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Crash decision
I am in quite a bit of bother and would appreciate any help you can give. Only a week ago, my pride and joy was written off. The insurance company is now offering a price to me, based upon the ‘Glass's Guide’. My car was a 2005 Ford Fiesta Zetec S TDCI with the Climate Pack (heated front screen and a/c) and black metallic paint. It had done 53,000 miles and was immaculate, extremely well looked after with a full service history. The first offer they gave did not seem very competitive compared to advertised prices at the moment. They actually use the words "market price" in their terms and conditions and I would assume this means the price I would have to pay if I went out tomorrow to try and buy one of these cars. They are quite rare to find, especially with the climate pack, something the insurance company has told me does not add any value to the car, nor the metallic paint, which I find very strange, seeing as they cost extra to buy. Is this Glass's Guide the market standard? Is this guide based upon a retail or trade price? And what would you say is a true market value for my car?
Asked on 27 February 2010 by G.E., via e-mail
Answered by
Honest John
Glass's Guide gives two values at an average mileage for the year. They are dealer retail and trade. Insurers don’t pay dealer retail because that implies showroom condition, freshly serviced with a warranty. Instead they offer a price mid-way between dealer retail and trade. Another reader asked me to value a Fusion a couple of days ago. I told her Glass's trade was £2,500 so she would probably get £3,000. In fact she got £3,700, so that insurer was generous. An 05 Fiesta 1.4TDCI Zetec Climate with 50k miles trade books at £3,925, or £4,200 if it's the much better 1.6TDCI. So you should expect between £500 and £1,200 more than those trade prices.
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Our honest used car pricing is a little bit different to all the others. You can get to our values through make or model - you don’t have to follow a prescribed route. Plus, it’s live, which means we can react to changes in the market quicker than any printed price guide.
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