Will They Write My Car Off?

[iwgunter]

I had someone drive into my car and it scratched and dented the bodywork along with the bumper.

 

I got the guys details and he said his excess was £500 and would pay for it cash if it were less than that to save the insurance costs.

 

I just got the quote through and it comes to £745. Mine is an old car and the dent isn't very noticable at all.

 

Will his insurance company write my car off and only give me the £350 my car is worth or will they pay the estimate to me?

 

Can I say to the guy that I'll accept £450 cash to save him the extra £50 on his excess, and his bumped up insurance premiums next year.

 

 

Ta

Ian

[BigNick2]

Been asking loadsa Qs myself so think its about time I tried toive some advice

 

Used to work in car insurance and a car is generally written off if:

 

It is beyoned econmical repair (the cost of repair is more than the value of the car, or;

 

More than 2 panels are damaged.

 

Seems like your car would be classed as beyond economical repair, so the insurance company would write it off. (£745 to repair, car valued at £350).

 

Bit confused, are you saying the other parties excess is £500 or £50?

 

If ihis excess is £500 and the cost of repair is £745 he may pay the entire cost of repair for you so he can save his no claims bonus.

[Helford]

His excess has nothing to do with your claim, £500 is his 'Own' damage excess. Your claim should be met in full regardless.

 

i.e. He cannot claim for the first £500 of his car damage, if the insurers are dealing and he is 100% liable in law then your claim will be met.

 

H

[Filthy Monkey]

Personally, judging by the value of your car, the fact that the damage is purely cosmetic and that you don't seem too bothered by it, I would show the chap the quote and suggest he pays you £450 to keep it out of an insurance claim. This way he wins overall and you get to keep the money for your inconvenience. Whether or not you get the car fixed is entirely up to you, but I imagine you would be able to get it done for much less than £450. As the car is valued at only £350, the insurance company will more than likely write it off and pay you that amount. This definitely works out better for the other driver, as he will get to keep any no-claims discount he has accrued and should also work out better for you, as you get a chunk of cash and can decide what to do with it.

[iwgunter]

BigNick2 - The £50 I was referring to was meaning the difference between his £500 insurance excess and the £450 I would ask cash from him.

 

Helford - Are you saying that my car should be repaired irrelevant of it's condition? I didn't think this was the case.

 

Filthy Monkey - That's exactly what I'm thinking and hoping - the cash will come in very handy for my upcoming wedding, but a little scratch on my car is of no bother to me.

 

 

It really sucks if he decides to go through insurance in the end as the insurance company will, no doubt, write mine off - yet I just got a load of electrical work done on it. Could I not take the money then buy it back from them for a lesser amount?

 

I know nothing is definite yet, just want to know my options

 

Ian

[Filthy Monkey]

I think this is just a case of negotiation. If the other party is going to save money and keep his NCD, it's a bit of a no-brainer really. Personally I wouldn't tell him that you're planning to keep the money, but just let him know that you're willing to go down this route to get the car fixed as it will save you both a lot of hassle.

[patdavies]

If it is entirely the other guys fault and his insurer's decide on write-off, then you do not have to accept the same (low) price for your car as you would from your own insurance company. For this reason, they may be less inclined to write-off.

 

You are entitled to be put back to the same position as you were in before the damage occurred. So if they go for write-off, then they will have to provide funds for you to replace your car with an identical make/model and similar condition/mileage.

[iwgunter]

patdavies - Cheers for that insight.

 

FilthyMonkey - I'll be phoning the guy tonight to tell him that the quote is for £744 but I'd be willing to accept £450 cash to forget about it all and not get into the slow insurance world.

 

I'll keep you informed.

[thames334]

does a protected ncb on his part come into this?as if it does he may decide to go through the insurance

[Conniff]

£744-£500 = £244, that is all the insurance company will have to pay so how can they say it will be 'uneconomic' to repair.

[patdavies]

£744-£500 = £244, that is all the insurance company will have to pay so how can they say it will be 'uneconomic' to repair.

 

No, the excess applies to the other driver's insurance.

 

The Ins. co, will have to pay out £744 to repair the OP's car. AFAIK, they will not then write to their policyholder and say that he owes them £500. The excess will apply to their policyholder's claim for damage.

 

IOW, the insurance excess does not apply to third party claims.

[shywazz]

If the driver whom bumped you, is wiling to go ahead and give you £500 to get ur car mended, take the offer, but make sure you get something in writing that addresses such, also you give him written notes of the payment will be in final payment for costs of fixing damaged car... etc etc

With the other driver having a excess of £500 thats to keep his insurance premuim down, risky risky, but hey up to them i guess...

But take his offer you could even sell ur car cheap and with the money from this chap aswell get urself something better... Alot of people are arranging such to pay for other peoples damage, to save on the mounting costs involved, no point ruining ncb etc etc for what can be paid for by mutuial agreement by both parties.....

If however the bump/accident was police reported, then the matter changes, as both parties will have to inform there insurance companies...

[patdavies]

If however the bump/accident was police reported, then the matter changes, as both parties will have to inform there insurance companies...

edited

 

Both parties are required to inform their respective insurance companies regardless of any claim or Police action.

[Filthy Monkey]

...but if it is settled privately then you probably shouldn't bother.

[shywazz]

Some people assist with some knowledge there think might help, others use stupid words in there attacking replys dont they PATDAVIES instead of belittling others that are trying to help, give ur thoughts upon the subject which you think you are a lord of law and words upon... You might be a platuim but your rude when choosing your words, Is the word

edited really constructive and approicate to the thread ? you just wanted to dis-respect someone whom wanted/tryed to help the OP

 

 

As for the comment about the police and insurance, every law abiding motorist knows All accidents need reporting, but not everyone wishes to follow the goodie goodie route, as such might/could cause more harm than good to those involved, the OP wants to settle without the insurance becoming notified, which should he/she desire such, that is there choice whether to inform there insurances... a little white lie to prevent there car been made scrap and given less than what the person whom did the damage offered to prevent the insurance involvement...

 

So PATDAVIES think before slaying someone with wordings, it was not deserved nor warranted......you should be ashamed and know better.....

 

 

Hope everything has been sorted OP to the requiements to suit urself and the other person..

[Conniff]

Personally I would go the insurance route as these private settlements have a habit of falling through and the person wronged is actually worse off. You have nothing to lose by going through the insurance, but if you do decide to do it between yourselves, then make sure you put a time limit on it and that the money is in your hands before you call it complete.

[Emmie1983]

My hubby had a car accident recently where he was hit by an untraced driver, and all that ws wrong with his car was that it lost the bumper, and a slight dent on the side of the car, and they wrote it off, so think very carefully about going the insurance route, my hubby regrets it as the car was working perfectly, and now he is without a car whilst the slow insurance company sort out his claim.

If you don't really mind the damage, then personally i wouldn't worry about the insurance.... although saying that my hubbys insurance company say you have to report all accidents, even if you don't claim from them... so it might be worth checking the small print, else if you have an accident in the future they might not pay out.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[A.N:Other]

couple of points:

 

1. even if they 'write your car off' you can tell them you want to keep it and say you want to fix it yourself (or not bother and just drive it as is), they'll give you the money for the car, minus what they say it's worth now as a damaged car - insist they don't take it away, make sure they know from the beginning you want to keep it (assuming it's not dangerous)

 

2. very few cars are only worth 350 quid - a running roadworthy car with MoT etc is easily worth 600

 

3. If you think the guy is changing his mind, just get him to go through insurance, it will take a while for the money to come, but it will come