Recently, I was hit by a woman who didn't see the stop sign.  The car I
was driving was totaled.  In that case the KKB was pretty low.
Fortunately, the insurance company based their claim on CarFax, which
looks at similar vehicles that have sold in the area--not the advertised
price but the actual price.  The pay-out price was higher than the KKB
price.  Also, I look at the Auto Trader to see if any vehicles like
yours have sold recently.  Better yet see if you can find 2-3 month old
copies and call the sellers to see what the actual selling price was.

CarFax is going to be your best bet and it is difficult for any
insurance company to argue against it--especially if you take them to
small claims.

Richard

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
Of Aaron Ellringer
Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2003 8:59 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: insurance claim tips

Hi all.  My 83.5 Westy was stolen and crashed on Monday night.  It was
in
good condition, little rust, etc. I paid $4000 for it two years ago and
have
put another $2500 into it since...

The KBB for this van in my area is $500 - $1400.  After my deductible
and
rate hikes, I'm totally out.

Does anyone have tips on getting a decent claim value a vanagon through
my
insurance company?

Thanks,

aaron in frozen leaf bud wisconsin