Halfords have written off my pride and joy

molerat

HillStreetBlues said:

Out of interest if the council goes after Halfords for damage to the metal railings,  will their insurer only pay out for what the railings were worth,  or the cost to shiny brand new ones?

What do you mean "if" They will charge the full cost of the repair be it new railings or refitting the old.

Aretnap

HillStreetBlues said:

Out of interest if the council goes after Halfords for damage to the metal railings,  will their insurer only pay out for what the railings were worth,  or the cost to shiny brand new ones?

It's not quite as simple as "what the railings were worth" as there is not really a well defined "market value" for a second hand fence in the way that there is for cars etc. However broadly they would only be liable on an indemnity basis so if a full rebuild of the road furniture was required they'd be entitled to make a deduction from the cost of doing that to reflect the age and condition of the old railings. See many threads in the insurance forum from people who've had their garden wall or fence demolished by a careless driver and are angry that the driver's insurer won't pay the full cost of rebuilding the wall from scratch.

Krakkkers

But building it back 10 years old would not be cheaper?

Ganga

Whilst i sympathize with the owner of the car he is the same position as if he crashed the car himself ,the driver did not go out to wreck it even if they were careless or showing off.

EnPointe

HillStreetBlues said:

Out of interest if the council goes after Halfords for damage to the metal railings,  will their insurer only pay out for what the railings were worth,  or the cost to shiny brand new ones?

i suggest you  look up the defintion of Indemnity 

Aretnap

Krakkkers said:

But building it back 10 years old would not be cheaper?

Building a wall back as a 10 year old wall would be impossible, assuming that it's beyond the point where you can just stick the old bricks back together with some new mortar. That's part of the reason why fixed structures are not the same as moveable and easily tradeable property, like a car.

But it's also true that if you get your 50 year old wall with crumbling mortar, a couple of loose bricks and rusty railings on top replaced with a brand new shiny wall, you're left in a significantly better position than you were in before the loss occured. So you can't claim the full cost of replacing your crumbly old wall with a gleaming new one. There's certainly scope for arguing about what a fair deduction is - it's not as simple as looking up the price of a 6 year old car on Parkers - but you can't get away from the fact that a deduction of some sort applies.

The best thing to do in that situation is usually to claim on your own home inusurance policy which usually WILL include new folr old cover, and let your own insurers worry about how much of the cost can be reclaimed from the deiver's insurers. But some people are determined not to use the insurance that they paid good money for - and they tend to end up disappointed if they try to claim directly from the third party.

theoretica

I think it might help - and at least be no harm, to have a definite figure in your mind for what you do want - perhaps what the dealer says they could get you a like for like car for.  So you have a proposal, with justification, to ask for if the question comes up.

Car_54

theoretica said:

I think it might help - and at least be no harm, to have a definite figure in your mind for what you do want - perhaps what the dealer says they could get you a like for like car for.  So you have a proposal, with justification, to ask for if the question comes up.

As you say, it can do no harm.

But the dealer’s price will probably be from the same trade guide as the insurer’s.

HillStreetBlues

Ganga said:

Whilst i sympathize with the owner of the car he is the same position as if he crashed the car himself ,the driver did not go out to wreck it even if they were careless or showing off.

It depends on what position you mean, financial or emotionally.
If I make a stupid mistake and costs me £2k I can accept that, but when another makes that mistake and costs me £2k it's harder to accept.
(£2k figure used as an example)
 

Mildly_Miffed

Their mistake won't cost the OP £2k. The OP is undoubtedly owed the market value of a 5 year old Giulia, as it was immediately before it was crashed.

What the OP isn't owed is what they seem to want - the market value of a 4 year old lower mileage one, as it was when they bought it a year ago.