Car valuation deduction

helenjones833

I have had a car write off recently, which was not my fault (I was hit from behind and the vehicle crumpled to the extent that it is not economic to repair it). The insurance have come back with a valuation, but there are two issues with it:

(1) their valuation using the Glass's retail price doesn't agree with the one I got in a Glass's report online. My report said £4560 and their's said £4260. Their email system was "down" this morning so they couldn't see my report and I will discuss that aspect with them later.

(2) they have deducted £400 from the valuation (from £4260 to £3860) because there was cosmetic damage to the front bumper, (unrelated to the accident) and a scratch mark down the side of the car, which was done by a passing vandal during the night a few years ago.

I wanted to get some opinions from you guys whether (2) is legitimate. Obviously if I buy a like for like car it is not likely to be scratched or damaged like that, and I haven't seen nay vehicles advertised with a price as low as what they are offering, so I would be out of pocket. Is it legitimate for them to deduct £400 for that, and would the ombudsman likely uphold that deduction?

Thanks.

neilmcl

You're entitled for a like-for-like, retail replacement value based on the condition of you car prior to the accident. If you disagree with the valuation then you'll need to show equivalent cars being offered for sale with similar pre-accident damage as yours. Personally I'd say a deduction for existing damage is fair.

helenjones833

neilmcl wrote: »

You're entitled for a like-for-like, retail replacement value based on the condition of you car prior to the accident. If you disagree with the valuation then you'll need to show equivalent cars being offered for sale with similar pre-accident damage as yours. Personally I'd say a deduction for existing damage is fair.

Well fair enough, and thanks for the reply. That's going to be quite difficult though - I'm not sure where to find cars with damage of this nature, they're not really on sale. And for another thing, my car is slightly unusual in that it's 9 years old but with only 57k miles on the clock, so finding like for likes of any description is also more tricky. One thing though, there are no cars on Parkers advertised for under £4k that have this sort of age/mileage profile. To get any sort of similar car I'm clearly going to end up possibly a £400 to £1000 out of pocket which doesn't seem fair to me. Because like for like just isn't really available out there. I don't mind much about cosmetic damage, but the car itself was in good nick.

Oakdene

Look for a car that is the same model as yours that is in good condition (i.e. without the "cosmetic damage to the front bumper, (unrelated to the accident) and a scratch mark down the side of the car" & see what is for sale for, then you take the £400 off that...

Also whats your make, model & spec Im sure someone will find some online...

neilmcl

helenjones833 wrote: »

Well fair enough, and thanks for the reply. That's going to be quite difficult though - I'm not sure where to find cars with damage of this nature, they're not really on sale.

Well that's kind of the point isn't it. Damage of this nature would have probably been fixed prior to retail sale therefore costing more than yours was worth.

helenjones833

Oakdene wrote: »

Look for a car that is the same model as yours that is in good condition (i.e. without the "cosmetic damage to the front bumper, (unrelated to the accident) and a scratch mark down the side of the car" & see what is for sale for, then you take the £400 off that...

Also whats your make, model & spec Im sure someone will find some online...

It's a 2008 (57) Skoda Octavia Ambiente 1.9 TDI, 56,500 miles on the clock.

straighttalker

The insurance company will send an engineer down to damage your new car in the same manner as your old one.

helenjones833

straighttalker wrote: »

The insurance company will send an engineer down to damage your new car in the same manner as your old one.

Ha ha ha, now I wish I had that job. :rotfl:

Oakdene

helenjones833 wrote: »

It's a 2008 (57) Skoda Octavia Ambiente 1.9 TDI, 56,500 miles on the clock.

A very quick search shows http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201606205081844?postcode=sa732pd&sort=price-asc&year-from=2008&aggregatedTrim=Ambiente&maximum-mileage=60000&year-to=2008&minimum-mileage=40000&make=SKODA&advertising-location=at_cars&model=OCTAVIA&radius=1500&onesearchad=Used&page=1

Realise its a 1.6tdi but the mileage is similar...

This one has a bit more mileage http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2008-58-SKODA-OCTAVIA-1-9-AMBIENTE-TDI-5D-103-BHP-DIESEL-/252574755980?hash=item3acea0ec8c:g:5y4AAOSw-CpX-ZEF

BeenThroughItAll

£3800 for a damaged 9yo Octavia is entirely sensible. As shown above, you can buy a replacement with similar mileage for four grand without dents and scratches all over it.

dannyrst

Don't forget, unless you are terrible at buying cars, you won't be paying the price on the window.