Hyundai Getz - Accident not my fault, bit unsure of where I stand

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Sat 14 Jun 2014 10:38
Hyundai Getz - Accident not my fault, bit unsure of where I stand - Mez7303
Hello,

Found this forum after trying to work out what to do.

Was crossing a mini roundabout yesterday morning when a lady from my left ploughed into the side of my car.

At the scene she was very much "look these things happen" and "I think we both got off quite lucky" . I think she clearly had sight problems as my car was significantly worse off. She has deformed the side of the front bumper ,obliterated his front left wing, dented the passenger door (had a passenger at the time) the door will now not open properly and the window will not go down the whole way. She also for good measure dented a bit of the rear passenger door.

Anyway I managed to get the car home , my husband arrived and we drove very slowly back home . My insurer had just said oh yes someone will be in touch within 24hours to tow the vehicle. 24 hours was not acceptable and as home was only a couple of miles away I wanted to get him home and deal with everything from there with a slightly clearer head.

Got home and start proceedings with my insurer who pass me onto Albany Assistance and they started getting a hire car sorted. I know exactly how this works so I asked the daily rate of the vehicle and how much collection/drop off would be. She just kept saying "everything is free to you,as we will seek costs from the at fault party".

The documentation to sign arrives and the daily rate is three times what I could get if I hired a car myself , it is £80 for drop off/collection and £5 per day for an additional driver.

The land line then rings and a message has been left by the ladies insurer who says she admitted full liability and they would like to handle the claim, won't cost me a penny and will be a lot less hassle.

So I talk to them (saga) and yes I understand why they want me to deal with them as they want to mitigate their costs, I also want to mitigate costs as I want more money going on repairing my car then going on paying and fighting about ridiculous hire car charges from my insurer.

Last night I got a hire car from them through enterprise , I paid the CDW I appreciate that this was an optional charge but I figured it was still Friday 13th and this lady was still on the roads so I thought sod it just pay the £18 .

I have not returned any signed documents to Albany as I now will not be accepting a hire car from them .

Sagas garage is coming Tuesday to look at the damage, my insurer Tesco are coming Monday.
My question is do I have to 100% deal with just one company as I have accepted their hire car or is it acceptable to get tescos people to have a look at my car too?

My only interest is to deal with this fairly and not let it turn into a grossly inflated claim (already had three sets of solicitors on the phone looking for personal injuries).

I just want my beloved car looked at, confirmed it is safe to drive but needs a couple of new panels, new panels put on maybe even resprayed I'd they are the wrong colour.
In a dream scenario my car would be put back to exactly how he was before yesterday morning which was pristine but I am pretty sure the costs of doing this will outweigh the cost of my car (11 years old) .
I do not want money for a write off as i have had this car since new and know every inch of it and any niggles it has and a cheque for a "replacement" would only get me an old banger as I cannot afford to put up any of my own money to get a half decent car . Why should I anyway , why should I end up out of pocket due to someone else's failure to drive properly?

I am in a complete quandary so any previous experiences would be welcome sorry for the long post but didn't want to drip feed .
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Sat 14 Jun 2014 13:06
Hyundai Getz - Accident not my fault, bit unsure of where I stand - RobJP

As regards what you've done re. the hire car : well done. You've robbed a load of parasites the chance to vastly increase costs.

Regarding getting your car repaired though, I'm afriad I can't offer that much real hope.

Basically, if they decide that it would be unecopnomical to repair your car (usually 60% of market value, then they can give you a cheque for the value of your car : in law, this is ensuring you are in the position that you were in before the accident. Usually, the only way to get your car back on the road if that happens is if you buy it 'as scrap' with your payout, and get it repaired yourself. However, you end up with a car that is technically a Cat. C write-off (which would affect the value if/when you sold it). But, as it's old/low value anyway, that's not such a big issue.

However ... you might have a bit of wiggle room here, especially if you get the other person's insurers to do the repair job. You can point out to them that you've already allowed them to do the hire car - saving them a fair bit of money - compared to the Co. that your insurance put you in touch with, and in return for that goodwill, you'd appreciate if, it is possible, they could allow a bit extra regarding repairs.

Of course, all this is jumping the gun a bit. You need to wait for both sets of insurers to look at the car - if possible, I'd try to be there on Tuesday when the other person's insurance assessor is there, just to try to get your point across. It might be the difference between them taking a quick glance and saying '11 yr old, not worth the cost of fixing it' or actually looking at it and costing it up properly.

Good luck !

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Sat 14 Jun 2014 16:39
Hyundai Getz - Accident not my fault, bit unsure of where I stand - Andrew-T

I would second all this - but from your description of the damage my gut-feeling is that an insurer will want to write an 11-year-old car off. Nothing to stop you buying it back and getting the work done, especially if you know a reliable and sympathetic repairer.

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Sat 14 Jun 2014 16:50
Hyundai Getz - Accident not my fault, bit unsure of where I stand - Mez7303
Hi, thank you for replying :)

You have given me hope. So is it fine that both my insurer and her insurer will be looking at my car next week or should i just leave it to her insurer?

I almost don't want my insurer involved now as i know they will say its a write off and potentially try seize my car (when i spoke to them they were talking like as i am making a claim my car is now no longer mine, and i didnt like the cut of their jib) whereas i think as i have saved the third parties insurer some money i may be able to convince them to just patch me up and we will draw a line under the matter.

I am a bit confused about having to buy my car back, if i decline any money whatsoever surely the car is still mine until i accept a cheque?! Can i say to them, ok you are offering me the value of my car, can i have my car back and maybe chuck me a couple of hundred quid so i can get the parts off the internet (about £212 for a new door, wing and bumper) and get them fitted myself at my own expense . Yes i end up spending my own money to but i get what i want which is my car back on the road.

As regards him being a CAT C/D write off and re selling. I will never be selling him if i planned on ever selling him i wouldnt be fighting so hard right now. :)
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Sat 14 Jun 2014 17:55
Hyundai Getz - Accident not my fault, bit unsure of where I stand - RobJP

Let both insurers look it over. You're going to try to play them off against each other, with the objective not being to get the highest payout, but to get your car back on the road.

Your car is still yours until you accept a write-off settlement. No matter what your insurance company says. Tell them that if they try to take your lawfully owned property off you, then you will report the matter to the insurance ombudsman. Remember that. YOU own your car until/unless you accept a write-off settlement.

Basically, if they wanted to write your car off :

They will give you a price for it. If you feel that's too low, you can challenge it, and say you want more. If you can back that up with car sales adverts (autotrader.co.uk / motor.co.uk, etc, then you may get them to up their offer. They will also assign your old car a salvage value. You then basically say "OK, instead of giving me my payout, give me the car and whatever is left of the payout" (as an example, Car in good condition £1000. Salvage value £500. You ask them for car and £500).

Now, once you've been paid out ... any hire car will come to an end, instantly. After all, you've been put back into the position before the accident. So, you'll then be responsible for getting the car back on the road.

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Sat 14 Jun 2014 19:37
Hyundai Getz - Accident not my fault, bit unsure of where I stand - Mez7303
Just jacked my car up and i think i can get away with just a new wing and new light. The passenger door initially was being fowled by the wing but ive bent the wing back and the passenger door now closes like a dream. :)
It is ridiculous i know me trying to make the damage not look as bad as it is but i want the assessors to realise that i am willing to physically work on my car and put the effort in and that im not interested in trying to get as much money as possible.

I understand that the hire car will be removed probably very quickly in my case but i can get use of another car or failing that my work may allow me to use my van for commuting. (I am a wine delivery driver).


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Sun 15 Jun 2014 10:31
Hyundai Getz - Accident not my fault, bit unsure of where I stand - Andrew-T
Just jacked my car up and i think i can get away with just a new wing and new light..

In view of your revised assessment, once you know what the insurers will offer you should find out what a proper repair will cost - on the basis of a private (i.e.non-insurer) job. Body repairs don't come cheap, but yours sounds like less than write-off value. It is sometimes worth not claiming, because of the effect on next year's premium ....

Edited by Andrew-T on 15/06/2014 at 10:34

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Sat 14 Jun 2014 22:35
Hyundai Getz - Accident not my fault, bit unsure of where I stand - dacouch

You're usually allowed the hire car for seven days after cheque issue to allow time for the cheque to clear etc

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Sun 15 Jun 2014 11:53
Hyundai Getz - Accident not my fault, bit unsure of where I stand - Mez7303
Sorry, had a fitful nights sleep and have woken up with more questions :-/

If saga declare my car an economical write off will tescos find out anyway? Basically im worried that tescos will turn round and say ok you are going to repair the car but we wont insure you.

If i tell tesco to not bother coming on monday as saga are looking at him on tuesday and tell them i dont need to pursue the claim through them as saga are dealing direct. Will they find out the outcome anyway?

If tescos come and they say the opposite to what saga say, what happens?!

I i accepted the hire car from saga does that bind me to get them to deal with repairs etc?
Will tescos fine me or take my excess for them coming and checking my car if i end up not pursuing my claim through them?

Essentially my gut is telling me that saga will be more sympathetic to my plight than tescos who used phrases such as "impound, seize and destroy"

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Sun 15 Jun 2014 12:37
Hyundai Getz - Accident not my fault, bit unsure of where I stand - Falkirk Bairn

>>Last night I got a hire car from them through enterprise , I paid the CDW I appreciate >>that this was an optional charge but I figured it was still Friday 13th and this lady was >>still on the roads so I thought sod it just pay the £18 .

3rd party insurer was paying for the car hire - you should have insisted they cover the hire car insurance. You are unlikely to get the CDW daily fee back from the 3rd party insurer as it, even at say £5 / day will rack up to £100+ assuming the usual delays in fixing bodywork.

I'd phone the 3rd part insurer as ask them to cover the hire car insrnce and get out of the daily CDW fee - which is a money making scam for Enterprise!



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Mon 16 Jun 2014 12:05
Hyundai Getz - Accident not my fault, bit unsure of where I stand - Mez7303
My insurers assessor has just been and said Cat D, but its not a problem and I ultimately will get to keep him. He explained that the insurer prices it up using new parts he £200 for the door, £200 for wing £200 for bumper then same labour costs so £1200.

I said i can get wing and door (he did agree a new bumper is not essential) for £115 delivered and he said exactly, it is worth repairing from a real world point of view but from an insurers it is not.

The other side is sending a garage for a look tomorrow morning so will update when i see what they say.
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