Help: Car insurance fight! Can anyone access Glass's Guide or CAP Guide used car valuations?

[MooseyMouse]

Desperately seeking an official valuation for my written off car.

It's a Renault Trafic 9 seat mini bus SL27dci 115. 34,000 miles on clock. 58 plate.

Six weeks ago I had a nasty car accident and my car was written off. The other driver admitted liability straight away but the insurance company is playing games.

Two years ago we bought our car for £12,000

Our insurance started by offering us just £5,700!

• We've provided them with evidence from Parker's Guide (which values the car at between £9,500 and £14,000).

• We sent them a list of comparable cars on the market (which they said weren't exact matches for ours - fair enough but then...)

• We found an exact match for ours (for sale at £14,000) they said they couldn't consider cars which are on the market because they're only an asking price.

• Now they're saying that they're only willing to consider valuations from Glass's Guide and CAP Guide which aren't available to the public (for our vehicle) but are used by car dealers throughout the country.

The insurance Ombudsman is clear that they have to pay what it would cost us to replace the vehicle with one "as near as possibly identical" which I think is about £10k. But you can't bring an Ombudsman complaint for eight weeks. They're about to take the courtesy car away which will leave us over Christmas (and possibly until Feb which is the point we can complain to the Ombudsman) with one car which we can't fit the whole family in.

So, if you're a car dealer or know one, could I possibly ask you to look up the value of my minibus? I'd be ever so grateful.

Thank you so much if you're able to help.

Insurance usually only offers the trade-in value (i.e. What a dealer would have given you for it) - last time I paid to use parkers site I thought it did give a value for this (and yes it could well have been less than half of the "selling price" range.

Written off price of car + whiplash compo = probably about the right amount to replace your car

It's why everyone does it, and insurance co's made it that way imho. It is truly shocking that you have to legally be insured up to the hilt to even own a vehicle, yet I never hear of them paying out promptly and in full when necessary.

Only themselves to blame for the current situation (regarding whiplash claims) in my mind.

Ha ha TheGirl - the insurance on this car cost us £1,000 a year but now we need them they're ducking and diving... Bloody crash wasn't even my fault!

Fish - you're right that they often offer the lower price but the Ombudsman is absolutely clear that they have to give you what it would cost to but a car "as near as possibly identical" from a "reputable dealer".

Hope someone can let me know the price from the relevant guides.

Hi there OP
Moved to cars and indeed bumping for you

TheGirlFromIpanema

How much bullshit?

Written off price of car + whiplash compo = probably about the right amount to replace your car

It's why everyone does it, and insurance co's made it that way imho.

Are you advocating committing fraud? Have you committed fraud yourself?

It is truly shocking that you have to legally be insured up to the hilt to even own a vehicle,

That's nonsense - Third Party cover is the legal minimum you're able to buy (the actual legal minimum is RTA cover, but insurers' policies tend to count as TPO at the least). In fact, you don't have to buy insurance as long as you make a (large) deposit to the Office of the Paymaster General.

yet I never hear of them paying out promptly and in full when necessary.

How many claims have you dealt with in your illustrious insurance career?

Only themselves to blame for the current situation (regarding whiplash claims) in my mind.

So you've not heard of the Woolf Reforms then?

OP, one of the top results on Autotrader is a 61 plate Trafic with 29k on the clock listed at £13,995 from a dealer so I call bollocks on a £14k vehicle being "exactly the same" as yours.

There is one of the same age at 59k miles at £5800 from a private sale, should easily get 10% off the asking price if not more with some savvy negotiating, add a bit more to factor in buying from a dealer and £5,700 doesn't seem that far off, especially after deducting the excess. Why do you say it's worth £10k?

Glass's dealer valuation attached. From a dealer. Something doesn't seem right! If you can't see it just let me know your email address and I'll send a bigger version - it states the value as £9230

It does but with mileage between 34k and 71k.

no, 71k is the average mileage. Because the mileage on hers is only 34k it will improve the valuation by a few hundred pounds. A mileage adjusted valuation is the industry standard.

Oh sorry, for some reason I read it as 115,000 miles.

As you were.