Amazon Delivery Driver has written off my car!!

thehog

Hello all,
I hope that I have posted this in the correct section, apologies if not but I thought Consumer Rights best fitted the description of my query.
Yesterday morning an Amazon Delivery driver in an Amazon Prime van hit my car doing considerable damage. They didn’t leave a note. I know it was them because one of my neighbours saw it happen.
I immediately called Amazon and a form was filled in by a lovely helpful lady who said someone should come back to me within 48 hours. I then contacted my insurers to report an incident that wasn’t my fault. They were great, and had the car collected and sorted me with a courtesy car in accordance with my policy.
Today a loss adjuster called me and advised that on inspection of my car the damage is such that they are writing the car off. I have updated Amazon.
I am at my wit’s end as I cannot afford a new car and any amount the insurers might give me is likely to be minimal. The car is of little value to the insurers but before the Amazon driver ploughed into it, it was fine for the everyday journeys I need to make.
If this hadn’t occurred I’d still have a useable car in good condition. Do I have any rights against Amazon for compensation or do I just have to suck it up?
Thanks for any replies.

Were_Doomed

This thread would be better on the Motoring or Insurance & Life Assurance boards.

custardy

Im not really sure why you think compensation is due?
You will be paid by your insurer. You can of course seek excess/out of pocket but market value is market value.
I had the same thing with my car being written off on the street.

thehog

My question is, is compensation due? My car was in fine working order until this bloke wrote it off. Sounds like I’m not entitled to anything lol! Sorry to hear you had a similar experience.

Were_Doomed

Compensation? No - you weren't injured by the event, were you. You are entitled to recover any losses (e.g. excess), value of increased future premiums (would be difficult to calculate), and any out of pocket expenses directly caused by the event. These should be recoverable from the 3rd party insurer ... if you have Motor Legal cover as part of your policy then they should handle this for you.

Aylesbury_Duck

Yes, you're due compensation but only to put you back in the position you were in before the accident, which is with a similar car or cash equivalent, and leave you no worse off.

Look at the potential positive.  That the car is of little value it suggests it's old, has done a lot of mileage, was already damaged or combination of one or more of those.  You don't know that your car wasn't going to break down next week and need expensive repairs.

Just make sure you do plenty of research into values so that you can negotiate if their offer isn't enough, and make sure all associated costs are included in the claim.

thehog

Thanks for the replies. 

The problem is I am worse off because the £1,500 from the insurers is not going to be enough to buy another car. My car is 11 years old and has done 105,000 miles. I had the gearbox rebuilt in January which wasn’t cheap and otherwise it passed its MOT without issue.
I can’t be put back in the position I was in before the accident because I won’t have a car. I’m sorry to moan but it sticks in the craw!

Aylesbury_Duck

thehog said:

Thanks for the replies. 

The problem is I am worse off because the £1,500 from the insurers is not going to be enough to buy another car. My car is 11 years old and has done 105,000 miles. I had the gearbox rebuilt in January which wasn’t cheap and otherwise it passed its MOT without issue.
I can’t be put back in the position I was in before the accident because I won’t have a car. I’m sorry to moan but it sticks in the craw!

Of course it is.  That's the first figure anyway, but even if they don't budge, it's perfectly possible to buy a car for £1500.  Especially an 11 year old car with c.100k on the clock.  I'm afraid the gearbox is an unfortunate timing matter but a natural cost of motoring on an older car.

You should be on autotrader researching cars like yours to establish whether the value the insurer has offered is fair.  What's the make, model and spec of your written-off car?

jon81uk

This  is less about Amazon and more about your insurance and the write-off valuation. The insurers may go after Amazon to claim on their insurance, but you will still be left with the same outcome.

Can you find a better valuation for your old car?

red_boots2

My current car cost me £1000 and was in great condition. Had to spend a few days on Auto-Trader hunting around for exactly what I needed work wise but there are plenty of good 'run arounds' available for under £1500

Mickey666

This sort of thing is pretty outrageous really.

If someone causes £x amount of damage to something then surely they should have to pay for the damage caused in order to put the owner back in the same position they were before the damage was inflicted?  THAT would be proper insurance, not be forced into arguments about the value of the original item - why is that even relevant?  It's the damage that is relevant and the cost to repair it is what should be paid.  I know that's not how it all works, I'm just amazed that people side with insurance companies so easily!

As for the new gearbox, that must surely raise the car's valuation?  The car may have travelled 100k miles but the gearbox hasn't, so surely the price the OP paid for the new gearbox should be part of the valuation?  Or, insist that the insurers find an identical replacement vehicle with a new gearbox!