Car in freak accident

AdrianC

Mickey666 said:

I guess my issue is the definition of 'beyond economic repair' - it's just too simplistic.

Of course it's simple.
Is it cheaper to repair it, or to pay the value of it instead?

Given the very high cost of repairs these days, and given things such as crumple zones, air-bags, parking sensors, fancy swivelling headlamps, etc, even a minor accident that leaves a car basically safe and driveable can cost £1000s of pound to repair.  I had someone break my wing mirror and cause a minor dent in a door panel and the repair cost was around £2500!  For what percentage of cars on the road today would that be classed as a write-off?

Sure, the basic economics are easy to define.  Car worth less than £3000, wing mirror & minor dent repair costs £2500 + misc additional admin costs etc = write off!  But the physical implication is that a perfectly sound vehicle is going to the scrapper for the sake of fixing a wing mirror and a small dent!

No, because "write-off" does not equal "going to the scrapper".

You can almost always do a deal with the insurer whereby you retain the salvage in exchange for a portion of the payout, and you can repair it yourself.
If you don't want to do that, then even then it won't go to the scrapper... it'll go to Copart or similar salvage auction. Somebody can buy it from there, repair it, and it's back on the road - but that'll only happen if the repair costs make it worth doing so it can be sold at a profit. Otherwise, it's going to get bought for breaking. Or it won't get bought at all, and it'll just get weighed in.

Of course, if it's been categorised as B, then it's never going back on the road - because DVLA will never issue another V5C for it.

Mickey666

AdrianC said:

You can almost always do a deal with the insurer whereby you retain the salvage in exchange for a portion of the payout, and you can repair it yourself.

I know . . . which basically supports my assertion that the whole 'write-off' thing is tantamount to a 'get-out' scam for the insurance companies.

I wonder how many drivers realise that they are one small 'tap' from having their car written off these days?

Car_54

Mickey666 said:

AdrianC said:

You can almost always do a deal with the insurer whereby you retain the salvage in exchange for a portion of the payout, and you can repair it yourself.

I know . . . which basically supports my assertion that the whole 'write-off' thing is tantamount to a 'get-out' scam for the insurance companies.

I wonder how many drivers realise that they are one small 'tap' from having their car written off these days?

No, they simply pay what the law says you're entitled to.

If the law changed to entitle you to a brand new replacement car plus a week in Mallorca, they would have to comply, but you might no longer be able to afford insurance.

onlyfoolsandparking

Mickey666 said:

AdrianC said:

You can almost always do a deal with the insurer whereby you retain the salvage in exchange for a portion of the payout, and you can repair it yourself.

I know . . . which basically supports my assertion that the whole 'write-off' thing is tantamount to a 'get-out' scam for the insurance companies.

I wonder how many drivers realise that they are one small 'tap' from having their car written off these days?

@Mickey666
I agree with the points you've made, It's unfortunate for maybe a few that the Insurance companies don't. I suppose they can only pay out market value on any loss OR put a person back into the position they were in pre-accident etc but the point/s you make about being put back in that same position pre loss are right, there will definitely be some people who will lose a good well looked after car because the payout wont buy them a replacement as good as what they had and that would apply to me, I would lose out big style with any insurance payout on my car as it's worth buttons!! on paper 

It's a cat C for a start, I gave next to nothing for it 5 years ago, bodywork has a fair few scuffs,scrapes and scratches which doesn't matter to me (It doesn't look an absolute dog after a good wash)  BUT mechanically it's A1 as I keep it in good order, even my mechanic has commented a few times how clean it is underneath and in engine bay when we've had it on the ramp, it's rot free and good for another few years in his opinion

If I was unlucky enough to be involved in a not my fault prang, there is no way I could replace what I'm currently running with a 'book value' offer which as we all know that's all you can get but it is what it is and as another poster pointed out someone in my position would at least be able to buy it back and then sort it providing it didn't cost me more than £100 for the car and £50 to repair of course lol.    

 



 

Mickey666

Car_54 said:

Mickey666 said:

AdrianC said:

You can almost always do a deal with the insurer whereby you retain the salvage in exchange for a portion of the payout, and you can repair it yourself.

I know . . . which basically supports my assertion that the whole 'write-off' thing is tantamount to a 'get-out' scam for the insurance companies.

I wonder how many drivers realise that they are one small 'tap' from having their car written off these days?

No, they simply pay what the law says you're entitled to.

If the law changed to entitle you to a brand new replacement car plus a week in Mallorca, they would have to comply, but you might no longer be able to afford insurance.

Of course they do and why wouldn't they?  Who has suggested otherwise.

And no one has suggested getting a brand new replacement  car either - that would be betterment.  I'd just like any damage inflicted on my property to be appropriately repaired so I'm put back into the same position as I was before.  After all, I'm not at fault am I?

Based on the simplistic reasoning on here, thousands of drivers should 'write-off' their own cars if they need aa service and a new set of tyres because that would cost more then the value of the car. 

I'm detecting a bit of a trend on this website.  There's too much pedantic advice using extreme scenarios and too little pragmatic advice using more commonplace scenarios.  Oh well, never mind.

Grumpy_chap

Car_54 said:

If the law changed to entitle you to a brand new replacement car plus a week in Mallorca, they would have to comply, but you might no longer be able to afford insurance.

In this scenario, can you clarify whether the car insurance would also cover the loss of earnings through the quarantine on return?

RBN20

Insurance companies have to mitigate their losses. Paying out £4K for repairs to a vehicle that is worth £3k is not mitigating their losses, and premiums across the board would sky rocket even more than they already do, as insurance companies would be paying out so much more on claims. 

Like it’s been mentioned, agree a reasonable pre accident value with your insurer/tp insurer, using glasses guide and market research and then buy the car back. Live with the damage or put some money that you’ve been paid towards sorting the damage cheaply outside of insurance. You’ll probably then still have money in your pocket after, your car will still be yours, and it keeps insurance rates as reasonable as possible across the board 

warby68

I think the flaw in the system is in the costs of repair or at least what's needed to get it legally back on the road - insurer can't get it fixed for less than £5k but you can get it back on the road for scrap value plus a bit depending what and who you know. That's where the frustration lies surely.
Its happened to my husband a few times with his small van fleet but he's usually reasonably happy because he and his mechanic work together to either get it on the road or he lets the mechanic, who knows the full history as well, have the bought back vehicle to work on himself and sell on/break up etc. That comes from a  20y+ business relationship though, valuable enough to try and achieve a win/win on each case. Not so easy for one-off personal situations.
Everyone kind of knows the price for insurance jobs is higher than price to man in the street.

AdrianC

Car_54 said:

Mickey666 said:

AdrianC said:

You can almost always do a deal with the insurer whereby you retain the salvage in exchange for a portion of the payout, and you can repair it yourself.

I know . . . which basically supports my assertion that the whole 'write-off' thing is tantamount to a 'get-out' scam for the insurance companies.

I wonder how many drivers realise that they are one small 'tap' from having their car written off these days?

No, they simply pay what the law says you're entitled to.

They pay what the terms and conditions of the policy you bought entitle you to...

If the law changed to entitle you to a brand new replacement car plus a week in Mallorca, they would have to comply, but you might no longer be able to afford insurance.

Many policies do indeed offer new-for-old within the first year, when the depreciation is steepest. The law doesn't say they can't.

Just think about the scope for fraud, though.
"My car's getting a bit shabby, few parking dings Tyre's a bit bald, and the alloy's a corroded mess. I know, I'll get it hit and claim it off somebody else's policy, and I'll get a new bumper, wing, wheel, tyre - and respray!"