omg gutted,, does this mean my insurance company wont want to fix it,, i really cant afford to buy another car right now,
i need it daily for my son,
i really hear you i feel this guy may not be insured to drive the car,
it does not seem fair that my premiums will go up when i have done nothing but park in what should have been a safe road their was plenty of room for him to pass by it a 2 way street with parking on one side, i honestly cant see how he did it!,
im with Fortis , thanks for your reply, i am totally sick this car has been maintained thu main dealer its whole life and well maintained, full service the lot im totally devastated :-(
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You should have reported this to the police and your insurance straight away - when the incident occurred.
Obviously dangerous driving / driving without due care and attention probably drunk/drugs/phone.
DO IT NOW! Though chances of getting police involved now is low.
This is not a minor parking incident or light rear end shunt. It a £3k+ serious incident. If the police back your story then your NCB should be safe*, though there will be a minor increase in premium.
*Depends on the insurance company and whether the driver was actually insured / not disqualified. In that case, you press criminal charges / take him to court.
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thanks , well he told me he was insured as second driver on the car which is his uncles who has 10 yrs no claims,
i no i should have called police but i was in a state of shock,,, still am, my neighbour was a witness she heard the crash and then watched him reverse to then go forward and scape up the rest of my car,,,
god i just want to curl up and die,
all he keeps saying is he wants to avoid insurance at all costs,
i just want my car back the way it was ohh the tears,,
i have a disabled mother 60 miles from me i have to go to her wkly as well as my son, we have to have a car,
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Oh dear! the reviews I see for Fortis are very negative (maybe thats why they're cheap) - By not acting straight away and involving the police you have made life very difficult.
I would phone the police (not 999 though!) and talk to them about the incident - state you feel the other party is uninsured etc etc. and you have a witness which is most important - see what they say.
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i seriously dont think the police would have bothered coming out at all, not round here, your hard pressed to get them out if your house gets robbed,
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their are actully 2 witness another lady who lives across the road and my partner who came out our door to walk the dog as the man just got out of the car , thats when we heard the alarm, before that we was in the back of house and didnt hear anything ,
i wonder if hubby hadnt have been coming up the garden path would the guy have just drove off,
i cant help feeling that iv now lost a great car and its only going to cost me in the long run,
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as for im being drunk or on drugs i dont think he was,,, sadly in my area their are alot of idiots who cant seem to drive,,, i swear i wonder if they got their license from lego land,
honestly tho its all made me very ill today the stress of it blinding headach all day,
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I would still phone the police and talk to them about the incident - see what they say.
You say you have a witness - thats 95% of the evidence in the bag.
If he is insured (check with the police) then just go ahead and claim - you have the choice to claim on yours (easier) or on his insurance (you need his details). I would always go with the first option. Insurance is there for this kind of thing - its not your fault and provided you can prove it, you will not be penalised a great deal.
If the insurance class it as no-fault claim it should not put your premium up by more than about £30-£50 in my experience.
BTW "the cars his uncles" shouts out not-insured to me which needs police involvement.
Edited by brum on 11/10/2011 at 02:04
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As mentioned above you shouldve got on the phone to the Police at the time it happened. But you cant change the past. Fortis are generally useless from what i know but see what they say. Ring the police anyway but their first question will be 'why didnt you call us when it happened?'
If he wants to avoid insurance at all costs its because he doesnt have any, nobody is that afraid of premium rises. This is hardly a supermarket car park prang this is crashing into a stationary vehicle. He's trying to get your car fixed on the cheap so as no insurance company or Police find out what he's obviously hiding.
Am i the only one who thinks Fortis would just write the car off? Its at least 7 years old if its a Mk4 and if they also got an estimate of £3000 odd it cant be worth it surely?
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It will be written of if cost of repair exceeds approx 75% of book value.
Cost of repair varies wildly with insurance companies. Some insurance companies are cheap because they use cheap repair shops.
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www.freecarvaluations.co.uk/
If the OP wants to put the details in there and tell us what it comes back with we can get a half decent idea on whether they'll write it off or not.
Even if its a newest (53 plate) cleanest low mileage example i cant see it being worth them paying for it.
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cor blooming hell you wanna cheer me right up dont you jamie,
The trade value of this car is between: £339 - £1,004,
when i bought it 4 years ago it was marked up at £3495, i got it for £2850,
so i hear what your saying
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If yours is a low mileage diesel model with good service history and cherished condition you're still looking at not much more than the top end of that estimate. So unless they could fix it for around £700ish its not worth them touching it and they will write it off, and i really dont see that level of work getting done for that price.
I didnt mean to upset you i was just trying to lay the facts out simply to let you know exactly where you're at. Apologies if i didnt explain properly or came across as insensitive.
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no your fin jamie and thanks ,, i just have to crack a joke here and their or i totally break down mate, i appreciate the advice ,
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BTW Insurance companies use Retail values not trade values.
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so please tell me i the insurance say its a right off is that it i get nothing???, iv never had to claim in my life, i have no idea about these things,
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No you get Retail value of your car (as it was in its undamaged state) usually as defined by Glasses guide. They give you a cheque.
I estimate £1500 ish from your description - might be more.
Edited by brum on 11/10/2011 at 02:45
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You will receive the 'value' of the car as a pay out. Retail value that is, so if you can find one identical for sale on Auto Trader, use that as evidence of what its worth for instance. As brum has pointed out insurers should go on retail values and i was working on trade values with that quote but its still interesting numbers.
So lets say the average used price for one of those cars was around, oh i dont know lets say £1600, thats the ballpark figure they'll pay you out. Thats the idea of a write off, they pay you out the value of the car because its cheaper than repairing it, so as you can in theory go out and buy one very similar to what you had.
Edit: Apologies for mistakenly using trade prices, i used to trade cars so only look at things through the trade value haha! Apologies, my mistake. I dont know why i bother trying to help people i always get something wrong. Perhaps i should get a nametag.
Edited by jamie745 on 11/10/2011 at 02:46
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ohh ok thank for that least All is not lost,,,, God wish i hadnt had the previour repars done now, belt changed and all that ,,, makes ya want to scream dont it,
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No all is not lost at all. Thats the point of a write off, they pay you the value of it if its cheaper than repairing it so as you can go out and buy a similar car (in theory). You dont pay for insurance for them to then give you nothing if some twonk crashes into it. Thats not the point of insurance, you pay them for this very reason, to pay you out if someone totals it.
Edited by jamie745 on 11/10/2011 at 02:52
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Im off to bed now, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!
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thank you , yes the insurance writing it off is a worry to me badly its an x reg 2001 so older than 7 yrs, but iv cherrished it dearly,,, now this S O A B has done this,, i just want to cry,,
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Unless they use really cheap repair services i cant see a 10 year old Golf being worth having this sort of work done. My bet would be on a write off. But you wont know until you ring them, make it top of your list for the morning.
Just remember its not your fault and crying will help nobody, i'd place a considerable bet on you having been the victim of an uninsured driver (or illegal in some other form, uncles car screams no insurance/licence etc) and if you could get some proof of this some insurers (such as mine) offer an uninsured drivers guarantee for this sort of situation where you dont pay any excess nor face any increased premiums.
You've met the person who was driving, you have a witness, you have the reg number, you have the crumpled Golf which is pretty good evidence in itself so make sure you inform the Police but it wont be quick. I am 110% positive he was driving that car illegally, thats the only reason to behave how he did.
Remember its not your fault, get some sleep, write down what you need to do, be calm, ring Fortis in the morning and tell them everything and make sure you're very clear and concise and see what they say.
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I am 110% positive he was driving that car illegally,
i believe that and not just illegally behind that wheel either is my bet!,,,
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He will be one of them who's probably been disqualified already, just pops out in his uncles car, or his girlfriends car, or his father's car, or his brothers car etc and just keeps driving about in cars which satisfy the ANPR's until one day they get in it drunk or on drugs and crash into someones car and its at that point where the Police would very much like a word with him.
Theres people out there driving every day illegally, on one of those police chase car programs recently they caught someone who'd been driving disqualified for 13 years, unbelievable.
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Just do as advised, phone the police first thing, then the insurance.
Look on the bright side - you or your son werent in it and injured - the insurance may still decide to repair it, I doubt the dealer gave you a competitive price for repair. If not the insurance payout should be enough to buy an equivalent car - and although thats some way off yet, don't settle for their first offer.
In the meantime have cup of tea and accept a big hug from me. Get some sleep.
Edited by brum on 11/10/2011 at 02:37
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thank you so much a nice cuppa tea is needed,,, iv been having sugar in it first time since i was a nipper, hoping it helps me chill out a bit i feel mortified,
appreciate all you honesty thank you so much nite for now x
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Since people have been negative about Fortis, my experience has been good!
They cover my vintage car, and when somebody went into the back of it, they did far more than they needed to. And didn't put up my premium.
Back to accident - your insurance may offer a lowish amount at first. Don't think you have to accept, get figures from adverts, bear in mind, the car usually goes for less though.
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Blubell, PLEASE do all of us a service and PLease inform the police and YOUR insurance company and help all of us stop these people driving around if they are not insured. I had a friend who was hit by a driver who had FIVE outstanding claims against her, had not reported any of them to her insurance company who naturally refused to pay out. Thankfully my friend had legal aid cover and by calling his insurance company regularly and in fact contacting the other company directly the damage and excess was fully re-imbursed. It took 18 moths to get the money back but in between his fully comp dealt with the repairs.
FOR ALL OF US, PLEASE PLEASE DO THIS BY THE BOOK!
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i have done it,,,,, went cop shop at 830 this morning,
jus got off phone with insurance and you where all so right they have wrote off my car,,,,
this now leaves me in a VERY BAD WAY !, no car i am sick really,, i need to get my mum from her caravan which shuts end of month, and my disabled son god only knows how im going to get him about! life sucks
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bluebell. look at it this way, it'll all get sorted out in the end, and this is one of lifes little hurdles that you could do without.
hope you'll get things sorted out soon, try not to worry to much, things sort themselves out in the end....
i had issues myself, work making redundancies, my own son is type1 diabetic so needs regular medical hospital trips and daily insulin injections and over 8 blood checks per day etc, this has been going on since he was 3 hes now 8. i had issues sleeping, and it was affecting my work and family life, car was giving me large bills...in the end went to the doctors who helped me out...(no he didn't buy me a car!!)
hope your not in that situation...but stress can affect people in many ways, some love it. some fold and need help......often a few days off work and plenty of coffee and comfort food and naff films on the telly can do wonders....
yeh sometimes life sucks but sometimes it can be pretty amazing, ie when your family laughs etc...
paul.
sorry getting very serious......hhahahahaha.... take another tablet!!!
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Blubell - RING THE POLICE! That's all the advice I am qualified to give you!
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oh bless thanks paul that means alot,, i hear what your saying think as im getting older i cant handle the stress like i used to,
my b***** hair falling out in clumps today,,,, now im feeling sod the flipping car i now just want my golden locks back and i think a stiff brandy and few reruns of only fools and horses may be of use over the next few weeks,, on the up side i wont have to worry about me drink driving with no car lol, thanks mate all the best to you and your family xx
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BLUEBELL. fools and horse...love the batman and robin one....superb...and peckham spring.....hhahaahaha....
yeh been through hair issue....
the insurance company if its a write off, might come and take it away with literally a few hours notice. so its worth removing anything of value from the inside. all your personal stuff. tapes/cds even carmats (after all you might get another Golf in the future...if its got a decent radio pop that out as well....even if you end up selling the bits on ebay...
paul. oh don't know if you have someone who can look after your son for an hour every now and again, but going to the gym really helps, sweat out the stress...i hate going to the gym but after the first 10mins its starts to fell good. and end up after 1hr going home in a de-stressed good mood and ready to face family issues....
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Paul being from that area myself i can honestly say its noting like the Del boy times anymore but still we watch and live here in hope looool, xxx, If you like a good comedy mate Mrs Browns Boys is most definitely the next best thing to only fools, lol you'll have to youtube it mate its sure to lift any bad mood lol xx
www.youtube.com/watch?v=C660_Ag1UFk
THIS COULD LIFT THE MOST MANIC DEPRESSANT PERSON OUT OF THEIR SAD MOOD, WITHOUT ANY PILLS OR BOOZE LOOOOOL, XXXX
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SORRY MENT TO SAY ALSO , THAT YES PAUL I NO AND THEY DID,,, TOOK IT IN IM SICK,,,, A 2001 GOLF £400 ALLOYS,,, DRIVES PERFECT FULL SERVICE HISTORY FROM DAY DOT DEALER FROM MAI!! THEN LAST 2 YEAR A REPITAULY GARAGE (FREINDLYS) CAM CHANGED TIMING BELT WATER BOTTLE AND NEW FRONT AND BACK DISC NEW BRAKES BUT ITS GOT ONE SIDE DENTED AND CREASED FROM AN IDOT DRIVING INTO IT,,, WIPES THAT PERFECT HISTORY OUT IN A INSTANCE,,,,,,AND ITS A WRITE OFF,,, DONT SEEM RIGHT SOME HOW!
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Really sorry to hear of your problems - but please don't post all in capitals like that: it make it much harder to read!
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I think she's off her head now to be blunt Avant.
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Bluebell,
Speak to your insurers about "salvage buy-back". You may have the chance to buy the written off car from the Insurers for a possibly reasonable amount (although sometimes they overcharge). You would then have your car back, and whatever money was left from the insurance pay-out. If this was enough to pay for the safety / MOT related repairs to your car (wheel etc) you would be no worse off practically than before as you would know you still had a well maintained car with all the recent upgrades you did on it. Your write-off is financial, not condition, based. The paintwork might look worse, and the resale would be affected, but basically in a few years it will be "worthless" on the secondhand market anyway so that's not a major concern. You could then carry on visiting your relations etc. without having to buy a new car.
By the way, be aware that your insurance is presumably now ended and you would have to re-insure the car after salavage buy-back?
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Seconded. If the car's worth more to you than the "book" price, this is the right way to go.
Here's what you do.
1) Agree a buy-back price with the insurers. You'll get a cheque for the difference between that and the write off value. Haggle on both here.
2) Aquire as many scrap bits as possible. Sounds like you need a couple of doors and a wheel here. Bonus points for getting the doors in the right colour to save spraying, jackpot if they come already fitted with windows and/or matching trim to save the effort in swapping the bits over. Common enough car, so you should be able to get the right paint here at least.
3) Approach your local bodyshop for a price on fitting same and fettling up the other bits that need it to "good enough" rather than full original manufacturer's spec. Stress that this is a cash job(!)
4) Run car until the wheels fall off as it now owes you nothing(!)
Dad did this when his Rover 216GSi required new bonnet, front wing, rear bumper, new tailgate and rear wing (exhaust box in road flung at front of car, following vehicle ran up the backside when he stood on the anchors). Car was written off, due to original quote of 3500. Using a scrap tailgate and rear bumper and straightening the wings and bonnet, all fixed for under a grand and a tidy profit was made on the writeoff value. You could tell, if you knew what to look for and looked hard enough, as the bonnet and tailgate fits were only about 98%......
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