Car write off - what can/can't i do?
Discussion
Hello guys!
Car in question is a 2003 Mini Cooper with 79,000 miles. Very tidy condition, drives lovely.
I'm not sure of it's current value - but it won't be much. It's my wife's car and we both like it very much.
Today, my wife crashed into the back of somebody else. Bonnet and bumper damaged - not a great deal, but enough for the insurer to write it off due to repair costs, etc.
That is fair enough. I'm waiting to hear from them with a payment figure.
What do you guys think my options are at the moment? I can keep the car and repair it at a local garage - however, this may not make sense financially as the insurance premium is £600, so i will be paying this PLUS the repair costs. It may not be worth it...
The car is in good condition, and has 4 new tyres! DOH! (Can i keep the wheels at least if i decide to take the money?!)
Many thanks all!
Car in question is a 2003 Mini Cooper with 79,000 miles. Very tidy condition, drives lovely.
I'm not sure of it's current value - but it won't be much. It's my wife's car and we both like it very much.
Today, my wife crashed into the back of somebody else. Bonnet and bumper damaged - not a great deal, but enough for the insurer to write it off due to repair costs, etc.
That is fair enough. I'm waiting to hear from them with a payment figure.
What do you guys think my options are at the moment? I can keep the car and repair it at a local garage - however, this may not make sense financially as the insurance premium is £600, so i will be paying this PLUS the repair costs. It may not be worth it...
The car is in good condition, and has 4 new tyres! DOH! (Can i keep the wheels at least if i decide to take the money?!)
Many thanks all!
IF you can keep the car, do the maths.
Insurance premium £600, so you have to pay that anyway.
You'll get the value of the car back, less a salvage value, usually 5-10% of the payout cost.
So say £2000, less £200, so £1800 payout.
Get quotes to fix it, if it is too much, sell the car, you will get more than £200.
Or, where abouts are you, i'd be interested in buying it
Any chance of a photo of the damage....
Insurance premium £600, so you have to pay that anyway.
You'll get the value of the car back, less a salvage value, usually 5-10% of the payout cost.
So say £2000, less £200, so £1800 payout.
Get quotes to fix it, if it is too much, sell the car, you will get more than £200.
Or, where abouts are you, i'd be interested in buying it
Any chance of a photo of the damage....
How handy are you with the spanners?
If you can be sure it's only bodywork then perhaps consider having a go yourself?
Bonnet £60 (black too - so goes with everything, sort of):
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-OEM-BMW-Mini-R56...
Bumper £120:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MINI-COOPER-R-56-LCi-FAC...
If you can be sure it's only bodywork then perhaps consider having a go yourself?
Bonnet £60 (black too - so goes with everything, sort of):
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-OEM-BMW-Mini-R56...
Bumper £120:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MINI-COOPER-R-56-LCi-FAC...
Been though this a number of times with family members.
Last one was with a 306 - twice. Thumped up the boot by third party. Slight chips to bumper, few ripples in boot floor. Tailgate undamaged. No other damage. Liability accepted by 3rd party's insurers.
Estimate from our insurer's bodyshop was over £1500 - which was about what the car was worth - so insurers offered £800 & you can keep the car which we are happy to continue to insure at no increase to your premiums.
£8 for a new number plate later & all was fine.
The same car was hit a few months later on a supermarket car park. Damage to wing. Again, liability accepted by 3rd party's insurers. As they had already paid out before, they offered £250 & you can keep the car etc. I fitted & painted a new wing (IIRC about £50).
Last one was with a 306 - twice. Thumped up the boot by third party. Slight chips to bumper, few ripples in boot floor. Tailgate undamaged. No other damage. Liability accepted by 3rd party's insurers.
Estimate from our insurer's bodyshop was over £1500 - which was about what the car was worth - so insurers offered £800 & you can keep the car which we are happy to continue to insure at no increase to your premiums.
£8 for a new number plate later & all was fine.
The same car was hit a few months later on a supermarket car park. Damage to wing. Again, liability accepted by 3rd party's insurers. As they had already paid out before, they offered £250 & you can keep the car etc. I fitted & painted a new wing (IIRC about £50).
I'm finding it hard to comprehend that that's a write off, and I have some experience in the industry. I'm guessing the book value being a little over £1,500 might've tipped it over the edge. Have you considered telling the insurance company that you want it repaired? They may be prepared to re-assess, or make some compromises on the repair process to make it viable.
BritishRacinGrin said:
I'm finding it hard to comprehend that that's a write off, and I have some experience in the industry. I'm guessing the book value being a little over £1,500 might've tipped it over the edge. Have you considered telling the insurance company that you want it repaired? They may be prepared to re-assess, or make some compromises on the repair process to make it viable.
I'd agree it doen't look write off material. My daughter has just done the same with her 2003 Mini One. Personally I wanted it written off so I could buy the car back, fix it and sell it to buy a cheaper car to mitigate next years insurance premium. But the Mrs became involved and despite the excess being £700 we (or I) have paid a total of £950 to get it back on the road. Beats me how they did it as I priced the secondhand parts to c£600 and that's without paintYes I know about the dodgy PAS and gearbox, so this was an opportunity, but somehow the BMW repair centre convinced her as it was low mileage it was worth rebuilding. To me that's b
kss but as I was at the other end of the country couldn't do anything about it.
Thanks for your comments guys. To answer some of your questions;
1) It was written off quickly as I sent the insurers photos which their team of technical 'experts' analysed. It was straight away confirmed to me that the cost of repair would exceed the value of the car.
2) Damage - needs new bonnet and grille. Bumper seems ok, it just appears to be a little scratched. Maybe it could do with a little adjusting... I can't get the bonnet to open, so I can't comment on damage underneath - if any. However, I did drive it this morning for 8 miles and it drove brilliantly as usual! I really enjoy driving this car... I don't think the radiator or any components up front have been affected, otherwise I would have felt something on this morning's drive.
3) I don't know whether to keep it yet or not. I'm waiting to hear back from the insurers to see how much they will offer me, and how much they will sell me the car for...
I got an independant quote yesterday, and labour alone was £400! Seems a bit excessive... Apparently the bonnet has to be cut to be removed...
I will keep you all updated.
Many thanks.
1) It was written off quickly as I sent the insurers photos which their team of technical 'experts' analysed. It was straight away confirmed to me that the cost of repair would exceed the value of the car.
2) Damage - needs new bonnet and grille. Bumper seems ok, it just appears to be a little scratched. Maybe it could do with a little adjusting... I can't get the bonnet to open, so I can't comment on damage underneath - if any. However, I did drive it this morning for 8 miles and it drove brilliantly as usual! I really enjoy driving this car... I don't think the radiator or any components up front have been affected, otherwise I would have felt something on this morning's drive.
3) I don't know whether to keep it yet or not. I'm waiting to hear back from the insurers to see how much they will offer me, and how much they will sell me the car for...
I got an independant quote yesterday, and labour alone was £400! Seems a bit excessive... Apparently the bonnet has to be cut to be removed...
I will keep you all updated.
Many thanks.
How mechanically minded are you?
Look for a second hand bonnet in the same colour. It might take some time, but Ebay will usually throw something up within a few weeks.
It is usually only 4 bolts to remove an old bonnet and a plug/pipe for the screenwash.
To open the old bonnet, worst case is hammer and chisel around the lock area.
Then a little bit of tweaking around the bumper/bonnet catch area, job done.
I've just had a quote on a family member's car, hit by someone whilst it was parked up.
It is £300 for paint and materials, £600 for labour, then about £1k for parts!
I recon it can be fixed to a satisfactory level for £75, maybe £125 if they decide they want a tailgate without a dent in it.
Look for a second hand bonnet in the same colour. It might take some time, but Ebay will usually throw something up within a few weeks.
It is usually only 4 bolts to remove an old bonnet and a plug/pipe for the screenwash.
To open the old bonnet, worst case is hammer and chisel around the lock area.
Then a little bit of tweaking around the bumper/bonnet catch area, job done.
I've just had a quote on a family member's car, hit by someone whilst it was parked up.
It is £300 for paint and materials, £600 for labour, then about £1k for parts!
I recon it can be fixed to a satisfactory level for £75, maybe £125 if they decide they want a tailgate without a dent in it.
UPDATE!
Just heard from the insurers. £2500 that I'll get for the car. As I really like it, I've decided that I'll want to keep it.
So, minus the excess and buying the car back from the insurers will leave me with just over £1200.
Anyone know of anyone / any garages that can fix this around the Surrey/ Middlesex area? I'm not too confident when it comes to bodywork. I'll look to source the parts myself.
All I need is a grille, a bonnet and quite possibly the hinges and latch too. The bumper is still good - just needs a polish.
Any suggestions are welcomed. Thanks guys!
Just heard from the insurers. £2500 that I'll get for the car. As I really like it, I've decided that I'll want to keep it.
So, minus the excess and buying the car back from the insurers will leave me with just over £1200.
Anyone know of anyone / any garages that can fix this around the Surrey/ Middlesex area? I'm not too confident when it comes to bodywork. I'll look to source the parts myself.
All I need is a grille, a bonnet and quite possibly the hinges and latch too. The bumper is still good - just needs a polish.
Any suggestions are welcomed. Thanks guys!
As others have said, the salvage value is 10% of the settlement value.
Buy it back and fix it yourself.
I did it a few times, once with a small dent in my Audi A2 which was Aluminium and the insurance made an excuse of it being aluminium and the 6in dent would cost £2800 to fix.They didn't even look at it, just saw from photographs.
I bought it back for £600 and fixed it for about £250, just got it checked over to make sure no chassis damage or impact damage behind the panel.
Then again i bought another car back for £200 and fixed it myself with a new wing after insurance said it would cost £3500 to fix. Bought a wing of the same colour and put it on.
When it came to selling the Audi I told the buyer and showed the photographs of the original damage which was a minimal bumper dent. None could believe it was wrote off for such a minor bump.
Buy it back and fix it yourself.
I did it a few times, once with a small dent in my Audi A2 which was Aluminium and the insurance made an excuse of it being aluminium and the 6in dent would cost £2800 to fix.They didn't even look at it, just saw from photographs.
I bought it back for £600 and fixed it for about £250, just got it checked over to make sure no chassis damage or impact damage behind the panel.
Then again i bought another car back for £200 and fixed it myself with a new wing after insurance said it would cost £3500 to fix. Bought a wing of the same colour and put it on.
When it came to selling the Audi I told the buyer and showed the photographs of the original damage which was a minimal bumper dent. None could believe it was wrote off for such a minor bump.
There you go, sorted 200 sheets and has the grill trim.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/21339-Mini-Cooper-1-6-20...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/21339-Mini-Cooper-1-6-20...
Maybe I am missing something, but can't you just not claim on your policy for the damage to your own car. obviously the 3rd party will still claim against you by the sounds of things, but at least you keep your excess and only have to pay for the repair if you choose this route? maybe it is too late but that's what I did when my wife had a similar prang in my car and sourced the parts on ebay. OK it was only a Puma but cost me only £80 and i fitted the parts myself. plus my excess was as much as the car was worth so would not have been worth claiming
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