Crashed my classic, and the repairer can't be arsed, apparently.

[J-Rod]

Mind you, this makes me feel less upset about mine...

 

Happened today, apparently.

 

 

Ouch. Be a good chap and lay off the Martinis over lunch, 007...? 

 

Reading over this thread, in-sewer-ants companies drive me (haha) up the wall, with their myriad of rules, all of which they never seem to be uniform in applying. A few years ago, I had a minor scrape on my N plate Fiat Bravo (bless it) in a car park. Wasn't there at the time but the chap who did it left me a note to apologise and his phone number, which actually was his phone number! Turns out, he had pranged mine in a works car so had to do it all properly. Anyway, wasn't too bothered - was an old car and the scrape was about 8 inches long but thought I'd sort it anyway as I could. Long story short, took about 6-7 months to sort out. In the end, his insurers gave me a cheque for £500 and told me to sod off, as I was getting on their nerves ringing them at 10am every day demanding that they took notice. Never repaired the car, gave it to my dad who used it for another 4 years until the cambelt went and broke it. 

 

Fast forward to NYE last year and a *removed on legal advice* person in an almost new Freelander scraped right up the side of my 57 plate Legacy in Tescos. Caught hold of them, pointed out the scrape (to which their response was "Oh! I didn't realise!" How...on...Earth...didn't...you... etc). Took it through the insurance and it couldn't have been sorted quicker, right down to being given a hire Insignia (truly, one of the world's worst cars) which cost them £1500 a week to hire for me. Thanked them very much for the repair, them promptly sold the bloody Legacy the next day (never got on with that car) and got the Stagea (which I still have now). 

 

It only goes to show that in-sewer-ants companies just stick arbitrary values on things based on a very strange notion of 'worth'. If it's insured, it should be insured - end of - without some clueless call centre monkey having to make a call on what their equally clueless database has to tell them. 'Worth' ain't measured in ones and zeros. 

 

 

[rovamota]

Apparently, the police are also experts in kerbside assessments on whether a car can be fixed...

 

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/four-year-old-hurt-classic-9745468 

[Bear]

 

Oh, christ. That's my favourite wedge ever. Sorry that's happened to you.

[rovamota]

More gutted it didn't make the news!

 

Oh, and the insurers have made me an offer...   

[lisbon_road]

An offer?  If it is a pay off and keep the salvage, fine!  Otherwise......

[twosmoke300]

Mind you, this makes me feel less upset about mine...

 

Happened today, apparently.

 

 

Christ , those a frames just ain't safe kids 😄

[J-Rod]

An offer?  If it is a pay off and keep the salvage, fine!  Otherwise......

This. I do hope it's this..! 

[Lankytim]

Salvage would result in a CAT C or similar, surely?

[colino]

If you take cash in lieu of settlement you shouldn't have a marker on it at all.  It isn't being administratively written off, compensation is being paid for the damage.

[rovamota]

Yes, I can keep the car (it's being repaired anyway) and it will be recorded on the database as accident repaired, but so what? It's of no concern to anyone other than me. 

 

In fact, the amount they've offered me isn't as much as I was hoping for but more than enough to cover the repairs and have a good holiday abroad!

[chaseracer]

I'm assuming this isn't their first offer?

[Lankytim]

It's got to be better not to have a marker against it if you can help it though...

[rovamota]

I've sent back their first offer as it was a bit low. It would be better not to have a marker against it, bearing in mind that the work required is straight forward panel replacement and would have been normal repair work for a bodyshop 30 years ago.

[Lord Sterling]

Good to see this is getting sorted ROVA. I'm still debating with myself whether to get the Merc repaired or not. I still want to try another Merc though...

 

I've yet to go through the offer/counter offer process, but I've been through it before so lets see what happens.

[beko1987]

Even with a marker on, being the only yellow special run princess anywhere must make thst negligible surely, I doubt itll be sold on autotrader if you do ever pass it on... an enthusiast would see those pics and not give a second jot due to the repair

[Albert Ross]

In fact, most potential purchasers would be happy to have had the possibility of corrosion removed, and a good look at her underskirts too...

[rovamota]

In a weird way it's a blessing because every year I have to repair the front arches due to rust bubbling up, and I've been threatening to replace the front wings anyway. But due to the hassle and cost I've put it off.

[srad34]

The insurance company are looking for the cheapest outcome for themselves and won't be doing ANYTHING to help you.

 Fixed for gratis.....

[fordperv]

What would the estimated value of repairs have been and what was the pre accident value? only asking as my insurance ok'd £1400 repairs on my sierra sapphire, this princess must have been worth more than the saph pre accident

[rovamota]

They used a concourse valuation to get a price, but from where I don't know. Of course they should pay to get it fixed, but as they're going by the opinion of their hopeless approved repairers, it's a scrapper... 

[captain_70s]

When I had a bit of a run in with a parked Ford Fiesta I agreed to pay for the fix rather than go through insurance because I know the guy. Needed a new bootlid, a nick taking out of the quarter panel and the bumper pressing back out and a rear light. First quote I got was for £1400, the next was for £1200. In the end I drove to a local scrappy and found a Fiesta van with front end damage and bootlid that was the right colour and the right tail lights, bought the lot for £75 and had the guy drop his car off at a small bodyshop near my house, £600 later the car looked better than it had done before I bumped it...

 

The first two (insurance approved) places just priced up buying a brand new, unpainted boot lid + glass + seals and the rear light from Ford... For a scruffy '04 Fiesta which is worth a grand on a good day. No wonder everything is an uneconomical repair!

[fordperv]

They used a concourse valuation to get a price, but from where I don't know. Of course they should pay to get it fixed, but as they're going by the opinion of their hopeless approved repairers, it's a scrapper...

Bloody hell that's toss, oh well categorisation means nowt these days, bit of a shame but meaningless.

[forddeliveryboy]

 

The first two (insurance approved) places just priced up buying a brand new, unpainted boot lid + glass + seals and the rear light from Ford... For a scruffy '04 Fiesta which is worth a grand on a good day. No wonder everything is an uneconomical repair!

 

Don't insurers use and approve use of s/h parts nowadays? I've dealt with quite a few insurance companies who are more than happy to use s/h where it's not a safety thing. I remember bumping into our local Bentley speshlist a while ago and he was fuming that he had to replace a pranged original 20s chassis with a "fucking modern-shit-steel fucking piece o'shit which bends and squirms" rather than repair the barely damaged original.

 

He was going to make a small fortune from selling the original, but was still decent enough to want to keep his customer's original car just that, with all the quality steel once had before computers could work out just what you could get away with. Seem to remember him muttering something about buying an old steel railway bridge and melting it down for chassis.

[rovamota]

Well I now have the bonnet and front panel back form shotblasting. All I need to do is get them welded on.

 

[rovamota]

Looks like the welding will be done on Sunday. As for my insurers, I sent them an email over a week ago and upon calling and asking them how it was progressing I was told that it had been read, but closed and forgotten and not forwarded to the correct person. So another week wasted.

[fordperv]

They sound like idiots, at least you're sorting the car yourself that way you can ensure its a top job

[Felly Magic]

Glad you are saving it, it's looking wedge shaped again

[rovamota]

Yay! Heard from my insurance co. today. Not good news. They won't accept my counter offer to their offer and also asked who has authorised the repairs. Well, no one has, and as it's still my car I'll do what the hell I like with it.

[fordperv]

What a bunch of dicks, I'm glad my experience was nicer than this

[Essex V6]

Yay! Heard from my insurance co. today. Not good news. They won't accept my counter offer to their offer and also asked who has authorised the repairs. Well, no one has, and as it's still my car I'll do what the hell I like with it.

#bunch of cocks