Write off?

Big Chris said:
I've dropped the claim on my car already, they said I can come back to them and claim if it turns out it'll cost loads to fix once it's properly checked out. Obviously the other people involved will claim against me though.

Happen that I do end up claiming though and they Cat-D it, what happens then? Other than the resale value going down, are there are costs to consider once I've fixed it?
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As a course of action this makes no sense - get back on the phone and tell them to include your car. Let them know you want to buy it back if they write it off (they will). You then agree a value and this will come off your payout.

Do this and you will have a few hundred quid in your pocket for repairs (unless you have a silly excess). Go down your road and you have a car that will cost you a few hundred to put right plus the increased insurance premiums for a few years anyway with no financial recourse
 
You're probably right, I'm just wary as I don't really know what having the car back as Cat-D means to me & the costs as I've said.

As it stands I know the car is worth £1250 according to Glass' Guide, minus £550 excess, minus the salvage cost which is approx £170 according the Claims guys at work. So that leaves me with about £500 give or take.

So, I get the car back and £500 and let's say it costs £500 to put right. Can I just drive off into the sunset once it's fixed or do I have to do anything else since it's Cat-D? Will it cost more to insure, and do I have to insure it again or will the existing policy still stand?
 
Cat D being an uneconomical repair would mean it would need an MOT and thats all. If it was a Cat C then you would need a VIC test.

The glass's guide on the internet is different from the one used by insurance companies, they will most probably offer below market value, so it might be worth you doing some comparisons on auto trader of vehicles of similar age, miles etc, remember its a UK market insurance so don't restrict your search to just 20 miles from your post code etc.

Depending on the cost, if you don't include your vehicle in the claim, it will not be put on MIAFTR as a total loss and therefore if the car was written off in the future it would not show as being written off previously.

*the above is taken from memory so can not be 100% if a total loss car is dealt with in the same manor :)
 
Great, thanks. The Glass' value I got is from the Claims guy at work so the official one (I spend half my working life installing/reinstalling Glass' Guide and Escribe so about time they did something for me!) He's printed me off a load of stuff about the bits I might need to replace and the value of the car, plus the salvage value.

My only other question is, since I'm not planning at this stage to claim for damage to my car, but the other guys will claim from me, do I still have to pay the excess?
 
Right, spoken to my insurer again this morning just to clear up a few things.

If the car is written off as Cat-D and I get it back, I'm left with about £500 after the payout and the salvage costs.

-I have to pay £x amount to fix it myself
-I have to have an MOT done
-I have to reinsure it at a higher premium since the policy will have been cancelled (with no refund) and the premium will go up given the accident

So bearing all that in mind, I might as well just spend the few hundred quid fixing it myself and be done with it since I won't have to pay the excess if I don't claim for my car.

I'm now just hoping there aren't any nasty surprises when we get the bonnet open and we can just make do with a new wing, cross-member etc. Fingers crossed...
 
The chap said my policy would be cancelled once they'd written off the car as Cat-D, so I'd need to get a new MOT done before I could reinsure it, and the reinsurance quote would include the fact that I'd just had an accident obviously so would be higher; although I still have 7yrs protected no claims.
 
Sorry to hear this mate as I've done it before twice. :o One time I just nudged the person in front so no damage tuther time I looked & stopped in time. Both times like you said the people in front could have got a bus out let alone a car. :mad:

Anyways.
Looks like a financial write off to me but always hard to judge just from a few pics.
 
Big Chris said:
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Just thinking about spares if I'm going to get this done myself, the bonnet release bit as shown above is bent under but I'm assuming the lock barrel itself can be removed and put into a replacement unit if I find the bits at a breakers?
 
4T5 said:
Sorry to hear this mate as I've done it before twice. :o One time I just nudged the person in front so no damage tuther time I looked & stopped in time. Both times like you said the people in front could have got a bus out let alone a car. :mad:

Anyways.
Looks like a financial write off to me but always hard to judge just from a few pics.
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Yeah it's frustrating, but totally my fault. I drive that route every morning and more than likely do so on autopilot. Just takes one person who isn't so familiar with the road to stop, apply handbrake and check both ways and you're stuffed.

Ahh well, lesson learned and should hopefully be sorted with a few hundred quid and some trips to breakers (shame I didn't hit the back of a silver Focus as I could've had the front off it and sorted it there and then! :p)
 
Big Chris said:
Just thinking about spares if I'm going to get this done myself, the bonnet release bit as shown above is bent under but I'm assuming the lock barrel itself can be removed and put into a replacement unit if I find the bits at a breakers?
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Barrel looks a bit damaged - worst case you end up with a "bonnet key". No big deal really
 
Took it in to be checked over this morning, friend of a friend so I know he would give it an honest appraisal.

He reckons he can do the lot for £400 including labour and he can source bits through is regular contacts since he runs a bodyshop & accident repair place.

He's booked up for the foreseeable but said if I drop it to him next Fri he'll do his best to get it back to me over the weekend; at which point I'll buy him many beers.

Pretty happy with that outcome (relatively speaking of course, in an ideal world I wouldn't have driven into the back of anyone and I'd be using that £400 on drugs & hookers etc.)
 
Got the car back today, pretty happy with the results for £350:

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The shut lines aren't perfect and the grille is a little loose but it's good enough for me.

Bad news is, I had a letter from the guy in front of the guy I hit saying he has neck stiffness, back stiffness, and get this... "anxiety whilst driving" :confused:

It was a low speed accident, he was perfectly alright at the time, and when I phoned him later to let him know my insurance would be in contact he again said he was fine. Guess it's to be expected these days sadly, he seemed like a decent guy at the time though :(.

I've forwarded the letter onto my insurance company and enclosed a letter saying it seemed suspicious but will have to wait and see what happens. I did mention that since I was the one who hit a guy directly and neither I nor he had any medical problems. It also said in his letter that he'd not sought medical attention or visited a hospital.
 
Big Chris said:
Bad news is, I had a letter from the guy in front of the guy I hit saying he has neck stiffness, back stiffness, and get this... "anxiety whilst driving" :confused:
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A £350 accident is about to turn into a £3500 one.

Big Chris said:
It was a low speed accident, he was perfectly alright at the time, and when I phoned him later to let him know my insurance would be in contact he again said he was fine. Guess it's to be expected these days sadly, he seemed like a decent guy at the time though :(.
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You'd be surprised. Even the most decent guys will turn when £2000 of the easiest money they will ever make (legally) is waved in front of their face.
 
I phoned my insurance company yesterday and told them about it, they said if there's any medical evidence then they have to pay out. His letter said he'd not sought any medical advice, but I assume he just has to go to the doctor and say his neck hurts?

I've got legal cover on my policy and all that so I guess if they do pay out then it won't effect me in any way?

Once it's all done and dusted either way I'm tempted to ring the guy and tell him what I think of him. "Anxiety whilst driving?" What a pussy...
 
Big Chris said:
Once it's all done and dusted either way I'm tempted to ring the guy and tell him what I think of him. "Anxiety whilst driving?" What a pussy...
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Tell him he better watch his back. Not just while he's driving. How's that for anxiety? /keyboard warrior

(don't actually do that, unless you're Bruce Willis)
 
Well, liability is admitted so it is certain that he will get some money should he claim and the only debate is how much.

He wins, his lawyer wins.

It is expected.

Don't lose sleep over it, it's just the way of the world these days.
 
Do they go to any lengths to try and find out if the claim is genuine though? Or will they just pay him some money to keep him happy?

If he works full time and has sick pay then how does he come up with a compensation figure if he's not out of pocket? Will he have to produce any proof etc?
 
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