Car's a write off-any options?

Abenson

Hi
I was hit twice by another car recently, once on the side and then they swung round behind me and hit me in the back too. I'm fully comp so the car has been taken in for repair and the legal department has provided me with an equivalent hire vehicle.
The garage contacted me a couple of days ago to let me know it was going to cost almost £3000 and he thought this would be a write-off which the insurance company confirmed today they have quoted me £3250 for the car. However the car is 6 years old, we bought it new and the mileage is only 35,000miles, we also recently gave it a major service so it has new tyres, brakes and fuel filter, it’s also an automatic so we are very reluctant to part with it as I don't think we'll find anything similar for the price.
They said we may be able to buy it back as salvage.
My question is would it be worth trying to buy it back, do I have to accept it's a write off.
Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks

Premier_2

You could ask if the insurance company are prepared to sell you the salvage (or put another way the amount they will offer if you were to retain the salvage)

Is it worth it?
Only you can decide that. On the financial basis, it's not going to be worth paying £3000 to repair a vehicle only valued at £3250. Based on your remarks the salvage is probably worth more than £250

But if the value to you is more than £3250, then it may be worth repairing.
If you decide to go ahead, see if you can haggle the repair cost down. When a garage knows the insurance is paying they'll always go by the book. If they know you will be paying personally, they might be able to offer a discount.


Edit: the other thing to remember is the value of the car should be based on what similar models/specs of that vehicle that age/mileage sell for. If you don't think the insurance company has valued it correctly, try and get them to bump up the offer

maninthestreet

What car is it, exactly? The parts you have put on it won't alter it's value significantly.

dacouch

The fact you have just had the car serviced with new brakes etc does not have a great deal of effect on the value as you are expected to maintain the vehicle.

MarsdenCuckoo

Don't ever accept the first offer made by your insurance company. Chances are they will increase it if you say you're not prepared to accept it. Who ever heard of anyone coming in with their best offer first?

Have been in a similar situation to you - many years ago. Like you I was tempted to want to keep my vehicle but after such a big bump it will never be the same. My best advice to you is to get the insurers to pay out as much as you can and go buy something else.

Christine

roswell

it was the other parties fault if your car is repairable eg physicaly able to be put right you can request they repair it regardless of cost (its the other party that pays) .... but in all honestly currently owning a pre and post accident vechile .. id never get a car repaird again ... 100 people will tell you it will never be the same and all 100 of them are right.

Premier_2

roswell wrote: »

it was the other parties fault if your car is repairable eg physicaly able to be put right you can request they repair it regardless of cost (its the other party that pays) ....

You can request it ... but you won't get it.

No one will be forced to pay for damage that exceeds the value of the item itself.

Abenson

Thanks for all the advice, the first thing I'm going to do is try and getting more out of them. How much difference does the milaege make? Most cars I've seen its age have double the miles, even younger ones. Its a Kia Carens LX by the way.

MarsdenCuckoo

Can't remember the details but hopefully someone else can help. Seen an advert on the TV recently where you can get an exact value of a vehicle by quoting its registration no. Anyone know more?

Apart from that there are websites (again have forgotten exact details but Motormart may be somewhere near) where you can get 'top' and 'bottom book' values on any vehicle of any age. If your vehicle prior to the accident was in good condition and low mileage then you should be aiming to get 'top book' value from the insurance company. Chances are their first offer will be 'bottom book', or maybe even lower.

Good luck.

Christine

Photo_Stylus

MarsdenCuckoo wrote: »

Can't remember the details but hopefully someone else can help. Seen an advert on the TV recently where you can get an exact value of a vehicle by quoting its registration no. Anyone know more?

Apart from that there are websites (again have forgotten exact details but Motormart may be somewhere near) where you can get 'top' and 'bottom book' values on any vehicle of any age. If your vehicle prior to the accident was in good condition and low mileage then you should be aiming to get 'top book' value from the insurance company. Chances are their first offer will be 'bottom book', or maybe even lower.

Good luck.

Christine

Probably some kid in a bedroom, reading the parkers free online guides or got an old copy of the black book from ebay.
Prices vary a lot, A dealer wont give you a figure unless they have seen the car. Even tiny blemishes can affect a cars value when on a forecourt.

Viper_7

You should get more than the car is worth.

It's not the cost of said car - it's the cost incurred in you replacing it with a similar vehicle.

That cost in invariably more than the vehicle - ie you are paying the purchase price, not the insurance paying the selling price.
The cost in time for you hunting around for a replacement, and the time spent talking to the insurers.
You should expect and get more than the car is "worth" as you have been put in this situation at no fault of your own.

If they give you a silly price - put it to them to find a vehicle of the same age/milage/condition/spec for said money. They will fail.