Car stolen - insurers only want to pay a third of what the car is worth!

Purposemaker

Unfortunately, I don't think you will have much joy here, even if the matter is dealt with by the Ombudsman. This is because the FOS themselves state that the Glasses guide is the fairest method of valuing cars and will generally go with whatever it says. THis is because autotrader is not really an independent view on a cars value, the values on there are generally inflated as it is a trade site that puts a 'mark up' on a car's value to make a profit.

vaio

I thought the FOS said that the starting point should be the average of the retail values given by Caps, glasses & parkers with any one that is significantly different to the other two being ignored.

I’d guess this will work for most run of the mill cars but if yours isn’t run of the mill then it won’t and other methods of valuing it will need to be found.

I’ve never quite understood the reluctance to accept Autotrader values as surely this is the market that a significant number of people buy from

dacouch

vaio wrote: »

I thought the FOS said that the starting point should be the average of the retail values given by Caps, glasses & parkers with any one that is significantly different to the other two being ignored.

I’d guess this will work for most run of the mill cars but if yours isn’t run of the mill then it won’t and other methods of valuing it will need to be found.

I’ve never quite understood the reluctance to accept Autotrader values as surely this is the market that a significant number of people buy from

It's basically because when people place an advert on there they expect to be haggled so they inflate the price of their advert to allow for this. Thus it does not show the market value of the cars as the market value is what they are selling for.

The completed listings on ebay are a more accurate way of finding what cars are selling for

Mr_K

I thought the whole point of insurance was to put you back in a position before you suffered any loss. Instead of accepting money why not invite them to purchase you the same car in the same condition and mileage ? They won't be able to or won't bother , proving your point. Fight them all the way, insurance is there so you don't suffer a loss.

vaio

dacouch wrote: »

It's basically because when people place an advert on there they expect to be haggled so they inflate the price of their advert to allow for this. Thus it does not show the market value of the cars as the market value is what they are selling for.

The completed listings on ebay are a more accurate way of finding what cars are selling for

yep, it might well be but the insurance pay out should be enough for you to go to a retail dealer and get a replacement, not buy something off an ebay auction

WombleSW20_2

I agree with dacouche. I had both my cars stolen while on holiday last summer and been through the process. The autotrader prices are not a realistic valuation of the cars (because of the argument previously mentioned). The Glass car guide is recognised by the industry so if you do see a car that is no where near the Glass price guide, then barter them down. I really don't think you'll get anywhere with the insurers as it's the FOS recognised method of valuation. One tip though - highlight anything that might up the value of the car i.e. low milleage, condition, full service history etc. as these ar all things that the insurer wouldn't automatically consider. I found that doing this got me a slightly higher valuation (but it won't get you towards the Autotrader one.