Just got the call from the insurance company that they will write off my car, totally gutted to be honest. Clipped a corner last week and damaged the wheel, which then shunted a lot of the suspension parts and sub frame. I had the shock fixed by a local garage as they thought that was the only damage and I needed the car to pick the kids up. But once that was done they realised more damage. I took it to the insurance inspector who just glanced at the suspension whilst the car was parked and has somehow priced it up, he did not even put it on a ramp. The car is still driveable, and I am still using the car now it just pulls a little and you can tell its not 100%.
They have not given me a value as yet but I can foresee an issue, the car is insured for £6000 on my policy, the actual book value is only around £3000, but because of the car they sell for £5-8k generally. It is a Megane R26 white lux, which are hard to find at the best of times, I know the money I spent modifying the car is lost.
Legally how do I stand with the value, I gather they will just offer me the £3k, but I can not replace the car for that value so do I have any chance to argue this case? I know I am jumping the gun here but would rather know where I stand legally before I have this chat with them
Now I need to find a new car, tempted to just lease something nice.
You can negotiate with them and providing evidence as to the actual value will help (other similar cars for sale).
There’s also nothing stopping you from keeping the car as part of the settlement and having the work done yourself. Of course, it will then become a cat c/d (or whatever the current identifiers are) write off and therefore be worth less than before the incident.
^ Yup, do-able if the offer is so low it's insulting and you can't argue it up. Can also get a "cash in lieu" settlement whereby you keep the car and they give a sum towards repair which you organise independently.Originally Posted by Dave+63
But need to do your homework, if it needs jigged to re-align the frame etc it won't be cheap so need to do your sums in detail as maybe better to take the cash and run.
Should you fail to agree with the insurance company:
gather evidence of what you paid for the car condition spec etc - if you took photographs of it on the forecourt with a window sticker price then great, job done.
Work out how long that you have owned it for/allocate a price per month depreciation (you will need this later).
Find one with a similar spec on a main dealer forecourt and photograph it with the price sticker on it pref.
Go to the financial ombudsman site. Download or ring and order a complaints pack. Fill it in. state your case unemotionally. provide a "pack" of photies and correspondence and post it off. State any assumptions that you have made clearly.
My son had an accident with his new car after two months ownership on a £5.2 k car and the insurance company offered us £3k - I heard a bitch on the phone in the background laughing and shouting " tell him to go to the effing ombudsman" when I was on the phone to them disgruntled about their offer. I did and they awarded us anoither £1.5k - £4.5k in total. Not great but a lot better than £3k. It does take some time though and there is a current backlog. The institutions are becoming more dismissive of customer claims - mind you companies are in general.
Good luck with it.
B
Last edited by Brian; 24th May 2019 at 12:14.
I had a similar issue with a Manual, 330D Touring, Msport, about 7-8yrs ago.
As soon as I started negotiating they started quoting Autotrader prices which weirdly actually worked in my favour, by the time they'd found a manual Msport one they had to raise their offer.
Ended up getting about £500 more than I'd bought it for.
However, this was probably still £500 less than I could have replaced for, but I'd just been lucky buying it really well first time around.
Last edited by paulpsz008; 24th May 2019 at 12:14.
Present them with good evidence and be reasonable. This worked for me when my daughter had an accident.
Pete
What you paid etc. is all irrelevant. Fine evidence of current market value for vehicles with identical spec/mileage etc and use that when negotiating.
I worked in insurance, just be persistent and factual and most insurers will settle on an amount you are (close) to happy with. Don't be afraid to turn down first/second/third offers...
Just to be clear the car is not "insured for £6,000" they (whoever they are) asked you what the car was worth and that's presumably the figure you gave them. Insurers don't check that figure because truthfully it's irrelevant unless you have an "agreed value policy" which is a special type of policy reserved for classic, collectible or very high end cars. In the event of a total loss the Insurer has to "indemnify" you which in practical terms means giving you sufficient money to replace it with a comparable car of the same make, model, age, condition and mileage. Contrary to what has been said you cannot go straight to the Financial Ombudsman you have to exhaust the Insurers internal complaints system first. Hopefully it will not come to that, my PA's son wrote his car off this week (non-fault) and within 48 hours Aviva had transferred a very reasonable (as confirmed by her friend who works at a Ford Main Dealership) settlement sum into his bank account.
Hope it turns out fine for you.
My daughters car was written off recently after she hit some deer early of a morning.
I prepared for battle against the insurers by researching her cars value and they offered a settlement figure which was more or less bang-on what i would of been happy with and what they were selling (or at least asking for) on all the usual websites.
The only bummer is that she`d had four new tyres fitted a week or so earlier (£250) for the MOT..........
It pulls a little and you know it is not 100%. The vehicle is not roadworthy and should not be driven in that state. If you were to do an emergency stop the vehicle could/would possibly be uncontrollable particularly at speed. I for one would not let my wife or kids any where near it.
If you tell the insurance company the car is worth £12,000 on the insurance and in reality it’s worth £3,000 then your get £3,000 when you make a claim, ie market value.
That aside, I have found (to my cost) when the wife’s car was written off that they just open the for sale ads and find the cheapest comparable car, make model etc and offer you that, regardless that the car could be rusted, on its last legs and unfit for the road,
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I think you will be presently surprised. My sons have recent write offs and they got enough to buy a similar car from auto trader
Worth looking at gap insurance in future. For a couple of hundred pounds over 3 years my car is insured to pay out the difference between perceived ‘value’ and what I actually paid should the car be written off or stolen and not recovered. Dealerships tend to charge a lot more but just google it. I think the car had to be under 5 years old at point of purchase so not always suitable. Hope you get things sorted
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You can pay extra and get an "agreed" value , I did this on my 370z as it had had about £35k spent on it
Thanks for all the replies, will see how it goes on tuesday
I had an argument with my insurers many years ago and i got an independent report in my case from the AA but in any case i personally would not take the risk of driving the vehicle until the full extent of the damage has been properly accessed.
They offered me £5100 less my £250 excess, I said no as I want the £5500 which is the cheapest I can replace the car for.
More frustrating they now will not insure me on my new car and they want the full yearly premium paid in full to cancel my insurance! the joys
That’s only £400 short so I’d say you’ll probably get the £5.5k (less than excess) with a bit of further negotiation.
The other two are fair enough; you bought an annual policy for £x but are paying £x/12 monthly. The policy gist hasn’t changed but the payout ends the policy.
That they won’t insure you now? Well, you’re a greater risk now and possibly fall outside their acceptable criteria.
I know it dies too seem fair but that’s just the way it is. You’ll need a new policy for the new car so basically have to shop around as at any other renewal time.
Had a nice chat with my insurance company, the lady I initially spoke to passed my frustrations of paying the full amount to her manager who looked into it more, I claimed on the 17th and my insurance renewed on the 18th so the claim was in last years policy so they have cancelled this year with no charge!! That’s another £400 saved.
Should hear back Monday about their final offer,
It’s something I should have really noticed myself but with everything to look at never checked the dates.
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