Think I made a big boo boo with my Car Insurance decision.

mattbusby18

Long story short, my wife had a minor collision in our 2015 Jeep Cherokee, just before Christmas just gone. Very quickly, after sending photos, the insurance company came back and said the car was a total loss (economical).

I was shocked, quote was £6k for a minor bumper dent, cracked headlight (still works) and small dent in the bonnet grille. I spoke to the insurance and said we would fix it ourselves, we won't proceed with the claim, which they said fine. Although as it was an at-fault claim, the other it is still open, I assume while dealing with the other party involved.

Well, as it drives fine, I go out get some quotes, thinking I'll get it repaired and carry on, especially as it's still under finance with 3 years still to go! Well turns out stupid me, some quotes are £8k+ ... I mean, I could literally go and buy a newer exact same spec car with lower mileage for that!

Lesson learned. What I'm wondering though is do you think I can go back to my insurance and essentially change my mind—say I do want to continue with our side of the claim too; I'm never going to spend that sort of money repairing a car, when the repair costs more than the the car is worth? I haven't got Gap insurance so I doubt I'll see any of the payout anyway but hopefully it would make a dent in the outstanding finance... 

Aretnap

No reason at all why you can't go back to your insurer and say that you've changed your mind and would like to claim after all.


The only reason it might be a problem would be if the delay in claiming had somehow caused the repair cost to increase (eg if the damaged area had started to rust while you were umming and arring), but as they were going to write it off anyway that's not going to be an issue.

chrisw

As it was an at fault claim, it would have made no difference to your insurance whether you claimed for your vehicle or not, other than you would have had to pay anny excess.

Mildly_Miffed

mattbusby18 said:

Long story short, my wife had a minor collision in our 2015 Jeep Cherokee, just before Christmas just gone. Very quickly, after sending photos, the insurance company came back and said the car was a total loss (economical).

I was shocked, quote was £6k for a minor bumper dent, cracked headlight (still works) and small dent in the bonnet grille.

This shape?


So the damage you describe is going to be a new bumper skin, new bonnet, new headlight (just the main one?) - all brand new and at dealer prices.
Painting and fitting, probably painting the front wings and A pillars, maybe the doors, to blend the new paint in.
Likely quite a few smaller plastic mouldings and lots of clips.
Any other damage behind those? Crash structure behind the bumper, bonnet slam? Rad pack? Parking sensors or the like?
Hire car while it's being done.
Parts delays from the US are quite feasible.

Or they shrug and write it off. It's not a very valuable car, so that's an easy decision to make. Agree the payout, close the claim.

The other alternative for you is to live with the damage and/or fit used parts. MUCH cheaper.

facade

You could claim on the insurance, let them write it off and retain the salvage.

The complication here is the finance. Depending on the type of finance, the insurer may just pay the finance company not you. You will be liable for any shortfall between the insurance payout and the finance settlement- which could be a lot of money!

If you retain the salvage, you buy a second hand headlight, or if it is only a crack seal the crack* with a transparent glue, or run some MFA plasticweld into the crack, and just drive it until it wears out or is really uneconomical to repair.

*A crack sealed to keep the water out should only be a minor (which is still a pass) under section 4.1.1 (b) at MOT.

If you want to retain the salvage DO NOT LET ANYONE TAKE THE CAR AWAY FOR "ASSESSMENT" !!!!! (you will  never get it back again)

Ectophile

How much would a back street body shop charge to fix it with used parts from a salvage yard?

mattbusby18

Mildly_Miffed said:

mattbusby18 said:

Long story short, my wife had a minor collision in our 2015 Jeep Cherokee, just before Christmas just gone. Very quickly, after sending photos, the insurance company came back and said the car was a total loss (economical).

I was shocked, quote was £6k for a minor bumper dent, cracked headlight (still works) and small dent in the bonnet grille.

This shape?


So the damage you describe is going to be a new bumper skin, new bonnet, new headlight (just the main one?) - all brand new and at dealer prices.
Painting and fitting, probably painting the front wings and A pillars, maybe the doors, to blend the new paint in.
Likely quite a few smaller plastic mouldings and lots of clips.
Any other damage behind those? Crash structure behind the bumper, bonnet slam? Rad pack? Parking sensors or the like?
Hire car while it's being done.
Parts delays from the US are quite feasible.

Or they shrug and write it off. It's not a very valuable car, so that's an easy decision to make. Agree the payout, close the claim.

The other alternative for you is to live with the damage and/or fit used parts. MUCH cheaper.

Thanks for the replies. Yes, it is this shape—I think at this point, I just want shot of this car, so will go back to the insurance and ask them to consider reinstating it as a toal loss. I read the T&Cs for the finance and it says they have to be informed and they will negotiate with the insurance co, so I suppose in the meantime I should get looking for a new car! Any recommendations on something reliable, around £10k and similiar size to a Jeep Cherokee? 

Mildly_Miffed

Bear in mind the insurer will pay your financier what the car is worth.

That may be less than you owe.

theclonetrooper

Mildly_Miffed said:

Bear in mind the insurer will pay your financier what the car is worth.

That may be less than you owe.

Do you have GAP insurance?, if so it should cover the difference.

northwalesd

theclonetrooper said:

Do you have GAP insurance?, if so it should cover the difference.

The OP says no Gap insurance.