Car write off help!

vaio

Is the CAP value you gave earlier retail price or trade? How does it compare to Glasses & Parkers?

dacouch

Your contract (Insurance) is with the Insurers so they will negotiate with you as to the value of the car, once you have reached agreement they will settle any finance etc and then send the balance to you less any policy excess.

The link Viao posted is well worth reading as your Insurers should work to the basis set out by the Ombudsman.

Bear in mind that most Insurers contrary to popular belief do want to pay you the correct value of the car, what generally causes the differences in opinions on the value (Excluding policyholders believing their cars are worth more than they are) is the engineer mistaking the pre accident condition of the car. It is not always easy for the engineer to judge the pre accident condition of the car when inspecting a badly damaged car. So any evidence you have of the condition of the car may be helpful eg recent photos of the car etc. If you get the chance to shadow the engineer when he inspects the car (It's not always possible) it can be worth doing as you can talk through the condition with the engineer while he is there (It's very difficult to speak to the engineer after they have inspected).

Judas

Kira000 wrote: »

Mechanical failure- there was a problem which caused the steering/handling to fail, causing the car to swerve and hit a parked car. When brand new (first week of delivery) the car had a sudden steering problem which then reoccured in first 2 weeks. which Ford then rectified. The mechanic has looked at the damage and believes some of it is inconsistent with the impact alone. I do not fancy having another ford where the steering fails.

When you say "You will get the balance after settlement", do you mean directly from the insurers or from Ford?

I'm aware that i dont have a Ferrari . And i didnt just check Ford Direct. There are NO cars of the same age and spec (engine size/extras) on autotrader or via parkers either, a few similar but with much higher mileage. Some similar spec and mileage but of a different age. Not nec expecting to ask for more than the guides, but i guess my cynical brain is looking at worst cases, if they try and offer an overly low price, is that i cant prove it is not reasonable, if there are no cars around to show what is out there.

k

If I was you I wouldnt even worry about the value for the time being and wait and find out what is being said about the mechanical failure and the fact it potentially caused the accident. This could reduce the value of any payout and also open up a who is liable argument between the insurer and ford etc.

Generally speaking if some of the damage is found to be mechanical the insurer probably won't pay for this and only the impact damage which means it may not even be written off.

Kira000

vaio wrote: »

Is the CAP value you gave earlier retail price or trade? How does it compare to Glasses & Parkers?

The CAP retail price was £7200-£7675, Parkers say Franchised £8,225, Independant £7,805- right mileage not inc optional extras. Glass's £7990.

It is not always easy for the engineer to judge the pre accident condition of the car when inspecting a badly damaged car.

"Luckily" the damage is constrained to the impact area- pax side wheel/axle/drive shaft + related bits and a broken windscreen, and no other bodywork damage, so its pretty obvious what the damage was from the accident, and that the nic of the car other than that v good. Even had had it valeted on Friday, so spotless inside as well!

K

vaio

In line with FOS rules I'd discount the Cap figure and go for the average of the other two so somewhere just above £8k, maybe argue for a bit more if it was exeptionally clean & tidy. Optional extras don't generally increase value by much, they just make it easier to sell.

Kira000

Update: Repairer rang again, done the estimate for the repair and reckons about £6k for what damage he can see now, but suspects once finished there may well be other problems with the gear box that they wont know until the rest is done. On that basis, and that there may be mechanical cause for the accident, he is recommending write off, but its up to the insurers.. I'll have to wait and see what happens.

Thanks all for your help and thoughts, very helpful to a collision mushed brain. I may be back as the situation unfolds.

K x

Judas

Kira000 wrote: »

Update: Repairer rang again, done the estimate for the repair and reckons about £6k for what damage he can see now, but suspects once finished there may well be other problems with the gear box that they wont know until the rest is done. On that basis, and that there may be mechanical cause for the accident, he is recommending write off, but its up to the insurers.. I'll have to wait and see what happens.

Thanks all for your help and thoughts, very helpful to a collision mushed brain. I may be back as the situation unfolds.

K x

This doesnt necessary bode well for you though as the insurer is only going to be interested in and pay for the accident damage; if they find out the steering system is knackered they wont pay for any of that; likewise if the gear box etc is knackered mechanically that won't influence them.

Have you enquired of the repairer as to what the breakdown is mecahnically and accident wise and what caused the mechanical failure.

Also is this an insurer recommended company? If so they may not be the best as many are body shops; not mechanics.

vaio

Although most insurance policies include a condition that the car be maintained in a roadworthy condition I can’t really see any way an unexpected catastrophic failure of a suspension or steering component on a two year old car with a full dealer history which results in a crash is going to affect an insurance payout.

Even if it did the costs of the forensic engineering required to positively identify the failure would be way more than any saving so pragmatism would make the company just payout

vaio

In theory maybe (although I doubt it) but as I said earlier even if it did the costs of the forensic engineering required to positively identify the failure would be way more than any saving so pragmatism would make the company just payout

Kira000

So, spoke the garage again today and finally today the HSBC assessor came and viewed my car and confirmed the write-off. I was told he would be ringing me in the next few days.

Can i ask a few more questions of anyone able to advise?

Firstly, what happens next, is it the assesor who will have estimated what value to offer for the car, or is it the insurance? Obv the assessor will have seen it to know what condition its is, will he also have looked at the spec whilst there?

Also, what is likely to happen to my insurance? I have heard a few different things, one that the insurance policy is effectively cancelled by them from further use, but needs to be paid in full still (i'm on installements). The other is that it is still payable in full (i,e i cant cancel), but they may let me change it to my new car, and pay any increase in cost.
Will be pretty gutted if it is only the former, as only 2 months into the policy:(!

With my normal renewal date June 29th, If i have to start again with a new policy from them, or someone else, will it be still with the 2 years NCD i had on 29th June and that goes next June, or will the NCD go straight away leaving me with zero now?

Thanks for all your help, really appreciate it.

K