PLEASE HELP!!! car write off

becki_1990

hi all i am new here so here goes,

i took my car (s reg ford ka) for an mot and serviceon the 25th jan, it failed mot due to rust so i said fix it they said ok and it will be ready tomorrow (on the tuesday26th). when i hadnt heard anything from them at around 4 oclock i rang the garage for them to tell me my car had been in an accident, they said after it passed mot they took it for another test drive and on their way back to the garage someone went into the back of it. so me and my mum went over to the garage to see the damage which didnt look bad at all it just looked like it needed a new side bumper and a respray so i paid the £370 that cost to mot and service it thinking it will be ok. have a courtesy car atm. but have just been told today that it has been written off!! it has 7 months tax a new clutch 6 months ago and just had a service and mot!! and they only want to give me £1050.

thats the story of what happened and i was posting just to get some advice because i have no idea what to do!!

thank you :j x

thescouselander

Probably the best thing to do is to compare your car with similar cars for sale in the area to find out a fair value - you can use this as evidence when negotiating with the insurance company for the payout.

I wouldn't have thought £1050 is too bad an offer for an S reg Ka though.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

Who wrote it off? Presumably it's under the garage's insurance? The garage has a duty to return your car to you in the condition in which you left it (along with the MOT work you've paid for). If their insurance company has decided that it's too expensive to repair, well that's the garage's problem, not yours.

You can either insist on the vehicle being returned and repaired properly, or a cash settlement. Don't let the garage make you think that you have to accept less.

AdrianHi

Chalk this one down to experience and next time keep in mind that if say a Ford Ka 1 year old looses about £600 in value in a year and your faced with £600 in bills to keep an older one going it really is time to let the old one go. It is not saving you any money verses a young under warranty equivalent car that won't need clucth etc. changing for a very long time.

maninthestreet

£1050 for an S-reg KA is probably being generous. Unfortunately, the new clutch doesn't add any value to the car. It's possible you might be able to buy the car back from the insurance company, assuming you accept their £1050 offer.

becki_1990

the person who went into it insurance company wrote it off, if i were to scrap it i could get £2000 off a new car. but i have no idea to where i stand :S i am absoulutly gutted!

Mankysteve

I agree with poster who said to look around for a few Ford KA of similar age and spec. You might find that you might be able to get a slightly nicer car then your onto a winner. I would not refuse the settlement if it leave you better off. You need to do a bit of research.

Also worth noting that if someone went into to the back of the car don't blame the garage too much.

As that not their fault and surely it would be coming from the insurer of the car that into the back them rather than the garages insurance.

becki_1990

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

Who wrote it off? Presumably it's under the garage's insurance? The garage has a duty to return your car to you in the condition in which you left it (along with the MOT work you've paid for). If their insurance company has decided that it's too expensive to repair, well that's the garage's problem, not yours.

You can either insist on the vehicle being returned and repaired properly, or a cash settlement. Don't let the garage make you think that you have to accept less.

just spoke to insurance company who are paying out, they said i cannot claim the 370 i paid to fix, so can i sue the garage for not returning the car back to me in the condition i left it in (along with mot and service) ??

hartcjhart

how could you sue the garage when they are not at fault??

hartcjhart

becki_1990 wrote: »

the person who went into it insurance company wrote it off, if i were to scrap it i could get £2000 off a new car. but i have no idea to where i stand :S i am absoulutly gutted!

but you were not going to scrap it so 2k has no relevence

darich

Officer_Dibble wrote: »

Bit late now but I wouldn'thave paid them a penny until I'd got my car back.

But the OP's owed money on the car for the MOT work and would be obliged to pay for the work.
Normally a garage would hold the car until the bill is paid.