Car insurance won't repair my car

crosk1189

I was recently involved in a fender bender that resulted in my bumper being damaged. I tried to claim it on my insurance and was told regardless of fault they would write off my car as it is what they call an 'uneconomical repair' due to it's age.

I drive a 2003 Honda Civic, I get that it's old but in my eyes the damage is merely cosmetic and could be repaired fairly cheap. Other than this the car is great and a perfect runner. I feel like I am wasting money on my insurance if they're not going to pay for repairs if the cars too old and while they will offer me money for it, if it is written off, I am certain they will undervalue it quite drastically.
I have decided to not claim it and repair it myself.

My question is this though, as I am now looking for a younger car in the hopes that if I ever have an accident again, is there a cut off point of age of car when they won't pay out or is simply a car by car, damage by damage basis?

paddyandstumpy

If the costs of repair exceed a proportion of the value of the car (normally 60ish%) then the insurer normally declares a write off.

So if your car is worth £750 (pure conjecture, I can't be bothered to ascertain value); a £450 quote to repair/replace a bumper could write the car off.

FutureGirl

Your insurer may allow you to keep the salvage if they write the car off. That way you can repair it yourself with the total loss payment if you think you can get it done cheap.

MataNui

Body work stuff like replacement panels and re-spays is expensive. Take a trip to a bodyshop and ask them how much they would charge for your repair. Then add in car rental costs and you might find the total bill is more than your 2003 Civic (which no offense at all is probably worth a few beans) is worth. The down side of bangernomics i am afraid. Additionally because you have told your insurance company it may increase your premiums now.

crosk1189

I suppose that's part of the problem that insurance companies under value cars, where as I know the condition of my car so I value it higher. But I suppose I am bias towards it.

I am fixing it myself and costing me just over £100. Before the damage to it I had an offer on it for £1000 (which in hindsight I should have bitten their hand off) But in all honesty it is probably not worth much, I only bought it for £300 but that was from a family friend so I got mates rates.

I'm just struggling to decide what is best to do when it comes to buying a new car, because I don't want to spend lots of money on a newer car and the insurance that will go along with it, only for insurance to not want to help with repairs if god forbid another accident happens.

With my current financial situation I can only hope to save a maximum of £1,800 by the time my renewals are due, and that is a best case scenario. Which is a decent amount I know, but from a quick look I can see I'll struggle to find a car younger than a 2006/7. Which again I'm sure are fine and fantastic running cars, but now I just worry if they are too old to be repaired in insurance companies eyes.

It sounds like I'm just going to take my chances on what I can get until I find myself in a better financial supporting job. Or win the lottery.

And obviously be a careful driver, if I don't damage it then I don't have to worry about insurance obviously.

molerat

But that can be the beauty of bangernomics. The car does not need to be repaired "properly" at "proper" repair costs. You don't care if your green car has a pink bumper, with a newer shiny thing it needs doing properly to maintain the value.

I don't want to spend lots of money on a newer car and the insurance that will go along with it, only for insurance to not want to help with repairs if god forbid another accident happens.

Insurance may not be more expensive on a newer car. When I changed 2 years ago from a 10 year old to a new more powerful car the insurance was about the same. It is more about the image of the car and what damage you can do with it than the value.

crosk1189

You're right there, although I do worry a little about matching colours just because I planned to sell it on. So I have been painting the new bumper myself. It's not going to look as good as a pro but I'm pretty proud of how it's looking so far.

I suppose I'm just weighing up the costs in my head of old cheapish car + insurance every few years VS younger reasonably priced + insurance for as long as it lasts. I think no matter what I do it will be a risk, but that's life I guess.

I am worried though, what if, God forbid. My car right now is parked outside on the curb. If another careless driver comes along and hits my car, there's no doubt they are at fault. Their insurance should pay for repairs, but their insurance will want to write off my car.

But depending on how bad the damage is I would have a look at repairing it myself. So I wouldn't be able to claim if I did that so I would be out of pocket on somebody else's fault.

If I'm driving and found at fault I'll accept that and deal with it accordingly but if was found to be another drivers fault I wouldn't be able to claim.

Or are things different when you're not at fault?

Cars are expensive business, Drive safe folks. Avoid my problems.

Sparx

Wait til renewal, your insurers (and everyone else) will love stinging you next for the accident... Even though you didn't claim!

crosk1189

Yeah I'm fully expecting that anyway as I unfortunately hit someone and was found at fault (which is fair) and the 3rd is making an injury claim (which I'm praying gets proven to be false) but let's not open that can of worms again.

Luckily I got till February to save up for my renewal quote.

Crazy thing is, a few years ago I wrote off a car in serious accident when I was rushed to hospital. Luckily I was ok and the only one involved, but what was strange was when I got the Honda a few months later my insurance had actually gone down. I think the car you're insuring does make a difference.

It may not just be about age but brand/reputation/reliability.

The car I wrote off was an '05 Renault Clio which is 2 years younger than my car now. It was only a £100 or so cheaper to insure the Civic but I was fully expecting it to go up.

Insurance is a very confusing game, I guess we just gotta make the most out of what they give us.

forgotmyname

The cheapest car to insure is often a brand new one.

Dont want them to write off your car? cancel your claim. sorted?

crosk1189

Yeah, I've cancelled the claim and now I'm just fixing it myself. I'm just trying to figure out what's best to do for the future as I can't afford a new car, but just trying to see how young a car has to be for the insurance to not want to write it off.

I wasn't aware of the 60% rule that the person mentioned earlier that's definitely going to help me figure things out a lot easier.