Car has been written off, but money offered not really enough to replace it. What to do?

Andrea15

I was in a small non fault accident and my car has been now written off.

I am dealing with the third party insurer and they have offered me some money (based on a car similar to mine available 300m away from me…), but I cannot buy a car the same as mine (mileage and age) here with it, not to mention the cost of having to change the insurance and all the hassle that comes with getting a new car.

What is the best way to haggle with an insurer? Second hand car prices seem to have gone through the roof…

caprikid1

Can you buy the car back and get it repaired ?

Send the insurance company like for like ad's of cars for sale.

Be determined, insurance companies will try and rip you off with the worst offer they think they can get away with.

They will offer trade price but you cannot buy trade !

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6657219/car-has-been-written-off-but-money-offered-not-really-enough-to-replace-it-what-to-do

Seeing as you are claiming directly from the third party insurer your options are much more limited as you have no right to access the Financial Ombudsman.

Almost certainly the price offered will be based on the valuation from Glasses, CAP or one of the other "books" that are used widely across the motor trade, finance and insurance. They present an advert of an example to show the price is accurate but that won't be how they came to the price.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81902178#Comment_81902178

Were it their insurer then they shouldn't be offering trade price. A third party doesnt have the same level of protections but have never personally come across those offering third parties trade prices. They may well offer private sale price which will be between forecourt and trade.

You can send adverts but expect them to push back and argue that advertised price isnt the same as sale price, even the ombudsman points out they put little weight on adverts. At the end of the day I could put my 1998 Saxo rust bucket into Autotrader for £12,000 if I wanted and then an advert would appear but its not going to sell, at least anywhere close to that.

If its minor damage/ the vehicle is a cat N write off then buying it back may be a valid option and either just live with the damage or get it fixed up using secondhand parts etc.

UnsureAboutthis

If it's minor damage, take the cash with the buyback option

By all accounts, your car was well looked after.

I'm guessing it's cosmetic damage, so just drive it around and less worry about idiots

crashing their bags/doors/etc. into your pride and joy.

Possibly on Autotrader/etc - look at 20 cars of similar age/color/miles, add the price, dived by 20 and then

put your information forward, ie that you've looked at the prices of cars very similar to years by age/colour/spec/mileage/service history/owners/etc./etc., and the average price was xxxx. It's worth a shot rather than just picking and chosing cars from main dealers

Also tell them, send them evidence of any money your recently/historically spent, if you bought it from a main dealer etc, the number of owners and want a price based on that

IMO, taking the cash and getting your car back at nixt to nothing if it's drivable legally/etc., I'd go for that option.

Brie

I haggled with an insurer when my car was bashed in a parking lot. All the damage was cosmetic and they said it was a write off as it would have cost more to fix it then to repair to a pretty standard. I didn't care about the look of the car (it was an old banger that got me to work and back) so showed them a couple of ads for the same make, model, age, mileage which were double what they offered and said I'd take those prices. They offered a bit lower but better than the initial suggestion. Got the cash and got a local shop to hammer the dent out for a small fee.

Obviously if the damage was severe - frame twisted etc - I would have considered a replacement or would have taken the enhanced offer and let them take the old car away for scrap.

Andrea15

Thanks for all the comments.

Yes, I could buy the car back, but the damage has been deemed "structural" and I am not sure I am savvy enough to get it done. I suppose I could take the car to a garage and see what they say, but would it be worth it?

To try and get an average of prices of cars I can reasonably get to is not a bad move...

Aretnap

You can try again and show more adverts but ultimately you aren't in a strong position. The valuation is based on national prices and won't take into account any local variation - the measure of value is "what in general terms would my car have sold for just before the accident", not "what would it cost to buy this particular car which I quite fancy from my local dealership?" And as you're dealing with the third party's insurer you don't have the option of complaining to the Financial Ombudsman; if you can't agree a valuation that you're happy with then the only way of taking the mater further is through the courts.

Yes, I could buy the car back, but the damage has been deemed "structural" and I am not sure I am savvy enough to get it done. I suppose I could take the car to a garage and see what they say, but would it be worth it?

You said it was a "small" accident, what does the damage actually look like? Does it look serious structural damage? Was the car actually examined by a expert or did you just send photos of it? If it's an old low-value car then it's quite normal for them to be written off with a very cursory inspection, and as often as not they'll be marked as structural damage by default, because it's better to mark it as structural when it isn't rather than the other way around. If it looks like it might just be cosmetic damage then certainly there would be nothing to lose by asking a friendly mechanic at your local garage to have a look at it and give you an opinion on what needs doing (or even whether anything needs doing at all).

Andrea15

@Aretnap , apart from the bumper that is damaged and the boot that is clearly deformed (but not visible from the outside) the biggest issue is the exhaust with the clearly in the wrong place, much lower than it should be and pointing downwards.

The guy looked at the car for 2 mins max, took some picture and that was it.

I said that accident was small because I hardly felt it and drove home without issues.