INSURANCE car wrote off. now what? ?

[[email protected]]

Rather than babble on and end up making it a sob story, ( unless ya want me to !) In brief..
'97 mr2 turbo 122.000mls insured with footman james, no agreed price.
parked outside house, driven into,driver admitted full responsibility
assessor has written it off and said its " its condition is better than most he's seen "
Now left with confusion and trepidation having read other insurance claims related posts.
Is it really as bad as it sounds ? Am i been overly pessimistic ?
car been wrote of is a bummer, but as they say " xxxx happens" blah blah...
not the most eloquent or well composed post, but hopefully its enough to start.
Am i going to get screwed over by insurance.

[pnelson]

I know this is very long winded but bear with me!

I have no experience with Footman James but when I was hit into last year Adrian Flux wanted to write my car off without even looking at the damage "due to its age" (it's a 1999 NA).

I ended up dealing with the other party's insurance (Tesco) and they also wanted to write it off. I told them it would cost about £1000 to fix. They said they'd have to write it off at that price as it's over 50% of the cars value. I told them that I'd bought it two months ago for £3400 but all they did was look up the value in a database and say they couldn't do it. They didn't care about mileage/condition etc. To them it's just a 1999 MR2 NA. It could be a rusty piece of junk worth £400 or a 10,000 mile museum piece worth £8000, to them it's all worth the same.

So, I refused to let them write it off, and after some discussion we figured out the best thing was a simple cash payout. Basically they transferred me £850 and that settled it. I fixed the damage myself and we're all good (apart from now I have a not at fault claim I have to report to insurance!).

So, back to your car, have they written it off due to it being beyond financial repair, or because it has structural damage? My worry would be that they will look up 1997 MR2 and say it is worth not a lot (because they don't understand the true value of a late revision turbo), and offer you a xxxx payout for writing it off. It might be best to hold onto the car and fix it yourself if possible! That's what I did.

Are you particularly attached to the car?

[rgb]

ive been there let them write it off and demand a like for like replacement if they cant find a 97 for sale then they cant value it my 98 got wrote off and there was none in the country for sale so get one from japan you've got to be hardfaced id ask for 8 grand I don't care what you paid for it . these cars are rare now find one in the same spec and the same colour . Christmas came early if you deal with it in the right way .

[rgb]

ive been there let them write it off and demand a like for like replacement if they cant find a 97 for sale then they cant value it my 98 got wrote off and there was none in the country for sale so get one from japan you've got to be hardfaced id ask for 8 grand I don't care what you paid for it . these cars are rare now find one in the same spec and the same colour . Christmas came early if you deal with it in the right way .

[aussieGT]

I know this is very long winded but bear with me!

I have no experience with Footman James but when I was hit into last year Adrian Flux wanted to write my car off without even looking at the damage "due to its age" (it's a 1999 NA).

wow, all i ever read about adrian flux is horror stories like this!

[Rory]

I know this is very long winded but bear with me!

I have no experience with Footman James but when I was hit into last year Adrian Flux wanted to write my car off without even looking at the damage "due to its age" (it's a 1999 NA).

wow, all i ever read about adrian flux is horror stories like this!

All insurance companies will be the same. That's business. I'm with Sky. I worked with them to setup an agreed value in writing for my turbo. It gives me a little piece of mind if anything ever happened to it.

[Pauln]

If it's a straight no fault accident and the third parties insurance company accepts responsibility then you're far better off trying to get a decent deal out of them as that won't spoil any no claims history you've built up, and won't result in your current policy being cancelled as a result of your claim. Sure, you will have to report it to your current insurer and it will be entered as a no fault claim, but that shouldn't cause any problems when you come to renew your insurance.

Don't accept their first offer, and press them to improve on it backing up your claim with any adverts you can find for similar condition and year models, also a photo of the car before the accident may help.

Assuming they regard it as uneconomic to repair, this will usually mean they write it off as class c. If you want to keep the car and repair it, the insurance company will deduct "salvage value" from their offer. Be aware that salvage value is usually calculated as a percentage rather than a fixed sum, so will go up if they increase their offer.

I was rear ended when parked at traffic lights a few years ago, and eventually managed to get a reasonable offer out of the third parties insurance company, but it was hard work. It actually cost me more to have the car repaired than their offer, but I really wanted to hang onto the car. And that's what it all boils down to, do you really like the car, or do you want to simply walk away with some cash in your pocket. Good luck

Paul

[[email protected]]

I've informed my insurance and they are dealing with it, assuming that would be quickest and easiest ! ?
The assessor knows its a turbo and said its more effort etc.
Regarding buying it back, No.. putting time,effort,cash,just to get back to original condition .. maybe i'm been petulant but, Its my dummy and ive spat it out. when the car was hit ,It was pushed back into my g/f's pug 206 which was written off also as uneconomical to repair. hard enough to crease/separate my boot floor.
Regarding no claims and affecting insurance, I have a 2nd policy with another insurer, when it comes to renewal in a couple of months, will it be an issue?

I would be satisfied with 6000 settlement. and walk away..but would like to get it replaced. how long do claims take? is 6k achievable with min time/stress ?
That's the crux of it !

[aussieGT]

I would be satisfied with 6000 settlement. and walk away..but would like to get it replaced. how long do claims take? is 6k achievable with min time/stress ?
That's the crux of it !

thats a very optimistic figure from memory of what other have been offered.

[b4ss]

I would be satisfied with 6000 settlement. and walk away..but would like to get it replaced. how long do claims take? is 6k achievable with min time/stress ?
That's the crux of it !

thats a very optimistic figure from memory of what other have been offered.

Had something similar happen to me, written off uneconomical... Was a mint rev5 Turbo... I had to haggle like hell to get even close to half of what i wanted.. I just let them write it off, then bought it back off them for 200 euro, then used the pay out to fix it up myself. Using secondhand parts you can usually just about get back to where you were with the payout cash.
It nothing but a pain the hoop.
Good luck
T

[bungral]

How did you get on in the end??

Also to those that have experience of this, do agreed valuations help in this situation?

I've been considering getting my Rev 3 turbo covered with an agreed valuation with Adrian Flux.

[b4ss]

How did you get on in the end??

Also to those that have experience of this, do agreed valuations help in this situation?

I've been considering getting my Rev 3 turbo covered with an agreed valuation with Adrian Flux.

Well its back on the road its not as perfect as it was visually but hopefully I will get there

It is worth doing but it is painful process - you just feel pi$$ed off and ripped off.
But that goes away once you are back behind the wheel
T