Car insurance - BMW write-off help needed!

Miss_Sarah_2

Hi there,

On Monday my Dad was involved in an accident on his way to visit his mother and I'm in need of some advice on how best to deal with it without him ending up out-of-pocket.

He was approaching a roundabout in the left hand lane (of two), when a girl driving a Ford KA came across from the other side of the road (over a kerb and grass verge and back down the kerb first!) and hit the side of his BMW 3-series. She then rebounded off and hit a Porsche which was slightly behind my Dad in the right hand lane. His airbags didn't deploy but the ones in the Porsche did (not sure if Dad's were faulty as they have thankfully never been used before. The police were called to clear the road and took statements.

The front door was very badly damaged, and the inside floor of the car was pushed in, the rear door was also damaged, the roof dented and the petrol cap stuck open.

My Dad called his insurers who arranged recovery and delivered a courtesy car on Tuesday morning.

The insurers have called today to say the car is a write off and have offered him £5,250. He paid £10k for the car approx 2 years ago and is going to be really out of pocket if he takes this offer. He has visited a BMW main dealer who advised that to buy a similar car would cost him approx £7,200.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation where an accident was clearly not their fault but they have been left out of pocket? Is there anywhere he can claim back the money he has lost?

I believe that if a car is written off, insurance is also terminated. The policy only started in September so that will be more money he has lost.

I have also heard that he could claim through her insurance rather than his own. Is there any benefit to this?

Dad has had a stiff neck and shoulders since the accident as well as some back pain. As an electrician, with a lot of work done above shoulder height, he has had to take some time off work. He is considering a personal injury claim to cover this time off (as he is self-employed so isn't paid for time off sick) - is there anyone in particular who comes recommended? Or anyone to avoid?!

I look forward to your responses!

Sarah

jack_spratt_2

In my opinion he is being offered trade price for his car if the BMW garage is charging £7200 they usually have a mark up of about £2000 .
Get him to go into a BMW garage and sound them out about the price he would expect if he had traded the car in
You can contest the offer in the hope of a little increase but to be honest the used and new car prices have been hit very badly !! the thing is can he replace the car with the same spec for that money buying privately

covlass

My friend was in a similar situation with her car insurance. Her car was stolen though but she still recieved a lot less than she paid for it 2years previosly I think they go by market value. I could be wrong but you could check Parkers guide
http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/used-prices/

Miss_Sarah_2

On the likes of Auto Trader it's approx £7k to buy a car of the same age/spec. He brought this one from a reputable dealer so why should he have to go privately this time?

We're just livid because he hasn't had the car that long and was planning to keep it for quite a few years yet and it seems so unfair that he's going to lose out because some crazy girl was driving too fast and lost control of her car. He'll also lose the cost of 9 months insurance. It doesn't seem very fair as it wasn't his fault.

Thanks for your advice though.

Miss_Sarah_2

covlass wrote: »

My friend was in a similar situation with her car insurance. Her car was stolen though but she still recieved a lot less than she paid for it 2years previosly I think they go by market value. I could be wrong but you could check Parkers guide
http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/used-prices/

It is all based on market value, which is fine, but what they've offered him is the trade in price...not what he'll have to pay to replace the car with a like-for-like one. The insurers all seem like snakes to me, he hasn't made a claim for 9 years!

covlass

I have just looked at my insurance as it due renewl so had it to hand, it's fully comp and says value: Market Value so i asume if my car was written off then thats all I would get which is a lot less than what I paid for in new 4 years ago. Its not fair I agree especially when its not your fault.
I hope it all gets sorted soon x

Badger_Lady

Just on the point about "termination of insurance", I've had a lot of recent experience of write-offs...

In my case, the car's insurance ceases at the moment they inform you of the write-off status (the main effect being that you're no longer 3rd-party insured to drive other cars). However, you can then add a replacement car onto the policy. If the quote for your replacement car is the same as the old car, there's nothing extra to pay (except maybe an admin fee for "change of car"). If it's more, you pay extra but if it's less you won't be refunded the difference. Assuming this is normal practice, your Dad won't lose out on his 9 months remaining (unless he gives up driving!).

Valuations are much more tricky - if you're sure it's undervalued then persue the insurers at every stage... stage 1 is to send back three (or more) current examples of equivalent cars currently for sale and state how much you require in order to replace like-for-like. Some people at this stage are pleasantly surprised by the 2nd hand car prices out there.

If they still don't increase your valuation, you have to raise it as a complaint and go through the relevant process... but they won't necessarily budge.

Miss_Sarah_2

Thanks for your help guys, much appreciated.

It's good to know that his insurance isn't necessarily terminated; that's one good thing! It's all such a headache!