Mercedes-Benz SLK 200K - To write off or to not write off?

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Tue 18 Aug 2020 09:20
Mercedes-Benz SLK 200K - To write off or to not write off? - luggage

Hello!

Sorry for the length of post! So someone hit my car while parked and just drove off, it was all caught on CCTV. I rang my insurance explained it all and the girl said it was a write off without even sending someone to look at it. To the point where she told me I should empty the car and someone will collect it. I said I'd consider buying the car back so she cancelled the collection, carried on my insurance and said the valuers will call me in a couple of days.

The damage done turns out to be minor, (I asked advice here). I also took it to two body repair shops for quotes as well as a mechanic to have a good look to see if there was any structural damage. The mechanic said, "this is the least written off car I've ever seen, its absolutely fine". The car is a 55 plate but has only done 22,350 miles and been serviced every year.

Glass's valuation was trade value £5400, retail £7200. Autotrader reckoned £5700. My insurer has their own car valuation tool on their website (for buying) and said between £6851 and £7044. Looking on eBay same year cars with 90k miles go for about £4900, low mileage like mine is hard to compare.

Repair costs are £500 with a second hand wing. £950 for a new wing and sprayed the exact match. £1400 'insurance repair' quote.

Should I argue with my insurer to get them to do the repair? Or buy it back for scrappage value and get it done myself? What kind of value would I be able to push for do you think?

I'm currently in the process of moving so if there was a way to get the car back plus a large chunk of the value and fix it myself it would come in incredibly handy. Just don't know what issues I'll run into if I try to insure it once fixed. I've never had any intention of selling it on so the resale value dropping shouldn't be an issue for me.

One body repair shop pointed me towards an accident company where you get a decent replacement while it is being fixed and they will do the repair. Trouble is I've started the ball rolling with my insurance but can I cancel that claim or something? As this way it wouldnt be written off. I genuinely didn't expect the insurance to just write it off so I'm thinking their valuation will be low.

Any help would be awesome. I've literally no idea what I'm doing!

Thanks!

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Tue 18 Aug 2020 09:41
Mercedes-Benz SLK 200K - To write off or to not write off? - Andrew-T

Taking all your details as read, I would say that if your insurer insists on writing off without inspection, you should choose to repair it yourself, which is always your decision. In my limited experience the insurer will pay around two-thirds of market replacement cost - the one-third represents the salvage value of your car to them. By your valuations you should be a few £K in pocket. You may need to find a 'courtesy car' for a while.

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Tue 18 Aug 2020 09:54
Mercedes-Benz SLK 200K - To write off or to not write off? - Cris_on_the_gas

Get the salvage price from Insurance Company. Ask to buy the car off them as is. They should deduct the salvage from the £7k ish offered and pay you the balance. Get it repaired for £500.

Keep the rest of the cash. Your car will be worth less because it will be registered as Category N but you have already got the cash to cover this and as you intend to keep the car is of no relevance.

Your insurance may also increase a bit because you have made a claim. However if you shop around you should be able to mitigate this.

Edited by Cris_on_the_gas on 18/08/2020 at 09:55

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Tue 18 Aug 2020 10:12
Mercedes-Benz SLK 200K - To write off or to not write off? - luggage

Thanks for the replies, that's good news then. I wasn't too sure of all the pros and cons for either way or maybe I'd get it repaired and all sorted then find out nobody would insure me.

Right, will report back when I get the call from the insurers. Considering they wrote it off without viewing it I'm half expecting a super low offer but someone pointed out it's not just the cost of the repair but the cost of the courtesy car, etc.

Thanks again.

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Tue 18 Aug 2020 12:31
Mercedes-Benz SLK 200K - To write off or to not write off? - Andrew-T

.... Considering they wrote it off without viewing it I'm half expecting a super low offer but someone pointed out it's not just the cost of the repair but the cost of the courtesy car, etc.

As it seems the car is driveable you should only need replacement wheels during the repair work, which should not take long based on your photos. And you don't 'buy the car' from the insurers, they just pay you less than otherwise. It's actually simpler for them as there is no need for transporters, plus you can choose your preferred bodyshop (which you could do in any case).

Edited by Andrew-T on 18/08/2020 at 12:34

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Tue 18 Aug 2020 23:08
Mercedes-Benz SLK 200K - To write off or to not write off? - glidermania

I think it's criminal the way insurance companies write off cars so easily. There's surely a con going on there like HJ exposed about the replacement hire car scam where accident companies hounded owners to take a vehicle without explaining the full consequences.

A few years back, that david beckham crashed his 2 month old top of the line Audi Q7. It was written off as uneconomical to repair. Yes, it had some front end damage but not the thick end of 85 grand's worth. The car was sold through Copart for about 58 thousand, repaired and put back on the road.

If you frequent You Tube, you can find lots of UK channels now buying 'written off' cars, repairing them to standard and making a decent living at it.

No wonder UK car insurance is every increasing and this story just highlights why.

Edited by glidermania on 18/08/2020 at 23:10

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