Your BMW was totaled. Is the insurance offer what it was worth?
For an ordinary car, usually. For an E46 M3, a Z3 M Coupe, an E39 M5 or any BMW that enthusiasts pay real money for, often not. The Total Loss Market Valuation Report shows your adjuster what cars like yours have actually sold for, adjusted to your car in dollars, in the form state claims rules ask for.
Why the offer on a classic or enthusiast BMW comes in low
Insurers value a total loss with software, usually CCC ONE or Mitchell, that prices your car from dealer listings near where it was garaged. That works for a car with hundreds of twins for sale. It breaks down on the BMWs people collect.
- There is nothing comparable nearby. On a given day there may be no E30 M3 or 1M for sale within a hundred miles, so the software reaches for ordinary cars of the same age.
- Trim and gearbox get misread. A Competition package, a ZHP, or a manual gearbox in a car usually sold as an automatic is worth thousands, and a VIN decode often misses it.
- Color is ignored. The sales say otherwise. See the table below.
- Condition defaults to average. A car with documented service, recent major work and original paint is graded like one without, unless you put the records in front of the adjuster.
What color alone is worth
Measured across every recorded sale of each generation, with mileage, sale year, model year, gearbox, body and trim held equal, against the average car of that generation.
| BMW | Color | Against the average car | Sales of that color |
|---|---|---|---|
| E46 M3 | Laguna Seca Blue | +44% | 80 |
| E46 M3 | Phoenix Yellow | +10% | 33 |
| E46 M3 | Black | -9% | 46 |
| E36 M3 | Dakar Yellow | +24% | 50 |
| E36 M3 | Techno Violet | +15% | 31 |
| E36 M3 | Arctic Silver | -11% | 95 |
| E39 M5 | Alpine White | +15% | 20 |
| E39 M5 | Imola Red | +15% | 40 |
| E39 M5 | Titanium Silver | -8% | 145 |
| Z3 M Coupe and Roadster | Arctic Silver | -7% | 49 |
Put together, the same 2003 M3 coupe, six-speed manual, 87,000 miles, values at $48,531 in Laguna Seca Blue and $25,447 in Titanium Silver. An offer built on silver cars shortchanges the owner of the blue one by $23,084.
What the report puts in front of your adjuster
- A letter to your adjuster on the first page, in your name with your claim number, asking that the valuation be reconsidered and for the insurer's own valuation report. Sign it and send it with the report.
- Comparable sales of the same generation, body, gearbox and trim at similar mileage, each linked to its public listing with photographs and the final price.
- Every adjustment itemized in dollars: mileage, gearbox, color and trim, with the basis of each stated. Condition is carried at zero unless your records say otherwise.
- What your specification is worth: the share of sales in your color, gearbox and trim, and the premium each carries in the data.
- Current dealer listings of comparable cars near you, moved to your mileage and color, so the cost of replacing the car today is on the page.
- The 24-month market trend for your generation, charted.
- Your records as the condition case: how the car was kept, its service history and recent work, and its factory options, as you give them.
- Your state's rule on comparable vehicles and itemized adjustments, how to request the insurer's own valuation, and how the appraisal clause in your policy works.
See a complete sample report (PDF): a 2003 M3 coupe in Laguna Seca Blue, six-speed manual, 84,000 miles. Your own first page is shown in the free preview before you pay.
Prepared by Drayton Wheat, a licensed California dealer. The license number is on your report. It is a written market valuation from recorded sales. It is not an appraisal, and we do not negotiate claims.
How it works
- Look up your car. Model, year and mileage in the valuation tool show what cars like yours sell for. Free.
- Preview the report. Add the VIN, color, trim, where the car was garaged and the date of the loss. You see how many comparable sales the report rests on and the value range it will state. Free.
- Get the report. $199 through PayPal. The PDF is usually ready within a couple of minutes, emailed to you and downloadable.
- Send it to your adjuster with your service records and photographs of the car before the loss. The letter on the first page asks in writing that the valuation be reconsidered; sign it.
BMWs with sales on record
18,374 recorded sales across 114 generations. The most common:
E46 M3 value 1,426 salesE46 330i value 987 salesE36 M3 value 881 salesE9x M3 value 853 salesE30 325i value 801 salesE39 M5 value 697 salesE36/7 Z3 M value 635 salesE90 328i value 563 salesE46 325i value 505 salesE39 540i value 454 salesE90 335i value 411 salesE85 Z4 value 363 salesE38 740i value 338 salesE60 M5 value 325 salesE70 X5 value 300 salesE85/E86 Z4 M value 293 salesF87 M2 value 281 salesE82 135i value 265 salesE30 M3 value 263 salesE63 M6 value 258 salesE60 535i value 221 salesF82 M4 value 216 salesE53 X5 value 201 salesE10 2002tii value 199 salesE30 318i value 190 salesF80 M3 value 176 salesF10 M5 value 172 salesE52 Z8 value 167 salesE36/7 Z3 value 162 salesE31 850i value 159 salesE34 M5 value 154 salesE89 Z4 value 149 salesE24 M6 value 149 salesE82 128i value 146 salesE24 635CSi value 136 salesE63 650i value 135 salesF1x M6 value 132 salesF30 328i value 131 salesE36 325i value 126 salesE82 1M value 122 salesE9 3.0CS value 121 salesF15 X5 value 118 salesAll BMW values
Total loss rules in your state
What your state's claims rules say about valuing a totaled car, what counts as a comparable, and where to complain.
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Questions
My insurance company totaled my BMW. How do I know if the offer is fair?
Ask the adjuster in writing for the valuation report the offer rests on. It lists the comparable vehicles the insurer used and every adjustment it made. Check that the comparables are the same generation, body, gearbox and trim as your car, that they were sold or offered where cars like yours actually trade, and that any deduction for condition is documented. Then compare its figure with what cars like yours have actually sold for, which is what our valuation tool shows for free.
Is this report an appraisal?
No. It is a written market valuation prepared by a licensed California used-car dealer (Drayton Wheat) from recorded sales. Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont and Nevada license motor vehicle appraisers; in those states, if your policy's appraisal clause is invoked, appoint an appraiser licensed there and give them this report as evidence.
Will my insurer accept it?
No one can promise that. What the report does is put the evidence in the form the claims rules ask for: comparable vehicles identified by their public listings, every adjustment itemized in dollars, the car's condition documented from your records, and the rule that applies in your state. It also tells you how to request the insurer's own valuation and how the appraisal clause in your policy works if the two of you cannot agree.
Does a rare color, a manual gearbox or a Competition package count?
Yes, where the sales show it. Color is measured across every recorded sale of the generation with mileage, sale year, model year, gearbox, body and trim held equal, and each comparable is adjusted for the difference between its color and yours. Trim is kept apart: a Base car is compared with Base cars. A color with fewer than ten recorded sales cannot be measured and is treated as average, and the report says so.
Which BMWs can you value?
114 generations have sales on record, from the 2002tii and the E30 M3 to current M cars, 18,374 sales in all. A report needs at least five comparable sales within 20,000 miles of your car's mileage. The free preview tells you how many there are before you pay anything.
Why use auction sales and not dealer listings?
Insurers' software prices from dealer listings near you. For a classic or enthusiast BMW there is often no comparable car for sale nearby, so it reaches for ordinary examples. Bring a Trailer and Cars & Bids are where these cars are actually bought and sold, and every sale is a public record with photographs, mileage and a final price. The report also lists what dealers are asking for comparable cars near you today, widening the search nationwide when it has to.
What does it cost, and how long does it take?
The valuation and the report preview are free. The full report is $199, paid through PayPal, and is usually ready within a couple of minutes as a PDF you can download and that is emailed to you.
What do I need to have ready?
The car's VIN, its mileage at the time of the loss, the ZIP code and state where it was garaged, the date of the loss, and its body style, gearbox, color and trim where the car came more than one way. The insurer's offer, a summary of your service records and recent work, and the factory options are optional, and the more of them you give, the stronger the condition section of the report.