I Finally got Caught Last Monday Morning

[fabes]

The Auto trader 'Good Price' dial thingy is a convincing 'market value' guide when negotiating with insurers now.

It is higher than their Glasses guide book, and is another factor that is increasing premiums, but it's what it costs to replace the car / be indemnified

And we pay enough in (bl##dy) premiums...!

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I’m very sorry to hear your news @Big Janner and I’m relieved that it happened without confrontation. I wish you the best with negotiating with your insurer.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Insurance companies are also not stupid and realise that's there are often thousands of pounds of difference between between what a car is advertised for and what it sells for....whereas Glasses retail figures are assembled from what real cars actually sell for from figures reported by real dealers. I used to be one of those reporting dealers and still am for the caravan version of Glasses Guide. So its often difficult to get them to pay more than Guide retail (allowing for mileage etc)... unless its a very rare car where figures are more spurious due to lack of data.

 

[markjay]

The keys (all my keys) are kept in a metal key cupboard, as far from the front of the house as I can get them

Yep, the good news is that only metal, rubber, leather and plastic were disturbed, no one was hurt.

GA are proving to be slow in responding.
My son in law is an insurance broker and advises turning down the 1st offer.
Then refuse the second offer unless it makes sense.
It may take time.

On my side, is an advert, on Autotrader, that is for a GLc, a mimic of mine, same colour, same spec, but with just 685 more miles on the clock than mine.
This is up for £18000.
I'm going to use it as a benchmark

Private sale?

 

[oldguy57]

A idea - tell anyone who wants to view not to bother unless they bring 2 forms of id.

It is a good idea with high value cars. The seller of the CL I bought showed me his driving license and insisted on seeing mine. He also looked on Streetview for my address which showed my daily driver on the drive. He was in the security section of the financial services business though.

 

[StMarks]

On my side, is an advert, on Autotrader, that is for a GLc, a mimic of mine, same colour, same spec, but with just 685 more miles on the clock than mine.
This is up for £18000.

They're moving it on a bit sharpish, aren't they.!

 

[Big Janner]

Insurance companies are also not stupid and realise that's there are often thousands of pounds of difference between between what a car is advertised for and what it sells for....whereas Glasses retail figures are assembled from what real cars actually sell for from figures reported by real dealers. I used to be one of those reporting dealers and still am for the caravan version of Glasses Guide. So its often difficult to get them to pay more than Guide retail (allowing for mileage etc)... unless its a very rare car where figures are more spurious due to lack of data.

No they certainly are not, but, neither are we.
They are in business, not to help or recompense us, but to make a profit.
This is their only business driver.

In the hope that they would be quick to finalise the claim, I've phoned 2 of the dealers, including the one selling a car very like mine in spec, condition and mileage.
They will not reduce the price
They will sell me an extended warranty

The insurance company will have to accept that the dealer prices demanded, especially for cars like the GLc, which are currently in demand (according to General Accident, thefts are seriously up on this and a few other types), are the prices that buyers have to pay.

Glasses guide is not a true guide to current resale prices. It can only be historical, even if only by a couple of months.

I fear that my fight is just beginning

 

[fabes]

If you're reasonable, there's a good chance they will be

Good luck

 

[Big Janner]

If you're reasonable, there's a good chance they will be

Good luck

Absolutely, without a doubt.

This is why I've been calm, polite and as helpful as I can be when in contact with them
Please and thank you cost nothing.

I am hoping that my calm and my patience pay off.

 

[MeQ]

Absolutely, without a doubt.

This is why I've been calm, polite and as helpful as I can be when in contact with them
Please and thank you cost nothing.

I am hoping that my calm and my patience pay off.

My recent claim took 7 weeks, I was told by my broker that most insurers have a wait period (around 2 weeks) during which they do nothing just in case the car is found.

 

[markjay]

No they certainly are not, but, neither are we.
They are in business, not to help or recompense us, but to make a profit.
This is their only business driver.

In the hope that they would be quick to finalise the claim, I've phoned 2 of the dealers, including the one selling a car very like mine in spec, condition and mileage.
They will not reduce the price
They will sell me an extended warranty

The insurance company will have to accept that the dealer prices demanded, especially for cars like the GLc, which are currently in demand (according to General Accident, thefts are seriously up on this and a few other types), are the prices that buyers have to pay.

Glasses guide is not a true guide to current resale prices. It can only be historical, even if only by a couple of months.

I fear that my fight is just beginning

I was in a similar situation to yours back in 2018 with a car that was written off.

The issue with looking at traders' ads is that by law the car is expected to be to be free of major faults at the time of sale (meaning that any faults would have been rectified by the dealer prior to sale), AND provided with a statutory one year warranty, which would constitute a 'betterment' when compared to the car that was stolen (assuming it wasn't covered by any warranty). Insurance only provides restitution, not betterment. You could claim that there are no similar cars on offer on a private sale, and since you intend to buy an identical car to the one that was stolen, you will have no choice but to buy it from a dealer and pay the higher price - it's a valid argument but not a very strong one.

The other issue you are facing is that you are claiming on your own policy, and not on a third party policy. This means that your entitlement to compensation is dependent on value of the car as calculated according to the wording of the policy, and not the 'value' of the car as you and I may interpret it. In other words, the car's value for the purpose of compensation is dictated by the T&C in your policy.

Best of luck.

 

[colinallcars]

On my side, is an advert, on Autotrader, that is for a GLc, a mimic of mine, same colour, same spec, but with just 685 more miles on the clock than mine.
This is up for £18000.
I'm going to use it as a benchmark

Your car by any chance?

 

[Will]

Absolutely, without a doubt.

This is why I've been calm, polite and as helpful as I can be when in contact with them
Please and thank you cost nothing.

I am hoping that my calm and my patience pay off.

Out of interest how does the insurance offer compare to what you were selling it for?

 

[Big Janner]

Out of interest how does the insurance offer compare to what you were selling it for?

Still awaiting some form of communication from them
I'm not hopeful of a sensible 1st offer

 

[MeQ]

Still awaiting some form of communication from them
I'm not hopeful of a sensible 1st offer

If anything like mine you are unlikely to hear much during the waiting period. In fact I didn’t hear from my insurer at all. A third party company dealt with the claim so it was just them and the broker.

 

[Big Janner]

Found a beautiful Red GLc 250D AMG, with cream leather interior plus bells and whistles, in Lincoln, my wife's dream colours for a car.

It hung around for 3 weeks and just as I got to the point of being able to put a holding deposit on it . . . .it disappeared . . Grrrrrr.

Had my first offer; very respectable, distinctly NOT derisory.

Turned it down . . .obvs.

Replied with depreciation data and full details of 3 examples of alternative GLcs, one a dead ringer for mine

The insurance company are using dealer prices, they say, because I bought mine from a dealer . . Hmmmm
They also say that they include warranty value and dealer discount in their calculations.
Well part of the info I've supplied is the phone numbers for the dealers selling the examples I've supplied.

They all refuse to move their prices, claiming thin margins and fast turnover

I await the next offer in hope . . .

 

[markjay]

Found a beautiful Red GLc 250D AMG...

Did you really want a RED Mercedes....? Hmmm....

...They also say that they include warranty value and dealer discount in their calculations...

That is to be expected.

Good luck!

 

[Big Janner]

Did you really want a RED Mercedes....? Hmmm....



That is to be expected.

Good luck!

Red?
Yep
My wife liked the MB red and to my eye, it works on the GLs
With the cream interior it looks good

I didn't expect them to ignore the value of the warranty and a discount, but, it's their rules, they made them up, not me;
A limited warranty is valueless as I made clear in my submission when I turned down the first offer
I also explained that I have the consumer rights act and the sale of goods act working for me

Also, private sellers are negotiating, dealers won't.
I made that clear as well, along with 3 examples whom I had contacted and been told, no price drop (one dealer said he could sell me a extended warranty for 1/2 price at only £99)
Damned decent of him, offering me a saving by charging me £99 more

 

[Will]

Still awaiting some form of communication from them
I'm not hopeful of a sensible 1st offer

How much is the first offer and how does that compare to what you were trying to sell it for?

 

[Big Janner]

How much is the first offer and how does that compare to what you were trying to sell it for?

The first offer was a little under what I was selling for, which in turn, was below market price.
Combine the 2 with my excess and things were about £1500 short.

The first offer was, as a first offer, quite fair and came as a surprise.

I seriously do not expect to get the full value of the car, which is, in itself, unfair, but, that's how it is.
I fully expect to receive a second offer that I can live with.

The problem is that fair is not, realistically, part of the equation.
Insurance is a business
The business has only one objective and that is to make a profit, from which they can pay their shareholders.
Customers are a revenue stream
Paying out on claims comes off the bottom line.

I fully understand the above.
I just have to do the best I can to make a very minor dent in their profits

If your are interested I'll lay out the figures for you, once my claim is agreed