Possible repairable write off - Holden Commodore SSV Redline VF2 Manual - Black

[HatimJanjali]

Good Day Guys!

I had a nasty rear hit on my beautiful Commo a couple of days back. Its been picked by the insurance for analysis and repairs. From the naked eye it seems that the car would be deemed a repairable write off as my boot is not closing and can also see a bend on the rear bumper impact bar. I have an odo reading of almost 85k. The car drives amazing and have kept it in an immaculate condition. If it comes to a repairable write off, how much can I ask for the car and what are the chances of negotiating a higher price than the market considering these cars are now an Australian legacy? I'm also keen to know if anyone has had luck with keeping the car and the money offered by insurance in such cases.

P.S.: Car is completely stock and never attempted any burnouts

Thanks!

 

[stooge]

Good Day Guys!

I had a nasty rear hit on my beautiful Commo a couple of days back. Its been picked by the insurance for analysis and repairs. From the naked eye it seems that the car would be deemed a repairable write off as my boot is not closing and can also see a bend on the rear bumper impact bar. I have an odo reading of almost 85k. The car drives amazing and have kept it in an immaculate condition. If it comes to a repairable write off, how much can I ask for the car and what are the chances of negotiating a higher price than the market considering these cars are now an Australian legacy? I'm also keen to know if anyone has had luck with keeping the car and the money offered by insurance in such cases.

P.S.: Car is completely stock and never attempted any burnouts

Thanks!

insurance compaines dont care for legacy, they will base the payout on "market value" and they will try to steer towards the low end of that bracket.
if they write it off they will hit you with a number.
you need to find solid examples of vehicles that have recently sold and are currently for sale that are the same year, model and approximately same odo, condition. and you hit them back with those and base your value on those and ask them to do better.

dont bother with dreamer ads that think their vehicle is 30+k above market value because the insurance will ignore those, the sales data will be what they will focus on.

 

[figjam]

If it comes to a repairable write off, how much can I ask for the car and what are the chances of negotiating a higher price than the market

Bit late now for this advice, but that is why you should have an insurance policy for a suitable agreed value, not a variable, unknown shonky market value.

 

[losh1971]

Yepp, always have agreed.

 

[Skylarking]

If you have another car you can use to drive around, don’t short change yourself by being in a hurry to settle. Being in a hurry to settle will result in not achieving the best outcome. So spend the time to do your research fully.

As mentioned, consider same model variant with similar mileage, interiors and exterior condition, service history and availability of service records (worth something to some sellers so can command a higher price or quicker sale), cost of warranty period still remaining, any fitted accessories, window tint, paint protection, etc, etc…

If for example you find a car with the same specs, mileage and service history but with no warranty (while your car had an extra 2 years warranty) and without paint protection and an extra key, add all that to the price

And don’t forget on road costs to get it into your name (as not all adds have that included), cost of registration (unless insurance company refunds unused rego as new car may have shorter rego than your written off car).

If it’s a commonly available model variant that is sold on the open market, it’s much easier to get an accurate estimation of value as compared to a model variant that is rarely seen for sale within the market place.

Oh, and don’t forget that a “one owner” has more value than something that has seen multiple owners… How much more, hopefully you’ll see that in adds you search

 

[losh1971]

Does it have any modifications? Modifications increase insurance value depending on what they are. Exhaust, headers, wheels, and other things I can't think of right now all increase the insurance value of a car.

 

[Skylarking]

Does it have any modifications? Modifications increase insurance value depending on what they are. Exhaust, headers, wheels, and other things I can't think of right now all increase the insurance value of a car.

OP mentions it‘s completely stock

I would hope anyone who buys insurance notifies their insurer of all modifications at the time the policy is taken out or at the time the mods are made… To let them know of the value of undeclared mods during a claim is just asking for a bad outcome…

Many insurers will state that if you told them of those undeclared mods, they would have declined insurance hence are now declining your claim under clause x.y.z

 

[vc commodore]

Forget the legacy stuff..It's a load of it.....Before the factory closed, older models were never considered more valuable because they stopped making them....As suggested, look for similar cars to yours and barter along those lines

 

[panhead]

Can you buy another with the insurance payout? that would always be my first thought.

Long story short, I kept a repairable write-off locked in my shed away from the prying thieving hands of the assessor for over six months while I negotiated a suitable buyback price with the insurance company.
I can tell you now, the insurance company sees it as nothing more than a business transaction and you really need to want the vehicle back to accept what they believe it's worth as a payout and what they believe it's worth to sell to you.
In my case the assessor had all the input and the insurance company acted on his recommendations.




.

 

[RevNev]

Here's market value RAA Insurance in SA put on the SV6 wagon I bought recently. Market value has certainly increased as I didn't expect 28k and I paid 28.5k for it, pretty close!