Fiat 500 write off?

Movingforward1

I have had an accident this week when another driver pulled out on me. The other drivers fault, but speak to insurance company they are saying my car is a write off and are sending someone to inspect it as photos are not as clear. The damage to me looks cosmetic but I can’t open my drivers door fully. The bumper and bonnet are out of line also.  It’s stressing me out with what they will do with the car. 

It’s a 15plate Fiat 500 1.2l 52,000 miles. 

What do you think? 

Mark_d

I agree with the insurance company.  It is difficult to see the extent of the damage from the photographs.

I think a likely outcome is that the car will be taken from you and you are given an approved valuation for the car - as a rough guess I'd say £4000-£5000.

DullGreyGuy

Claiming from your insurance or theirs?

You can use an online tool to guesstimate the value of the car for free. Using a random Fiat 500 from 2015's plate and your mileage would probably say its repairable but if its their insurance then they may factor in hire during repairs and push it over into total loss territory. 

CliveOfIndia

Movingforward1 said:

The damage to me looks cosmetic but I can’t open my drivers door fully. The bumper and bonnet are out of line also.

The damage may well be "cosmetic" inasmuch as there's no safety-critical structural damage.  But if the door won't open properly and the panels are out of line, it's going to take more than a rub of T-Cut and a quick polish to sort it out properly.  It's entirely possible that the cost of a professional repair would make it uneconomical.

You've always got the option of buying the car back from the insurance company then repairing it yourself - whether that means a DIY job or a professional repair at a different body-shop (who may possibly give you a cheaper quote for a "private" rather than an insurance job).

Movingforward1

DullGreyGuy said:

Claiming from your insurance or theirs?

You can use an online tool to guesstimate the value of the car for free. Using a random Fiat 500 from 2015's plate and your mileage would probably say its repairable but if its their insurance then they may factor in hire during repairs and push it over into total loss territory. 

Claiming from theirs. He tried to do me dirty and give me false details but I got his plate and a witness 🤯

DullGreyGuy

Movingforward1 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Claiming from your insurance or theirs?

You can use an online tool to guesstimate the value of the car for free. Using a random Fiat 500 from 2015's plate and your mileage would probably say its repairable but if its their insurance then they may factor in hire during repairs and push it over into total loss territory. 

Claiming from theirs. He tried to do me dirty and give me false details but I got his plate and a witness 🤯

So just remember you have no Financial Ombudsman rights if you don't like their offer etc. Its more likely to be a TL going via their insurance but more chance that you keep the car after the total loss

pseudodox

When someone did this to me ( a rear end shunt) it was deemed a write off as repair was more than the car value as for my insurance to sanction repair then claim back from other party meant the car had to be repaired with brand new genuine parts.

The structure of the car was unaffected but tailgate and rear bumper was stove in.  I got a quote from the repair shop who sourced the same car which had had a front shunt from a scrap yard  They got the perfect reclaimed back end parts to repair my car.  I told my insurance company I wanted to keep the car and repair at my own cost so I had to pay £200 for the scrappage fee.  I then got it repaired, it came back like new and I pursued the other party until their insurance reimbursed me all but the £200.  My car was 9 years old at the time.  I am still driving it now and it is 22 this year so the £200 proved to be a bargain!

Had I relinquished the car it would have gone to auction and been bought by someone who could have repaired it and put it back on the road.  I would have been furious to see it driving around!  Especially as the insurance payout would not have bought me a replacement car anything like as good as mine.

Mildly_Miffed

Remember, "write-off" just means the insurers have chosen to pay you the value instead of repairing, because they think that'll be cheaper.

Bonnet, hinges, wing, door, bumper.
Paint, fit.
Hire car while it's being done.
Potential for suspension damage.
Then they'll get a good few quid from the salvage auction for it bent.

There's 300+ 1.2 2015 500s on Autotrader, with nearly two-thirds having lower mileage than yours.
A third of the cars advertised are below £5k.

It's not hard to see how the maths don't really add up for repairing it.

Ask to keep the car (it'll be CatN) by buying it back in exchange for a portion of the pay-out, to reflect that salvage value.

Movingforward1

Thanks for all the help and comments. They did decide to “write off” my car and offered a settlement which was a low ball offer. Went back with some evidence of like for like cars and some other bits for a better deal. 

Thanks again!