I had a bit of a bump.

jane-_4

I had an accident on Saturday when I was hit from behind while waiting at a roundabout.
The other driver said he would pay for my repair as it was only a little bumper scratch as he was travelling at 5 mph and the ambulance man said I was just in shock and it was just a little bump. But it didnt feel like a bump. There was a big bang, I thought the engine had blown up, the ahtray and change drawer had opened and my hair that was up was down. I was confused and shaking and my head hurt.
I have taken the car to my garage today who have said its a write off. Bent chasis now touching rear engine, exhaust bust, manifold something too. Not worth the repair as it would never drive the same.
I have the other drivers insurance details now and have got things moving in the right direction there.
I have never had to do this before, I had to sell my jewellery to get this car, I dont have anything left to sell of any value now to get another car. Ive only had it 4 months and I need to get as much money from the insurers as I can to get another one and everyone is saying I wont get hardly anything back for it, nowhere near what I paid for it. (£3000)
Can anyone give me some advice on how to deal with insurance companies. I have been told not to take the 1st offer. Do I just have to negotiate with them? Im not used to dealing with this sort of stuff on my own. Thank you.

Quentin

You should be claiming off the third party insurance.

Ask them to provide you a replacement car until your claim is settled.

Gather evidence of the value of your car (autotrader etc), and await their offer before going back for more, armed with your evidence. But if you only bought it 4 months ago, then they shouldn't be offering much less! (It's value was £3000 then, and they cannot argue with that!)

Keep a record of all your out of pocket expenses (eg taking car to garage/bus or taxis whilst awaiting replacement car) and claim these as well.

Be on the lookout now for a new car as they won't let you keep the replacement for long after they have paid you the write off value.

jane-_4

Thank you.

You have made me feel better.

Christopher7

Hi Jane
Speak to the other insurers and see if they have 'accepted liability' for the accident. They may argue that you were in some way liable, or they may have not had the claim reported by their insured.

If they have, then you have a choice, you can use their services or if you have comprehensive insurance, you can ask your insurer to deal with your claim. Their are pro's and con's whichever way you choose to go.

Don't count on the vehicle being written off, this will be the decision of the insurance company, if the car is worth £3k then they may choose to repair it the repair will cost less than £2400.

If the car is repaired make sure the insurance company take it to suitably qualified garage and that they use genuine manufacturer parts. You may have thought this would be a given, but trust me it's not.

If the vehicle is written off, as Quentin says, gather as much evidence from sites such as Auto Trader on how much it will cost to replace your car. They will use automotive price guides such as Glass's Guide, to value your vehicle, so if you know any car dealers with access to Glass's it may be worth asking them to value your car to give you some idea of what to expect.

jane-_4

Thank you Christopher. I will give the other company a ring.