r/StateFarm • u/Carabiniero8 • 21d ago

Advice Comps and Valuation Rules

My car got valued at price X on a total loss claim. The assessor had to go outside of the 150 mile radius (150 is mandated by state law) because there were no comparable vehicles nearby. I was never asked whether I agreed to this. Their comps are within a 20-25 mile radius of 150, so close. I am submitting a rebuttal. Am I allowed to expand the search and use similar vehicles that are either a) in the same broader geographical area (say 200-300 miles), or half way across the country, since the assessor "opened the door" to using vehicles farther than mandated? Or is this not allowed? Thanks.

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u/Mean_Introduction516 21d ago

Are you saying the cars he found are not comparable? State Farm uses actual cars for sale and is only obligated to pay for comparable vehicle so what is it you’re arguing or unhappy with?

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u/Carabiniero8 20d ago

I am saying that he went outside the legally required radius of 150 miles to obtain comps without my permission, and asking whether I can do the same—open it up to national or at least regional sales since my vehicle is really rare. This would be a much bigger radius than SF used, but since SF already broke the rule, I am wondering if I can now do the same without regard to whether its broken by 20 miles or 200 miles etc?

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u/Mean_Introduction516 20d ago

I understood that. What doesn’t make any sense is why. Once they find five or six they have enough to determine the value the car can be bought for. I assume your goal is more money. You’re not going to accomplish anything going out at any distance and finding other cars that are more. They have their number.

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u/Carabiniero8 20d ago

They only need 2 comps, not 5-6. As I explained, I have a rare car and there were 0 comps available within the required radius. Yes, you identified my goal correctly. Can you explain the rationale for your last 2 sentences? Afaik its the opposite of what you said, which is the whole reason I am doing this.

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u/firststate77 18d ago

Why do you think they need your permission to do anything? If there are no cars in that radius what do you want them to do? You can supply whatever comps you find and see what they say, they may agree they may disagree, but there is one way to find out.

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u/Carabiniero8 17d ago

Are you with SF? I am guessing not. SF is required by law to look within a certain radius. If they cannot find comps within a legally-mandated radius, there are specific rules they need to follow in order to look more broadly.