Hypothetically speaking, if you have a car model that isn't super common, how do you approach haggling the writeoff value with the insurer?
By this I mean, if it's a Corsa or something it is easy, you look online and find comparable models and can justify the amount you are asking for because that's what it costs to buy a like-for-like replacement.
But what if say on Autotrader there aren't any good matches for your car specification and age (like say you search for the Make, Model, Trim, Engine and MY and look for something that isn't miles off on mileage)?
If I take our car, the cheapest for that trim level, age and engine on Autotrader (national) is an 18 plate compared to our 66 plate and also has a panoramic roof, and is (understandably) priced at more than our car is worth. So the insurer can presumably say "jog on pal, we ain't paying for a car 18 months newer than yours with additional spec" and it would be kind of hard to justify beyond saying "well that's the cheapest available, the only 2 cheaper cars are 15 plates which is 18 months in the other direction". There's a couple of 66 plates but they are lower mileage than ours and more expensive than the 18 plate anyway. I wouldn't want to downgrade the spec and the higher trim is a lot more expensive.
I guess this scenario must come up a fair bit where you can't find like-for-like replacements so how is it approached, do you sort of look for a middle ground and say OK this car is older / higher mileage than ours, this car is newer / lower mileage than ours, we'll kind of meet in the middle? Can you cite the dealer price from CAP (which might potentially be 'too low' anyway)?
If it matters is reality we wouldn't actually buy the same car again but I'd want to be getting an appropriate amount of money that would in theory allow us to.
By this I mean, if it's a Corsa or something it is easy, you look online and find comparable models and can justify the amount you are asking for because that's what it costs to buy a like-for-like replacement.
But what if say on Autotrader there aren't any good matches for your car specification and age (like say you search for the Make, Model, Trim, Engine and MY and look for something that isn't miles off on mileage)?
If I take our car, the cheapest for that trim level, age and engine on Autotrader (national) is an 18 plate compared to our 66 plate and also has a panoramic roof, and is (understandably) priced at more than our car is worth. So the insurer can presumably say "jog on pal, we ain't paying for a car 18 months newer than yours with additional spec" and it would be kind of hard to justify beyond saying "well that's the cheapest available, the only 2 cheaper cars are 15 plates which is 18 months in the other direction". There's a couple of 66 plates but they are lower mileage than ours and more expensive than the 18 plate anyway. I wouldn't want to downgrade the spec and the higher trim is a lot more expensive.
I guess this scenario must come up a fair bit where you can't find like-for-like replacements so how is it approached, do you sort of look for a middle ground and say OK this car is older / higher mileage than ours, this car is newer / lower mileage than ours, we'll kind of meet in the middle? Can you cite the dealer price from CAP (which might potentially be 'too low' anyway)?
If it matters is reality we wouldn't actually buy the same car again but I'd want to be getting an appropriate amount of money that would in theory allow us to.
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