Car accident - not at fault but car being written off

stator

forgotmyname wrote: »

If its worth £800 then they will payout £800 and you can buy another similar made/model car with that money. .

In theory you can buy an £800 car, but you won't get much. There is a disparity between the market value of a car and what it's worth to you.


I paid £1500 for a car 5 years ago, I don't know what it's 'market value' is now, but I wouldn't trade it in for another car worth £1500 because I know my car is very reliable and that's not something you can tell buying an old car. You've got no idea if it's been treated right and what condition it is in, even if it's got all the stamps.
Buying cheap cars is always a lottery, and so it's not really fair that the OP has to go through this process when they weren't at fault. But that's the law.



So although in theory the OP shouldn't be out of pocket, in practice they are royally screwed.




If I were the OP I would definitely consider buying the car back and repairing it. Get it taken to a local trustworthy garage and see what the real damage is. Get a new bumper etc off eBay and you can even replace it yourself. If it's the wrong colour, paint it yourself. On an old car it doesn't matter