Should I get agreed value car insurance?
Discussion
Hi All,
I own a 2004 MX-5, which I recently paid £3000 for welding and £1400 for an underside repaint, seal and cavity wax.
The insurance comparison sites say my car is worth £1500, however prices online vary wildly from £1000 for a rust bucket to £10,000 for a pristine low milage example. My car has 63k miles, so lower than average and is in excellent condition, as well as having a rare beige leather and wood trim interior, wooden steering wheel etc.
MX-5s of this age can look near mint externally, but small bubbles on the sills will usually hide a much bigger problem because the rust starts internally between the double skin of the sills. The sills are structural and must be properly welded to not to fail the MOT. The front chassis rails also rust from the inside out and are an expensive repair that is hard to spot.
What I'm getting at, is that a car that might be described as rust free or low surface rust on an advert will often be much worse that it appears, so you can't go by what the ads say, which makes it very hard to value the car.
Maybe £7k is a reasonable valuation? What are the chances of me getting that from a normal insurance company without an agreed value upfront?
Thanks!
I own a 2004 MX-5, which I recently paid £3000 for welding and £1400 for an underside repaint, seal and cavity wax.
The insurance comparison sites say my car is worth £1500, however prices online vary wildly from £1000 for a rust bucket to £10,000 for a pristine low milage example. My car has 63k miles, so lower than average and is in excellent condition, as well as having a rare beige leather and wood trim interior, wooden steering wheel etc.
MX-5s of this age can look near mint externally, but small bubbles on the sills will usually hide a much bigger problem because the rust starts internally between the double skin of the sills. The sills are structural and must be properly welded to not to fail the MOT. The front chassis rails also rust from the inside out and are an expensive repair that is hard to spot.
What I'm getting at, is that a car that might be described as rust free or low surface rust on an advert will often be much worse that it appears, so you can't go by what the ads say, which makes it very hard to value the car.
Maybe £7k is a reasonable valuation? What are the chances of me getting that from a normal insurance company without an agreed value upfront?
Thanks!
Edited by AlexC1981 on Saturday 19th September 10:56
AlexC1981 said:
Maybe £7k is a reasonable valuation? What are the chances of me getting that from a normal insurance company without an agreed value upfront?
Zero. They will pay as little as possible.I have agreed value with Adrian Flux, I hope to never need it, but if I do, it's worth the expense/hassle.
You’d need to read the policy wording for your particular policy. Often there’s a definition of Market Value - it is very unlikely to assist in your circumstances - I’ve seen one that specifically references a guide book value as the indemnity you get.
You will need to get a value agreed.
You will need to get a value agreed.
AlexC1981 said:
Cheers 
Well that's disappointing. I was under the impression that with supporting evidence the insurers would have to pay a fair valuation. Do you know how much extra the agreed valuation costs you?
Mine is with Trinity Lane through Adrian Flux, I think it's £60 per year. Each year I send photos, mileage, list of mods and any supporting evidence. They tell me what they think it's worth and I try and squeeze a bit more, but at least it's more than the square root of f Well that's disappointing. I was under the impression that with supporting evidence the insurers would have to pay a fair valuation. Do you know how much extra the agreed valuation costs you?
k all I would get otherwise.... I am a member of the owners club, so I'll give their recommended insurer a call on Monday. It's been a long time since I had to pick up the phone to insure a car!
I must admit, I was expecting it to be a lot more expensive than £60, though I suppose the full total between that and the best online comparison price will be greater.
I must admit, I was expecting it to be a lot more expensive than £60, though I suppose the full total between that and the best online comparison price will be greater.
Go agreed value, don’t think it adds much if anything to the price. I’ve got 3 cars with agreed values myself. Just had a 2006 Z4 written off and got more than I ever would have expected for selling a high mileage car. I’d never expected to get rid but you never know what might happen, it was written off sat on my drive!
Just make sure you check it each year and up the value if needed, start out as high as they will agree to. Go higher and let them come back with a lower figure if they want to but you might be surprised how high they’ll agree based on telling them what you’ve done to it maintenance wise.
Just make sure you check it each year and up the value if needed, start out as high as they will agree to. Go higher and let them come back with a lower figure if they want to but you might be surprised how high they’ll agree based on telling them what you’ve done to it maintenance wise.
I tried a few online. Performance Direct through Allianz will do an agreed valuation of £7000 * (Subject to acceptance - terms and conditions apply) whatever that means, for £299 after adding on national breakdown, legal insurance etc.
The same without the agreed valuation (with Motor Vision, through Allianz again) on a comparison website is £258. £40 uplift seems very reasonable.
How did it get written off on your drive? I had a roof tile fall onto a car once. Smashed the windscreen and dented the wing.
Did you get a buy back value?
The same without the agreed valuation (with Motor Vision, through Allianz again) on a comparison website is £258. £40 uplift seems very reasonable.
davejf said:
Go agreed value, don t think it adds much if anything to the price. I ve got 3 cars with agreed values myself. Just had a 2006 Z4 written off and got more than I ever would have expected for selling a high mileage car. I d never expected to get rid but you never know what might happen, it was written off sat on my drive!
Just make sure you check it each year and up the value if needed, start out as high as they will agree to. Go higher and let them come back with a lower figure if they want to but you might be surprised how high they ll agree based on telling them what you ve done to it maintenance wise.
Just make sure you check it each year and up the value if needed, start out as high as they will agree to. Go higher and let them come back with a lower figure if they want to but you might be surprised how high they ll agree based on telling them what you ve done to it maintenance wise.
How did it get written off on your drive? I had a roof tile fall onto a car once. Smashed the windscreen and dented the wing.Did you get a buy back value?
BertBert said:
You will need a policy that specifically offers agreed valuations. And probably an expert to give a value.
Car clubs often have one. It's there an mx5 club? Worth researching there to see experience of others.
This seems pretty decent advice. Car clubs often have one. It's there an mx5 club? Worth researching there to see experience of others.
You will pay more for an agreed value policy usually but that’s not the point.
What you are also getting is peace of mins that should the worse happen you won’t be arguing over low ball offers.
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