Car insurance woes

[mickle]

Thanks for all the comments and input fellows. I've got the car back, am putting it through an MOT this morning (although I know it'll fail on the rear lamp) to demonstrate that it's still valid. Armed with that document I'll have another pop at my insurance Co. My independent Volvo dealer, whose advice I trust, doesn't hold out much hope.

This car has served us very well. We bought it originally because it was the most economical way of getting seven humans to Scotland and back, intending to sell it afterwards for +/- what we paid for it. That was ten years ago and we've never had reason to get shot of it. Every time the MOT comes around we think that this might be its last one. But it just keeps on rolling. So this might be it's last journey - I just resent the fact that the decision has been taken out of our hands due to the ineptitude of a bus driver and some faceless engineer ticking the wrong box.

 

[Adam4868]

I can understand your frustrations,my partners car got wrote of last year.The first offer I rejected,then found a couple of online cars the same ish year with higher milage.I decided to arm myself with these for the asseser.I was surprised when over a phone call he went from 1200 to 2100 didn't really quibble it that much and accepted I had bills ect to prove it's worth.

 

[Globalti]

It sounds like the kind of car you could fix very cheaply with parts from a breaker. There's a sort of honour in re-using perfectly good parts; our 1986 Land Rover had been rebuilt several times over and we kept on modifying it with parts taken off newer Landies.

 

[mjr]

Unlikely to get me back on the road by Friday which is when the hire car goes back.

I don't remember your situation but could you survive with some sort of pedal-powered vehicle(s) and occasional hires? If the omsbudsman rules in your favour, hopefully you could recoup the hire costs.

Insurance has to be one of the worst things about car use. At best, it's a compromise between paying over the odds or spending hours shopping around at renewal time. It feels like quality falls and prices rise because it's compulsory by law... but then the scale of the damage you can inflict on others with a car probably means it has to be compulsory, else even more people without the assets to cover themselves would probably try to go without and be bankrupted left, right and centre. OK, end of rant!

 

[Adam4868]

Just to pick up on Insurance annoyances,the driver that hit our car had no insurance.Said she thought she had but not renewed ! Her fine was probably less than what her insurance would be.Her renewal was 8 months prior.

 

[Brains]

I had a similar situation, also with a Volvo.

A bit of a prang with a lorry, which damaged the front wing, broke the headlight and bent the bumper, and also critically split the plastic window wash tank.

As the plastic window wash tank would have to be replaced it was deemed a write off! as it put the repair bill (if done by a Volvo dealer) over the value of the car.
Of course if the repair was done by a railway arch business and if the replacement window wash tank was 2nd hand, then the costs would have been halved, but the insurance company were not interested.

I took the money and bought something else, not as good.

 

[Illaveago]

I had a similar situation, also with a Volvo.

A bit of a prang with a lorry, which damaged the front wing, broke the headlight and bent the bumper, and also critically split the plastic window wash tank.

As the plastic window wash tank would have to be replaced it was deemed a write off! as it put the repair bill (if done by a Volvo dealer) over the value of the car.
Of course if the repair was done by a railway arch business and if the replacement window wash tank was 2nd hand, then the costs would have been halved, but the insurance company were not interested.

I took the money and bought something else, not as good.

That is quite interesting as some insurance companies use 2nd hand parts for repairing older cars.

 

[Illaveago]

I can remember quite a few years ago of a similar situation when I was working in a bodyshop. A customer had his car inspected by an insurance engineer who took it upon himself to have the vehicle taken to a scrap yard. The customer was absolutely livid when he found out and contacted his insurance company immediately ! The vehicle was returned and repaired. I don't know what happened to the engineer!

 

[mickle]

Got the car delivered back - put it through MOT as-is and it failed on nothing but the rear lens. Proving that the car is, in all other respects, roadworthy.

In the process of putting it off and on the transporter they've damaged the front spoiler and the bracket which holds the rear towing electrics, also filled the driver's footwell with mud and the car stinks to heaven of BO from the transporter driver! For farksake.

 

[Beebo]

Got the car delivered back - put it through MOT as-is and it failed on nothing but the rear lens. Proving that the car is, in all other respects, roadworthy.

In the process of putting it off and on the transporter they've damaged the front spoiler and the bracket which holds the rear towing electrics, also filled the driver's footwell with mud and the car stinks to heaven of BO from the transporter driver! For farksake.

Well it clearly isn’t a Cat B. As that signifies structural damage.