Low Valuation after non fault accident ? Cat C.

jehangir

Just an update on a claim and some advice again please .
I was in a non fault car accident and went through the other parties insurance to get my car repaired ( 2003 diesel ford fusion ) as they accepted liability .
I took the car to their recommended garage and was told it would be uneconomical to repair the car and would have to write it off offering me £650 or £580 if I keep the car .
The damage is to the boot / bumper ( hanging off and cracjed ) and has pushed in the " base " it is still driveable but I am worried once it marked as CAT C it will have no real resale value and i will struggle to get it insured ( mot was done 2 months ago as was the insurance ).

What kills me is that i spent £580 on a new clutch around 6 months ago and a full service at another £100 .
I know it is not an expensive car or that desirable but it has not let me down and is cheap to run which is what I need for work .
Is it worth trying to haggle over the price , they said they priced the car by looking at autotrader but I had a quick look and the car they selected has no service history and is in poor condition . While other cars same as mine are around £1000 - £1400 .
Not too sure how the pricing system works so any help would be much
thanks in advance
J

Norman_Castle

Yes you should haggle. Provide reasons and evidence for your higher valuation to push for a better payout. If its still roadworthy or can be after minor work you will have a useable but dented car for £70. If it fails the next mot scrap value could be £100-£150. If you get £70 you've lost nothing
Resale value is irrelevant if you have already been given the cars value.

jehangir

Thanks for the advice .

My biggest concern as a CAT C would i need to inform my insurance company , the other insurer said it would need a new MOT and Vehicle Identity Check. Is this correct ?

Geodark

jehangir wrote: »

Thanks for the advice .

My biggest concern as a CAT C would i need to inform my insurance company , the other insurer said it would need a new MOT and Vehicle Identity Check. Is this correct ?

you would have to inform your insurance company regardless. even if you are claiming from the other company you still need to inform them. Doesn't matter if it is Cat C, Cat D or even that it is repaired without being written off, or even if you aren't claiming at all. You are supposed to notify them of any accidents or incidents and will probably be in their terms and conditions that they have to be informed.

jehangir

Yes i informed my insurer on the day of the accidenet . It is just that I am concerned once classed as a CAT C my insurance will be invalid . I do not want to get done over by the other parties insurance with a low ball offer . If they offerred £650 and there are similar cars on Autotrader for between £1000 - £1500 what sort of price should i be aiming to get . I doubt if they would go to a £1000 personally.

Marktheshark

Have you informed your insurance ?
They will get the info via the shared database of claims as soon as the claim goes through.

jehangir

I was only informed today about the car so have not had a chance to speak to my insurance company .

dacouch

Are you dealing directly with the third parties Insurer or are you dealing with a Claims Management Company and / or have a hire car

jehangir

Hi i am dealing directly with the insurer and do not have a hire car. when i took the car to the garage they said the damage was more cosmetic rather tha structual but as they would have to change the bumper ( the clips are broken ) and a knock out a few dents but as all the parts would be Ford the insurer would right it off . The mechanic said if it was him he would not have the workrepaired as it has no affect on the actual driving .

dacouch

Adverts are not necessarily a good sign of the value of your own car as the advertised price is generally regarded as the price the seller is willing to start negotiating from so take this into account.

Have you looked at what the valuations guides eg Glasses and CAP value your car at as this may well be more accurate.

Be aware that the cost of servicing your car and fitting consumerables such as a clutch as seen as the normal costs of running a car so have little or no effect on the value of the car

Aretnap

Most insurers will happily insure a previously written off car. In fact most don't even ask if it's previously been written off (there are a couple of exceptions - for some reason eSure spring to mind). The only difference it will make is if the car is written off again the payout will be reduced somewhat to reflect the fact that a cat C marker reduces its market value.

As for the valuation see the Financial Ombudsman's guidelines here.

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

Note that strictly speaking the Ombudsman's guidance is only binding on your own policy as you can,only complain about your own insurer to the Ombudsman - but the third party insurer should be following broadly the same principles.

Also note that work you've recently had done on the car isn't something you'll generally get much credit for. Any 12 year old car will have had a fair amount spent on maintenance over the years and will have some new or nearly new parts, and this is already assumed in the valuation. It's certainly frustrating to have your car written off just after you've replaced the clutch, but if you buy a replacement car of the same age there's nothing to say that it won't have a new clutch too, so it's not actually obvious that you've lost out. And if it doesn't have a new clutch maybe it has a new catalytic converter, whereas unknown yo you yours was on its last legs, so what you've lost with one hand you've gained with the other.