Stolen RAV4 - Insurance Offer
Discussion
Our Toyota RAV4 (Design Spec, 2020, AWD, Pearl Black, Factory Tow Bar) was stolen in the early hours of Saturday morning, we’ve now had an offer from our insurance company: £20,482 + £250 excess.
We originally purchased the car in September 2024 for £21,594, which included a part exchange of our 2008 Honda CRV for £1,850 (less than we ideally wanted, but we needed a quick deal). The dealer later listed it for £5,000!
After searching online for similar RAV4s with comparable specs and mileage, we found:
🚗 £20,495 – Lower spec (Icon), 2WD, 48k miles
🚗 £21,150 – Design Spec, 4WD, 49k miles (AA Approved)
🚗 £20,495 – Design Spec, 2WD, 53k miles
🚗 £21,150 – Design Spec, 4WD, 39k miles (AA Approved)
Given our car's AWD, premium color, factory tow bar, and mileage of 50,798, should we be pushing for closer to £21,500 from the insurance company? Or is £20,482 a fair offer?
Our car also had the 128 point AA inspection within the price which cost £99.
Would appreciate any advice from those with experience in insurance claims! Thanks in advance.
We originally purchased the car in September 2024 for £21,594, which included a part exchange of our 2008 Honda CRV for £1,850 (less than we ideally wanted, but we needed a quick deal). The dealer later listed it for £5,000!
After searching online for similar RAV4s with comparable specs and mileage, we found:
🚗 £20,495 – Lower spec (Icon), 2WD, 48k miles
🚗 £21,150 – Design Spec, 4WD, 49k miles (AA Approved)
🚗 £20,495 – Design Spec, 2WD, 53k miles
🚗 £21,150 – Design Spec, 4WD, 39k miles (AA Approved)
Given our car's AWD, premium color, factory tow bar, and mileage of 50,798, should we be pushing for closer to £21,500 from the insurance company? Or is £20,482 a fair offer?
Our car also had the 128 point AA inspection within the price which cost £99.
Would appreciate any advice from those with experience in insurance claims! Thanks in advance.
put your car details into Autotrader as if you were selling it. It will show you a variety of prices. What is the retail price?
Don't let anyone tell you to use We Buy Any Car as a guide. This is a price given for a car that would subsequently go through auction. So as far from the retail price as possible.
Get reasonable info and challenge the insurance co.
Don't let anyone tell you to use We Buy Any Car as a guide. This is a price given for a car that would subsequently go through auction. So as far from the retail price as possible.
Get reasonable info and challenge the insurance co.
Gary C said:
Sounds like an excessively good offer to me.
That was my first thought. (Although no harm in having a haggle).I always reckon that my cars depreciate by £50-£100 a week as a rule of thumb. If you apply that to your purchase you'd come up with less than the offer?
Anyhoo, as said, it's worth a tickle.
Gary C said:
Sounds like an excessively good offer to me.
Cars are generally insured on what you could sell it for, not what the replacement would cost so about 1K to replace like for like is much better than usual.
NonsenseCars are generally insured on what you could sell it for, not what the replacement would cost so about 1K to replace like for like is much better than usual.
Insurance is there to but you into the position you were prior to the loss. No more, no less. Minus any pre agreed excesses of course.
loskie said:
Gary C said:
Sounds like an excessively good offer to me.
Cars are generally insured on what you could sell it for, not what the replacement would cost so about 1K to replace like for like is much better than usual.
NonsenseCars are generally insured on what you could sell it for, not what the replacement would cost so about 1K to replace like for like is much better than usual.
Insurance is there to but you into the position you were prior to the loss. No more, no less. Minus any pre agreed excesses of course.
Most cover 'current market value' which is the cost that you would get for your car, not what it would cost to buy a replacement from a dealer.
Their offer sounds pretty reasonable in comparison to those Design spec adverts and pretty quick at actually getting that offer over the same weekend.
Nothing to stop you asking for a tad more though as literally nothing to lose.
You won’t get anything for that £99 cost of the inspection.
Maybe send them a polite email enclosing the details of the 2 higher priced design spec cars with then your reasoning behind your requested quantum.
Nothing to stop you asking for a tad more though as literally nothing to lose.
You won’t get anything for that £99 cost of the inspection.
Maybe send them a polite email enclosing the details of the 2 higher priced design spec cars with then your reasoning behind your requested quantum.
Adverts
We haven’t historically used adverts to decide whether a valuation is fair. This is because vehicles often end up selling for lower than they were advertised.
However, we’ve been told by the valuation guides that cars are selling at or close to advertised prices. So, now we typically consider adverts when assessing the market value of a vehicle.
We also find that differences in mileage or the year of registration could have a big effect on the value of the same model of vehicle. So, if you provide adverts as evidence it’s important to make sure they’re as close to the specification of your car as possible.
https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/c...
We haven’t historically used adverts to decide whether a valuation is fair. This is because vehicles often end up selling for lower than they were advertised.
However, we’ve been told by the valuation guides that cars are selling at or close to advertised prices. So, now we typically consider adverts when assessing the market value of a vehicle.
We also find that differences in mileage or the year of registration could have a big effect on the value of the same model of vehicle. So, if you provide adverts as evidence it’s important to make sure they’re as close to the specification of your car as possible.
https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/c...
loskie said:
Adverts
We haven’t historically used adverts to decide whether a valuation is fair. This is because vehicles often end up selling for lower than they were advertised.
However, we’ve been told by the valuation guides that cars are selling at or close to advertised prices. So, now we typically consider adverts when assessing the market value of a vehicle.
We also find that differences in mileage or the year of registration could have a big effect on the value of the same model of vehicle. So, if you provide adverts as evidence it’s important to make sure they’re as close to the specification of your car as possible.
https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/c...
So what ?We haven’t historically used adverts to decide whether a valuation is fair. This is because vehicles often end up selling for lower than they were advertised.
However, we’ve been told by the valuation guides that cars are selling at or close to advertised prices. So, now we typically consider adverts when assessing the market value of a vehicle.
We also find that differences in mileage or the year of registration could have a big effect on the value of the same model of vehicle. So, if you provide adverts as evidence it’s important to make sure they’re as close to the specification of your car as possible.
https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/c...
Its the 'market value' not the replacement value that you get offered it what you would get for your car and that ain't forecourt value.
Gary C said:
If only that was true with car insurance.
Most cover 'current market value' which is the cost that you would get for your car, not what it would cost to buy a replacement from a dealer.
You have that the wrong way round, it is what it would cost you to buy a replacement. Most cover 'current market value' which is the cost that you would get for your car, not what it would cost to buy a replacement from a dealer.
I think you’re taking the term as it is generally applied to other forms of insurance.
The financial ombudsman covers it here
https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/c...
I used to work in insurance (for what its worth).
Your insurer should be providing replacement value not the trade in value. They should be putting you back to the same position you were in before the loss (or as near as possible).
The px value you received is nothing to do with this loss.
The offer isn't far off but using your list of cars, if it was me I'd be wanting a few hundred more. Provide them with ads for the ones closest to yours in terms of trim, year and mileage. If your car had a Toyota service history and a low number of owners, I'd be using that as a negotiating position as well. How important is the tow bar to you?
Your insurer should be providing replacement value not the trade in value. They should be putting you back to the same position you were in before the loss (or as near as possible).
The px value you received is nothing to do with this loss.
The offer isn't far off but using your list of cars, if it was me I'd be wanting a few hundred more. Provide them with ads for the ones closest to yours in terms of trim, year and mileage. If your car had a Toyota service history and a low number of owners, I'd be using that as a negotiating position as well. How important is the tow bar to you?
loskie said:
Adverts
We haven’t historically used adverts to decide whether a valuation is fair. This is because vehicles often end up selling for lower than they were advertised.
However, we’ve been told by the valuation guides that cars are selling at or close to advertised prices. So, now we typically consider adverts when assessing the market value of a vehicle.
We also find that differences in mileage or the year of registration could have a big effect on the value of the same model of vehicle. So, if you provide adverts as evidence it’s important to make sure they’re as close to the specification of your car as possible.
https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/c...
LV used adverts for valuing ours - it was very easy to value as it was special edition Golf which VW sold loads of, but over quite a short time. There were 35 on Autotrader. They picked the cheapest which was listed for a grand less than the price on the screen in the photos. I called the garage and they wouldn't tell me what the actual price was unless I was standing in front of them!We haven’t historically used adverts to decide whether a valuation is fair. This is because vehicles often end up selling for lower than they were advertised.
However, we’ve been told by the valuation guides that cars are selling at or close to advertised prices. So, now we typically consider adverts when assessing the market value of a vehicle.
We also find that differences in mileage or the year of registration could have a big effect on the value of the same model of vehicle. So, if you provide adverts as evidence it’s important to make sure they’re as close to the specification of your car as possible.
https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/c...
LV then admitted that they shouldn't have looked at that car anyway as it was 200 miles away and their rules say it has to be within (I think) 50 miles.
Got another £500 out of them (so £5500) - I thought the car was worth £500 more than that but they wouldn't budge. It was daughter's car and she's too busy to bother herself with chasing £500.
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