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Muppet ploughs into my two parked cars!!ADVICE NEEDED

jig
jig Posts: 164 Forumite
A stupid cannot drive spotty teenager ploughed into my two parked cars in the driveway.

The damage was extensive one in the rear quarter and the other on the rear drivers side door, with his car being written off!

His insurance company(third party) arranged the cars to be taken away and provided replacement vehicles.

They have rang today giving me the following...

1. BMW e39 ('99) - is to be written off as the repair costs are to high. I will be given a good valuation in line with autotrader and can expect £3000.
2. BMW e60 ('04) - repair costs are too high at BMW and insurer is pleading that I get the repairs done at another garage as it will be cheaper. Said that BMW have listed a whole host of things which are not all necessary?. (im not happy doing this).

So I need help and advice on what I should do next...

1. I want as much money as possible and with the option of buying back the salvage in an attempt I could repair?What are my options? Also car has a private plate, I want to keep it what should I do and when?
2. I want the repairs done at BMW can I force this? I want everything thats an issue to be resolved and not just some things, how do I ensure this?

Thanks in advance for the help and advice
Jig
«13

Comments

  • zappahey
    zappahey Posts: 2,252 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I'm not sure that someone else's insurance company can write off your car. I'm fairly sure that you can insist that it be repaired and repaired properly.
    What goes around - comes around
  • 1. I would look yourself at getting the car repaired, only you can decide if it's worth doing. Get some quotes etc. If you go down that option they should be willing to deduct the value they would get as scrap and give you what the car is worth and give you the car back. I don't know anything about private plates, sorry.

    2. you say on one hand BMW are quoting for things that aren't necessary, but on the other hand you want to go to bmw! I can see the other insurance company's point! Go to at least two other repair centres. They will give you quotes and will list exactly what they intend to repair and how much they intend to charge. Check they are including everything you feel is necessary. If all the quotes are similar, then you can ask for BMW repair. If others are significantly cheaper then you will probably have to go for a non-bmw repairer.
    Indecision is the key to flexibility :)
  • With the private plate,I believe the insurers have to send a form to the DVLA so that the plate can be put on retention. Make sure you insist that the insurers cover any associated fees too.

    Buying back the salvage? Tell the insurers you want to retain, and they'll pay you the vehicle's value net of salvage. That should be no problem.

    Getting the BMW fixed at a BMW garage? Be persistent about this one. You may need to get your own engineer's report - can your insurers assist with this? Do you have legal expenses insurance?
  • I am not an expert but I would consider this.

    Contact the DVLA. They will tell you exactly what they require for you to retain your reg. under these circumstances.

    In respect of repair or buying the salvage I would contact my insurers. Speak to them and find out if you had the vehicle 'written off', bought the salvage and repaired it would it be categorised as a write off on the HPI. There are different categories and you may find that your existing insurer would not insure a write off of any category. Different insurers have different criteria in this respect. If an HPI check would reveal your repaired vehicle as a write off this may well present difficulties in you selling it if you chose to do that.

    I would treat the BMW quote as the 'gold standard'. Undoubtedly you will find cheaper quotes from non- franchised but approved repairers. If they are not quoting for work which BMW engineers deem necessary (a like for like) then that raises a question of engineering competence which the other parties insurers would have to justify. I would weigh up carefully the price they are prepared to pay you out as opposed to the price less salvage. Vehicle prices are depressed at the moment and you could get a very good buy with the cash compared to the hassle of retaining and repairing your damaged vehicle. Ensure before you have repaired it will be insurable at a reasonable premium and the level of cover available. They may only offer you third party.
  • re 2 - tell them they can either get it done at the BMW garage starting now, or they can argue the toss with you while you find other acceptable garages to do the work all the time costing them money due to the replacement hire cars. It won't take long at day hire rate for it to be cheaper for BMW to do the work than to wait for someone else to do it!
    Adventure before Dementia!
  • jig wrote: »
    2. BMW e60 ('04) - repair costs are too high at BMW and insurer is pleading that I get the repairs done at another garage as it will be cheaper. Said that BMW have listed a whole host of things which are not all necessary?. (im not happy doing this).

    Diddums. Its your car, you can have it repaired wherever you like. Take it to BMW and ask them to return it as new, and let the insurance company pay for it all. How would they know what is necessary and what isn't?
  • the first one see if you can buy it back and repair it yourself

    the second one i would not want fixing at a bmw garage (they probably outsource it anyway)
  • You have my complete sympathy. The same thing happened to me in early September, a drunk driver ploughed into my car in the middle of the night whilst I was fast asleep at home.

    I would have thought it would be your insurers who would tell you if your car is writtern off not the third party? I would def obtain a quote via your insurers

    My car had private plates which I have just put on retention. You need to fill in form V778/1 and then send this plus relevant docs (licence/MOT etc) to your nearest DVLA office. If you call DVLA they can tell you your nearest office. It costs £105 in total. Link below. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/BuyingAndSellingAVehicle/PersonalisedRegAndNumberPlates/DG_4022575
    I am now in the process of claiming this back as an un-insured loss via helphire who provided my courtesy car.

    I was also offered a price which they said was in line with autotrader- however, the engineers/ garage was open to negotitation and managed to squeeze an extra £200.

    Hope this has been of some use, good luck:o
  • raskazz
    raskazz Posts: 2,877 Forumite
    zappahey wrote: »
    I'm not sure that someone else's insurance company can write off your car. I'm fairly sure that you can insist that it be repaired and repaired properly.

    No you can't. If it is unsafe (category A or B total loss) then clearly a repair is impossible. If it is uneconomical to repair the vehicle (category C or D) then all the third party insurer has to do by law is pay the market value of the car, thereby enabling you to buy a car of equivalent make/model/mileage/condition and thus be in the same position as you were immediately prior to the loss. However, the third party insurer cannot insist on retaining the salvage - it should be possible to return it to you (unless it is unsafe).
  • raskazz
    raskazz Posts: 2,877 Forumite
    the first one see if you can buy it back and repair it yourself

    the second one i would not want fixing at a bmw garage (they probably outsource it anyway)

    I tend to agree. The workmanship at the BMW garage will be no better or worse than any other reputable garage but it will be substantially more expensive. In my experience there are many garages that specialise in BMW's but are not franchised which will provide a decent service at a much lower cost, with the same levels of guarantee on the workmanship.
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