My question is: Does anyone have access to Glass’ Guide for a valuation? I’ll happily pay someone for it. Doesn’t seem fair to me that the public cannot access it yet we are expected to accept it as truth.
So this is about my old car (BMW E36 328i sport) which was written off and my Insurer has offered my way too low offer (£1300). I said i needed £3000
If you get on Autotrader today and search nationwide for one, the cheapest one is up for £3800 up to £8000. I am well aware these are not considered actual selling prices, but if you then look at E46 328i, there is several for sale for between £1000 - £1500 which is in line with their valuation. I think they have valued my car as an E46 instead of E36 (as its a 1998 which was the crossover year). They tell me they don’t have to prove to me that’s what Glass’s guide says. I know you search for a car by its parameters rather than using the registration or VIN (from seeing screenshots), so there is every possibility they’re valuing my car as a later model.
The Insurers are a law unto themselves as I understand depending on your cover they deduct the repair costs from the estimate of the cars worth at the time of the crash. They also deduct the excess and you get the residual paltry amount.
You should not accept the first offer anyway and if you have service records and bills to support your claim present them! I apologise in advance as you are probably aware of this.
It’s several years ago now but I had a car written off by a motorcycle.
Hastings sent a cheque for £750. I valued the car at maybe double that.
I returned their cheque and said that if they didn’t want to pay full value then "I would accept another car. Same year, same model, same condition, same millage.
I’m aware of all the details thanks, I didn’t want to write out the whole long story.
Basically have “exhausted” insurers complaints procedure. Went to ombudsman, 2 decisions siding with insurer. You can’t buy one for 1300.
Asked about glasses guide as it’s trade only nowadays. Can’t get a one off valuation any more.
I didn’t accept first offer, but my insurer didn’t even up their offer and then said it’s final. After rejecting ombudsman decision they claim they don’t have to do anything more and 1300 is it… Which i don’t believe to be true.
Glasses stopped the public getting valuations around the middle of 2017.
Otherwise just go into a dealer and ask, I cannot understand why you did not just do that, rather than come on here and complain, what are you waiting on, just pop in to a secondhand car dealer.
Once again, without explaining the whole story. I’ve done everything I can think to do, I’ve been to a few dealers of which none have cooperated with me. Not even at BMW.
I’m not Complaining about anything, read the post. Simply asked if anyone on here works in the Industry and has access to glass guide.
I doubt you are alone in the way you feel, I expect the only way to get what you think your car is worth in the event of it being written off is to have an agreed valuation.
Cazana also provides valuations for free. They have been doing some heavyweight headhunting recently, pinching key staff from Glass’s, including their Director of Valuations. They are running some king of interesting algorithm in their back end analytics/AI machine; pulling in vehicle spec, mileage, number of owners, MOT advisories/failures, and geography, to give a value of some sort, which is a valuation based on quick sale. Amazingly, it even spots if imports have had the correct mileage inputted into the MOT record and adjusts it. Obviously, you can’t make adjustments based on body damage. Apparently, they now have the largest database of car sales to model out values.
You could also try a WeBuyAnyCar valuation, to indicate that the value you have been provided is a trade auction price, and not a value you could reasonably expect (allowing for excess) to replace the car with. I was rather shocked to discover from a loss adjuster that the way he valued a Eunos Roadster was chatting to some mates in a pub.
You are in a stronger position if you still actually have the car, and its not in a yard someplace. My brother’s wife wrote off his FTO (it doesn’t take much; break the headlights, and the car is toast). The initial value was way too low, and was rejected. The insurers were tardy coming in with a counter offer, and then mentioned that as the car was in storage, they would also take off the value the excessive daily storage charge (Heathrow parking rates). After 4 weeks, he had enough of this, figuring he could just get the car fixed. Only to be told, the insurers had sold the car, without his say so. Not sure how common a practice this is in the industry; it sounds illegal, and seemed to be aimed to force the owner into a fait accompli. Letters threatening involvement of the Ombudsman resulting in the offer being more than doubled. The insurer was a well known Southern specialist covering imports…