Expert: Richard Hixenbaugh - 11/17/2009

Question
My husband was rear ended on Sept 29th.  We received a total loss settlement offer from the at fault party's insurance dated Oct 22nd.  I contacted them about the vehicle being incorrectly classified as a 2001 Volkswagon Jetta GLS 4 door sedan vs. 2001 Jetta Wolfsburg Edition which has more standard and special features when identifying the components for the purpose of valuation allowances.  I then faxed them a receipt of recent maintenance/repairs and new tires.  I also provided them a detailed list of the vehicles package options and retail value, since their Appraiser didn't include the Power Sunroof and Heated Front Seats.  The re-processed settlement offer came back at a whopping increase of $57.07!  They applied a $100 credit for four (40,000 mile) tires which cost $447.94 and only had 12,659 miles of usage.  Is this a fair amount?  The 47,660 low mileage allowances were decreased from $2,290.00 to $1,610.00.  That's $680 less!  Can they do this?  The original market report was processed by CCC Value Scope and the second one is with Autosource which makes it harder to compare their adjustments and values side by side, i.e. Vehicle Condition via CCC:  All Normal, while Autosource rated them as, minor wear, new, minor damage and good.  Are these ratings lower then CCC’s Normal rating?  Shouldn't they use the same company?  CCC used and presented 16 comparables for their arithmetic mean.  Autosource used 39, but showed only 10.  When I average just the 10 listed, the market value is $1,011 higher.  There is only 1 Wolfsburg in the comparables from Autosource, is that acceptable? This model is hard to find because it’s a limited edition, doesn't that make it more valuable?  Autosource low balled all the allowances for extra features, didn't credit for recent maintenance and still didn't include the sunroof.  The NADA clean retail value is $1,182.96 higher than their offer.  Do I have a valid case to pursue for a better settlement?  If so, what is the best way to approach it?  The reality is I won't be able to purchase a vehicle that compares to what I had, but I shouldn't have to end up with a piece of junk.  Please advise.  Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi Giesel,

CCC has been sued many times over its valuation practices. The insurance company has no interest in properly compensating you. Their only interest is to make you go away as cheaply as possible.

First you should insist that they stick with the CCC valuation and get them to make adjustments to their original document based on the new information that you provided. However, don't expect it to come back substantially different.

You should also go to www.autotrader.com and www.cars.com to search for cars like yours that are currently for sale within a 100 mile radius of your zip code. You should try to find the cars that closely match yours in options, condition and mileage. Print out and average the prices of at least 5 to obtain a fair average value. Then you can send them that information to try to negotiate a better value. If that still does not work you can hire your own independent appraiser but that could cost you about $300.00. If so you should check out www.collisionclaims.com .

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh