Me car, noooooo!

kaiowas · 5 Oct 2009 at 19:22

Seeing as they currently believe it will be cheaper to write it off then repair (by fobbing you off with a lowball payout) then the best thing is to make it clear that you know they are obliged to repair if you want them to, then push for them to repair it. The intention being to negotiate a compromise by accepting a write off value higher than they currently plan to give you but cheaper than it'll cost them to repair. Then repair it yourself on the cheap and pocket the difference.

Stormster · 6 Oct 2009 at 00:23

Similar thing happened to me once, long and short of it I wouldn't let them write the car off... they agreed to settle with a lower cash figure, I keep the car, doesn't go down as a loss and fix it myself. Was only an old Corsa valued @ 700 quid, they agreed to give me 500 quid and for me to sort it.

So, sold the car (damage was next to none! lol), got the cheque too and got 1300 quid (effectively) for an L reg Corsa.

Could see if they'd settle with a 600 quid cheque? Fix the car and pocket the rest?

I get around · 6 Oct 2009 at 10:15

Malt_Vinegar said:
If you ever want work done by an insurance company quickly. Call up at 9am, 1pm and 5pm every day until it is sorted

Generally, makes sure things are moved along pretty quickly. Sure, they wont like you very much, but it gets the job done They are paid to provide a service!

Depends who you ring tbh, i'm paid to provide a service but if someone annoys me they get a reduced service.
Make sure you're very polite on the phone if you plan on doing this.

Pete19s · 6 Oct 2009 at 10:36

Been having a look around trying to find Meganes of a similar spec, condition and mileage to mine to get a rough idea of the value. So far I have found none that I could buy with £915 and the only one with a similar mileage and condition is a whopping £1995 but it lacks both aircon & passenger airbag.

Dr Who · 6 Oct 2009 at 10:42

Pete19s said:
Been having a look around trying to find Meganes of a similar spec, condition and mileage to mine to get a rough idea of the value. So far I have found none that I could buy with £915 and the only one with a similar mileage and condition is a whopping £1995 but it lacks both aircon & passenger airbag.

You need to prove this to the insurance company, they have grossly undervalued your car based on the current 2nd hand car market and its condition if that's the case.

Pete19s · 6 Oct 2009 at 10:52

Dr Who said:
You need to prove this to the insurance company, they have grossly undervalued your car based on the current 2nd hand car market and its condition if that's the case.

I have the info from the dealers website. Its the only one remotely close which is abit of a supprise. Anyone with spare time on there hands and who would like a challenge try to find me a nice standard Phase 1 Megane Coupe 16v with 74,000 miles on the clock, full service history, with both aircon AND passenger airbag for £915. If you can I have some shortbread you are more than welcome to have.

http://www.kaspians.co.uk/sports/index.html
6th car down, its slightly newer than mine on an S plate.

Pete19s · 10 Oct 2009 at 19:32

Slight update. Have been waiting since Monday to get the paperwork through the post giving me details of the insurance company wanting to write the car off etc. Get home tonight to be greeted with an envelope with a cheque for £915, a request for the log book & current MOT and telling me the car needs to be disposed of within 7 days. To say im ****ed is a understatement. I cant believe the cheek of it, on the phone I made myself clear I didnt want the cheque and that I wanted the paper work before I made any agreement. Add into that I was told they would only authorise a cheque AFTER I had sent a copy of the V5 and MOT to them. Why do I get the feeling im now in for a tough ride? Can they un-write off my car?

*Moangroan* · 10 Oct 2009 at 20:04

The repairs are worth more or close to the value of the car. This will involve admin costs to and from insurers.

Ask the cost to buy it back. Then you repair it .

mejinks · 10 Oct 2009 at 20:06

Pete19s said:
Slight update. Have been waiting since Monday to get the paperwork through the post giving me details of the insurance company wanting to write the car off etc. Get home tonight to be greeted with an envelope with a cheque for £915, a request for the log book & current MOT and telling me the car needs to be disposed of within 7 days. To say im ****ed is a understatement. I cant believe the cheek of it, on the phone I made myself clear I didnt want the cheque and that I wanted the paper work before I made any agreement. Add into that I was told they would only authorise a cheque AFTER I had sent a copy of the V5 and MOT to them. Why do I get the feeling im now in for a tough ride? Can they un-write off my car?

You did not authorise them to do it. This is standard practise to get you to bend over and accept what they want to happen. Tell them that you haven't accepted their offer and that you want the car repaired. If you don't send them the v5c they can't write it off.

Pete19s · 10 Oct 2009 at 21:07

mejinks said:
You did not authorise them to do it. This is standard practise to get you to bend over and accept what they want to happen. Tell them that you haven't accepted their offer and that you want the car repaired. If you don't send them the v5c they can't write it off.

This is what I suspected, basically most people will roll over and not realise they are trying to pull a fast one. Info on the net seems abit vague regarding where I stand as to having my car repaired regardless of if its going to cost the 3rd parties insurance company more that the car is worth. Ive been trawling the forums and have only found this:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14723512&postcount=6
from this thread
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18045639&highlight=write

lordrobs · 10 Oct 2009 at 22:26

Pete19s said:
Slight update. Have been waiting since Monday to get the paperwork through the post giving me details of the insurance company wanting to write the car off etc. Get home tonight to be greeted with an envelope with a cheque for £915, a request for the log book & current MOT and telling me the car needs to be disposed of within 7 days. To say im ****ed is a understatement. I cant believe the cheek of it, on the phone I made myself clear I didnt want the cheque and that I wanted the paper work before I made any agreement. Add into that I was told they would only authorise a cheque AFTER I had sent a copy of the V5 and MOT to them. Why do I get the feeling im now in for a tough ride? Can they un-write off my car?

Missed this thread but it sounds like a nightmare

The car was looking great back during the Cromer trip too.

Pete19s · 12 Oct 2009 at 09:37

Another update. Rang the offending insurance company again to get them to budge. No luck, they are still adament that they are not obliged to fix the car due to it being uneconomical to do so. I made it clear to them I was aware that I was obliged to have the car repaired UNLESS the damage was unsafe to fix but the good old "put him on hold and ask somone" was used. I also mentioned that I was told to contact an accident management company (helphire) and was told that there is no point as they have already marked the car as a total loss and that they wouldnt pay out. Bunch of monkeys dont half move quick when it suits them.

*RAGE GUY*

Lum · 12 Oct 2009 at 11:01

Contact Helphire anyway, Tell them which garage you want them to use. Let them get on with it. The longer they drag it out the longer they'll have to pay for you to swan about in a brand new Golf GT-TDi or something. That'll encourage them to stop dragging their heels.