Most insurance companies will accept advertisements as proof of value
(can't say I blame them).  They usually require sale price as proof.

Cheers,

Jeff

On Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 3:52 PM, Scott Daniel -
Turbovans<scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:
> find any similar vans on theSamba ?
> that's one crude way to see what they go for.
>
> I hope the very notable seam rust and non-color matching doors doesn't take
> away from the value too much.
> You do not have to accept their first offer of course ...
> or their 3rd or 4th, or whatever. �Stick with it and you'll get as much as
> they are willing to pay .....
> and I hope it's something over 3 or 4 grand. �Negotiate to keep the van .
> Would surprise me they off you numbers like 1,500 to under 2,500.
> Either repaired, �or turned into a parts donor van, especially the westy
> parts .........lots of value there.
> That's a great year too, 85.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ed Duntz" <eduntz@HOTMAIL.COM>
> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 12:26 PM
> Subject: van wrecked; documenting selling prices
>
>
> Last Friday on the way to a VW camping event, another driver was making a
> turn, swung over into my lane, and crashed into me. It was clearly her
> fault, and her insurance company (Geico) is taking responsibility, but now
> the work has to start on my part to show what my van was worth. They have
> declared it a total loss, saying that the damage is more than $7,000. Our
> vehicles colided on the driver's sides. The damage to my van is from just
> outboard of the headlight, to the wheel arch, driver's door, lower part of
> the middle panel under the camper inlets, and both driver side wheels, as
> well as likely suspension damage on the driver's side.
>
> I have started to look online at various sites to document to the insurance
> company what similar vehicles sell for. So far, I'm looking at or will look
> at The Samba, eBay completed listings, GoWesty, Poptop Heaven, JDB
> enterprises, cars.com, autotrader.com.
>
> My van was a 1985 Vanagon Westfalia, that Hershey brown experior with the
> usual brown interior. The interior was in very good condition, the body was
> very good except for a few rust spots (but very litttle noticeable seam
> rust), and a different color brown slider and passenger door. The skylight
> was new, the tent was in escellent shape.
>
> If anyone has any leads on a replacement similar to mine, or if you have
> recently documented any similar vans for insurance/valuation reasons, I'd
> appreciate some input. I'm about to call the adjuster back, who has some
> numbers for me.
>
> Thanks,
> Ed Duntz in CT
>