Without going into a long story, Admiral insurance have just deemed my car a write off and I'm waiting for the call where they give me a settlement figure. I've been doing my research and have a figure in mind but I'm assuming it wont match theirs's so was wondering what to expect and the best way to handle it in case they come up with a daft number?
The car in question is a 2013 BMW MSport 530d with 39670 on the clock. I've been on Autotrader and there are about 10 cars in the uk for sale with similar mileage and spec ranging from 13K for a 2012 model with 5K more miles to £16K for a 2014 model with the same miles.
So with all that in mind and considering I want to buy another one I'd like about £14K from Admiral when they ring. Does that sound about right and should I expect a proper offerat first or is it all a haggling game?
Originally Posted by relaxer7
Do your research and factor in condition, mileage, extras etc. Be realistic about your valuation and use recognised sites such as Parkers or Glass's guide. By all means haggle, they will undoubtedly try to reduce their payout so be polite but firm citing your reasons why you deem any offer to be unacceptable, if indeed it is.
I went through this a couple of years back and it was surprisingly painless. I provided comparatives, both inside and outside the main dealer network for similar cars, as the car in question was main dealer supplied and serviced. The insurance company took the view that the main dealer history was of no real value but I disagreed on a like for like basis and we settled on an acceptable compromise figure after a call and a couple of emails. I think the key is to be realistic, prepared and willing to stand your ground as there will be a range of offers and they'll want to settle for the lower end if they can. I did suggest they just arrange for delivery of an equivalent car and they declined.
I went through this with another insurer a number of years ago.
Their policy was to look up prices for similar cars locally and base their offer on that. They phoned, gave me a figure which I accepted, and the money was in my bank the next day.
Surprisingly they gave me £500 more than I had paid for the car 18 months earlier!
All you can do is wait and see and be able to counter if their offer is low.
I disagree with using Parker’s or Glass’ as a guide to prices because they tend to be trade prices not retail prices.
If there are any older models on the BMW pre-owned site, I’d use that as likely to be top end!
A friend has just gone through this (non fault)- an older car and was offered just under £1400 and to keep the car - I’d have valued the car at under £1k so needless to say their arm was bitten off for the quote
Good luck
Supposedly..... all the insurance companies are rolling in cash right now. There has been so little driving through Coronavirus that accidents and claims are super low, so they have all our premium money and nothing to spend it on....
A few weeks ago "someone I know" was on his way out here in his pride and joy - a so called modern Japanese classic - when he was T-boned by someone coming out of a side street at speed, with their eyes shut.
Once he'd got over the shock he was absolutely furious as it was very low mileage and he'd got it for a fair price . He put in a claim to his own insurers but later that evening the other party's insurers called him direct and asked him if he would deal direct with them. He withdrew his claim and did so, negotiating hard.
A cheque arrived yesterday for three times what he paid for it last year
A similar thing happened to my Niece last year, someone left their handbrake off and the car rolled at quite a pace into her 14 year old ( knackered) Mini, wrote it off and her settlement twice what she paid for it 2 years prior. No haggling required.
Cheers..
Jase
I steeled myself for difficult conversation(s) with an insurance company after my bike was written off in a non-fault accident. In the event, I got £500 more than I paid for it, proudly taking place as the only automotive profit I ever made (not that I ever tried, but hey).
I guess you never can tell!
Seems like a mixed bag then... I don’t expect to be better off but at the same time I shouldn’t come out of it worse off surely. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
I'm going out on a limb here but I'm guessing it just had to be.........an MX-5 ?
Good call that's usually the answer to life , the universe and everything on this forum - but in this case the answer is 43 --- Honda Civic Type R - EP3
My Ducati 749s was written off in a crash recently as some here will know. I insured it 3 years ago with an value of £4k
The insurance company offered me £5k yesterday with an option to buy it back for £1200 I've already had an offer of £1500 from a breaker...
Not a bad result there then, although not getting you close to the other low miler, which is a shame.
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