Total Loss - Advice Needed

degen

degen

degen

Associate
Joined
10 Oct 2006
Posts
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On the 23rd of May I was rear ended whilst turning into a junction, which due to me having full steering lock caused my car to perform a 180 degree spin into a kerb.
The result of this was over £6,500 worth of damage, so a total loss.

I've also been informed by my insurance that the third party has accepted liability for the accident.

Now this accident wasn't my fault and I now have the problem of getting a fair settlement from my insurer.

The car in question is a '55 Plate Facelift Fiesta ST' which is HEAVILY modified. Every modification is declared to my insurer.
Few highlights below:

Stage 2.5 Supercharger
Quaife ATB Dif
Uprated Gearbox (Shotpeened etc)
Paddle Clutch

Today I received a call the engineer sent to examine my car and the offer that he came back with was £7250. Obviously I told him I wanted to think about the offer and get back to them.

Now it doesn't take a genius to realise there is no way in the world £7250 will be able to buy me a Fiesta ST and then purchase the same modifications and fit them again (even second hand!).

I realise insurance isn't fair, my insurance is through Greenlight who state on their site:

'In event of a total loss claim all modified vehicles will be assessed by a qualified motor engineer who will take the impact of your modifications upon the market value of your vehicle into account when calculating the value of your vehicle and advising your Insurer how much to indemnify you for the loss of your vehicle.'

Due to the other partys actions I stand to be very much out of pocket which doesn't seem right to me.
So I was wondering if any other modified car drivers had been in a similar position and what happened to them and if you have any advice for me ?
:mad:
 
One thing i have learnt from insurance is never accept the first offer. Just like most things they usually come back with a better one.

Also, cant you buy back the car and then strip your good bits off it? You may even work out with more by selling bits etc.
 
In my non qualified, non legal opinion you have a case here to push for the vehicle to be repaired. You must be put back into the position you were in before the accident - before the accident, you had a heavily modified 55 plate Fiesta ST and not a cheque for £7250.
 
Couldn't you find a normal Fiesta ST, which is as close to yours in condition/mileage/age, that's on sale atm and then get a quote for how much it would be to get your car back to how it was?
 
No real experience in similar circumstance, but all I can say is...ouch :(

Only thing I can see happening is that you start negotiating with your insurance folk...I'd head over to FiestaSTOC and get some examples of the sort of money a Fiesta ST with similar mods tends to go for.

One guy has his car up for a £12k...a 2007 model with stage 2.5 charger, big bore milltek, forged internals, AP racing brakes, quaife etc....market value with mods is hard to gauge but I'd look for similarly priced cars selling for good money and leverage to help you negotiate a better settlement with your insurer.

P.S. show us more of the car! Don't recognise you from STOC :p
 
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I'm sure I've seen something on here that its not their decision to write off your car and if you insist they have to fix it... my memory could be playing tricks on me of course.
 
Yes, I can buy it back from them. But why should I have to - I don't want a unmovable car sitting on my drive way for an indefinate length of time whilst I used my minimal mechanical knowledge to strip it for parts.

Fox - that is what I thought as well.
 
Dogbreath said:
Why are you claiming from your insurer? You should be claiming from the third parties.
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I've been told by my insurer liability has been admitted thats all I was worried about tbh. First accident i've been in so i'm not too clued up on how to go about it.
 
You shouldnt need to make a claim from your insurance though, you should be dealing with the other guys insurance. If you make a claim from your insurance, it will affect your no claims bonus, and your future premiums, and you adhere to their terms and conditions as you pasted above.

If you take the claim through his insurance, its their obligation to return to you to the state you were in before the accident without you being unfairly penalised.
 
Ok - So if I ring my insurer tomorrow and tell them to cease anything they are doing and then call her insurance company to arrange valuation etc etc via them?
 
As said, inform your insurance company about the matter but tell them you are sorting it all through the other persons insurance.

Then you contact their insurer direct with the details and go from there.

If be pushing for enough money to put you back in the position you were in before the accident, as Fox says, or for a full repair.

The key thing is you don't want your insurer to have to spend anything.
 
The one thing you need to consider if you're getting your original Fiesta back is it'll show up as a CAT B/C/D/ write off which will affect it's market value come resale.

MadMossy said:
Get the market value for an unmodified Fiesta ST of the same age, mileage as yours, then price up the cost of putting the same modifications back on. Thats the value you should be pushing for.
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Best advice IMO :).
 
I thought it was a total pain in the backside to get a "realistic" amount from insuers on modified cars unless they specifically offer you "Like for like" cover?
 
Joshy said:
I thought it was a total pain in the backside to get a "realistic" amount from insuers on modified cars unless they specifically offer you "Like for like" cover?
Click to expand...

But as he was not at fault he needs to be put in a position that he was in before he was hit, so a reasonable payout for a fiesta st + mods or for full repair is required.
 
id be deffinately pushing for them to repair or replace, exactly how it was before the crash too. it wasnt your fault why should you lose out
 
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