RAC have severely damaged my car, help!

prettyandfluffy

Car_54 said:

prettyandfluffy said:

I assume this is an all wheel drive car, I used to have one. Were the RAC made aware that the car shouldn't be towed when they were called out? 

They shouldn't need to be made aware. They are the experts, the customer isn't.

Yes, you're right; nevertheless when I needed my car recovered I was very clear it shouldn't be towed to avoid this kind of hassle.

Money_Grabber13579

prettyandfluffy said:

Car_54 said:

prettyandfluffy said:

I assume this is an all wheel drive car, I used to have one. Were the RAC made aware that the car shouldn't be towed when they were called out? 

They shouldn't need to be made aware. They are the experts, the customer isn't.

Yes, you're right; nevertheless when I needed my car recovered I was very clear it shouldn't be towed to avoid this kind of hassle.

But it still doesn’t absolve the RAC of their responsibility. If I’m a conveyancing lawyer (I’m not) and I miss a coal mine in the back garden, I would still be held to be negligent because it would have been my job to pick it up. No amount of saying that the purchaser should have noticed will change this.

Perhaps if the driver had known, it might have saved a lot of hassle but there is no expectation that they will (or should) know and as Car 54 says, the RAC are the expects and shouldn’t need it pointing out to them.

flashg67

Have you asked your insurance ?

Okell

Casper2510 said:

..However on Monday the Garage have rang us to inform us that they are amazed that RAC haven't been in touch with us since as the technician who handled our case, towed our 4x4 as if it was a two wheel drive. He drove it for around three miles before he realised he made the mistake! He openly told the garage about his mistake and they know that nothing was wrong with the vehicle (which can be caused from this mishap) because it was serviced the week prior...
 

Casper2510 said:

It is a 2013 Vauxhall Mokka, it does say in my handbook to not tow and only on a flatbed in case dage can be caused. Thank you for your advice. 

So you have independent eye-witnesses (or ear-witnesses!) from your garage and the manufacturer's manual.

Game, set and match to you then.

RAC need to pay for your car to be fixed and you need to be telling them you want a courtesy car from them too - unless they want to fund you hiring a car.

LunaLater

Jenni_D said:

I've never had a 4x4 so maybe I'm missing something, but .... if the gearbox was put into neutral, why couldn't it be towed with either front or rear wheels on the ground?

Neutral disconnects the engine from the wheels, it doesn’t normally disconnect the front wheels from the back.

Casper2510

Thanks for your help so far, a little update. 

My garage has still not been able to do a complete list of repairs (the damage has been that bad apparently) but RAC have informed me that they are willing to offer £1500 out of nowhere.

My mechanic believes that the damage will total alot more than this. 

Just looking for some help how to counter the offer of £1500, I'm very worried now that that is all they are willing to offer and if I countered the offer they'd refuse and drag this on even longer. 

I think the car will have to be written off after all of this so I honestly just want the value of the car as compensation because we will have to buy another one to replace this (small family, car is essential for partners work)

Mildly_Miffed

There's a fair few used transfer boxes on eBay around £200. I doubt it's damaged the rear axle - if there is any damage, it'll be to the centre diff. It's electronically controlled, to vary the amount of torque sent to the rear.

It's a 10yo car. It's perfectly reasonable to fit good used parts, and unrealistic to expect brand new dealer-price ones.

DullGreyGuy

Casper2510 said:

Thanks for your help so far, a little update. 

My garage has still not been able to do a complete list of repairs (the damage has been that bad apparently) but RAC have informed me that they are willing to offer £1500 out of nowhere.

My mechanic believes that the damage will total alot more than this. 

Just looking for some help how to counter the offer of £1500, I'm very worried now that that is all they are willing to offer and if I countered the offer they'd refuse and drag this on even longer. 

I think the car will have to be written off after all of this so I honestly just want the value of the car as compensation because we will have to buy another one to replace this (small family, car is essential for partners work)

You dont counter it until you know the estimate for repair. When you have that you submit it as the counter-offer. They may decide it's beyond economical repair but that's for them to call out and start the conversation of a write off value. 

facade

If it has wrecked the clutch unit in the rear differential and also the transfer box then the bill will be in the thousands, rear differentials go for £800 or so on eBay. I doubt if you can buy parts.

It is similar to a haldex unit (I'm fairly sure it isn't actually a Haldex, but it works the same)  You would have thought that without power the clutch would be open and able to stand the propshaft being still and the diff going round, but no doubt some compromises were made in design, as there isn't usually any significant speed difference between input and output.

HillStreetBlues

You can't counter until you know the actual cost, as they may agree to the payment and you find out it ends up more.
All you can do is reject the offer and state you will need to recover the full cost whatever that might be. The only offer you would accept is full valve of the car (as doubt you would get more than that).