Going to court for remainder of cars value

aj3001

The situation is this, I have a new (07 plate) car, on finance

If I was to have a crash and the car was a write off, I understand that insurance company will payout what they believe the market value to be, and not the remiaing finance, BUT what if, the crash was a third parties fault, could I then take them to court to recover the loses not covered by the insurance payout?

Is there any legal precident for this?

mattymoo

Firstly, many insurers have an increased level of cover for cars less than 12 months old and insured comprehensively. They will normally replace the vehicle with a new one. Certainly More Than and Direct Line offer this cover.

Assuming you do not have that cover then no, you would not be able to claim the shortfall against the third party. They are legally obliged to put you back in the position you were in before the accident and that is judged to be the market value of the vehicle, less its salvage value becuase you get to keep it (when claiming against a third party).

Monies you still owe on finance are your own responsibility.

aj3001

But shortly if it is their fault I am out of pocket, I can take them to court to recover the charges as you would in any civil matter?

lisyloo

No.
It's not their fault that you are out of pocket.

Sorry to sound harsh but it's YOUR fault if you chose to borrow more than you car is actually worth.

Sorry if that sounds nasty. It's not meant to be.
I am just trying to furnish you with the legal facts of the situation.

Currently you have CHOSEN to have a loan larger than your car.
This is YOUR choice.
You are doing it right now, however as long as you don't need to sell you'll be OK.
The same proble could arise if you had to liquidate the asset for any other reason e.g. death, sickness, redundancy, doivorce etc.
This is an existing situation that YOU have put yourself in.

I hope that explains the situation.
I am pretty sure that the the legal situation is 100% clear.
You are not able to hold anyone else responsible for YOUR decision to borrow more than the value of the car.

You could be forced at any time to liquidate (sell) the car for any number of reasons.

Put it this way if I managed to borrow £100K against my car by lying then do you think that the anyone that hits me is liable for the full £100K.
They are liable for your car NOT for your finance.

Personally I think you need to question the whole idea of taking a finance product that fopr soem considerable time exceeds the value of a fast depreciating asset.