I had a completely no blame accident a week ago, where I was rear -ended in my 1996 Cabrio.I purchased this car about 6 monrhs ago for 5500. Since then it has had a brand new Audi hood costing 3000. It also has personalised plates. I have just spoken to the insurance assessor, who said it "should be a categoy D write -off as you can no longer get a boot floor for this particular make of car." The cost of the repairs are apparently 3800. After stating that I do not want the car written of, well pleading actually I asked if it is possible to pull out the crease. They have stated that they will try their best but its 50/50. They have offered me 4000 fot the car which I have stated is unacceptable. I asked if they could get a 2nd hand boot floor, but he said if they could it would mean cutting it out even if they could get one and that didnt appear to be an option. I then asked if the worse comes to the worse could I buy it back as salvage and repair it myself, the cost of which for salvage would be 800 . Could anyone out there offer some advice on what to do next. I really would love to get my car back on the road , I even asked if I could pay the difference to get it fixed (fool) and he said that it wouldnt come to that. He seemed a reasonable guy .but maybe Im just a soft touch. Please please help. He is going to call me back in the middle of next week and let me know whats happening. I want to be prepared.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 29/05/2008 at 19:57
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As you paid £5,500 recently, you should obtain near-on this figure from your insurance company who are required to put you in the same position as you were before the accident.
Buy back the salvage for £800 and get it fixed yourself - this will likely be much cheaper than the £3,800 quoted = few quid in the bank.
MVP
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That sounds right. A competent body shop should be able to straighten the boot floor, or improvise one if the pressing is really unobtainable. Try GSF (German, Swedish And French) which sells discount and OE parts for Audi among other makes. They seem to have most things.
That said, the body shop you use will be very important. Do some careful research if you don't know one. They can be wonderful, and also appalling. Good luck. I approve of people who don't want to junk a car for no good reason.
Edited by Lud on 29/05/2008 at 18:10
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Thanks guys, Ive called GSF and they cant help but told me to call my local Audi dealer and enquire about the parts, which I did, they were very helpful and said that the boot floor wasnt a problem it was the unit at the sides that holds it together or something, that is no longer produced as a unit but the parts can be bought seperately. I then called the bodyshop and he said he would investigate. Have I done the right thing, or will I just have annoyed them?
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If you have annoyed them Kate, it will only be because they are unusually irascible.
The body parts shouldn't cost the earth even from Audi. But labour is usually the main cost of body repairs anyway. Don't rely on the body shop to call you back (of course it may behave impeccably). Don't be discouraged if you have to remind it to make the enquiries.
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tip - get the right Audi part numbers that you need , better in person at the dealership than on the impersonal phone. Then enter those part / serial numbers into a search engine and see what happens ??
Pressed steel panels ( or is it Aluminium on this Audi ? ) for a mainstream European make are never prohibitively pricey if you persevere and shop around. They may end up in South Africa or even the States , but the world is one marketplace now .
Good luck .
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Kate
Who's insurance are you claiming off; yours or theirs?
In a 3rd-party claim [nothing to do with 3rd-party-only insurance] against the other car's owner; then the matter of repairs or salvage doesn't arise, as the car remains your property and the only consideration is the size of the damages payment from the other party.
Involve your own insurer and you lose all control over the matter.
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I have gone through my own insurance co assuming that they would claim it from the others parties insurers as they have admitted full liability. Have I really messed up? I thought that was how it worked.
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Kate
Once you claim off your insurer, the terms of the policy between you kick-in. In broad terms, they have to repair to status-quo-ante condition - or buy the car off you at market value. They may not bother about whose fault it was and just do a knock-for-knock deal with the other side; you lose your no-claims, unless you can prove blame - and can do nothing to stop them.
With a claim off a 3rd party [the other vehicle's owner] you are claiming a cheque for damages to cover all your losses - which can be far more than just the car. [How bad was your whiplash and trauma - £4,000-worth? How many days have you lost the use of your car etc. etc.?] To settle the claim out-of-court; they must offer a deal that meets your approval.
I'm no legal eagle; but, over the years, I've handled a lot of this sort of claim for my customers - and I've even been given thank-you payouts from the other party's insurer for saving their valuable time.
I'll point out here that other, more qualified, members disagree with this approach; but it always works for me.
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I think I can prove blame , a witness stopped and the police were involved and gave a lecture to the other driver on stopping distances. I have obviously already spoken to my insurance co. What is your advice at this stage. I think its me with the screwloose not you, but I am really at a loss what to do. All I want really is my car repaired and back on the road.The ins co have provided a hire car and this is as far as I have got. Thanks very much by the way for helping.
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Kate
The police will have logged the incident and that may well help, later, to claim your uninsured losses from the other side to save your no-claims.
I'd welcome the views of others; but I'm leaning towards advising that you suspend your claim with your own insurer and seek professional advice from a loss assessor. [A loss adjuster works in the insurer's interest, a loss assessor works to get you the best deal.]
A solicitor, experienced in this field, might also be a good source of assistance - particularly if they do discounted initial interviews.
Above all; avoid "Claims" type companies; heads they win - tails you lose.
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... All I want really is my car repaired and back on the road.
In which case, IMO you should stop dealing with your own insurance company and claim direct from the third party. If you cannot do it on your own, seek help from the likes of Helphire. Read this first [about midway somewhere]:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/faq.htm?id=33
DAMAGE TO YOUR CAR: What are your rights if someone damages your car in an accident and their insurer attempts to write it off, compensating you with a derisory amount and refusing to keep you on the road in the meantime?
Also do a forum search [from next to the "log out" button ], limiting search to discussion and first within last year (then going beyond one year if you want to read up older threads), for the words: insurance write off
Edited by jbif on 30/05/2008 at 01:03
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Kate,
do you have legal cover included in your insurance policy?
If so, call your insurance Co. and tell them that you want to take advantage of that cover. They will put you in touch with a solicitor who will handle everything for you. All you'll need to do is provide the solicitor with an accident report and witness/police contact details.
Kevin...
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I'm going to shout: DON'T GET A SOLICITOR INVOLVED YET. There is currently no dispute with the third party that a solicitor could help with.
At the moment you have a perfecctly straightforward situation. You have had a no-fault accident, the third party has had a ticking off from a policeman, and your car is damaged.
Forget your own insurance company (for the moment). They are adding an extra layer of bureaucracy, slowing things down, and costing you more money (as they'll forget to claim the excess back from the third party), they won't give you a hire car etc. etc. etc.
If I were you I'd drive into my local Audi dealer and ask him if he has an arrangement with one of these insurance "sharks" like Helphire. They will lend you a car and sort the claim by dealing directly with the third party. Because they only get paid if/when the third party insurance co. coughs up, they'll be very helpful...
Edited by Mapmaker on 30/05/2008 at 10:31
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The op wrote: ... I think I can prove blame , a witness stopped and the police were involved and gave a lecture to the other driver on stopping distances....
Seems to me there is a bit if groundwork to be done here, if not done already.
You need to get the police incident log number, name of the polis who dealt would be helpful, or a summary of the log from another officer, as in: 'driver X offered appropriate advice'.
A fairly easy source of this info is the police control room for the patch, particularly if you have the precise date and time - that's how these things tend to list 'on the computer'.
Can't comment on the insurance - little or no knowledge/experience - happily.
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It maybe that I am going against the grain here but you pay your insurance premium not only to get any monetary loss back but also to do all of the legwork when you are involved in an accident.
If they have offered a payout for the car that is not in line with market trends (in your area) and what you paid for it only a few months ago then I would put it in writing, with examples from Autotrader etc on what you would have to pay to get a like for like replacement. You have the season on your side here as a convertable is likely to increase in price with the weather (no jokes here!). Never accept their first offer and you will definately get an increase in what they have offered already.
Next step is to decide what you want to do with the car, buy it back as salvage and get it repaired at a good bodyshop and pocket the difference. This way though the car will always be on a cat d and therefore will be difficult to sell on and worth substantially less. If they have offered to sell it back for £800 then you could stick it straight on ebay and get a lot more for it and let someone else repair it.
Alternatively go and buy another one! If the boot is bent then it will need jigging and if its not done properly it wont feel the same again and you may have tyre wear probs, rust etc to deal with in the future. Is it worth it when you could get a good replacement?
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but you pay your insurance premium not only to get any monetary loss back but also to do all of the legwork
Sorry, but I do not agree with bbromlea. You are likely to find that your insurance company works primarily for its shareholders, not you. Their usual aim is to minimise their costs, and not getting the maximum for you.
I would stick with the suggestion by Mapmaker.
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Years ago someone went up the back of me - their fault and they admitted liability.
Their insurer, Direct Line, offered to deal with me directly to avoid me paying an excess - big mistake.
Once I had agreed, the trouble started, they didn't want to repair the car as the parts were v expensive, but wouldn't give me a hire car until they or I could get it back on the road.
They just said, "here's a few quid, get lost "
As had not claimed through my own ins company, they couldn't get involved, and I had no consumer rights as I wasn't a customer of DL.
Claim through your own insurance, and then claim for uninsured losses would be my advice
MVP
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Years ago ..
How long ago?
... and I had no consumer rights as I wasn't a customer of DL.
Things have changed. EU regulations have, for some time now, given you a lot of consumer rights against a 3rd party and their insurer.
I repeat, and as Mapmaker said, claim against the 3rd party direct. Let the 3rd party and/or their insurance company "put you back where you were immediately before they did you the damage". Read the HJ faq previously linked in my 1st reply.
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I have been involved with (not in!) three no-fault accidents over the last twelve months - in all cases the victim was stationary. In all three cases the third party's insurance co. has been dealt with directly to excellent effect.
In one case the victim's own ins co had begun to be inolved, and progress was slow; dealing directly with the third party ins co. caused action to happen within a couple of days, automatic hire car etc. etc.
You have consumer rights in your relationship with the third party's ins co (as jbif points out) under EU law.
The third party's ins co WILL provide you with a hire car for the duration of the repairs; your own will NOT - save through a claim against third party, which is hassle for them, you and the other side, so won't happen easily.
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