Insurance Advice Please

[blimp]

Hi peoples,

 

Yesterday a nasty van driver somehow smacked into my car while it was parked at work and pushed it over the kerb and down a grassy slope into a fence.

 

Net result is this:

 

 

and

 

 

and

 

 

I have never, thankfully, had to deal with insurance companies for this sort of thing before, so am looking for advice as I don't see myself getting a particularly good deal. The matter is in the hands of the insurance companies, and as it is not my fault I believe I should be put back into a similar position to what I was in before yesterday.

 

But as the car is 19 years old, will have negligible market value and is pretty bent in the front and scraped in the back, it is most likely going to be written off. Particularly annoying as I spent £467 two weeks ago having the cam belt and water pump changed and a few other bits sorted after putting it off for 3 years!

 

Do you peoples have any idea what sort of offer I'm likely to get, or should demand/request or whether I can insist on it being repaired?

 

Any advice gratefully received!

[M'coli]

If the car is written off, supply copies (not originals at first) of the bills or any recent work and claim for those out-of-pocket expenses. This also tells them that you had kept the car well maintained and was not a "banger".

[AnthonyG]

To establish the value of the vehicle you try a car club - Club Peugeot UK would be a place to start. You can also look for comparable vehicles on AutoTrader.

 

The valuation has to be from a recognised club, not a internet only group or forum, and has to be a proper letter, not just an email from someone. If you are not already a member, the club may charge for this.

 

You could look into buying the car back if you want to repair it, but I don't think this is a legal right - its down to the company and their policies.

[Alexg]

Sorry to see that mate. The advise above looks good. I'm always worried about something happening to my cars in car parks etc...

[messerschmitt owner]

 

You could look into buying the car back if you want to repair it, but I don't think this is a legal right - its down to the company and their policies.

I do believe if the accident is your fault and your insurance pay out, the car is the insurance company's as you transfer ownership due to them paying you for the replacement of your car. If the accident is not your fault, the car remains your legal property as the third party is paying out for the loss/damage to your property, not to purchase the vehicle. AFAIK legal ownership does not transfer to the third party insurer. Get it recovered home, claim a hire car and send the tax disc back for a refund too. Tell them you're keeping the car and want full settlement to put you in the position you were in before the accident. Remind them that the cost of storage will outweigh the scrap value of the car and that if they get iffy you will charge them storage fees of X amount per day.

[nigel bickle]

This happened to me 10 days ago when a new (17yr old) driver lost control at 11pm and smashed into my parked Fiat 1100, Barkas van & Renault Colorale.

 

Dreading the outcome I phoned his Insurers the following morning -and they were really helpful.

 

Loss adjuster came out the following day -was at a loss to understand how he'd done it.

We valued them together, payments agreed and cheque due any day now. I getto keep thecars, myInsurers not involved.

 

Less than a fortnight-and I'm pretty chuffed with the forthcoming payout.

 

So-its not all bleak.

[trigger]

Shit, Sorry man to see that happen, Looks like it was a nice 309 as well, And a TD model, GR8 CARZ.

 

I was wondering the other day how you was getting on Nigel with your mishap, Glad to see it's all been deal with so quickly, Did you end off out of pocket or are did the insurance company see you alright in the end?.

[nigel bickle]

£4700 on the Fiat, £1600 onthe barkas, £500 on the Colorale,total £6800

I also retain the vehicles..

 

Signed,sealed-awaiting cheque delivery.

 

That'll do

[trigger]

Well I'm no expert on the prices of the cars but that doesn't sound bad to me, What you going to do with the Fiat as it was pretty shagged wasn't it?

[Pete-M]

Claim off van drivers insurance. He's damaged your car so off his insurance it comes.

 

I had a similar one when the Jensen was twatted by a bloke in a Megane. He kicked off about his car being damaged and only calmed down when I pointed out that I was 50 yds from the Jensen and it was parked. His insurance weren't happy about the £600 cost for a wing, the £600 for the bumper, or the bodyshop cracking the £600 windscreen getting it out, but they paid. They had to.

 

They did try and offer £1500 cash for the repair first. Cheeky sods.

 

Just say to his insurance company (yours don't need to know) that they have two choices. They repair your 309 to as it was before the accident, or THEY find you another identical one which has had the same standard of maintenance as the one you've got. If they start pointing at book values and saying it's worth £300, tell them you disagree and that you want your car repaired.

 

You should be in the same situation as you were before your car was damaged. That's what insurance is for. They'll complain, but unless they can find you an identical 309 they pretty much have to fix yours, no matter what it costs, to your standards or replace it.

 

Beware of 'betterment'. If the insurance agree to fix your car, they'll do their damnest to just paint the panels that were damaged. This will more often than not leave a bad colour match problem with the original panels. If you complain they'll just say "Sorry, but if we paint more panels you're getting a better car than the one we hit".

 

Personally, I'd be after a grand or whatever a nice 309 is worth.

[blimp]

Thanks for the helpful suggestions.

 

Car was recovered home so is sat round the coner looking sorry for itself. Loan car arrived this afternoon so everything appears to be going to plan. Just really waiting for their insurance to do what they have to do...

 

Twas a lovely car - I had stuck by it through thick and thin and some quite large bills for over 9 years. I really enjoyed owning it cos it wasn't a common sight around here, really comfortable and gave me mid 50s mpg most of the time. I had always stuck by it as it had lived up the road from me with the first owner and I had seen it daily since 1992 when we moved here - so I knew it had had an easy life - 78k at 11 years old when I got it, and piles of Peugeot dealer receipts.

 

Now I just need to get some insurance money and find a nice safe replacement.

 

Here is the scene of the accident - I had been parked 1 space to the left of this picture...

 

 

Ah well, all good things come to an end eventually....

[blimp]

Hey peoples,

 

I seem to be getting overly stressed dealing with the aftermath of my car being smacked up. I have probably gone down the wrong street completely, but my solicitor doesn't seem to be on my side.

 

Recap: Car hit when parked. Other side admit negligence. As I have never had this happen before I ring my insurance and as TPFT put through to a company to sort me out with a loan car. They also pass me on to solicitor.

 

Solicitor arranges an assessment of car: Result is total loss, Minimum trade in value £450. Repair estimate £3500+, Cat C'd.

 

Assessor refuses to acknowledge that the brand new cambelt, waterpump I had fitted 12 days before the car was hit has any bearing whatsoever on the value of the car - It is maintenance to keep the vehicle at the trade in value. When trying to talk to solicior they continually say the insurer will only ever pay trade value, but we could ask for a good will gesture of a percentage of the £467 I had recently paid out.

 

I say who in their right mind would spend over £400 on fixing a car then sell it for £450?

 

I have found an advert for a near identical car with no service history (emailed garage) up for £495 which is one of the few hopes I have in getting the assessors to think again.

 

Until I sign off and agree to the assessment, the solictors won't submit the claim to the other parties insurance.

 

I feel I'm losing out here and that they have me over a barrel - if I don't agree to the assessment the claim won't go forward, but i I do sign it off then I am saying I'm happy with a vaulation of £450 and may hopefuly get a bit of my lost cambelt bill back. However in my mind 12 days out of a prescribed 5 year lifespan for a cambelt is still shiny and brand new and less than 100% of that cost is a loss.

 

I thought by rights I should be put back in the same position I was in before - a £500 car with a brand new cambelt. At present I would be pretty hard pushed to find such a car for £500.

 

Am I being unreaonable? I don't want loads of money, I just want some asusurances and positive noises from the solicitor regarding recouping all my losses.

 

Of course I could be jumping the gun completely and getting overly worried- if I submitted it all now, the other insurer may play fair and cough for the car and the work.

 

Grrrrrr

 

On abrighter note, I need to startlooking at tat - should I be looking at an R plate Saab 900 XS up for £350? Mileage unknown, MOTd to Otober.

[Pete-M]

Go see a solicitor who deals in this stuff.

[retrogeezer]

Is the car still driveable??? If so I'd be sourcing a used bonnet/grille/headlamp/rear light. Pulling/jacking out the front panel and getting it back on the road pronto with whatever I could get from the insurer in my pocket.

 

Unfortunately they will only give you the book price or a little bit more unless it's a classic and had agreed value etc. It's just bad luck about the cambelt etc I'm afraid.

[Lankytim]

It does seem very unfair, its a 110% non fault accident but you are still being penalised. Im sure ive heard of people bypassing their own insurance and just bumming the other parties insurance via a solicitor.

[Anglevan]

Problem is going down the non fault solicitor route is they are not at all interested in you. All they are interested in is screwing the insurance company for car hire / solicitors fees etc. just to line there own pockets. The quicker you agree the quicker they can bank the cheque.

I'm third party and someone just bumped my wifes Tigra, sorted it without any involvment of solicitors, just phoned up said car was driveable (luckily) not interested in skanking them for injurys etc (wife was fine anyway, or so she said!!) £760 cheque sent 1 week later (thanks very much )

 

Back to your claim, you cant go by book price on a car of that age, book price means nowt, is it even listed ?? ANd no they wont give you trade value only etc (i'm quoting your solicitor here, proving that he's not working for you) - thats just the usual pub banter bollocks. Again the problem you have is going down the non fault route is that solicitors want the cheapest assessors who do reports for £60 !!, they are not interested in you or getting you extra money again they take there £60 and move on to the next one. Usually (but not always) assessors that work for insurance companies understand the details better and sometimes you get a better deal / looked after.

It's difficult when a car gets to a certain age as it's always hard to find the examples they want. ANd sadly they are right about spending money on a car prior to the accident cant always be recooped. Your basically keeping the car in roadworthy condition it's just sods law that accidents happen after they are repaired (if the car was shite and needed servicing / new tyres / cam belt and they offered £400 would you complain then?). Do you still have the hire car as you could try and use that as leverage for an increase as they would have paid far more for the hire then any settlement your likely to get. Sometimes it's better to say I dont want a car but I want £x for my car, if you then piss me about then i'll go into hire they soon start to move then. (I think thats what helped me on my claim as i said i didnt want hire just cash to repair, they couldnt write cheque quick enough).

The only option open to you is insist on taking it to the ombudsmen, if you ask they have to by law provide you with details on how to pursue the complaint. It costs the insurers (not you) I think it's £400 ish anyways that can sometimes get some extra for you. Personally i'd sack the solicitor off and deal direct with the third party insurers but not sure what you've signed etc

[Pete-M]

I only suggested a solicitor because my job involves working with insurance claims, and that's what we do. If we've got a twatty one, we get the solicitors to kick up a stink. Tends to work a treat.

[kevin 900]

Personally i'd sack the solicitor off and deal direct with the third party insurers but not sure what you've signed etc

Seconded, deal direct with the TP insurers if you can.

[Mr Lobster]

I'd say that part of the problem is that you have been refered to a solicitor specialising in none fault accidents. Unfortunately, these guys are only really interested in business that will make them ££££££££s - ie a case where 'personal injury' is involved. Because you haven't got that, he's not that interested by the sounds of it.

 

Personally, I agree with retrogeezer. Fix it yourself then chase them for money. That'll be far easier than finding a good replacement for £500.

[FredTransit]

Oh no, you phoned your insurance! This was obviously their fault, so there was no need to involve yours. Another insurance company cannot write off your car, only your insurance company can do that. Tell them you want it repairing, and if they are not prepared to do that, you will sue, and whilst they are mulling it over, you want a replacement hire car. The hire car costs, and whilst it's sat on your drive it's costing them, so they will pay you out quicker. It's all about the ultimate cost

[CIH]

Well strictly speaking you claim off your own insurance and they chase the other company for the loss so they were always going to get involved at some point.

 

TBH you're always going to loose out, fault or otherwise.

[RedSparrow]

I hope you get this sorted.

 

It's often this sort of thing that means top-notch (if not very valuable) older motors often get scrapped.

[carlo]

You need to deal with this yourself. Be very firm, write your own letters with supporting evidence. I sympathise, those 309 GRDTs were lovely cars and is worth far more to you that £450.

 

I suggest you agree to nothing yet but say you are considering your options. I had a very similar scenario ten years ago. Some loon drove into the back of what was, at that time, a lovely low mileage Peugeot 305 GTX. Banger to some people, but I loved it and it was in super condition; I knew I wouldn't find a better one. The other driver's insurance company offered me a ridiculous sum of £300, then upped it to £450. I had belonged to Club Peugeot UK (although my membership had lapsed), and very politely asked them to provide a written estimate of the car's value based on its condition and history. Clubs appreciate the rarity of cars. I received a nice, hand written letter with a valuation of £1500 which I though was about right. (I had paid £1800 for it three years previously.)

 

The insurance company then came back with a take it or leave it offer of £1150, not the valuation but a lot more than their previous offers. I also got to keep the car for a couple of hundred quid, and repaired it.

 

Persistance is the key, nothing will happen unless you agree to it.

[carlo]

And I meant to say I reckon your car, if in A1 condition, is worth £1000 all day long. Has gone past the banger stage into the rarity, approaching classic stage.

[trigger]

I had belonged to Club Peugeot UK (although my membership had lapsed), and very politely asked them to provide a written estimate of the car's value based on its condition and history. Clubs appreciate the rarity of cars. I received a nice, hand written letter with a valuation of £1500 which I though was about right. (I had paid £1800 for it three years previously.

^ This is a good idea, The more evidents you can get to it's true value, be it from the owners club, autotrader, ebay ads etc it will help your case.

 

I was in the understanding that they will offer you retail price as well not trade value, Have a word with a solicitor, the first 1/2 hour is free so they might give you some good advice in that time.

 

I'm worried that I'll have the same problem with my Passat i think as well.

[Angrydicky]

Shame you involved the assessor really. When my 2CV was crunched I was contacted by the other driver's insurance company who were very nice and very keen to deal informally without going through my insurance, as they would have bummed them for all they could get. They started at £1000 and after a bit of haggling, I settled on £1700 - no questions asked, no assessors or solicitors involved. I also got to keep the car. Although I said how expensive 2CV's have got and how difficult it would be for me to get an equivalent car. It was a very tired example of a mid-80's Dolly with a chassis that was realistically on its last MOT before it needed replacing (it sheared off in the accident, the rear doors wouldn't close properly etc). So I thought that was very reasonable.

 

I could have had it repaired, but it would have cost a fortune - so I sold it to a bloke who wanted to cut the accident-damaged rear end off and make it into a van. Got a nice payout and bought a Maestro, and an Austin Cambridge with the money and STILL had a bit left over

 

Good luck! In your case I would be inclined to do what Retrogeezer says, if the worst comes to the worst and you can't get any more money out of them try and get to keep the car. With a few hundred quid in your pocket you should be able to sort the damage out assuming there is no major structural damage. If my 2CV had been a sound example I probably would have stuck with it, but it was as rotton as a pear. Your Peugeot looks like it was in very good condition pre-accident.

[blimp]

Thanks or your advice and concerns. Frankly, with hindsight I wish I had never gone the route I am on now, but at least I will learn incase I am unlucky again.

 

Was feeliing very stressed the other day but things are cooling a bit now. Franly I have got to the point where I just want it over and done with. Not ideal, as I'll probably lose out, but I think I'm in too deep to back out (god knows what costs they would try and charge me for services rendered so far)

 

Ah well, we live and learn - like when I bought my old Mini Clubman Estate in the dark - cold light of day revealed an absolute shed that ended up costing me a fortune.

 

As to fixing the car I don't think I want to now - the front is petty bent (o/s wing catches on the door and it wasn't hit on that side) plus parts always seemed to be pretty dear new or difficult to find decent second hand bits.

 

Now to find me soe new wheels!

[FredTransit]

Bump for a real thread.....