difference from the norm in the car?s mileage or condition. In most cases, the firm should have assessed the market value as equivalent to the ?guide retail price? (the price that a member of the public might reasonably expect to pay at a dealership). .....
....Sometimes the firm will argue that it would be fairer to use the ?guide trade value? (the price that a motor trader might pay). Normally this will be less than the market price that the policyholder will have to pay to replace the car. However, the trade value may be a useful indicator where the car was not in ?guide retail? condition or where there is evidence that the customer intended to buy a replacement privately. ....
Advertised prices for cars are widely understood to be a starting point for negotiation, rather than a fixed price. And the information provided is often insufficient to ensure a like-for-like comparison of age, condition and mileage. But we do sometimes take local factors into account when deciding a relevant replacement cost. ...
www.homeapproved.co.uk/industry-watch-0407.htm
....EurotaxGlass?s has launched Glass?s Value Assessor (GVA), a new solution providing motor insurers with a consistent, auditable and transparent process for settling total loss claims.
One of the first systems of its kind to reach the market, GVA will dramatically reduce the costs associated with settling disputed total loss claims (upwards of £1,000 per claim), and simultaneously help insurers comply with Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulations governing the ?fair treatment? of policyholders. ...
|
... EurotaxGlass?s has launched Glass?s Value Assessor (GVA),
www.eurotaxglass.co.uk/newspublisher/pressreleases...1
.....Factors affecting valuations
To increase the accuracy of a pre-accident valuation, GVA can take account of the selling prices of similar vehicles offered for sale at the time of the accident within the policyholder?s postcode. Each valuation can also be adjusted to reflect the vehicle?s mileage, items of extra equipment, number of previous owners, service history, presence of normal wear and tear, and any other cosmetic or structural damage incurred prior to the accident ? all helping to eliminate under- or over-assessment of a vehicle?s pre-accident value. ....
|
I really worry about what might happen if a third party writes off my car. To an insurer I would imagine it doesn't have much value what with 6 figure mileage and would value it as any typical 6 figure mileage car. Yet it's absolutely immaculate and unmarked inside and out, took 6 months to find, 1 private owner from new, had £3000 worth of replacement components just prior to expiration of the warranty and is, IMHO, irreplacable at the sort of money it cost to buy originally. If someone offered me the value of a 70k mile car for it, I wouldn't sell.
Getting an insurer to accept it's anything other than just a high mileage 5 Series would be quite a challenge. I certainly couldnt replace it with another with the same condition for what its probably 'worth'.
Is this sort of thing taken into account when you are an innocent third party? In such circumstances, can you insist on a repair?
|
|
|
|
