Explain the "write off" decision for me...

[rswift]

Genuine question. My wife has just had a minor accident, her fault ran into the back of someone else.

Her car is a 2008 Citroen C5 100k miles....not everyones taste, but a nice car, and slightly rare as it's a fully loaded diesel estate, bought from the main agent about 4 years ago.

So damage is headlight/bumper/front of bonnet/sidelight/poss wing etc.

It is looking to be written of and she'll get 4k....which I think is reasonable, as the bodyshop have quoted almost that much for a repair, with the cost of the parts being the main reason for the price.

So...on our quote they have £600 for a bonnet, £300 for a headlight, £150 for a sidelight...etc, but a quick google shows me these parts from genuine panel dealers (new) at e.g. £140 for a bonnet, £40 for a sidelight, £100 for a headlight.....and at these prices may be the difference between a Cat D right off, or just being fixed.

So is this just a way of the crash repair guys making money...quoting original parts prices, then buying aftermarket or do they genuinely go to their local Citroen agent and buy everything.

Either way seems an off two tier pricing strategy and helps push our premiums up.

We will probably take the settlement, buy the salvage back and get it repaired and painted easily for under a grand....she can put the rest to the higher premiums next year.

[rswift]

It's a new shape, and yes I agree....it's a bit more hassle (for me)....but it's a nice old truck and had all the expensive mechanical bits done......so happy to keep it, the fact it will be a CAT D when we sell it is fairly academic as in 2 or 3 years it will be in shed territory anyway, and worth a grand tops.....

This is what a 4K accident looks like BTW....there's no hidden damage, just what you can see.

[rswift]

GroundEffect said:

Does their costs include fitting labour, overheads + markup?

Very different to just buying some parts online...

Yes of course it covers all the labour etc, but my main question was the parts issue....but even assuming I'll but new and spend max £1k on parts (most unlikely), I can't see 3k worth of labour in fitting up and painting 2 panels.

Either way, found a headlight for £50, so that will keep it on the road whilst we sort out the rest...very happy to keep it, she does a lot of miles and it's a perfect motorway cruiser......she's normally run a variety of various Peugeot & Citroen diesels over the years up to about 200k miles....by which point they're still all driving perfectly but most of the electronics have packed in and a myriad of annoying ting faults have appeared.

[rswift]

xjay1337 said:

Pointless now he's reported it to the insurance. Still goes down as an accident.

Take the payout. Buy it back fix it yourself. Flog it.

Yes it has to go via the insurance, as she ran into the back of some poor bloke sitting in a traffic jam minding his own business......no pointing in selling though, we'd only replace it with the same car.....and a high spec diesel Autos are like Rocking Horse st !

Just one thought, if we haggle the settlement charge up (due to the fact I can't find the same spec/mileage car for under £5k.....I assume the increase is also reflected in the cost of the Salvage/car as we buy it back from the insurance company.

[rswift]

Ok....part 2.

Assuming that it becomes a CAT C (value of repairs exceeds value of the vehicle)

What are the practical stages

1) We argue and settle on the valuation, and that we wish to keep the car.

2) We send off the documents to the insurance, and apply for a new V5C (which will have the CAT C marker on it)

3) Am I correct in thinking that at no point is the car taken/moved by the insurance company or their agents.

4) I see the VIC test has gone, does our current (and very recent) MOT still stay in force, or do I need a new one ?

5) Do the insurance company cancel the policy, and do we have to start again ?

6) Can we use the car throughout the whole of this process !

Thank you in advance to anyone who knows (not guess) the answers.