Car written off/settlement

sweetsand

hoxtonbabe said:

Hi, 
thanks your advice. I have told him to see what the insurance will be IF they write it off as a cat N and see what it is roughly going to cost to repair. As mentioned it will be based on new parts etc which will like cost more than the car,  but he is fine with it being secondhand so like suggested will see how much it may cost to have him fix it assuming it is nothing major. Until the assessment takes place I’m just going by what the police and recovery people said about it looking like bumper damage but we appreciate they could be totally wrong.

problem now is he is enjoying his courtesy car and is more annoyed about having to have to give that back, lol 

Hi
Many thanks for the update, apreciated..
ATB and enjoy your loan car.

Flight3287462

OP get your ducks in a row now before they write it of and get the repairs priced up.  Hope you have the car at home otherwise you may never see it again.

hoxtonbabe

Hi again,
the man who crashed into him has accepted liability so his insurance is paying for the courtesy car and any expenses. 
The assessment people called my son and both the insurance company handler and I are a bit baffled.

 So when we spoke to the assessment place they said it was going to get written off so I asked under what Category and the man on the phone said they submit the report and the insurance company decides what category it is, but that it was the bumper and back panel cosmetic issue that would have cost more to fix so we thought fine it will come back as an N or along those lines. 

Insurance claim handler comes back and says it’s a B as that is what the assessment recommends ( so is it the assessor or ins company that makes the cat decision?)

when claim handler looked at the report he said he couldn’t see anything that pointed to it being structurally damaged or anything that suggests it can’t Be repaired, so he’s going back to the assessment people to clarify why it’s a B as he too is struggling to understand why it is so. 

The saga continues, lol

treeroy

hoxtonbabe said:

Hi again,
the man who crashed into him has accepted liability so his insurance is paying for the courtesy car and any expenses. 
The assessment people called my son and both the insurance company handler and I are a bit baffled.

 So when we spoke to the assessment place they said it was going to get written off so I asked under what Category and the man on the phone said they submit the report and the insurance company decides what category it is, but that it was the bumper and back panel cosmetic issue that would have cost more to fix so we thought fine it will come back as an N or along those lines. 

Insurance claim handler comes back and says it’s a B as that is what the assessment recommends ( so is it the assessor or ins company that makes the cat decision?)

when claim handler looked at the report he said he couldn’t see anything that pointed to it being structurally damaged or anything that suggests it can’t Be repaired, so he’s going back to the assessment people to clarify why it’s a B as he too is struggling to understand why it is so. 

The saga continues, lol

What car is it? Model and year?
A car doesn't need to be "unrepairable". It's about whether it's cheaper to repair it, or cheaper to pay out the value of the car.

If it's a 15 year old ford fiesta for example then it's worth £300 and so a new bumper would cost more than the value of the car - so the insurer would choose to write off the car.

(Bear in mind that repairs done by insurance company legally must only use brand new parts.)

I wouldn't worry about what category the write off is listed as. It won't make a difference for you.

hoxtonbabe

Hi,
we know it doesn’t need to be unrepairable to be written off, the man at the assessment places said it was more so to do with cost of  fixing it rather than it being smashed  to the point of no return and it was going to cost more than double (with their fancy new parts ) the worth of the car to fix which I always knew would be the issue as it’s a 13 year old aygo ( but it has been exceptionally and surprisingly reliable given its age) it’s more the fact that one one hand were being by the assessment centre  it’s just cosmetic bumper and rear panel and could be fixed but not financially viable for them to do it and then an hour later from the insurance company we are  told it’s cat B and shouldn’t be put back on the road. 

hoxtonbabe

Sorry I should have pointed out that my son wants to repair it as we have had a couple of quotes and it’s not going to cost near the scrap price BUT this is  obviously using the local bodywork shop and used parts 

AdrianC

hoxtonbabe said:

we know it doesn’t need to be unrepairable to be written off, the man at the assessment places said it was more so to do with cost of  fixing it rather than it being smashed  to the point of no return and it was going to cost more than double (with their fancy new parts ) the worth of the car to fix which I always knew would be the issue as it’s a 13 year old aygo ( but it has been exceptionally and surprisingly reliable given its age) it’s more the fact that one one hand were being by the assessment centre  it’s just cosmetic bumper and rear panel and could be fixed but not financially viable for them to do it and then an hour later from the insurance company we are  told it’s cat B and shouldn’t be put back on the road. 

Cat B means that the bodyshell is irreparable, and must be crushed. DVLA will never issue a new V5C for it.
It can only be stripped for parts by an authorised dismantler.

"Just cosmetic" doesn't quite go with "rear panel" - which is structural.

TBH, for a grand or so of 2007 C107go, it's not worth the argument. Just focus on getting the right payout.

hoxtonbabe

The whole thing is becoming confusing. So the insurance company got back to my son and sent him a copy of the second opinion which basically says if my son is going to repair it, then it can be a cat S but it can also be B if he isn’t repairing it. That makes no sense, as Adrian pointed out the DVLA won’t issue a V5 if a B so now we have gone back to them asking what category  exactly they will put it as! 

They also sent a copy of the glass price. Trade price is £600 and retail is £1500, but the reality is even a Aygo with 20,000 more miles than my sons car we can’t find one for less than £900. My son would’ve prefer to just get another car but the insurance company aren’t offering anything close to being able to buy one. I don’t mind dipping into my pocket to help my son out a bit but there should a huge difference to adding £100 and adding £400-500.

Hoof_Hearted

My car was written off and there was no dispute about that. I was stationary and parked and somebody ran into the back. I had some minor injuries, notably a big lump on my shin where it hit the parcel shelf, but I didn't intend to claim as it wouldn't make me miss work. I was offered £250 for my injuries straight off but declined as I didn't know whether they would worsen. I think the fear of an injury claim prompted a very good offer for my wreck, which I accepted. I didn't need to claim for injury, although the wife thinks I was an idiot to turn down £250. If your son had injuries, it may increase his payout.

AdrianC

Injury payments are totally separate to the decision over whether a car is written off or not, what category of write-off, and what payment should be made for the car.