Insurance category C write off....

sillygirl73

Hello all,
My DH drove into the back of a 4x4 at a roundabout, and I have just heard from the insurance company that they are declaring our car a cat C write off. It is a 2003 Mondeo Zetec estate and was in fab condition with lowish mileage pre accident. We noticed that the bonnet and front grille will need replacing, and the bumper had a few scratches. The engineers report has added that both wings, the headlights and the condenser will also need replacing.

I am waiting to hear about a settlement figure and in the meantime am mulling over my options. The car was assessed at the 'approved accident centre' which happens to be a VW car sales/repairs garage, and I know they would have charged top whack for the estimated repairs, hence the total loss verdict.
I agree that the bonnet and grille need replacing and probably the condenser if we want air con, but we can live with the purely cosmetic scratches to bumper etc.

I am the first to admit that I know nothing about cars, but wondered whether we should buy back the car from insurers after settlement agreed. I have got a few quotes for salvage and am looking at between £150-200..........would the insurers add much to that?

If we then get it repaired at a cheaper bodyshop, how does it work with the insurance etc whilst it is being repaired? I am aware that we would need to get a VIC before a new V5 is issued etc.

I am swinging from taking the money and walking away, or taking less money and keeping car to get it repaired ourselves.
On the subject of money, the car was bought for £2500 in Nov last year at a dealers. Similar cars are being advertised for between £2000-£2700. For info, it is a 2003 (03) Ford Mondeo 2.0l Zetec estate in very good condition with mileage of 89000. Any thoughts on what value I should be aiming for?

Thank you in advance!

s_b

aim to pay insurer 10 to 15 percent of payout if they allow you to buy salvage back
ebay for the bits might be cheapest especially if you could collect

sillygirl73

s_b wrote: »

aim to pay insurer 10 to 15 percent of payout if they allow you to buy salvage back
ebay for the bits might be cheapest especially if you could collect

But would'nt a body shop want to source their own parts? Have never done this before so not sure of protocol!

s_b

sillygirl73 wrote: »

But would'nt a body shop want to source their own parts? Have never done this before so not sure of protocol!

you are talking of having it back from the insurer and repairing as cheap as possible
if you supply the bonnet youve saved the biggest lump of money on the part and of course on paint and matching the colour

the bodyshop small independant of course can repair the bumper or advise etc they might even have a condenser in stock that insurer told them to replace on a car last year;)

if its all bolt on a small garage might want to take the job on too

lots of opportunities out of misery but as i say a lot of insurers wont let you buy the salvage back especially as it was your fault because its to cut down on insurance fraud and rebuilding your own car with a wedge in your pocket to boot (this is how things go im afraid)

mikey72

The offer should be based on

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/motor-valuation.html

Notmyrealname

sillygirl73 wrote: »

Hello all,
My DH drove into the back of a 4x4 at a roundabout, and I have just heard from the insurance company that they are declaring our car a cat C write off. It is a 2003 Mondeo Zetec estate and was in fab condition with lowish mileage pre accident. We noticed that the bonnet and front grille will need replacing, and the bumper had a few scratches. The engineers report has added that both wings, the headlights and the condenser will also need replacing.

Thats more than just a slight tap. It'll need the bumper bar replacing, front panel, possibly inner wings, possibly subframe.

At the front of the car is a large area called a crumple zone designed to fold up in the event of an accident to dissipate energy. And its had some damage. I'd not want to have another front end shunt.

The thing about shunts like that is there can be damage you can't see which is hidden by the clutter of the engine bay. Until we see it in the flesh, we're making best guesses with some more optimistic than others.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

agree with above, engineer will not have stripped down the front end to assess all!! only on what he can see with his eyes and a torch for the inner engine bay.

the inner legs of the car that support the engine and fron end often crumple inwards sometimes this can be seen sometimes it cant untill the whole inner arch is removed along with wing and bits in the engine bay to determin straightness.

i got the OH a CAT C corsa SRI 1.8. on the outside it looked cosmetic, on the inner its was a mess.

light frame, slam panel, and cross member, both legs (to wich the corssmember bolts to to connect eachother) were creased to the inner.

both legs needed replacing, wich is a hard task in itself to keep aligned with weight on it from the engine so it needed to come out,, a donor car was sought for the front end parts. welding sealing painting.

the engineers report didnt list half of the accident damage present.

i spent 2 weeks solid rebuilding the front end, then when finished the headsgaket popped in it so the engine came back out and rebuilt.

most insurers wont let you buy back the salvage once a pay out is agree'd.

but you are entitled to take the vehicle for a second opinion if you like at any VAT body shop of you choosing. you have to request the vehicle back and state to the insurers that you wont accept a pay out untill a second opinion is carried out, once you have this second opnion and quote you can inform the insurers, they may accept that quote and approve works to be carried out on the vehicle to that amount only.

sillygirl73

So based on these replies, would you accept the payout and move on? I am waiting to hear the from the assessor about the exact nature of the damage etc today.
Does anyone know what the current value of the car is according to the trade books?

wantonnoodle

I'd be inclined to take the payout and run.

I did a very similar thing in a 2004 Clio on the M6 in November. All that looked to be damage from outside was the bonnet, bumper and the offside front wing. Oh, and the offside indicator bulb had fallen out of its socket. I'd had the car 6 years, and loved it, though I had considered trading up to something newer a few times.

Part-ex value in the parker had only been around 1500, however they paid out 2400 less my excess, which put it somewhere between the independent dealer and the franchised dealer rates. I was more than happy with that. My insurers (LV) wouldn't even entertain the prospect of selling it back, their advice was to contact their salvage agents (Copart) and see if you could buy it from them.

Based on what you say about current values for your car, I would expect you could haggle to get back what you paid for it.

victor2

If you do get the car back and repaired, it won't have any resale value as a Cat C write-off, so you would have to be prepared to run it until it dies.
I've been looking for a car for the OH. Came across a great little one on paper, and phoned the seller with a view to seeing it. Asked him for the V5C document number so I could do an MOT history and HPI check. He then phoned me back and said I'd find out it was a Cat D write-off. He was asking top price for a vehicle that age and a friend in the trade said that no way could he get that for a Cat D. He wouldn't negotiate so I didn't even bother looking at it.

Hintza

Spend the money buying a 06-08 Cat D wrote off.

Although your car was probably great it is geting long in the tooth. Which of the following have been replaced recenty:-

Disk and Pads
Tyres
Exhaust
Battery
Alternator
Cambelt (and/or waterpump)
etc

If few or none factor in the costs of replacing cambelt and at least 1 other.