it's been a long time...

[guydenning]

I've only come on here for some sympathy. Our lovely moggy was t-boned over the weekend by a bleedin' Audi. She's off the road - and I'm worried. Fifty years old, lovingly cared for and now not very happy at all. I've got fully comp cover with Footman James, and the fault was obviously with the other party (I have agreeing witnesses). How much control do I have as the customer in insisting that our car ISN'T written off? Anybody have any experience in this department?

[mal]

Hi Guy, nice to have you back but my sympathies with the Moggy, sorry can't help regarding insurance co; but maybe you have a buy it back as a write off clause, I know some people who have done this and repaired it themselves after settlement. Hope this helps..

Mal

[Kevin]

Hi Guy it might be worth giving Charles Ware a call as he is local to you and I am sure will have dealt with these issues quite a few times and will of course be on your side as regards repair rather than write off, please keep us informed how you get on.

[ugabugchugabug]

Hi Guy

This is horrible, hope you were not hurt?

Write off's I believe are when the repair exceds the book or agreed value. But all is not lost! I believe when I took out my insurance, I requested that if the car was ever written off that I would get first refusal to buy it back off my insurance company, by memory they said yes. I am with FJ and they were impressivly fast when a 4x4 kissed my 2door in Sainsburys carpark and didnt leave a note....just tyre tracks!

Do hope you get this sorted to buy it back if written off.

Best wishes

Antony

[Onne]

Very sorry to hear this Guy, hope she will be alive and kicking again soon!

[guydenning]

Hi Onne
It doesn't look too good. The nearside door is buckled (there's a crease at the quarterlight post) and won't close properly, the rear nearside wing is pushed in past the wheel, but more concerning is the back panel under the nearside rear passenger window. That's been thumped in and a crack has appeared at the base of the window post above the door catch. This crack is mirrored by another on the offside door post. The nearside front suspension is noisy too - sounds like a bush was moved or damaged. I didn't drive her home as I was a bit concerned. At least all the passengers were unharmed (beyond a bit of shake, rattle and roll).
By the way - We've got a parcel at ours that you didn't collect last time you popped down.

[Pyoor_Kate]

Blimey Guy, I'm glad you guys are all okay. As has been mentioned I'm pretty certain that if the repair price exceeds your agreed value (if you've got that) or the book value if not, then the company will declare the car a write off - you may be able to encourage them as to which catagory write off it is though - and then buy the car back off them for a nominal sum and get it repaired yourself...

[d_harris]

Glad to hear you are OK dude.

As the others have said, if the insurance company want to write it off they will, (wouldn't it be the Audi Drivers company who would deal with it?) then the best bet is to buy it back repair and re-MOT

[leyther8008]

Sorry to hear about your bump mate and glad your OK, but if theres damage on the opposite side of the car to the impact area thats usually terminal, just think, the only way force could get to the other side of the body enough to cause cracks is if the chassis/floor or roof panel has moved! and from the impact area you describe it may have banana'erd the chassis.
plus the main cross member is around that area an ideal load transfer path. B*mmer!
I hope I,m a bit pessamistic with this but I,ve seen it before on other cars that have been t-boned.

[Jay-Minor]

sorry to hear that, hope you are okay,
as for the insurance, my son had a write off and the ins company said he could buy it off them, but i'm not to sure how the law stands with getting it back on the road after it's been declared as a write off.

[Peetee]

First things first. There are two 'write-offs'.
Catagory 1 and 2 are structural write-offs where the car is deemed to badly damaged to repair.
Catagory 3 is where the car is beyond economic repair - the cost will exceed the value of the vehicle.
Insurers love to cloud the distict difference between these two with jargon and dead end statements but, as a innocent party who want's their beloved car back the distinction can make a whole heap of difference.
If you have a cat 3 write off and you are an innocent party YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO HAVE THE CAR REPAIRED. However you will have to fight VERY hard to get this as insurers invariably want claims settled and out of the way ASAP.

[rayofleamington]

There are actually 4 write-off categories:
A & B - where the car is deemed fit for scrap
C - where repair may be feasible but too expensive
D - where repair is simple but still to expensive.

'Cat C' would need a Vehicle Identity Check (VIC) at a DVLA office. This is only to check that you've not just transferred the ID to a different car. Then would need an MOT.
'Cat D' needs only an MOT before the car can be used.

Bear in mind that the categories are defined and implemented by the insurance compaines, and often have little or no relevance to the cost of DIY repair. There are a number of cases where a 'Cat C' car has been put back on the road with virtually no repairs! That's possible where the owner doesn't care about visible panels being bent. Accident damage on the exterior doesn't stop you getting an MOT as long as the main structure is sound and suspension geometry isn't affected / doors open and close correctly etc...
Most people tend to panick at the words 'write off' thinking that it is a technical term for the damage - it isn't! It's merely a financial term.

The main thing to bear in mind is that it's YOUR car. The insurance company has no legal claim to it unless you sign it over to them.
Unfortunately the insurance company procedures tend to overlook this, so if you want to keep your car, make sure it's NOT left with a 3rd party (e.g. at a garage). When a car is left at a garage awaiting assesment, the insurance company can get billed for storage, therefore as soon as a car is deemed an insurance write-off they tend to whip it away!!

As long as you keep possession of the car and keep on communicating with the insurance company letting them know that they are NOT allowed to have it, then you just have to haggle to get the settlement from them, including a deduction for the scrap value of (your) car.
The downside of this is that when a car is not in storage, there will be no storage payment and the insurance companies will then use all stalling tactics possible to delay giving you any money (normal financial policy of any financial institution - keep money as long as possible unless there's an incentive not to)

When the car is back on the road with VIC (if needed) and a new MOT, your logbook will then be issued have a record of 'significant damage' (or some similar term). On a modern car, this will put off most buyers, thus making it harder in future for the dodgy cut-n-shut merchants to make a living. The downside is a major loss in value of a car that may not have suffered severe damage.

[guydenning]

I shall check any paperwork before I start posting stuff off to make sure that I keep possession of the vehicle while the case is in progress. I'm feling a bit more optimistic now.

[ragtop]

I have just read this thread and wondered what the outcome was.

Two weeks ago someone crashed into me and pushed me into another car. My beloved convertible is I think a write off, the guilty parties insurance said they would pay for repairs but they havent sent anyone to look at the extent of the damage. I am concerned that I will be worse off than before the accident, it hadnt been welded and was in really good sound condition with no rust, before the accident, but I didnt have it on an agreed valuation policy. Any comments and helpful advice would be welcome.

[guydenning]

Well, well, well...
It's been a while since I've been on here - but I received a notification about an old thread I started!
On the subject in question - I was firm with the insurance bloke that I wanted the car repaired which the company duly honoured.
The work was done by John at Bristol Classic Cars - and what a stunning repair it was - faultless
On the down-side, and not related to the subject in hand, I boogered off to France to live and had to sell the Moggy as it was too much hassle to get into the French system. And yes, I know NOW that it is possible - but for two years my enquiries for assistance came to nought... I also had to sell all the motorbikes as they weren't standard and couldn't be ticked off by the manufacturer as conforming to original spec. Dunno what Moto Guzzi were whinging about - the Italian Polizia would've had cafe racers if they'd been given the option I'm sure.
On the up-side I've got a Bonneville now (much fun) and eventually we're hoping to get back into "proper" motoring with a good old Traction Avant.
Here's the Bonnie:


And for those that are interested here's the photos from this year's Tour de Bretagne classic weekend run... You should pop over!
http://picasaweb.google.com/guydenning/TourDeBretagne#

[MarkyB]

Some pictures would help.
Two weeks seems like a long time to wait before hearing something, I'd suggest getting proactive and start hassling them.
Maybe even employ a claims assessor, not on of the "where there's blame there's a claim " cowboys.
Get on to your own insurance company and hassle them too.
Get a valuation done now based on the previous condition and start collecting information about how much these cars are actually worth.

If you lay down they will walk all over you.

If you have any physical symptoms like a sore neck etc make sure they know about it.

[charlie_morris_minor]

Some pictures would help.
Two weeks seems like a long time to wait before hearing something, I'd suggest getting proactive and start hassling them.
Maybe even employ a claims assessor, not on of the "where there's blame there's a claim " cowboys.
Get on to your own insurance company and hassle them too.
Get a valuation done now based on the previous condition and start collecting information about how much these cars are actually worth.

If you lay down they will walk all over you.

If you have any physical symptoms like a sore neck etc make sure they know about it.

mark..i think you might have missed that this thread started 3 years ago and the car was fixed and sold.. it was brought back to life as someone was interested in the outcome

[LouiseM]

Mark was responding to ragtop's request for advice. Also in this thread: http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=34331

[IaininTenbury]

When I had the headon collision in my Minor van, the repairs using new parts and proper labour came to exactly twice what it was insured for and the ins co. were keen to collect it afterit was declared a write off. After needless panic, which involved imobilising it (no wheels) at the back of the workshop (I wasprobably still in a state of shock...) they quite happily agreed to let me keep it for £130 off the settlement payout which was absolutely fine by me. Nearly got it built up again in my 'spare time' now with a new front end, using all s/h parts other than the inner wings and tie plates, and hope to be off for the VIC check in the next couple of weeks...

[Kevin]

I have just read this thread and wondered what the outcome was.

Two weeks ago someone crashed into me and pushed me into another car. My beloved convertible is I think a write off, the guilty parties insurance said they would pay for repairs but they havent sent anyone to look at the extent of the damage. I am concerned that I will be worse off than before the accident, it hadnt been welded and was in really good sound condition with no rust, before the accident, but I didnt have it on an agreed valuation policy. Any comments and helpful advice would be welcome.

I know its a little late now but that's why its essential to have agreed valuation, because some companies will just give you their write off valuation which can be different to the actual value, fingers crossed that it works out for you and make sure the repairs are carried out by a classic car restorer rather than a run of the mill repairer reccommended by the insurance company.