Car went into the back of me, what can I claim?

nubbz · 5 March 2018 at 2:20PM

Hello guys!

Recently a car went into the back of me and done the back end of my e36 bmw good.
Insurer is coming Wednesday to probably confirm it is a write off...
What I want to know is what can I claim for?

I'm using the insurance of the guy who hit me as he has admitted full liability. Problem is my e36 is a 20 year old car so I have a feeling I am going to get stitched up on the valuation..

I paid about £1000 for it but its only done about 80k miles and was mint!
Thing is though I spent over £1000 servicing it and putting new tyres and brakes on it less then 3 months ago. Can I claim back the cost of getting the car serviced as it's obviously going to go to waste now.

Also if I disagree with the price they give me how long can I contest it for? Also if I contest it do they have to provide me with a courtesy car until I agree on a valuation.
I have been given a courtesy car until the end of the week which is when I presume they will give me a settlement but I just want to make sure if I refuse the offer for being to low they have to provide me with a car until we can reach an agreement.

Also is there anything else I can claim for?
I'm a youngish driver (26) and this is my 1st year of having car insurance so no doubt my premium will sky rocket even though im not claiming on my own insurance.. Can I claim back the cost of an increased insurance premium?

AdrianC · 5 March 2018 at 2:52PM

nubbz wrote: »

What I want to know is what can I claim for?

The fair market value of the car immediately before he hit you.

Thing is though I spent over £1000 servicing it and putting new tyres and brakes on it less then 3 months ago. Can I claim back the cost of getting the car serviced as it's obviously going to go to waste now.

What did that add to the value? Not much. It's maintenance. Without doing that work, it'd be worth much less. You may be able to keep the salvage in return for a proportion of the payout - so you could break it for parts.

Also if I disagree with the price they give me how long can I contest it for?

It'll escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service - http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/motor-valuation.html

Also if I contest it do they have to provide me with a courtesy car until I agree on a valuation.

Within reason. Otherwise, it'd be easy for somebody to string out with unreasonable demands and keep the hire car indefinitely.

Also is there anything else I can claim for?

What other losses can you prove?

I'm a youngish driver (26) and this is my 1st year of having car insurance so no doubt my premium will sky rocket even though im not claiming on my own insurance.. Can I claim back the cost of an increased insurance premium?

If you can prove it. Which, honestly, you can't.

IanMSpencer · 5 March 2018 at 3:06PM

The OP is also under an obligation to minimise their losses, so while you can claim for reasonable expenses, they should be getting on with getting a replacement car in a reasonable time.

If the car is really exceptional, then the OP can check out whether it is worth buying the write-off and getting it repaired on the cheap - using scrapyard boot for example - if if is rear end, it has a reasonable chance of being mainly cosmetic damage.

nubbz · 5 March 2018 at 3:37PM

Thanks for the replies.

So there is no defined time how long I can contest the value of the car for?
My thinking is even if I contest the payoff for say like 2-3 weeks they may just offer me more for the car as the car is worth only about £1000 and it will probably cost them £400+ a week for them to hire me a car.

Ideally I want this dealt with asap but I just know they will fudge me over the value. I've put over 2k into that car and had it less then 6 months.. so I want to do all that I can do to personally at least recoup some of my losses.

I've never had a car accident before so I do not know how any of this works.
I hope I'm not coming across as a noob but I didn't ask to get rear ended so I don't see why I should loose out financially. Seriously guys this car was proper mint :P so quiet it was like it came fresh out the factory..

IanMSpencer wrote: »

The OP is also under an obligation to minimise their losses, so while you can claim for reasonable expenses, they should be getting on with getting a replacement car in a reasonable time.

I'm under an obligation to minimise their losses??
I can't get a replacement car until they either fix or give me a payout for my car.

Car_54 · 5 March 2018 at 4:35PM

Sorry, I think you've had all the answers. The car is worth what it's worth - what you spent on it is irrelevant - delaying won't help - you are under an obligation to minimise costs.

Their only obligation is to put you in the position you were before the crash, i.e. driving a 20-y-o car, for which you paid £1,000 some time ago and was therefore inevitably now worth less.

NelliePie · 5 March 2018 at 4:49PM

You will only get what the car is currently worth.
The fact that you have put money into service and maintenance doesn't count for anything (unless it's done something extra to improve the value) as if you didn't service the car it wouldn't run - Sorry but that's just the cost of running a car.

As you are not at fault and they have admitted full liability, it shouldn't increase your premium. I had a similar situation a few years ago and it didn't affect my no claims bonus as it wasn't my fault; but you should probably check with your insurance provider.

Asmoosy · 5 March 2018 at 4:57PM

I just had an accident where someone reversed into me. I got more than I paid for to get a new car or repair mine! Plus they offer you something for scrap. It just depends how easily they claim responsibility.

Asmoosy · 5 March 2018 at 5:24PM

They will look at the area you are in and see exactly how much the same car will be worth. I got £1000+ plus around £200 scrappage. I paid about half of that for my car. They said I can either fix it or buy a new one it's up to me.

Jonesya · 5 March 2018 at 7:48PM

How bad was the damage because if it was just cosmetic and not structural you might be able to see if you could get a cash settlement and have it repaired yourself.

What category of write off is it?

https://www.motorclaimguru.co.uk/what-is-a-total-loss.html

motorguy · 5 March 2018 at 8:20PM

Jonesya wrote: »

How bad was the damage because if it was just cosmetic and not structural you might be able to see if you could get a cash settlement and have it repaired yourself.

What category of write off is it?

https://www.motorclaimguru.co.uk/what-is-a-total-loss.html

+1

Depending on the damage it might be a good idea to buy it back and repair it.

Norman_Castle · 5 March 2018 at 8:25PM

You can use the recent work as leverage for a higher valuation but it will only make a small difference.

Its likely the scrap value will be very low so definitely consider buying the car back to either repair or sell either complete or as spares.

Car went into the back of me, what can I claim?

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free