Hi guys, I was involved in a collision today where someone jumped a red light and crashed into me. I'm okay, as is the other driver thankfully. The police officer on the scene reckoned the other guy's car was a write-off as the front of his motor was pretty smashed up. It was a G reg 190E. I was wondering if anyone had a vague idea from experience whether the insurers may try to write my car off. The car sustained extensive damage on the front driver's side wing and wheelarch. Part of the bumper is twisted and damaged and the alloy wheel was scratched up, possibly buckled. The drivers side door is dented and scratched. The steering is also well out, as the guy who drove it onto the recovery trailer said that it was "all over the place". I know for a fact that in a part exchange my car is worth around £2000. It's an 02 plate Mazda 6. Is there any hope, or will the repair be uneconomical? I can't really afford to be buying a car right now!!
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
It will all depend on your insurer and the value to which they repair up to. I used to work for a Norwich Union approved repairer and we could dependent on the value repair up to 70% of value.
Wait to a bodyshop or coachworks looks at it and bargain hard with your insurer
Hi
Without seeing images its difficult to say, but £2000 doesnt go far in repair costs, so suggest you prepare yourself for a decision not to repair.
Depending on evidence of responsibility and cover, the other/your insurers may offer a replacement vehicle, but if they decide to treat as constructive/ total loss ie cost of repairs exceeds pre accident value you may not get a car for long.
Dont accept first offer and get some info to support cost of similar car from dealer to replace yours as this would be more than trade in.
Insurance should put you back to position you were in before accident.
Regards
Martin
Cheers guys, I appreciate the advice.
As above, £2,000 isn't a huge amount in terms of repair costs when looking at new parts/labour.
Are you saying you want to get it repaired if possible though? If yes, there's nothing to stop you from getting your own quotes to see if it can be done.
Best of luck.
If the chassis is twisted they will probably write it off anyway (that happend when my ex wife had someone run into her - same part of the car.
Conversely I've had a situation where an insurer has paid more to have a car repaired than it was actually worth (don't ask - I never understood that one).
These days £2k won't (as people have said) get you a lot of repairing done - at a dealer.
I would actually be hoping for a write off - that way you could replace with another motor and KNOW everything is OK (I've never trusted crashed/repaired vehicles, and would always steer well clear - pun intended!).
Best of luck whatever and sorry to hear about your accident - most importantly YOU are OK.
Cheers,
As has been said above, a write off would probably be fairly likely considering the damage v. car value.
It's probably worth looking on the net for similar cars for sale at dealers or wherever, and printing a load of example prices off. If the insurers offer you a pretty low figure, you should be able to go back and say: well here's ten similar cars for £3k or something like that.
It will technically be a write off if the repair costs exceed about £1400. If its borderline you could see about getting it repaired yourself - accept the write off and buy the salvage back. Some Insurers will do this as long as it is repairable.Originally Posted by Grandiloquence
Good luck.
Well, had a call from the company. They are writing it off as a total loss due to damage and vehicle age. :( Let the negotiations begin!
Lwt them write it off - if you are the victim, your insurer should get you into a hire car, there are also firms that will help you out, as they can charge the fee to the guy who pranged you.
Also - if any personal injury - get to the docs and get it all documented - any whiplash, side effects etc etc.
All of that will add up - you may get a really nice car after it's all sorted out - but insurers run slowly.....
The hire car will only be available for the period whilst your car is being repaired. If it's a total loss you will just get the settlement amount.
My thoughts exactly with many insurers (unless you have a guaranteed hire car option on the policy or legal cover that says to the contrary). That's exactly what happened with me a few years ago, although I managed to convince them otherwise for a few days while I discussed the market value.The hire car will only be available for the period whilst your car is being repaired. If it's a total loss you will just get the settlement amount.
Get lots of examples of the same model for sale in preparation for an insulting offer (you never know, they may offer a reasonable amount, but the first offer is typically low ball). Best to be prepared.
And best of luck.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote