Insurance valuation!?!

[CitTone]

Daughter has just had a front-side bash with SWMBO's car and the insurance assessor has come along to look at it.

It's a '53 Citroen C3 HDi 16v Exclusive with a panoramic roof. Every bu99er wants one as their reputation for economy is outstanding and the higher levels of equipment command a premium price.

The assessor wants to write the car off (didn't look that bad to me....) and offered the Glasses Guide value for it - the policy says "market value" and to my mind, that means what you would have to pay to buy one.

I told him to go and find me one of that spec for that money.

He hasn't called back yet......

[Max Headroom]

Sorry to hear that CitTone. Hope nobody hurt.

Never Never Never accept the insurers first offer ...EVER - sometimes you can even push them to a third offer.

They readily take enough £££s off you, so take what you can back when you (unfortunately) have to use them!

[Audax]

Have they taken the car off you yet? If not run it down to the Citroen dealer and an independent workshop and get quotes for repair. Also start looking about for identical replacements and come up with your own replacement price, also get valuations from glasses, parkers and CAP (make sure they are mileage and equipment adjusted). The insurer will then say that these valuations say they are not for insurance valuations but then ask them what an insurance valuation is if it isn't supposed to be the cost of a replacement. Also, is your daughters policy a different company to the one you are trying to claim on or are they different insurance companies?

[CitTone]

It's my policy with the daughter as a named driver.

Obviously my challenge to find an equivalent car hit home - he came back with a revised valuation today and I'm £350 up on where we started, so we're about where we need to be on price (pending a suitable haggle with the seller), but I suspect I shall have to be a bit patient when it comes to getting the replacement, as SWMBO will not take kindly to losing any creature comforts!

But there you go - always worth waiting for the right car to come along, as we keep saying (usually just before impulsively buying the first one that turns up.....)

[Norfolk Jim]

We did that with my sons old Volvo 480 ES. Someone hit the front (which has the pop up lights) and basically wrote it off but insurance company only wanted to pay what they thought it was worth as an old car which we wouldn't accept - £700 - it was insured for £1500.

We scoured the internet and found an older one with higher miles and lower spec - that was £400 more than we'd been offered but finally we found one on Piston heads the same model, year but slightly higher miles and different colour - red not white. They had just sold it for £1600.  I told insurer to find a like for like car as that's what we'd insured for and he ended up on same one. We got £1500 back and amazingly the car for spares!

[CitTone]

In theory, the valuation is about right in terms of like-for-like pricing - it's just that there aren't any about! Older, newer, more miles or less, or located hundreds of miles away - yet they seem such a common motor!!

Interesting side-note....I told the assessor at the beginning that I wanted to keep the stereo as it is an after-market unit with a USB socket. He said that the car was being assessed "as-is" and he would deduct £50 from the valuation if I took it (cheek!).

Anyway, when he revised the valuation and I agreed it, he rang it in to HQ, then when I spoke to him later asking when I could remove the stereo, he admitted that he'd forgotten the deduction, so could I please replace the original stereo.

Luckily for him I had kept it. Unluckily for whoever gets that car, that stereo is bu99ered. Luckily for me I get to keep the stereo (with all the remote-control wiring adapters) AND my £50.

[Audax]

Sounds like the assessor was a bit of a meanie! Glad it worked out for you. I was really glad when my old 9-5 was written off that I'd not just stuck the winter tyres on it although saying that they never sent an assessor for it just a recovery truck. I removed all the accessories from it (things like the load cover and anything that wasn't factory fit) and the day after the accident I swapped back from the new DI cassette to the old one I had in the boot, not sure how naughty that was as they'd not written the car off then and I'd not reported the claim at that point?

[CitTone]

I have just realised that, for the first time since 1988, I technically (as soon as the insurance cheque arrives) do not own a Citroen....will I have to change my alias???

[Norfolk Jim]

So that's how yours is made up. I sometimes wonder with some people?

[Richard_C]

Go on, buy a 2CV, you know you want one ..............

[CitTone]

DS21 perhaps. But not as everyday transport!