Another Accident Thread

[GeForce]

Hi all,

Apologies for yet another thread but people's advice on here has been very helpful in the past.

Someone reversed into me in a car park yesterday. The back of her Land Rover Discovery 3 was totally unmarked except a missing reflector, whilst the front of my Peugeot 406 is a bit of a mess. Bonnet and slam panel are bent, n/s headlamp pushed back into the engine bay, grille has been shattered.

Now she has admitted fault and the insurance company have asked me to take the car to one of their bodyshops to have the damage assessed, and due to the age of the car and scarcity of parts (at least from a warrantable source) I am almost certain it'll be a writeoff, since the car's value is probably around the £500-750 mark.

My options will either be to buy the car back, get replacement parts sourced, painted and fitted myself, or to buy another car. In either case, this is looking like it's going to end up costing me money, which really shouldn't be the case in a non-fault accident. I don't believe I will be able to get the car back to the state it was in before the accident with the payout that I'm likely to get. I've put a lot of work into this car with a new cambelt, clutch etc recently and I'd have to do that again on a new car, which again I won't be able to do with the payout available.

So my question is - what are my rights with the insurance company, firstly concerning the value to which it is written off, and secondly to the payout?

 

[GeForce]

They'll write it off, you buy it back for peanuts and get the balance in a cheque, repair it and drive it pocket a few quid, you don't need to do anything you don't need to take it to their bodyshop it was not your fault they should be arranging everything, have they sorted out a hire car?

For now, I am only taking it to their bodyshop to have the damage report done.

They haven't sorted out a hire car yet, but they did say that may change after the valuation. Do insurance companies usually provide hire cars for write-off incidents? I thought they gave you a cheque and that's it.

Hadn't heard of HelpHire, thanks

 

[GeForce]

From previous threads I am under the belief that if you're going straight through her insurance, i.e. it's her fault, then they have to put you back to the position you were, and writing off doesn't really fit in with that.

I'm not sure that the things that make the car valuable to me, like FSH, new parts recently fitted, etc, will be of any consequence to the insurance company. Have I got any right to state this to the insurance company and ask them to increase the writeoff value (which may result in a non-writeoff)?

Incidentally, we're both insured with the same insurance company, which is making things a bit easier.

Edit: I've requested a hire car and am waiting for a call back.

 

[GeForce]

I was under the impression this is almost always a bad thing, as it means they are more likely to push for split liability so they can shaft you both for having 0 no claims?

Hopefully this is not the case, since she admitted liability and the insurance company have confirmed that this is non-fault on my part.

Damage assessors are coming round tomorrow, who will probably tell the insurers its a write-off. However, I will ask them for a quote to paint and fit the parts if I can supply spares. If that is reasonable, I will consider buying it back.

MissChief: Do you mean I should argue with the insurers on the value of the car if I don't agree? Would they ever change their valuation?

 

[GeForce]

Damage assessor from the bodyshop has been round and it doesn't look as bad as first suspected. The bonnet is a goner, and the headlamp has been displaced backwards and has potentially broken a plastic mounting. The bumper and grille have a couple of scrapes but are otherwise undamaged. The wing is undamaged.

Insurers have valued the car at £600. ECP do a bonnet for £118, so with painting and fitting there's still a reasonable chance it won't be a writeoff.

Thanks for all the help guys, fingers crossed. Will keep you updated.

 

[GeForce]

The problem is that it might be so costly that it's easier for them to just write it off.

Really I'm hoping that it won't be written off and I can just have it fixed We'll have to see what they say.

I've got the courtesy car now so I'm sure they'll be keen to get it sorted ASAP.

 

[GeForce]

It is driveable, no airbags or warning lights. I don't think there's any fluid leaks but it's been raining so much that I can't really tell!

I had a phonecall from the insurance company this evening, saying they haven't heard back from the bodyshop yet, but trying to get me to accept it as a writeoff anyway. They have absolutely no evidence of the damage and repair costs yet. I very strongly refused this, and said I wanted to wait until the bodyshop had examined it and come up with some figures on valuation and repair.

Was I correct to do this? I didn't feel that accepting the writeoff was a good idea before I had any idea of the damage and associated repair costs.

Thanks again all.

 

[GeForce]

There's no reason not to wait for the damage assessor to talk to the insurance company i guess, but you seem to be overly optimistic that it won't be written off.

Okay, I just thought it was standard practice to get a report from the assessor before making a decision, and it felt like they were just trying to hurry things up so they could save money on the courtesy car.

I'm fully prepared for the fact that it will be written off, but this is my first time going through this (rather annoying) process, and I'm wary of the insurer trying to pull one.

Also, even if the insurance company don't care about the damage assessment report, I certainly want to know before making the decision as to whether to buy the car back.

My car really is in excellent condition, and I've spent a lot of time making it so. I think £600 too low really, so that might be worth some argument.

 

[GeForce]

Oh and you can also claim for the increased price you will pay on your own insurance as a result of this claim I believe.

Since it's non-fault on my part, and I'm claiming on the other party's insurance, there should be no increase in my premiums and no loss of no claims bonus, correct?

 

[GeForce]

Just to update you all, the bodyshop came back with a repair quote of £1383.

The insurance company initially valued the car at £600, which I argued until they increased this to £750.

I wanted to keep the car, so they offered either:

1) £700 + the car + Cat C writeoff. Would need MOT and VIC check after repair, costing around £100.

2) £600 + the car + no writeoff (cash in lieu settlement).

I took the latter option, and have been dismantling to assess the damage myself this evening. It needs a new bonnet, grille and n/s headlight unit, which I'm going to get from a scrapyard tomorrow. The bumper is unharmed.

Edit: Have been quoted £250 for a bonnet respray (the one I'm getting is silver) - does this sound reasonable? Will have to get the grille done as well.

Thanks for all your advice guys

 

[GeForce]

A5 salvage (a French car specialist breakers) has got a bonnet in "perfect condition, no rust" for which they want £25, so I'm going to grab that tomorrow.

I will try and get the grille and headlight from the same car.

Am planning to have the bonnet and grille painted at a local bodyshop, but I'm happy doing the fitting myself (since it's the reverse of removal, to quote the Haynes manual, and I've already done that bit).

 

[GeForce]

I thought that was a bit weird, but since it's only being written off due to cosmetic damage (rather than being dangerous) it makes sense that if the owner says they can repair the car for less than the car's value, then the insurer just agrees on a figure with the owner and that's that.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has had this kind of offer made to them?

 

[GeForce]

Some pictures I know the car is nothing special but it's been very reliable and is actually very comfortable and economical for a 14 year old car!

The damage, taken at the scene of the accident:

Here's how she's looking at the moment:

 

[GeForce]

Got the bonnet and grille back from the bodyshop today, and now she's all back to normal! Very pleased

The rest of the car needs a wash and polish, hence the slight mismatch. I'm told it's not nearly as noticeable in real life.

 

[GeForce]

Bonnet (£25) and grille (£10) from A5 Salvage in Leighton Buzzard. Pair of headlights (£10) from eBay seller near Luton, they needed a good amount of polishing but as you can see they look fine now (only n/s/f replaced).

Paintwork (£300) from Forefront in Leatherhead. This would have been more if I'd had the wings blended. Also the underside of the bonnet is still silver

Probably around £50 in petrol driving around picking up parts.

Total time probably around 10 hours driving between places to pick up parts and moving parts to bodyshop. Plus another ~4-5 hours on phone to insurance company and bodyshop.

Luckily I was free all of last week hence I had time to get everything sorted