Car Adivce / Insurance Advice Needed!

chandelirious

Hi there, new to the forums so please be nice!

This is a two part question...

Looks like my car has been written off - we were rear-ended at the weekend - the bodyshop says will cost £5500 to repair - don't think an 04 plate Fiesta is worth that!

First question: How do I deal with an offer from insurance? I've heard that you should never accept first offer - how do I go about rejecting an offer, and is it wise to do so?

Second question: I guess now is the best time to get a car - probably going to look for a newer Fiesta or Corsa, again looking at a diesel - how can I get maximum value for the money? Even if I put deposit down on a nearly new motor, and get it on finance - what's the best deal to do, best way to do it? I'm also thinking that I may be better off getting two cars, or a car and a van (astravan or similar). Would I be able to strike a deal doing this?

Help and advice much appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

mattymoo

Look at adds in Autotrader / Ebay to see what identical cars are going for. You need to be bang on make, model and year wise.

Look now - because you are entitled to the value of your car on the date of the accident, not 1-2 months down the line when it will have depreciated further.

Ebay completed auctions are a firm indicator of the "sold" price. You will need to ring the sellers in Autotrader to see what price they got.

Use this info to back up your discussions with your insurers.

chandelirious

Thanks for that. I've just had a phone call to say that the car is a total loss, but no word yet on a settlement figure.

I'm more interested now in how to go about getting the best deal on a newer car - and if I can get a bargain by getting a car AND a van? Surely a dealer/garage would bite my hand off for two sales, so I should be able to get a pretty good deal?

chandelirious

Okay, I've looked at three different cars, same spec as mine - ranging from £5495 down to £3990.

Insurance have just rung me and offered £4425 - do I take it? Or do I try to get a bit more? Bearing in mind that looking around last night, at we're going to be spending approx £6k....

Help!

mattymoo

How did the cars differ in terms of mileage and extras. Depending on age of vehicle the extras will add little to the current value.

If these were Autotrader ads, have you rung the sellers to see what price they did get?

Finally, bear in mind your insurers offer should be net of any excess you have to pay. This could add £50-£500 to the value offered unless you've quoted the gross figure.

If at the end of this you feel the value is still on the low side, write to the insurers (or e-mail) and use the ads you've found to argue why they should increase the value. I say write because if you try and do this on the phone, the call centre operator will not understand. They will simply pass the matter to their motor engineer who will consider your argument.

Indout96

The offer does not sound that bad TBH.

You have 2 choices really and it depends on how long you are prepared to wait. 1) If you accept their offer you will get a cheque reasonably quicker but you could probably get more by 2) rejecting the offer this will take time as you have to formally reject it, they then (normally) give you a better offer and you reject again, they then issue a higher offer that you feel is OK so you accept. You get more money but unless you are in a possition to go buy your new car now you will be without wheels :eek: for longer, poss quite a few weeks.

If you are looking at HP or a loan for the new £6k car which from what you have said you will be doing then taking the offer and getting a loan on the balance would probably be cheaper than getting a £6k loan and paying part off when you get a higher offer.