Insurance claim options - confused

Harli_2

I have a 13 year old Ford Fiesta, it’s in excellent condition, passed a very recent MOT and has 4 brand new tyres. I don’t use the car for long distance travelling or work as my employer doesn’t have a car park. I intended to keep the car for at least another year before replacing it. It’s value is around £1300.  A week ago someone drove into the back of it while I was stationary. The guy admitted it was his fault but didn’t have insurance details on him, he gave me his mobile number but didn’t respond to calls or messages to obtain the insurance details. However, his vehicle is insured as my insurer checked. The damage to my car is a bad crack on the right hand side of the bumper, a very small shallow dent just above the cracked bumper on the bottom of the hatchback and a very small paintwork chip. There doesn’t appear to be any other damage, I took up the carpet in the boot and the floor is flat, the exhaust is fine, all lights working as they run up the side of the hatchback and the hatchback closes fine. I called my insurance company to make a claim but I’m pretty sure they will write it off as uneconomical to repair which sucks as this accident wasn’t even my fault and the car has sentimental value. I am aware I can only buy it back if the write is is a certain category. So I have options and I’m confused about which one to take.

Facts:
1. The insurance company want me to use a company called IMS, they will take the car away to assess it and may give me the option to buy it back if they write it off or may hand it over to a salvage company without telling me. I researched the company online and they get a lot of negative feedback for not giving people the option to buy the car back when it is an option. 
2. I am taking my car to a small local garage that I trust tomorrow to get an estimate for repair. If it is just the damage I noted then my husband works for a car parts company and could get me a new primed bumper for around £60 which would need putting on and spraying, I could live with the small shallow dent as it’s barely visible but the paint chip would need fixing, and it really is just a chip, maybe a couple of mm only. 

3. The insurance company say I could deal direct with the underwriter but they mentioned disadvantages like loosing my no claims bonus if they can’t recover costs from the third party which apparently won’t happen of I deal with IMS.

So if the repair is only around £500 I’m willing to pay that and not involve the insurance company at all. If it’s more than that or there is more damage that I’m unaware of then I plan to talk to the underwriter to see if they will assess the car on my driveway and if they write it off buy it back if the settlement would cover most of the repair work. Last resort I would let the IMS people take it away and hope they let me buy it back if the settlement would cover most of the repair work.

Does this sound sensible? 

Thanks 

Car_54

Unless the 3rd party will pay, I would simply live with the damage. £500 is a lot for cosmetic repairs on a £1,300 13-y-o car.

Grumpy_chap

As Car_54 said.
Or, repair and pay yourself without involving insurance.

Harli_2

Thanks guys. All being well and there is no other damage I’m thinking repair the chip myself (it’s only tiny), live with the shallow dent (the paintwork is undamaged and it’s not that visible) and replace the bumper if my husband can get one for a good discount and my local garage can fit and spray it for around £350. It’s unlikely the other party will pay as he’s ignored all my calls and messages so far but I’ll keep trying. 

greyteam1959

"It’s unlikely the other party will pay as he’s ignored all my calls and messages so far but I’ll keep trying"
The other party is quite rightly ignoring your calls & messages & is leaving it to his insurance company to deal with.

Harli_2

At the time of the accident he said he didn’t want to involve his insurance company and offered to fund the repair himself. He said he would call me to let me know either way but never did which is why I called to ask for an update before I called my insurance company. 

AdrianC

Bumper crack and tailgate dent on a 13yo Fiesta will certainly be a Cat N (non-structural) write-off.

If he does cough to it, then I'd be going for a payment in lieu of repairs, you keep the car, they don't write it off.
If he doesn't, then I'd just curse, kick something about for a bit, then shrug and decide not to bother insurance and replace the flamin' bumper out of my own pocket.

A second-hand bumper in the right colour shouldn't be hard to find on eBay.

Car_54

OP, if it ever happens again you must insist on a name and address, not a phone number. It's a legal requirement, and as you've discovered a phone number is useless.

Harli_2

I did get a name and address but I suspect both may be false.

Hasbeen

AdrianC said:

Bumper crack and tailgate dent on a 13yo Fiesta will certainly be a Cat N (non-structural) write-off.

If he does cough to it, then I'd be going for a payment in lieu of repairs, you keep the car, they don't write it off.
If he doesn't, then I'd just curse, kick something about for a bit, then shrug and decide not to bother insurance and replace the flamin' bumper out of my own pocket.

A second-hand bumper in the right colour shouldn't be hard to find on eBay.

Normally I would agree. But recently insurance company's seem to me repairing up to 125% cost of any car / damage? So perhaps not written off. 
But if not? Yes at 13 yrs old I would take any cash and leave it as it is.