Another Accident Thread

They're doing it because they know it's going to be a write off.

They know that the entire car is only worth £600 - and pretty much any damage on a £600 will lead to it being written off. The bonnet alone is £118. The painting on top of this will be hundreds, plus the labour, plus the headlight that needs changing. I should think they'll be looking at about £1000 to fix.

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.
 
It used to be the case that a third party insurer cannot write off your car without your permission, they have to reinstate it to its original condition should you insist, not sure if this still applies, but might be worth a shot.

I know a number of Peugeot 205 GTI club guys who had their cars repaired under these rules, but like I say, not sure it applies now, probably worth consulting a solicitor or other insurance claims expert.

I would be looking for the best Peugeot 406 I could find and look for this as the price for a write off.

honestjohn said:
DAMAGE TO YOUR CAR: What are your rights if someone damages your car in an accident and their insurer attempts to write it off, compensating you with a derisory amount and refusing to keep you on the road in the meantime?

If the other party is judged to be wholly and negligently responsible for the damage than you are entitled to be put back where you were immediately before they did you the damage.

That means for your car to be repaired or replaced so it is of exactly the same quality as it was before the other party did you the damage. Or you are financially compensated to the replacement value of your car before it was damaged.

It also means you are entitled to an equivalent temporary replacement car either until your car is repaired or you receive a settlement figure allowing you to purchase a direct replacement.

The relevant case law is Clarke v/s Ardington in the Appeal Court, 19th April 2002, in which their Lordships said:

Sect 127 "A defendant who damages another's car should not be surprised to find that he will have to pay for a replacement car if it is needed by the claimant. A wrongdoer must take his victim as he finds him."

Sect. 148 "the fundamental principle is that a person whose car has been damaged is entitled to compensation for the loss caused. In a case where such loss includes loss of use and he establishes a need for a replacement, he is entitled to the cost of hiring a replacement car"
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Gaygle said:
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.
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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.
 
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GeForce said:
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.
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They owe you an equivalent car to the one you lost, so push for enough money to get a car as good as yours was.

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.
 
Dr Who said:
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.
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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?
 
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 :)
 
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Good choice.

Is buying a bonnet from a scrapyard an option? Should be able to fix it up for a few hundred which isn't all too bad.

Headlight and grilles could be a DIY job if you like getting stuck into things. Probably £40 for the headlight, £10 for grilles and a couple of hours of your time.
 
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).
 
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?
 
miniyazz said:
Is that normal, to offer a no write-off option for a car which would normally be written off? Seems a bit underhand :p
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I was wondering about this. Tbh i think it's quite sensible as it'd be stupid to write off a car for that kind of damage, register it as CAT C which would impact the value more, then get the owner to have to pay £100 for it to be certified safe and ok to return to the road (which is stupid in this case).
 
miniyazz said:
Is that normal, to offer a no write-off option for a car which would normally be written off? Seems a bit underhand :p
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Of course it is - writeoff is purely an insurance term. It's not a total loss as they've not paid out for its value. They've instead offered a cash settlement for the accident. Therefore no writeoff.
 
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:
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Here's how she's looking at the moment:
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Wow, that looks like it'll take about an hour to get it back to how it was!

Wish i had an old car that i didn't have to worry about :(
 
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.

8050828095_f24b6c6bf8_z.jpg

8050833972_59a10e3b5f_z.jpg
 
Looks like you've ended up with a better condition car than before the accident.

What was your total spend on repairs in money and time?
 
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 :)
 
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