Car Insurance Write Off

albionrovers

Hello
I am expecting my car to be written off tomorrow.
Any tips on how to play it with the ins. co.?

I know not to accept the 1st offer but what next?
Car is a 1997 BMW 520i with 118K on it.
I want 3K but i'll be lucky to get 2K, which is mildly annoying.
Car runs sweet as a nut but has a big dent in the side which makes it uneconomical to repair.

£250 excess.
No 3rd party to reclaim this from.
My wife's car was stolen and bashed mine on the way out of my driveway. :-)

Any tips on dealing with the ins. co. greatly appreciated.

mattymoo

This comes up so many times. Just search this forum for "write off" and you will find lots. To get you started, here is an answer I gave on an earlier thread.


Have a look at Parkers price guide and Auto Trader to see what similar cars go for (not necessarily the same it is advertised for of course).

Insurers use the trade bible Glasses which you cannot gain access to although I do seem to recall you could get a free Glasses valuation via the the Vauxhall site. Here is the link
http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/vx/finance/valueyourcar.do

Note their disclaimer though. Will give you a rough indication

"All valuations given are based on a single transaction with a bona fide motor dealer involving the sale of the consumer's car in part exchange for the purchase of a different car from the same dealer.
Values are not cash values, replacement prices, private sales values or insurance settlements and therefore must not be used for any other valuation purposes wll valuations given are based on a single transaction with a bona fide motor dealer involving the sale of the consumer's car in part exchange for the purchase of a different car from the same dealer.
Values are not cash values, replacement prices, private sales values or insurance settlements and therefore must not be used for any other valuation purposes whatsoever.

albionrovers

Thx MattyMoo.
Like you said, I had already read all of the above on an earlier thread.

I was more after how many times to reject the offer, to argue about a good set of tyres counts for anything, a new MOT etc etc. Looking for tips from someone who's been through it all.

To me, all are relevant to a car's value. They are when you buy a new car anyways.