THE GREAT BIG "MY CAR VALUATION" POST (insurance)

[misterfixit]

Hi All,

*******preamble-please read!*******************

As you will Know I am a passionate member of Galant VR-4.0rg and I try to contribute usefully where I can. I hope this I achieve. On the 14thAugust I was run off the road by a semi trailer in my beloved Galant. The insurance company has accepted liability and been to assess my car. It has been given a category that means i can repair it and put it back on the road.

They also took it upon themselves to value the car, and £300gbp was what they offered. this was not acceptable and they later offered £650gbp based on the following.

My car is insured yearly with a value of £1000, at this point i will stop asking them for more but they are stating they are not able to support a valuation of £1000 based on my vehicle.

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[I am writing this here as i need people to IMPARTIALLY comment if the ]
[valuation of my car prior to the accident at £1000gbp is correct and fair.]
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My car Prior to the accident:



And lastly, just been outside to take this, the interior. Mirror cover missing from accident.


The basic spec list: My car is a modified car and it is insured as so.
normally aspirated 1800 DOHC 16V 135HP automatic, closed loop eci multi multipoint injection with catalytic converter. Electric windows/sunroof/mirrors (power fold). rear wash wipe, headlight washers, electric dual mode power steering. Cruise control. Full climate control, central locking, side impact beams, high level brake light, 276mm brakes, 55mm factory mitsubishi exhaust. factory 6 speaker stereo, ECS, and more.
It is the same spec as a 1990.10 VX-S except it has an 1800DOHC16V (4G67) instead of a 2000DOHC16V (4G63).
The 1990.10 vx-s can be found here:
click
It started life as a 1991 1800 glsi 8v which can be found here.
click

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the valuation:
The assessor said my car book value was £300. My replacement DD was present at the time. This was bought 2 days after the accident for £300 including tax. This is what £300 buys:





The basic spec list: My stand-in car is not a modified car at present. (1800GLS manual)
normally aspirated 1800 SOHC 8V 89.7HP manual, basic carburettor fuel system. diamond pack so. electric windows/sunroof/mirrors (not power fold)headlight washers, central locking.
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Having understood there was a difference between the two cars he was standing next to he went back to his office to do some "research"
He found one E30 shape galant for sale for £650.







The basic spec list: This car is incorrectly listed as 1991, it is a 1990. (2000GLSI manual)
normally aspirated 2000 SOHC 8V 111.5HP manual, open loop eci multi multipoint injection without catalytic converter. diamond pack so. electric windows/sunroof/mirrors (not power fold)headlight washers, central locking.

It also has a hideous home made wooden grill.
1989/1990 brochures:
1989.01: click
1990.04: click
1990.08: click

So proof this abomination is an early 1990 build car.
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So, what do I need to do. I need you people to look at the information above and determine 2 things.

1, If the level of specification has and effect on the car.

When I questioned the assessor on his £650 valuation based on the above I was told climate control, side impact beams, rear wash wipe, twin cam engine, etc... type specification differences do not add to the value of the car. As the premier galant owners forum i'd like to find out if people believe this is a credible statement as we are the buyers and owners of these cars.

2, If in your opinion you think my car is worth at least £1000 pre accident.

I insure my car yearly for a value of £1000 and this I think is a reasonable ask for my car. It is not a standard UK model, or a Japanese model but a unique combination of the two. It is maintained flawlessly, with original oem parts sourced from around the world. It even wears mitsubishi oil filters made in japan. (in europe for some insane reason our normal supply from mitsubishi is fabricated in france).

So please guys contribute and let me know your opinion. The reason this is here is I am going to have to prove to the insurance company of the truck their valuation is not inline with the community.

If you wish please comment below. and indicate a value if you think it should be under £1000.

Kind regards and I really appreciate your input.

Richard

*edit* I just noticed the "effect" choices have not in both of them. bugger....

 

[boostedinaz]

ib4dr1665

 

[misterfixit]

ib4dr1665??

 

Unless I'm reading it wrong, your 2nd option about the specs are saying the same thing /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

 

[dmj]

Garfield is right, double negative questions.

 

^you mean double negative answers /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[misterfixit]

Quoting dmj:
Garfield is right, double negative questions.



Couldn't edit the poll once started.

second question second answer should read "Yes the specification does affect the value of the car" but i do not know how to go rejig it.

 

[conquesttsi]

I am a licenced insurance agent in most states in The US.

I agree your car is worth 1000 pounds.

Specification (at least here in the states) only matters if the car was orginally equiped with those options. If you add the options yourself they do not come into play as far as stated value unless your car has been appraised as such by an independant appraiser.

This is the reason why I voted that the specification does not matter. However, If your car was here in the states I would have personally paid you 1000 (approx $1,860 usd) pounds for it in it's condition prior to the accident. It looks quite nice and it looks to have been in very good condition prior to your unfortunate incident. Unusually good condition for it's age accually.

 

[misterfixit]

to the top

 

[misterfixit]

ttt. closing this on the 15th.. please guys your help is needed!

Rich

 

[DR1665]

Quoting boostedinaz:
ib4dr1665



Sorry mate. He was talking about me.

In 2007, a kid made a left in front of me and I t-boned him. His fault. His insurance totaled my Galant out, offering me $600 after salvage buy-back. I told them this was unacceptable and they came back with $800 with no-buy-back fee. Again, unacceptable. I ended up providing both the carrier and the state insurance commissioners office with over 40 pages of documentation proving the value of my car in good faith. Only once the insurance commissioners office contacted them, did someone higher up call me directly to offer me $4700.

NOW, a large part of my argument was based on the limited edition status of the VR4s here in the States. I don't know how many VR4s were sold in the UK, but I know you could buy them up until at least 1996, maybe later. This Galant of yours, while certainly pristine, is not a VR4 as far as I can see. The VR4s were not badged as limited edition outside the US (which is why most VR4 owners outside the states tend to roll their eyes when we prattle on and on about badge numbers).

I think the smartest course of action for you right now would be to scour every used car listing you can get your hands on, looking for Galants like yours. Check Ebay. I don't think Craigslist is international yet, but any sort of Autotrader, post-your-used-car-for-sale-type website should do. Find as many cars like yours as possible. Print those screen shots.

When you meet with the adjuster again, present your findings. You might not get full value, but you will certainly be able to prove your case to them. Show them as many examples of what cars in similar condition to yours are selling for, but have documentation showing what lesser cars go for. If they say they will only offer you 300, show them multiple cars for that price point.

You want to be able to speak authoritatively to the differences between specimens based on price point. Your car is worth more (to the lay person, mods and improvements seldom count, unfortunately) because it is better than a 300 Pound car in terms of A, B, and C.

I wish you luck. Always hate to see a brother get the shaft.

PS - That grey, carb'd Galant looks really nice, imo. I'd drive one!

 

[misterfixit]

to the top again

 

[misterfixit]

Once again guys Ithis closes on thursday.. please have your say!

Many many thanks!

Richard

 

[misterfixit]

last bump,

Closes today!

Cheers all

 

[misterfixit]

a big thank you to all who replied..

My insurance company finally settled yesterday, at the money i was after and with a wreck classification that means I can rebuild the car!!

Once again, a big thanks!!!

Rich