Parkers book value

degen · 13 Sep 2009 at 18:47

Hi,
My girlfriends mums car was hit by a lorry causing a lot of panel damage on one side of the car. Now I understand as it wasn't her fault she is entitled to have the car repaired and not written off. Now just incase they refuse to repair it she wants to know how much she could expect to get from the insurance company for it. So could anyone with a Parkers account look up a 'Renault Megane 1.6e RT Alize 5d Auto - S/1998'.

Thanks.

oHUTCHYo · 13 Sep 2009 at 18:50

Think this is the right model;

Renault Megane Saloon (96-03)
1. 1.6 16V Alize 4d Auto Change
2. 2000/V Change
3. Average mileage: 90,000 miles Change
4. Adjust for mileage and options Change

No options selected
Original Priced £14,145 Help Button
Independent Dealer £1,690 Help Button
Private Good £1,120 Help Button
Private Poor £345 Help Button
Part Exchange £510 Help Button

It wont let youy go back to 1999 or prior, you had to pay, so I went for 2000. It will serve as a guide at least.

SOURCE: http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/used-prices/Valuation.aspx?deriv=16616&plate=62

oHUTCHYo · 13 Sep 2009 at 18:51

Surely they would write it off for that value?

degen · 13 Sep 2009 at 18:54

Thanks,
The accident was 100% the lorry drivers fault - foreign lorry driver in wrong lane on roundabout crushed the car into the roundabout.
I believe as it wasn't her fault they can't write the car off? Or would it be considered unreasonable to repair it due to the value of it? She has just spend £400 on it to get it repaired as well so as you can understand shes not too happy.

oHUTCHYo · 13 Sep 2009 at 18:56

I bet, at least everyone was OK.

Ive never had to claim so I dont know much about the ins and outs of insurance come the time you need to claim, but for a car of such value I thought body repair/spraying would cost more than reimbursing your mum-in-law with the market value of the car?

degen · 13 Sep 2009 at 18:59

That would be a valid point if it was her fault I believe.

iaind · 13 Sep 2009 at 18:59

Without even looking at the value that will be written off. Why would you prefer it to be repaired?

I dont think you need an account for parkers, but its not very accurate either

Disco Boy · 13 Sep 2009 at 18:59

degen said:
I believe as it wasn't her fault they can't write the car off? Or would it be considered unreasonable to repair it due to the value of it? She has just spend £400 on it to get it repaired as well so as you can understand shes not too happy.

Well if the lorry driver did a proper job of it and bent the chassis then there's no choice but to write off the car.

If it is repairable but the cost would outweigh the value of the car, I'm sure that they'll just cat C it, I've never heard of this "it wasn't my fault, so repair my 2k car, even if it costs 4k to repair" clause.

iaind · 13 Sep 2009 at 19:05

Disco Boy said:
Well if the lorry driver did a proper job of it and bent the chassis then there's no choice but to write off the car.

If it is repairable but the cost would outweigh the value of the car, I'm sure that they'll just cat C it, I've never heard of this "it wasn't my fault, so repair my 2k car, even if it costs 4k to repair" clause.

I believe it's actually true, but why would you bother for a 10 year old basic megane?

degen · 13 Sep 2009 at 19:16

Becuse she can't afford to replace it.

iaind · 13 Sep 2009 at 19:17

degen said:
Becuse she can't afford to replace it.

Writing it off does involve paying her...

degen · 13 Sep 2009 at 19:25

But the amount she will get will not be enough to buy another car that was as mechanically sound as this one as she just had a lot of things fixed and replaced on it. The damage appears to only be panel damage.

[TW]Fox · 13 Sep 2009 at 19:27

Disco Boy said:
If it is repairable but the cost would outweigh the value of the car, I'm sure that they'll just cat C it, I've never heard of this "it wasn't my fault, so repair my 2k car, even if it costs 4k to repair" clause.

Because the negligent third parties insurer doesn't suddenly luck in because the third party happened to hit a cheap car. If it was a Merc they'd be paying a lot more than £4k. You can argue that you must be put back into the position you were in befre the accident, and before the accident you had a known good Megane not a cheque for its value. Obviously in law everything is down to what would be considered reasonable so nobody will allow a £10k repair on a £500 Escort for example.

Disco Boy · 13 Sep 2009 at 19:31

degen said:
But the amount she will get will not be enough to buy another car that was as mechanically sound as this one as she just had a lot of things fixed and replaced on it. The damage appears to only be panel damage.

If it's just panel damage then it should just get repaired and resprayed I imagine.

[TW]Fox;14879749 said:
Because the negligent third parties insurer doesn't suddenly luck in because the third party happened to hit a cheap car. If it was a Merc they'd be paying a lot more than £4k. You can argue that you must be put back into the position you were in befre the accident, and before the accident you had a known good Megane not a cheque for its value. Obviously in law everything is down to what would be considered reasonable so nobody will allow a £10k repair on a £500 Escort for example.

I was thinking exactly what you said, but it's the last sentence where it starts to get tricky. Is a £4k repair bill for a £2k car acceptable? What's the cut off point? A percentage, or a fixed amount over the value of the car?

[TW]Fox · 13 Sep 2009 at 19:35

Only a court of law can decide exactly whats acceptable and what isn't an decisions are made based on the probability of what the court would say if it went that far. I think it depends on the car.

If it was a mint Renault 19 16v for example he had owned for 5 years and spent a lot on he'd have a better chance of arguing the case for a £3k repair than if it was a generic Megane - because obviously a car like that, crap though it may be, isn't going to magically reappear on the innocent parties drive upon receipt of a cheque.

Meridian · 13 Sep 2009 at 20:02

On a car that old (and even on newer ones) the insurers will write the car off if the cost of repairs exceeds 60% or so of the book value. If the damage is as extensive as you suggest, even panel damage alone may well be at least £1000 - meaning a write-off.

M

iaind · 13 Sep 2009 at 20:57

degen said:
But the amount she will get will not be enough to buy another car that was as mechanically sound as this one as she just had a lot of things fixed and replaced on it. The damage appears to only be panel damage.

A car that needs a lot of things fixed and replaced doesnt sound like a car I'd want to keep anyway.

Fundamentally the car has a value - it has that value because that's what it would cost to replace. You should be able to replace the car with an identical car with the settlement they give you, if you dont agree with the valuation then you should just debate it.

Its a 10 year old megane, its not like it's particularly special or unique

[TW]Fox · 13 Sep 2009 at 21:06

Actually as cars age they become unique - it may be that they are not confident they can find another 10 year old Megane in the same condition as their own. This is a reasonable assumption for them to make.