Another valuation question

I have been looking on eBay and other sites trying work out how to value my 2004 td5 but it’s just so very variable! I am not selling and have no interest in selling as I have had the old girl for 10 years and will hopefully have her still in 10 more. However there have been various Land Rover stolen from this area and as my insurance is coming up I want to make sure it’s valued right. I am with the NFU and they said to do some research and get back to them. It’s currently valued at £10K but I expect I will struggle to replace it for this if it was stolen…. I wax oil it every year and keep it serviced and do all the usual works that need to be done ! But it’s parked in a bad location and theft would be easy….. my insurance are aware of this. Any help would be much appreciated, i am just looking for a realistic figure to pass onto them, nothing more. Thanks

Prices vary immensely for Defenders. One like yours that looks like it’s been well looked after will always command more than something that hasn’t but has lots of bling and extras bolted to it. The best bet is to do what you’ve done and look at numerous different sources until you get a ball park figure, so the likes of eBay, autotrader, LRO classifieds, FB marketplace, and then lean towards the upper end. LRO also has a Parker’s Guide in it, which might help. Then get the value in writing agreed with the insurance company.

Good luck, it’s not an exact science though.

Prices for Commercial Defenders have fallen with the introduction of various "low emission zones" the latest being Manchester which comes into force in May 2022.

However Defenders still sell and l would say yours is worth at least £10,000
Trouble is, when you sell you never get back all the money you've spent. Mine's worth maybe £6,000 more than l paid for it in 2014, but l've spent £10,000 on it.

Also any "improvements" don't increase the value either.
Mine's got Puma seats, Puma springs, adjustable dampers, five brand new wheels, cruise control, heated screen, extra soundproofing, XS steering wheel (bought brand new last year) but none of these increase the value by any significant amount.

But if it was a total loss, it would cost me thousands to get these things fitted to a replacement Landy.

With thefts and rising market values I'd be insuring that for £15k. The site with realistic prices is https://www.carandclassic.com/classic_cars.php?keyword=td5&make=28&page=3&sort_1=latest by realistic I mean asking prices that are similar to the vehicle sold price. It's a great site for price referencing. And restricted driveability in Cities is having no effect on Land Rovers/the classic car market.

As a sanity check a friend has a gleaming red 200tdi 90 van with ~45k miles on the clock...but as a woodsman it's well used. It's valued at £17k, insured agreed value at £20k

v8250 said:

And restricted driveability in Cities is having no effect on Land Rovers/the classic car market.

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lt's certainly affected Land Rover Commercial values round here.

Classic Land Rovers are exempt as you say, but l think it's a rolling 40 year exemption so your Land Rover would have to be pre 1982

lightning said:

lt's certainly affected Land Rover Commercial values round here.

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It's interesting, I think this is just a flash in the pan. Those who want/need an LR van will buy one, but as you say they won't be doing this in city restricted zones. I'm also seeing many a van converted to CSW & Soft Tops, though the owners would need to change V5 status. Still another 5 years til my old bus has historic status.

DVLA won't let you change the classification in order to avoid the congestion charges.

It's going to cost £10 per day to take your Defender Commercial off your drive here in Manchester.

Fortunately mine's a factory SW so currently exempt.

There's a lot of small businesses with older vans going to get a shock. Any van older than around 2015 will be stung with the charges. Just what you need after getting your business through a pandemic.

I think you should speak to the insurance company about the purpose of the "value" that they are asking you for. In my experience this is (at best) the max they will consider paying out given a set of impossible events happen - in practice they find what they claim is an equivalent vehicle and pay that. I have had really low mileage vehicles - stored most of the time - and they value that the same as a 150K model. Even when you point out the miles and MOT mileage etc. Extras - they pretty much ignore. Insuring it for 100K wont get you 100K. I have never really understood why they ask a value when they dont intend to pay that sum in the case of a total loss. It makes the customer feel comfortable until they dont ;-(

Thanks for the replies, the value of a replacement was my own concern and when I spoke to the NFU they told me to go away and do some research and get back to them, I will go back to them with a figure if 15k and see what they say, I will report back here when I get an answer.

I have never claimed against the NFU, but I have had cars stolen and never returned when insured by other companies. Some were only weeks on insurance and I still had the purchase invoice. Never has any company paid the sum that they they were told when they asked me "what is it worth?". Understand the question that is being asked - and why it is being asked - before you go bother putting in a valuation ;-) My 1/2p

Your best bet is to get an Agreed Value policy if you can.
l know AF do it on modern vehicles. The only issue l had with them, was getting them to agree a high enough value in the first place (you have to send them seven photos and the figure you think it's worth, and then they come back with a figure)

l couldn't get them to agree mine over £18,000 despite me being offered that in cash by a trader.
That's wasn't in part exchange, it was a straight buy in.
Looking online and on various sales sites l would put it nearer £25,000 to find one in as good condition.

+1 to @lightning , my policy's with Lancaster on an agreed policy. Naturally, these incur a few extra hurdles to jump...a mass of external and internal pics + proven security + in my case, they have file copies of every invoice spent during the refurbishment. Combined, these give clear contractually agreed value...not perceived market value in buying another Ninety Soft Top off eBay or Autotrader.

Do
you know if Lancaster do Agreed Value on your main vehicle and daily driver?

l found a couple of companies who would do it, but only if it was your second vehicle and a "classic"

AF will do Agreed Value on your main car, but l had the valuation issues l mentioned above.

lightning said:

Do
you know if Lancaster do Agreed Value on your main vehicle and daily driver?

l found a couple of companies who would do it, but only if it was your second vehicle and a "classic"

AF will do Agreed Value on your main car, but l had the valuation issues l mentioned above.

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No idea, I keep my 3x cars separate policies. The daily is kept at as low a cost as possible, the Land Rover on which ever Co' gives the policy and agreed value I want, the MGB V8 is very heavily modified and would cost a fortune to replace so is on a "special" agreed value policy that only 3-4 Co's will cover. Though can't imagine Lancaster turning down the business.

Oddly, I do need to increase value of daily driver, Subaru Forester XT SG9, as these are edging into a sought after collectable and prices are rising at a silly rate