How long before a car is declared a total loss

BackOfMyT

So my car suffered some serious damage, I went to the manufacturers part department of the make of the car and got a breakdown of parts needed to repair the vehicle the total costs exceed £10,000 minus the labour the garage will charge for the car which will be a few thousands.

Based on the parts alone the car is a write off, the bodyshop who i dropped the car off to said it will probably be a few weeks before it's all sorted, I was like WTH, it really shouldn't take that long, I even gave them the paperwork for the costs involved so they can hurry up and contact my insurers with the costs.

Am I right the insurance assessor will only come out a view the car once the estimation is submitted my bodyshop? If so surely it shouldn't take weeks for them to come out. Reason why i'm hurrying to get it sorted is because I have no car hire with my insurance policy no third party involved so it's costing me £300 a week to hire a car out of my own pocket.

forgotmyname

They may or may not send an assessor, if they do then it could be a while before they view it. Your in a queue and when its your turn its your turn.

Buy something cheap instead?

If its important to have a vehicle consider adding the hire car to the policy next time.

AdrianC

BackOfMyT wrote: »

So my car suffered some serious damage, I went to the manufacturers part department of the make of the car and got a breakdown of parts needed to repair the vehicle the total costs exceed £10,000 minus the labour the garage will charge for the car which will be a few thousands.

Based on the parts alone the car is a write off, the bodyshop who i dropped the car off to said it will probably be a few weeks before it's all sorted, I was like WTH, it really shouldn't take that long, I even gave them the paperwork for the costs involved so they can hurry up and contact my insurers with the costs.

Am I right the insurance assessor will only come out a view the car once the estimation is submitted my bodyshop?

It's entirely possible that bodyshop aren't on your insurer's preferred list, so "dropping it off with them" may slow it down. Your list will just get put firmly on one side, though - it's irrelevant, and saving no time. They'd need to go through it to check it was right, anyway.

If it's a borderline case, the assessor will definitely come and look - maybe before or maybe after any quote.

If so surely it shouldn't take weeks for them to come out.

Maybe the assessor's backed up with work and won't get there soon.

Reason why i'm hurrying to get it sorted is because I have no car hire with my insurance policy no third party involved so it's costing me £300 a week to hire a car out of my own pocket.

How's the premium saving on that cheap policy looking now...?

caprikid1

"So my car suffered some serious damage, I went to the manufacturers part department of the make of the car and got a breakdown of parts needed to repair the vehicle the total costs exceed £10,000 minus the labour the garage will charge for the car which will be a few thousands."


Firstly in terms of parts, depending on the vehicle they may fit non genuine parts. The price they quote you is not going to be the price they pay.

BackOfMyT

thanks for the responses folks, yes the bodyshop is my own choosing, reason why I chose the bodyshop in question is I know should the car be repaired they will use genuine parts and not pattern.ones and will do a good job.

I can't remember if those were the exact words my insurers used "preferred list" but they did say something down the lines of seeing as your using your own garage, no car hire is available which is crazy and that the garage in question is more than welcomed to provide a car for me to use, problem is they don't have any..

My premium is nearly 4k for the year, when i took the policy out they mentioned a whole list of extras I could of added to the policy, I thought car hire was included even for at least 2 weeks in the event of accident/claim so I'm quite shocked and angry about this as I thought it was included and if it wasn't and this was made aware to me at the beginning of the policy I would of certainly added it on

My friend stated that even if the car isn't repaired and declared a total loss a bodyshop will still get fees from insurance companies namely storage fees which is anywhere from £50 - £100 a day which if is the case, I can see them taking the **** to be proactive about things.

GrumpyDil

You also need to check your policy wording as most policies I've had expect the repair to be carried out using non OEM parts.

AdrianC

BackOfMyT wrote: »

I can't remember if those were the exact words my insurers used "preferred list" but they did say something down the lines of seeing as your using your own garage, no car hire is available which is crazy

If you'd read your policy Ts & Cs, you'd have known that in advance - and that's part of the choice you made in taking it to that repairer.

and that the garage in question is more than welcomed to provide a car for me to use, problem is they don't have any..

Again, part of the choice you made in where to take the car.

My premium is nearly 4k for the year

So you're a very high-risk driver. The insurer are still wishing they'd charged more or you'd gone elsewhere, of course, since your business is now making a whacking loss for them.

I thought car hire was included even for at least 2 weeks in the event of accident/claim so I'm quite shocked and angry about this as I thought it was included

But you just told us it was - but you chose not to use it, because you aren't using their repairer.

and if it wasn't and this was made aware to me at the beginning of the policy I would of certainly added it on

You choosing not to read the policy documentation doesn't mean you weren't made aware. You had a right of cancellation within 14 days of receiving the documentation.

My friend stated that even if the car isn't repaired and declared a total loss a bodyshop will still get fees from insurance companies namely storage fees

Not if they're not on the insurer's list. If anybody gets asked to pay for storage, it'll be you.

forgotmyname

Wonder if the OP knows about the increased excess for using their own repairer?

Looks like buying something cheap to tide you over maybe a better choice.

Boomslang

I wrote my car of recently taken back home (wanted to retain reg) and all they asked was for photos.

MovingForwards

Just out of curiosity, how much is the car worth and are you expecting them to pay for the repairs?

MovingForwards

Also, why haven't you put it straight through your insurance company rather than getting a quote. Are you TFTF or something?