Car written off...

[Melonfish]

Just venting a bit really. Good friday we were out after getting our shopping and heading into town when whilst stopped at a roundabout to led a speeding moron scoot through a nice lady decided to park her car into the back of ours...
kids screaming blue murder the works.
not a horrible knock as the airbags didn't deploy but the wife now can't drive (she was driving at the time) as her neck and shoulder have seized up and she's having horrid back issues and my old back injury is playing hell with me too.
kids got the all clear however, eldest a bit of soft tissue, youngest seemed to bounce in his car seat a little (he's 4)
anyhoo, the boot is stoved in and the underside is cracked and allsorts. they've had the 'assessor' out and Hastings are writing it off.
its an 05 renault megane scenic 1.4 and we have had it for around 4 months!

anyway we've never had a car written off before, in fact we've barely had any issues with bumps at all and this is only the second time some daft bugger has ran into us. in our last car, similar thing moron kept driving when we stopped then proceded to throw it into reverse and smash the lass behind him.
we're a bit lost as to what goes on now, i mean i know we'll be getting book price on the car but what the hell does that mean?
its all a bit pants and hastings are horrible, we will never insure with them again. period.

any advice? other then buy lovely new bicycles for the whole family
pete

 

[Angelfishsolo]

It means that you will get what the Parkers guide says the car was worth before the collision. Figure depends on milage, condition of bodywork and interior and mechanical soundness IIRC. Claims for injury, loss of earning, etc will be paid on top of that figure. Best of luck.

 

[numbnuts]

that is bad luck, but as it has been said your only will get book price which is a bit of a shoot

 

[Archie_tect]

Don't accept their first, second or third offer.... insist on loss of earnings, all expenses, and for signed off medical assessments before accepting any offer. Ask them for an amount equal to the cost of a main dealer showroom quality replacement of similar age, condition and mileage+ that your no claims discount is unaffected and your excess is paid by the offender. If an ambulance was called they will also charge you as it was a road traffic accident.


[Sounds like the earlier shunt driver was trying to blame the person behind him by reversing into her car so she looked to be at fault.... hope the police threw the book at him for fraud and deception...]

 

[XmisterIS]

IME, it's a loose-loose situation when it comes to car insurance - the money they end up giving you is never anywhere near enough to buy a like-for-like replacement. You end up in one of those particularly irritating situations that can best be described as, "What happened to me was completely not my fault, but hey, whatdayaknow? I'm the one who ends up paying for it!" Both financially and physically in your case. You have my greatest sympathies. I had a 17-year-old scrote run into the back of me last year, only just passed his test, wasn't looking where he was going. Luckily, his dad paid for all the repairs to my car. Much as I hate ambulance-chasers, they may help you in this case, especially with the physical injuries. The only question I'll ask of you is, did the speeding moron have priority in the road at the roundabout? I.e., were they coming from your right?

 

[Crackle]

There's normally some negotiation. If you find a similiar car advertised, collect the adverts to present as evidence their assessment is wrong. If your insurance doesn't seem to be pulling their weight, you could engage a solicitor. A straightforward rear shunt is grist to the mill for them and they'll wring more out of the other insurance company than your own might.

 

[slowmotion]

The insurance company will probably make you a low initial offer. Hold out for the book value. When my van was stolen, never to be seen again, the insurance company's initial offer was 30% on the book value. Was it a sleazy company? Yes, it was the Pru.

 

[PK99]

but the wife now can't drive (she was driving at the time) as her neck and shoulder have seized up and she's having horrid back issues and my old back injury is playing hell with me too.
kids got the all clear however, eldest a bit of soft tissue, youngest seemed to bounce in his car seat a little (he's 4)

I know you are asking about the car, but make sure you make a claim for your injuries.

There are substantial sums due to you if your injuries are as you describe.

I've bought 3 new bikes (Tricross sport, Van nicholas Yukon, White 901) out of the proceeds of a claim for soft tissue injuries in a cycling smidsy a year ago.
(And i'm still a couple of grand to the good!)

 

[Beebo]

Find our what catergory of write off it is.

The car may just be an economic write off because repairs cost more than the car's value. The car can still be repaired legally using 2nd hand parts and this could be an option and you can retain the salvage.

If it has been written off because it is unsafe then the car has to be scrapped and you will not be able to retain the salvage.

 

[Melonfish]

The speeding car was coming from the right, hence we stopped and the lass behind was looking up the roundabout not at the big blue car that had stopped in front of her.
its an out and out due care offence, her insurance company STILL hasn't admited liability tho which is a pain, means we have to pay the excess and claim it back later (tsk)
i've got pics of everything so no one can dispute owt.

I've got a decent solicitors, they're the people that sorted out my dad and his workm8 when they got hit by a guy who RLJ'd then t-boned them.
unfortunatly for that guy by dad and his workm8 are both police officers so he ran a red and hit a car with two cops in it....Unlucky.
we're being sorted with physio and whatnot so that end is covered, its the car bit i'm worried about.
pete

 

[fossyant]

My sisters Y plate Rover 25 GTi was rear ended a few months back. It was their 'second' car and had very low mileage and in top top condition. They had to plead with the engineers not to write it off - just a new bumper and rear panel - but an economic write off all the same. They had to source a second hand bumper though - problems with Rover parts.

It the boot area underside is creased, then it's usually a write off - doesn't take much these days with the rear crumple zones.

 

[vernon]

I think the threshold for writing off a car is when the cost of repairs exceeds a third of the market value of the car.

My brother used to make a decent living from rescuing economic write offs.

Folk in the know can usually source parts at much cheaper prices than from authorised sources.

 

[jig-sore]

its not all doom and gloom... many years ago we bought a ford Orion 1.6i for £2000. our first proper car after driving minis for years.

the first time my wife drove it in the rain (two weeks after we had it) she drove it off the road, through a fence and rolled it over in a field. i still believe to this day it was purely down to lack of experience in a large powerful car.(well more powerful than a mini anyway)

the insurance company paid out book price... £2200.

so 200 profit.

we went straight out and bought the same spec version of an escort.

 

[davefb]

that is bad luck, but as it has been said your only will get book price which is a bit of a shoot

no not strictly true!!!

you get the money you need to buy the vehicle from a reputable dealer, or SHOULD ( obviously insurers are evil)

i got ripped off on my first vehicle(stolen), but got a decent quote on my 2nd ( hit when parked, written off )

and , what the others have said, if its a value write off ( err or whatever they say ) you can get it as a 'cat d write off' and repair it yourself cheaper.. ( not myself, but work colleague did this with his saab after the 2nd rear ending )

assuming you like the car and wont be selling it soon ( obviously cat -d write offs dont get as much)..


good luck, and hope the injuries get better

 

[Over The Hill]

Hope you and the family get better Melonfish.

Go on Autotrader and find some ads for the exact spec milage and age car. That will give you and idea of a price you need.

If the insurers will not pay that price then argue with them.

If they do pay that or more then great.

Your insurers will get back any money paid to you from the person that hit you's insurance so it is not as if they will be spending their own money.