Insurance Valuation 1998 Cerbera
Discussion
I've just got my insurance offer back from my insurers after my fire.
They say £13500 which sounds derisory. The car was in mint condition.
What do people on here think:
TVR Cerbera 1998 47000 miles FSH Sports Exhaust Nitrons plus Kenwood Sat-Nav which cost £1500 including installation costs. Purchase price £15500
The car was bought from a dealer and came with full warranty.
Had a look at classifieds on PH:
TVR Cerbera 1997 4.2 £14995 52000 Offord Motor Company
TVR Cerbera 1997 4.2 £14995 57000 Harrogate Horseless Carriages
SOLD TVR Cerbera 1997 4.2 £15795 39120 James Agger Autosport Limited
TVR Cerbera 4.2 1998 £16500 30500 Private Sale
TVR Cerbera 4.2 1998 £15000 18500 Private Sale
TVR Cerbera 4.2 1998 £16000 31000 Private Sale
TVR Cerbera 4.2 1998 £16500 28500 Private Sale
What do people think I should settle for?
They say £13500 which sounds derisory. The car was in mint condition.
What do people on here think:
TVR Cerbera 1998 47000 miles FSH Sports Exhaust Nitrons plus Kenwood Sat-Nav which cost £1500 including installation costs. Purchase price £15500
The car was bought from a dealer and came with full warranty.
Had a look at classifieds on PH:
TVR Cerbera 1997 4.2 £14995 52000 Offord Motor Company
TVR Cerbera 1997 4.2 £14995 57000 Harrogate Horseless Carriages
SOLD TVR Cerbera 1997 4.2 £15795 39120 James Agger Autosport Limited
TVR Cerbera 4.2 1998 £16500 30500 Private Sale
TVR Cerbera 4.2 1998 £15000 18500 Private Sale
TVR Cerbera 4.2 1998 £16000 31000 Private Sale
TVR Cerbera 4.2 1998 £16500 28500 Private Sale
What do people think I should settle for?
hold out, as mentioned, send in pictures and receipts of nitrons and audio equip etc, but in my experience you will get only another 1.5k if you are lucky ontop of that.
i think the trade price of a cerb is 12k
i actually sold my 98 4.5 for 13.5k but i was just plain stupid and desperate to get rid.
i think the trade price of a cerb is 12k
i actually sold my 98 4.5 for 13.5k but i was just plain stupid and desperate to get rid.
BCA said:
Not the first offer, ever.
Show them some example prices of other immaculate cars and demand the sum you need to properly replace it.
Show them some example prices of other immaculate cars and demand the sum you need to properly replace it.
Battle 1 - Payback on the insurance
The battle commences just found a couple of older cars from dealers on PH which are advertised for more.
Battle 2 - The plan to buy a new car
May already be lost..
Unfortunately, the girlfriend is adamant (not really her names Lula) that she will not get in another Cerb
, so may well be looking at something else, maybe a porker as I need a 2+2 minimum. 
RUSSELLM said:
My missus moans about the car, but I bought it for me not her,
"If you don't like it, don't get it in"
Price wise I reckon £14k is nearer the mark for this time of year.
My missus has the excuse that the car tried to kill her by bursting into flames on the A1, it then decided to spice things up by locking the drivers side door.
Speak to the man doing the valuation. When my Chimaera was smashed up I spoke to the engineer doing the inspection & valuation for my insurance company. We agreed to both go away & look for equivalent cars on autotrader and come back with prices to argue. I found a bunch that were a similar age & engine spec to mine but with all sorts of differing miles, colours etc. Then we discussed it and agreed on a price which turned out to be more than it cost to repair - so write off & I got my agreed price. All happy.
Try that. The valuer bloke explicitly said that with these being unusual cars, there is no real 'book' price as such and you have to sort of come to a sensible agreement. Good luck.
Try that. The valuer bloke explicitly said that with these being unusual cars, there is no real 'book' price as such and you have to sort of come to a sensible agreement. Good luck.
smithsi said:
RUSSELLM said:
My missus moans about the car, but I bought it for me not her,
"If you don't like it, don't get it in"
Price wise I reckon £14k is nearer the mark for this time of year.
My missus has the excuse that the car tried to kill her by bursting into flames on the A1, it then decided to spice things up by locking the drivers side door.
Dont *make* me find threads over porsches catching fire...
Happens in all kinds of cars. Its not as if you arent going to be ridiculously careful with things like checking fuel lines on the car now is it? I think the official line is that they don't pay dealer prices but private, basis being that you effectively had a private car once you had bought it so it is like for like . Warped logic especially if you have dealer warranties in place etc, I think as your car was recently purchased you have a better point here to argue, if you had had the car 2-3 years then I kinda see their point. Deffo agree on the first valuation thing, when I had a car stolen they came with a low offer and it turned out they were looking at completely different models (Lexus GS300 rather than RX300 
) and my offer was £5k under what I needed. Yours could easily be picking up SpeedSix models or anything really. Chap I eventually spoke to was very helpful (and a tad embarrased as it was during the conversation that we realised he had been looking at the wrong type) - price was agreed after about 10 mins of us both looking on the net and throwing examples at each other.
Re the stereo, did you have this covered seperately? Most policies have a max limit on audio unless specifically advised so they will not upscale a value for this.
) and my offer was £5k under what I needed. Yours could easily be picking up SpeedSix models or anything really. Chap I eventually spoke to was very helpful (and a tad embarrased as it was during the conversation that we realised he had been looking at the wrong type) - price was agreed after about 10 mins of us both looking on the net and throwing examples at each other. Re the stereo, did you have this covered seperately? Most policies have a max limit on audio unless specifically advised so they will not upscale a value for this.
smithsi said:
My missus has the excuse that the car tried to kill her by bursting into flames on the A1, it then decided to spice things up by locking the drivers side door.
Yeh, I can see how that would be a tad off putting
Mine in insisted on coming to Italy in it this year, even though I offered to pay for a flight for her. You can imagine her delight when the air con stopped working the day before we left, and the compliments she gave it whilst stuck in 40C traffic jams in Milan. Oh how she laughed, I don't think
2200 miles of F***ing moaning, never again.
It's a tricky one really, but never accept the first offer, that doesnt mean to say they will increase it though, but you have to try. But in all honesty £13,500 for a 1998 with that mileage isnt too bad an offer really. I don't want to pi** you off but Cerbs are hard to sell, I'm just being realistic.
Here's 2 more Cerbs in the classifieds : -
1998 4.2 49k miles £13,000 (Sold)
1998 4.5 33k miles £13,500 - This one has a thread about the story for sale from the owner, settle quickly and you could have it.
Some of the Cerbs with the higher prices have been on sale for ages and they dont always sell (when they eventually do) for what they are advertised for.
SPorts pipes and suspension upgrades dont always add value to the car, in fact the Insurance company can refuse to pay out if you didnt notify them as they are classed as modifications. If you notified them then you can use it to strengthen your case, otherwise be a bit careful.
Good luck though, hope you reach a settlement you are happy with.
Here's 2 more Cerbs in the classifieds : -
1998 4.2 49k miles £13,000 (Sold)
1998 4.5 33k miles £13,500 - This one has a thread about the story for sale from the owner, settle quickly and you could have it.
Some of the Cerbs with the higher prices have been on sale for ages and they dont always sell (when they eventually do) for what they are advertised for.
SPorts pipes and suspension upgrades dont always add value to the car, in fact the Insurance company can refuse to pay out if you didnt notify them as they are classed as modifications. If you notified them then you can use it to strengthen your case, otherwise be a bit careful.
Good luck though, hope you reach a settlement you are happy with.
My understanding was that you didn't get replacement value anyway? More a "trade" value.
Had you taken your Cerb to a dealer you wouldn't have seen what you paid for it, and it's what the dealer would offer that the insurance company gives you.
It's hugely infuriating, but that's partly how they make their money. I got burned when I wrote off my first car. Ended up working all summer, and to show for it I had a car the same value as the one I'd started with, plus an additional £250 or so.
Reckon I'd have been better lazing at home all summer!
Had you taken your Cerb to a dealer you wouldn't have seen what you paid for it, and it's what the dealer would offer that the insurance company gives you.
It's hugely infuriating, but that's partly how they make their money. I got burned when I wrote off my first car. Ended up working all summer, and to show for it I had a car the same value as the one I'd started with, plus an additional £250 or so.
Reckon I'd have been better lazing at home all summer!
big_treacle said:
Speak to the man doing the valuation. When my Chimaera was smashed up I spoke to the engineer doing the inspection & valuation for my insurance company. We agreed to both go away & look for equivalent cars on autotrader and come back with prices to argue.
This is exactly what I did when I wrote off one of my cars, the car was insured market value and I ended up with more money than I paid for the car to start with, a good result.
Just be cautious re the "optional extras" as things like Nitrons and sports exhausts may be looked upon as "modifications" and could excempt your insurance. I'd probably keep these to myself and would just take the hit.
As others have said, hold out and never take the first offer. Also, the amount you insurred your cerb for will give you the maximum you will ever get out of them, regardless of what it's going to cost you to get a like for like. It's your problem if you didn't ensure if for enough for the condition etc in the first place. Supposing this isn't the case and you had her suitable insurred, get various advertisements of like for like Cerbs from a main dealer and pass them onto the insurance company.
Good luck, and keep us posted.
As others have said, hold out and never take the first offer. Also, the amount you insurred your cerb for will give you the maximum you will ever get out of them, regardless of what it's going to cost you to get a like for like. It's your problem if you didn't ensure if for enough for the condition etc in the first place. Supposing this isn't the case and you had her suitable insurred, get various advertisements of like for like Cerbs from a main dealer and pass them onto the insurance company.
Good luck, and keep us posted.
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