Car Insurance: Glass's Guide - Out of date?

l_isqof

Had the pleasure of claiming for a total loss of a vehicle for the first time last month. Car was wrecked whilst parked.

Insurer claims to be using Glass's Guide to value the car, but the value is significantly lower than anything available on the market (by around 30% less than the average market  asking price, and by 12% less than the cheapest car on Autotrader). Obviously this does not includes excess, etc - just the bog standard market value, so actual settlement figure drops to less than half the money to buy a new car.

The insurer also claims that the Glass's guide gives them the value of a new (retail) version of the same car as cheaper than the second cheapest car available on the search. This can't be right. Either Glass's Guide is wrong, or insurer is lying.

I've got the feeling that the Glass's Guide does not capture the significant increase in second-hand car prices at the lower end of the market over the past two months (since post-covid reopening basically), as reported on the BBC and elsewhere. The insurer is thereby abusing of their system's incompetence, by using out of date information.

Anyone had a similar experience when claiming for cars recently?

jimbo6977

Another possibility is that one or both of you is basing the valuation on a misunderstanding of the precise model in question and the relevant adjustments for extra features and mileage differences. 

BTW what sort of excess do you have that it represents 20% of the price of a new car?

Sandtree

Glass captures sale price not asking price and is updated monthly. 

12% below asking isn’t a significant deduction as people are often optimistic with pricing particularly when the press keep running stories about how high second hand prices are 

l_isqof

I was comparing the whole range of the model, so you are partially right on that, but the difference to the average of the whole range, surely cannot be almost equal to the value of the car. I had the basic Focus Style model, which should theoretically have been slightly cheaper, but when looking at the current market prices, these do not vary much between the main other ranges, such as the Titanium or Zetec, either.

The optional extras on the Mk2 Focus are somewhat limited anyway, apart from the Zetec S model, which is rarer, and I wouldn't have taken into consideration (since I eliminated cheapest and most expensive options from average). Extras wouldn't make such a big difference in price after 10 years of age. 

The current cheapest similar Focus Style option on the market, with a comparable price on the current market to the valuation provided, has almost double the mileage, also being a year older, so I doubt that this is the case.

It just feels that the significant increase in value that happened over the past few months is not captured within the Glass's database, which would be unfair, as I cannot go out and buy a similar car now, since none are available at that price anymore.

I was just querying, in case others had the same experience. 

[Deleted User]

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Grumpy_chap

l_isqof said:

The insurer also claims that the Glass's guide gives them the value of a new (retail) version of the same car as cheaper than the second cheapest car available on the search. This can't be right. Either Glass's Guide is wrong, or insurer is lying.

This could be possible.  
So could the fact that the guide has not reflected the current abnormal used car prices.  There is a whole thread on that subbject:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6287638/car-prices-what-the/p1

If the insurer is correct that new is cheaper than used, would you accept the insurer simply providing you the new car as settlement?

I gave one example of new being cheaper than used in the linked thread, but can't find the post now.

It was for a Toyota RAV4 list £35k:


Available from an online broker for £30k new:


Or used 2 yo 7k miles at £33k:



EDIT: I found the original post as well, it was in a different thread:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6292225/brand-new-car-with-fault/p2

Grumpy_chap said:

Look, here's a daft situation, not sure if the OP could pull off something similar with their KIA:


Toyota RAV 4 Hybrid Design from BroadSpeed = £30k

New Toyota RAV4 RRP OTR £35,025Design SUV VVT-i Hybrid Auto AWD-i

(Configuration: Petrol 2.5L 222PS 5dr 131g/km)Our Price £30,272

https://www.broadspeed.com/CarView/Toyota/RAV4/49596/VVT-i_Hybrid_2.5_222PS_Petrol_Design_Automatic_5_doors

Toyota RAV 4 Hybrid Design used 7k miles 2019 model from Toyota = £33k

2019(69) Toyota RAV-42.5 VVT-i Hybrid Design 5dr CVT

Price £32,995
https://www.curriemotors.co.uk/toyota/used-cars/13163006-toyota-rav-4-2.5-vvt-i-hybrid-design-5dr-cvt/



Go figure?  I can't work it out, I would need Dacia to do that level of complex maths.

[Deleted User]

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