About three weeks a go my wife was hit from behind by another driver. I went the next day to a repair garage to get an initial assessment - it came to £660. The insurance company sent a engineer around and his assessment was £1330 and had deemed the car not-economical to repair. Their value on the car was £600. A bit low in my opinion.
How can I keep the car. Is it possible for the insurance to pay me the £600, let me keep the car and I will pay the difference to have the car repaired. The car is drivable - I am driving it everyday. What tactic should I use, or do I simple ask to keep the car?
2007-03-14 09:30:07 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Insurance & Registration
the exact thing happened to me about six months ago, i had a Alfa Romeo, i wen t to a hire play to hire something and when i got back to my car i noticed that the front end didn't look like what it should've, the person who damaged my car was no where to be seen, lukaly he was a regular at this place and they give me his details, his insurance wrote to me asking me to take my car to pant motor bodies for an estimate, they valued the damage at £1200 and said that its an uneconomical repair, they said they'd give me £700 for my car but because i wanted to keep my car they took in to account of how much the parts would be second hand to fix the car, so they gave me £500 plus i kept the car, when they offer you the money for your car, tell them that you want cash in lou settlement, this way your car wont be classed as wrote off plus you get to keep your car, its a win win situation, hope this helps Gary
2007-03-14 10:29:48 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes of course you can. The way it happens is this they pay you write off value, you buy the scrap from them and then get it fixed.
The bad news. Your insurance company will end the policy there and then, along with any no claims... if it is your company paying, if, on the other hand,it is the other drivers insurance, then the above applies with no strings.
I have done this several times. Both for myself and friends.
When the vehicle is repaired get a letter from the garage or another saying the vehicle is OK and send it to your insurance afterwards.
2007-03-14 15:24:14 · answer #2 · answered by rinfrance 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My own experieince, very similar....Mr White-van-man used my back end as a brake, (P reg ford escort 1600)damaged the bumper, hatch, and back panel. Oh, a write off, cos the cost of repair was greater than the value of the car. There are different classes of damage, the worst is "scrapheap now", then "will need full exam after repair" and the financial aspect i was in...and you are by the sound of it. The car was very drivable, I bought the car off the company, that is, they reduced my payout. Next move, (actually, my first for a guess estimate) got Hatch and bumper from:-
http://www.breakerlink.com/index.php this is a conglomerate of lots of breakers, the hatch and bumper were sprayed before delivery to match my car.
The little welding that was needed was done in a local body shop, I had the bumper & hatch delivered there, collected the car a few days later, all sorted.
Beware, as well, the other persons insurance should be paying for your wifes hire car during this time...they have the responsibility for your wifes mobility.
2007-03-14 09:56:25 · answer #3 · answered by johncob 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi Sal,
Just had a similar thing, in that the Insurance assossor, a dodgy looking & sounding character, tried to offer me £550 in cheque form, instead of going through the Insurance Company.
I could have kept the cash, or had the damage, (again a "50/50" knock) repaired at my own cost ! Daft !
Many years ago, I was again in the same boat as you seem to be in. The assesor deemed the car "beyond econimical repair" - a write off.
I said Ok to the insurance, but as it is in your opinion now valueless, can I have it back please ?
The market value of the car was about £1900
The estimated cost of their repairs was £1200
The buy-back, in admin fees was £65
The actual repair for a fine car came to £625
I am therefore in profit on the deal, as the car is now worth over what I paid for the thing.
Beware that they do not put a "scrapped" sentnce on the paperwork - quickly !
Otherwise you may have a heck of a job putting it back on the road legally. Or just keep possession of the car, ask the insurers to go away, have it fixed up to a good standard personally, and all is well.
Put simply, yes, mon ami - just keep the car !
Best of driving,
Bob.
2007-03-14 09:52:42 · answer #4 · answered by Bob the Boat 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ok your being told a lot of rubbish in some of these comments. It sounds like your car is a cat C right off which is for commercial reasons and not safety reasons.
The car belongs to you. The insurance company is due to pay you fair market value for the vehicle or repair it. Shop around and get examples of what it would cost to replace the car. Present the figures and the evidence to the insurance company. Always knock back the first offer and sometimes the second offer as they will always come in lean. Tell them that you want £950 plus the car and you will take responsability of getting it fixed yourself. They will come back with a counter offer but basically its a baseline for start of negotiation. Bare in mind they have absolutly no interest in your car, so you keeping it works in there favour. Get it fixed new MOT and get back on the road.
2007-03-14 09:47:29 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes you normally can keep the car but your insurance will then give you less then the write off offer , as the £600 is also to buy the car off you. Once you have repaired the car you may be expected to have an engineers report to say that the vehicle is road worthy in order to get insurance on it.
2007-03-14 09:39:34 · answer #6 · answered by alec A 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was involved in a no fault accident, the insurance company had 2 write my car off as the rescue firemen cut the roof off to get me out!! Overall it took approx 3 to 4 weeks to settle up, and I got back the 'bottom book' price - less my excess agreement (which can be claimed back in any court case) as the car had over average mileage. They work on approx 9,000 miles per year. Go for whiplash, post traumatic stress etc. Get what u can from the other insurance company.
2016-03-28 23:09:40 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Firstly it illegal to drive a car that is deemed a write off as it is uninsurable.
Once your company makes payment for the value of the vehicle is ceases to be your property and therefore becomes the property of the insurance company in question, you could choose not to claim but thats a costly was around it. Contact you insurance company for advice.
2007-03-14 09:36:21 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hi, had a similar case a couple of years ago. Just ask the assessor/insurance company how much they want for the car (i.e. £600), pay them that amount then get the car repaired.
Simple as that. Good Luck!!
2007-03-14 09:35:19 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You should be able to buy the car back of off the insurance company
2007-03-14 09:39:23 · answer #10 · answered by gandhi1078 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋