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Car was written off payout offer not great

13K views 18 replies 12 participants last post by  dweezle 
#1 ·
Well my car was written off after some idiot rear ended us last weekend.

I had various mods, all covered (for an extra fee) but it seems hidden in small print only up to a maximum of £500 or 10% car value (whichever is least) so in my case a mere £400ish to cover a HPS induction, CTR aloys (all mint, new tyres) and the image pack/grand prix body kit (RRP about 1k). even had newish grooved discs and yellowstuff pads all round.. all of which the insurance company don't care about. If was to sell the car on autotrader or here surely these would bring a better price.. or strip the car and sell them seperately.

I've disputed the offer and well I'm not getting anywhere...they just say mods don't increase its value etc thats what your mod cover was for..why am I being punished for an accident that wasn't my fault...

With the money they have offered I can not get a car with the nice bodykit and 18" CTR alloys like mine had, nor will it have good tyres and almost new discs and pads all round.
Although high miles mine was in great condition and I was very happy with it... I can't get anything as good for the money they are offering. What am I supposed to do now?

Through no fault of my own I'm going to have to downgrade my car. I even have to give up my excess until they fight against the third party to accept liability (not sure how we can even be liable as we were rear ended!) my dashcam should clear this up ASAP I hope. They will deduct my £350 excess so I will have even less to spend. I suspect as soon as the cheque turns up the courtesy car will have to go too so I will be rushed into getting something else.

The whole thing is so depressing. I loved that car and I don't have the extra cash to put extra in the pot to get something remotely close in any case why should I have to.

more of a rant I guess is there anything else I can do?
 

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#2 ·
Just seen your damage and can't believe they wrote it off for that, mine got rear ended Saturday and is in the repair shop today getting a report done, im dreading it now as mine has completely caved the lower splitter in and really bent the beam behind, if yours was written off for that mine has no chance :(.
You can guarantee yours will be back on the rd straightaway, did they give reason for writing it off for what looks like minor damage
 
#3 ·
Is it possible to buy it back yourself and get the repair done at a reasonable price? I hope the third party gets blamed and you can recoup more, good luck.

Rob,
I hope yours is repairable and you can continue to get your planned mods done, fingers crossed for you.

Hence why I decided to keep my rear tow hook and hopefully this may help in a rear shunt.
 
#6 ·
Yeah 09 plate 38'000 on clock, ive owned 3 cars and everyone hasn't lasted past 2yrs all low mileage and all within 4yr old.
1st one I ditched on a muddy bend (daily commute for 2yrs and it just went on me) got towed out by a tractor, drove it to work (smashed light, scratched down the side where it was against a hedge, washer bottle gone, damaged wing and wing mirror) got a call same day saying written off :confused: about a mth down the line I get a letter from the dvla saying the car is being registered under a new name do I still own it :confused: so not that bad of damage then.
2nd was head gasket which shocked me more than the write off
And now this one, the one I've literally skinted myself on, the one that i wash wkly, the only car I've had so much pride in owning, my sister was telling me tonight it was the topic of conversation at her slimming world meeting lastwk someone had seen it driving around and my sister said thats my brothers car people I dont know were saying its a very nice car :(. Then a few seconds of someones stupidity and it's all gone just like that, I really do feel your pain, people say it's just a car but when you dedicate a lot of time and money to it, it sort rules your life then BAM its taken away from you
 
#8 ·
+1 recently went through similar, but it was was repaired at a cost of £3000 plus hire car so I was a tad nervous at one point. It means we don't have much faith insurance company's should the worst happen and let's face it accidents happen all the time, don't even have to be doing anything wrong.

Totally with you though why should you be at a loss now having done nothing wrong. Hope you get something sorted out.
 
#9 ·
DON'T ACCEPT THE CHEQUE.

Get on the phone, right now, and ask for the written estimate they have based their decision on. Scan it in, post it up. It should highlight the damage, parts required, labour costs etc. I want to see what they have quoted.

My wife's MX5 was hit in a car park this year and they wanted to write it off for a small dent in the rear 1/4. They quoted a new bumper, new wheel, insane labour, enough paint to paint the Millennium Dome and it came to £2K repairs. Car was worth £2.5K. I got a quote from a local car repair replace for £600. Insurance company agreed to pay and car not written off. Sadly because we weren't using their repairer we weren't entitled to a hire car but it was worth it keep the car as she loves it and it's mint.

A happy ending BUT it did take a lot of our time and many many phone calls and letters to get to that point. If you don't want the hassle then sadly you'll just have to take the money.

They write cars off because it's the easiest and cheapest way of settling a claim. It sucks. Massively.
 
#15 ·
Obviously you should have ensured the mods were covered....

....that said, its easy to look back with hindsight.

Personally, I think the 1st step is find some similar cars (mileage condition etc) in nearby main dealer garages and get proof of prices through adverts etc. Find the most expensive similar ones you can. That's then your value taken care of - I'd ask for the top value but expect the average.

I wouldn't mention the value yet but just keep it in reserve.

I'd then ask the insurance company if you can remove the mods if they're not covered. Its a double edged sword to them. Removing them removes some value for sell on but equally you can point out that if you remove them, you won't be claiming the £500 mod allowance. Only caveat here is you need to be able to return the vehicle to standard as I doubt they'll let you leave it without wheels or air intake etc.

If they say yes, remove them. If not then, I guess you're pretty stuffed but either way on base value you have proof of the value of other cars in your area and this is what you should be asking for plus the £500 if they haven't let you remove the mods.

Don't just accept their book value. Insurance should put you back in the position you were in before the accident and you weren't trading your car in for its book value. That means you should have a car in similar condition to drive and use. Thats the screen value of similar cars in your area not the trade in value.
 
#16 ·
The mods were all declared and should have been covered when I took the policy out as they said
"for an extra £15 we will cover all your mods" it was not made clear that it was max £500.. which doesn't even cover the wheels.

That said I've argued with them plenty and managed to get a bit more out of them. I still do feel like I was missold the mod cover as I would have got insurance elsewhere if I'd of known they weren't fully covered. Of course it was hidden away in a seperate modifications cover booklet (only viewable online may I add).

You are right about any mods I take off I have to reinstall original parts again.. well I no longer have the wheels and the body kit is ruined anyway. So thats not going to work out..

I'm going to take the money and move on now.
 
#18 ·
Going from the tangent of insurance companies writing cars off for no reason, they are most likely in cahoots with car manufactures. Agreeing to write off cars for no reason to make us all buy new cars, conspiracy I tell ya! :worms:
 
#19 ·
I would say it's more to do with them knowing that if written off your going to need a new car (another policy) & also they know the written off 1 can be sold on for money then put back on the rd (again another policy taken out), and if your at fault then they know your policy will shoot right up in value, it's all about the money
 
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