Car Write off but not my fault

mbt1

Hello,

can anyone help please having a head banging experence with my insurance compant. My wife had an accident last friday when ladders from van travelling from the oposite way come off his van and crashed into my wife driving. The van dirver and his insurance company have admitted liability however our insurance company is saying it possibly a total loss.

The problem arises that our vehicle is on finance and still owe aprox 8.5k but the now market value is on a 5.5k. If we are given this amount we will still owe the finance company an extra 3 k and have no vehicle is this correct? through no fault of my wife we will be out of pocket!

Can anyone give any advice... thanks in advance

mcjordi

unless you had some sort GAP cover then yes you would still owe the finance company the balance

LeeSouthEast

Do you have legal cover? You could try suing the other party for the 'out of pocket' difference?

mattymoo

LeeSouthEast wrote: »

Do you have legal cover? You could try suing the other party for the 'out of pocket' difference?

Who'll just laugh and turn you down.
The fact the car is worth less than the finance is no-one elses problem. It would have had to have been repaid if there wasn't an accident.

Sorry OP, it's down to you to sort out the balance due unless you have GAP cover as mentioned by mcjordi

dacouch

You might be able to buy the salvage of the car from your Insurer and then have the repairs carried out yourself. This would depend on how severly damaged the car is, if you get a chance as a local garage how much it would cost to repair your car if you were paying for it cash.

BigDave81

How much damage can some ladders to to cause a car worth over £5k to be written off?

Have you tried your local garages for a repair quote that you can go back to the insurers with?

But yes the joy of finance means that unless you have GAP insurance which is designed exactly for this situation you have lost out through no fault of your own.

mcjordi

BigDave81 wrote: »

How much damage can some ladders to to cause a car worth over £5k to be written off?

Have you tried your local garages for a repair quote that you can go back to the insurers with?

But yes the joy of finance means that unless you have GAP insurance which is designed exactly for this situation you have lost out through no fault of your own.

you'd be suprised

mattymoo

BigDave81 wrote: »

How much damage can some ladders to to cause a car worth over £5k to be written off?

Have you tried your local garages for a repair quote that you can go back to the insurers with?

But yes the joy of finance means that unless you have GAP insurance which is designed exactly for this situation you have lost out through no fault of your own.

I'd guess they had some momentum behind them. Only needs to crease the roof panel or rear quarters and you are looking at some major work to replace - these are not simple bolt on panels like the rest.

The OP hasn't really lost out though - the £3k difference between vehicle value and o/s finance has to be repaid at some point, its just come earlier as a result of the accident.

Hoonercat

If the insurance co give you a good settlement figure which allows you to buy a a similar car then technically you are no worse off than before the accident, you have the same model/spec car and still owe the same amount of finance.

Think about it from another perspective - if you bought the car on finance and paid it back with large sums over one year. If, after 10 months, you had an accident and the car was written off, the value of the car would be more than the outstanding finance. You'd be a bit peeved off if the insurance co only offered you the amount remaining on finance rather than the car's value.

mbt1

Thanks for all your comments, we do have legal protection so will go down this route..

Hoonercat

I'd be surprised if you get anywhere with the legal cover.

The problem arises that our vehicle is on finance and still owe aprox 8.5k but the now market value is on a 5.5k. If we are given this amount we will still owe the finance company an extra 3 k and have no vehicle is this correct? through no fault of my wife we will be out of pocket!

You will have a vehicle once the insurance sends you a settlement, or am I missing something?