I was involved in an accident where my 3 year-old Audi was written off. It transpired that my rear tyres were well below the legal limit. I had fitted 4 new, high quality, tyres 9 months previously, and the car had only travelled 11000 miles. The car was front-wheel drive and the 2 front tyres were only half worn. The tyres had never been swapped around. Previous to the accident I had noticed that the front tyres were OK and just assumed the rear were OK (Yes, I should have checked them all more often). The insurance company have accepted, after consultation with the police, that the condition of the tyres had no bearing on the cause or outcome of the accident. At first, they had offered me close to the top book price of the car. (It was in excellent condition). Then they told me that they would be reducing the offer to deduct the value of the worn tyres. However, when they made the revised offer, they told me that because the car was unroadworthy at the time of the accident, they were now going to base the value on the mid book price and then deduct the value of the tyres. It seems reasonable to reduce the value by the cost of 2 new tyres. However, it does not seem reasonable to change the whole basis of the valuation. I have spoken to the Financial Ombudman's office, who have told me that it seems that the insurance company may be acting unfairly. However, I know that it would take several months to settlement if I go down that route. Any suggestions how I should approach the insurance company. Is it within their rights to change the basis of the valuation by saying (correctly) that the car was unroadworthy?