Yes, you should most certainly report him. Driving uninsured is completely unacceptable, and you are now experiencing first-hand the aggro that these selfish idiots cause. You need to contact the police at the earliest opportunity, bearing in mind these points:

The car was displaying incorrect registration plates, this is illegal. Produce your photographs to back this up as he will otherwise probably deny it.

The driver appears to be uninsured. Even if he does have a trader's policy covering the vehicle the chances are it would be voided by him breaking the law with his incorrect number plates. It is more likely however that there was no insurance and these plates were being displayed to avoid automatic detection by police ANPR cameras. His story of purchasing it from another trader etc sounds like complete rubbish. Who knows, the car might even have been stolen, untaxed, no MOT, etc etc.

His story of being hit from behind is almost certainly false. He claimed to have been hit yet made no attempt whatsoever to speak to the driver of the vehicle behind who would have been responsible, and that driver didn't emerge to speak to him. In slow moving traffic the impact would be highly unlikely to cause him to collide with your car hard enough to cause damage; bear in mind that his Range Rover would be well in excess of a ton, that's a lot of weight to shunt forwards at 5mph.

The police will very definitely be interested in this, as it sounds like a dodgy trader cruising around in cars that he shouldn't be driving, with no regard for the law. His 'friend' and their enthusiasm to avoid the official channels is a dead giveaway. DO NOT involve yourself in any further communication with them; equally don't state that you have contacted the police, simply advise them that your insurance company are dealing with it.

Your chances of recovering your expenses here will probably depend on your insurer and their policies. It is increasingly common for insurers to provide cover against uninsured drivers, you will need to discuss the situation with them. Avoid any further 'help' from Drive Assist or any other third party operation, these sound like the dreaded 'accident/claims management' companies which are simply money making scams. They will ply you with 'assistance' and then send you the bill when they can't get their money out of the other driver. Inform your insurer that as the other driver may be uninsured you want no further involvement with Drive Assist or suchlike.

As for your own car, how serious is the damage? If the bump was at 5mph then I would be very suprised indeed if the damage couldn't be put right at minimal cost. If we're talking a bent bumper of a smashed light, your best option would probably be to buy the car back as 'salvage' and have it repaired. This is a common occurence and many people find this preferable to having to try and find something half decent with their below-value settlement.

Hope that goes some way to helping,

Regards Polo.

I'd have to say I'm not suprised either that they have declared the car a write off; on as common a car as a Zaffy and at twelve years old pretty much anything will seal it's fate, as they're dirt cheap and the parts prices the insurers refer to for repairs are top whack. The sums, sadly, just don't add up for old cars. I don't think you'll get any joy with the exhaust either unfortunately, as insurers work on 'book value' which doesn't tend to include the specifics of the individual car. I once had an old Toyota written off having just MOT'd it, and loss adjuster who came out to inspect it told me quite bluntly that it would make no difference whatsoever, even though it would obviously have increased the resale value of the car.

As for claiming loss of use, if you were offered and declined a 'courtesy car' then, at a a guess, I would think probably not. But if you were injured, which you suggested that you were, then you do have an avenue for a claim should you so wish, once liability has been established - pretty straighforward in a clear 'rear ending' case such as yours. I would consider contacting CAB for a quick chat with a legal person about your options if it turns out that the other driver was indeed uninsured.

As for the police, again it all hinges at the moment on the other guy's insurance status. Can your insurer offer you an update, they should have been able to at least establish whether the other insurer were covering the driver or not? The police will be reluctant to act all the while it might still be just a simple prang for the insurers to sort out, but if it turns out that the other driver was not insured, then you need to make a formal complaint, which they are then duty-bound to investigate. It benefits you when you come to persue him if need be, if the police were involved and he was found to be guilty of offences rather than you just accusing him.

Get hold of your insurance company and chase the progress on the claim so far, and push for an answer on the status of the other driver's insurance. At least then you will know roughly which avenue you are headed down.