help! Write off at 17! Ouch

MercilessKiller

The excess is £350 which is still a lot of money for myself. That money was going towards a much needed holiday next week, so struggling for money even before i get to Uni! Not good.

I should be paid around £3500 for my peugot. It is a 5 door, with 25,000 miles on it.. and W reg so around 99...

I could buy a second hand pug for that amount but there could be any hidden problems really, so not too sure what to do as I don't want to "downgrade" cars.

Also, as I mentioned, the insurance premiums are just going to be sky high. Originally quoted £1.5k to be sole driver of car (with pass plus etc.)... but now with a written off car I suppose it would rise over 100%...

Very stuck Great 18th present hehe

MercilessKiller

owey wrote:

If the police were involved and you get points on your licence, I think if you get six points or more "for new drivers" you lose your licence?. Even though the other driver has admitted to you he was at fault he could always change his mind unless he told the police as well?. Once you make a statement to the police they can do you for careless driving. Its not worth making a statement unless the other driver admits it to the police first, otherwise they will decide who is at fault.

As the guy did not want to prosecute me the police had NO involvement within the situation. If he did prosecute, I would get 8 points through court thus a revoked license.

I will get no points on my license for this.

scheming_gypsy

MercilessKiller wrote:

Thank you for the concern Bennifred.

I've damaged my back, but no-one else was hurt or seriously injured. Except the car:
http://josh.toomuchhosting.com/car1.jpg (also car2.jpg car3,car4,car5)

Never the less, flea, the No claim protection definitely covers me as well, but only if we stick to the same policy without changes.

It will be unaffordable to pay the full premiums come september when I go to University so I am utterly worried now. 18th Bday on wednesday too! not good.

As for the car, will find out tomorrow if its written off, but it prob will be. And the value of it now isn't enough to purchase another car of its standard.

Oh how depressing *shakes fist at land rover*

Similar damage that i did to my car a few years back and it wasn't written off. New bumper, bonnet and front end

MercilessKiller

Thank you gypsy. That has given me a slight glimmer of hope. I find out tomorrow if it is a write off. The main worry is that the engine would not start at all, nor hazard lights... but we shall see....

Will post either way.

soolin

MercilessKiller wrote:

The police officer told me whether he admitted liability or not didn't matter as it is in statute that I hit him so its my fault.

Apparently he had the choice to prosecute me as well, but he was kind and rejected the proposal.

I'm still very shaken by the whole thing so struggling to think clearly. The policeman didn't even take the guys insurance details, and he didnt take mine as his land rover suffered minimal damage. I have his address so may write to him and see what he says.

Thanks for the tip.

No, don't contact the Land Rover guy there is no point. It is up to your insurance companies to sort it all out, if your company doesn't have his insurance details they can't pay him out for the accident and make it worse for you. However, if they ask you for his address or details you are obliged to give it to them.

As for being shaken, this can take months to get over, I'm still really nervous after my accident and I know my driving has suffered as I'm driving too defensively as I am worried that someone might hit me again. You may find you will actually feel worse before you feel better, just take things slow and let your insurance company sort it out. As the accident was legally your fault, I wouldn't volunteer any information to them, wait until they ask.

Also, make sure you have some idea of the book value of your written off car so you are ready when an offer comes, if it is written off of course. The insurance company will probably use Glass's guide which is only available to the trade, so see if you can find someone you know who has access.

The book value for my 5 and a half year old Punto was very low, but I got a bit extra as I had a full Fiat service history and extremely low mileage. The engineer who assessed the car also said that it would have sold in the top category as it was in excellent condition before the accident. I was expecting an initial offer of about £1500, which I was prepared to argue over but ended up with a little over £2000 which was top of the book value.

Soo

MercilessKiller

Thank you for your detailed help Soo.

My father researched the value, and for a car of my standard with 40,000 miles on (rather than my 25,000) the value was between £3000 and £3500.

I shall be doing more research however, so thank you. I will also search for someone witha ccess to Glass's guide.

As for being shaken up, i think I'm more shaken up by how lucky I was. The car swerved after the collision to the right. If it had swerved to the left there was a large van doing 60mph, and it would have been unavoidable.

Saying this, If i had another car to drive today, I would go driving, but like you would prob be a lot more defensive. Unlike most 17 year olds, I actually considered myself as a very safe driver. I was never too fast or dangerous, and was always careful. My best friend is ridiculously unsafe, thus I am also a bit gutted how I'm faced with this situation while he is driving fine.

I'll just have to live it out. First step is getting some proper sleep again. Thanks again

soolin

Try Parkers Guide as well for a rough price. Just as an example a 1.4L Peugeot 306 on a W plate with 40,000 miles has a price between £1740 and £3170, the book price on that would probably be about £2700-£3000.

http://www.parkers.co.uk/

Hopefully though it won't be written off if the damage is cosmetic. Mine was written off as the whole frame had twisted under the impact and had actually put a ripple effect in the car so that it was considerably shorter than it ought to have been.

Good luck, when do you expect to hear the outcome of the garage report?

Soo

scheming_gypsy

MercilessKiller wrote:

The main worry is that the engine would not start at all, nor hazard lights... but we shall see....

Will post either way.

that could be trivial.. Car starting needs a battery and lights need a battery.. Could have just knocked the contacts off the battery, or damaged the battery.

MercilessKiller

Ah right. I'm a bit new when it comes to the insides of cars.

I find out the outcome sometime tomorrow but have no specific time. I am working 1pm till 5pm so will be sitting there worrying all day.

Only the very front of the car was effected. The rest looked absolutely perfect and the inside not damaged at all as seen in the pictures:

http://josh.toomuchhosting.com/car1.jpg
http://josh.toomuchhosting.com/car2.jpg
http://josh.toomuchhosting.com/car3.jpg
http://josh.toomuchhosting.com/car4.jpg
http://josh.toomuchhosting.com/car5.jpg

To say I was going at 60mph, I was very lucky to come out with just that really:

Parkers says:
Cost New ('00) £ 9575
Franchised Dealer £ 3955
Independent Dealer £ 3840
Private Good £ 3105
Private Poor £ 2400
Part Exchange £ 2740

That is for 40,000 miles. Mines only done 25000.

zzzLazyDaisy

They may be able to fix that. Provided there isn't any serious chassis damage, it might be just a case of a new bonnet, lights, and sorting out electrical connections. Then at least you would still have your car.

The insurance is another matter....

BTW after my accident I had trouble sleeping. I found Valerina from Boots helped to break the cycle (herbal remedy - valerian, chamomile and hops, I think).

Daisy