Buying Car back from Insurance Company - HELP!
Discussion
Unfortunately I drove up the back of someone earlier in the week, pushing them into the car in front. 3 cars involved including mine, everyone ok. According to Aa man who gave me a lift back the repairs will be as:- Srs (light on dash) as seat belt tensioners have been activated requiring new tensioners possibly AND/OR new modules in the seat, new bonnet, new front grill, new near side light unit replace, new bonnet slam panel, new top radiator support panel and near side front wing (passenger door is fine).
The insurance company picked the car up on Thursday to take to a garage (Co Parts I believe) for assessment. The car is a 2005 C350 Merc Estate. Its got every option and has been my trusty work horse practically from new, with just over 130k on the clock. Assuming it is classified as a 'write off', Ive been advised by a friend who works in insurance that letting our insurance company recover the car to a garage was the worst thing we could have done if we want to buy it back, which I do.
Apparently, because they have already gone to the trouble of finding out how much it's worth in bits, they won't want to sell it back to us without it being worth their while. I am told we had every right to have the assessor come to my house to give it the once over and give us a price, in writing. Then it might not have been worth the recovery company's time or effort to come and collect it. When organising the pick up with the insurance company they lead me to believe that the car 'had' to be recovered in order for it to be assessed. I now understand we had every right to have it inspected in situ....
Obviously gutted about the crash and the repercussions on premium etc but I just want to buy my old girl back
Any guidance would be appreciated
The insurance company picked the car up on Thursday to take to a garage (Co Parts I believe) for assessment. The car is a 2005 C350 Merc Estate. Its got every option and has been my trusty work horse practically from new, with just over 130k on the clock. Assuming it is classified as a 'write off', Ive been advised by a friend who works in insurance that letting our insurance company recover the car to a garage was the worst thing we could have done if we want to buy it back, which I do.
Apparently, because they have already gone to the trouble of finding out how much it's worth in bits, they won't want to sell it back to us without it being worth their while. I am told we had every right to have the assessor come to my house to give it the once over and give us a price, in writing. Then it might not have been worth the recovery company's time or effort to come and collect it. When organising the pick up with the insurance company they lead me to believe that the car 'had' to be recovered in order for it to be assessed. I now understand we had every right to have it inspected in situ....
Obviously gutted about the crash and the repercussions on premium etc but I just want to buy my old girl back
Any guidance would be appreciated
rallycross said:
wolf1 said:
If it's gone to Copart you won't want it back after they've shunted it round the yard with a forklift.
This is true it will have a very hard time in their hands, they are butchers and treat salvage like scrap.jeff666 said:
Buy it back thru Copart if it means that much to you £40.00 to register as a bidder, hardest part will
be tracking down what day it is going thru the online auction.
And at what facility.
Can the insurance company really just 'sell' my car through Copart without my permission?be tracking down what day it is going thru the online auction.
And at what facility.
M400DPC said:
Can the insurance company really just 'sell' my car through Copart without my permission?
They do seem to be a law unto themselfs, i always thought it was still your property until they have paid you for it, their may be something in their terms and conditions who knows ?Sorry i can't be of more help, try talking to them maybe ?
Well, there's some epic rubbish posted on here so far.
Copart are a salvage agent, so it's pretty clear it's going to be a write off. If you want to buy your car back, you can with most insurers, as long as it's a Cat C or D. From what you've described thre is a good chance this could be a Cat B and they won't sell that back to you.
When discussing your valuation, you just advise you want to retain the salvage and they will deduct the amount off the settlement cheque you receive. Once repaired you'll need a VIC completing.
I'm presuming the "friend" you have who works in insurance is not very senior, or experienced, as he's just regurgitated the standard myths on the internet.
Copart are a salvage agent, so it's pretty clear it's going to be a write off. If you want to buy your car back, you can with most insurers, as long as it's a Cat C or D. From what you've described thre is a good chance this could be a Cat B and they won't sell that back to you.
When discussing your valuation, you just advise you want to retain the salvage and they will deduct the amount off the settlement cheque you receive. Once repaired you'll need a VIC completing.
I'm presuming the "friend" you have who works in insurance is not very senior, or experienced, as he's just regurgitated the standard myths on the internet.
it remains your property until you get paid out in full and surrender the documents, then it becomes the insurers property until they sell it to copart. you can go and get it whenever you want and anything missing will be theft.
you'll get a valuation based on market value, dispute it if its low because they can increase it if you prove it wortth more. theres then a salvage value of the vehicle, 10-20% of market value depending on what agreements the insurer have with their salvage companies, if you knock this off the vehicle valuation you can keep it. youre arent buying it back, youre just accepting less money while not surrendering ownership
you'll get a valuation based on market value, dispute it if its low because they can increase it if you prove it wortth more. theres then a salvage value of the vehicle, 10-20% of market value depending on what agreements the insurer have with their salvage companies, if you knock this off the vehicle valuation you can keep it. youre arent buying it back, youre just accepting less money while not surrendering ownership
LeeMad said:
it remains your property until you get paid out in full and surrender the documents, then it becomes the insurers property until they sell it to copart. you can go and get it whenever you want and anything missing will be theft.
you'll get a valuation based on market value, dispute it if its low because they can increase it if you prove it wortth more. theres then a salvage value of the vehicle, 10-20% of market value depending on what agreements the insurer have with their salvage companies, if you knock this off the vehicle valuation you can keep it. youre arent buying it back, youre just accepting less money while not surrendering ownership
Thank you Lee, your feedback is much appreciated. I'll contact my insurer on Tues and see what's whatyou'll get a valuation based on market value, dispute it if its low because they can increase it if you prove it wortth more. theres then a salvage value of the vehicle, 10-20% of market value depending on what agreements the insurer have with their salvage companies, if you knock this off the vehicle valuation you can keep it. youre arent buying it back, youre just accepting less money while not surrendering ownership
LoonR1 said:
Well, there's some epic rubbish posted on here so far.
Copart are a salvage agent, so it's pretty clear it's going to be a write off. If you want to buy your car back, you can with most insurers, as long as it's a Cat C or D. From what you've described thre is a good chance this could be a Cat B and they won't sell that back to you.
When discussing your valuation, you just advise you want to retain the salvage and they will deduct the amount off the settlement cheque you receive. Once repaired you'll need a VIC completing.
I'm presuming the "friend" you have who works in insurance is not very senior, or experienced, as he's just regurgitated the standard myths on the internet.
It will only need a VIC test if it is catogarised C, Cat D does not need a test and wont have any wording on the V5 stating it has been damaged.Copart are a salvage agent, so it's pretty clear it's going to be a write off. If you want to buy your car back, you can with most insurers, as long as it's a Cat C or D. From what you've described thre is a good chance this could be a Cat B and they won't sell that back to you.
When discussing your valuation, you just advise you want to retain the salvage and they will deduct the amount off the settlement cheque you receive. Once repaired you'll need a VIC completing.
I'm presuming the "friend" you have who works in insurance is not very senior, or experienced, as he's just regurgitated the standard myths on the internet.
No body knows at this point what catogory it will get, i have seen really badly damaged stuff go thru as cat D and light damaged cars down as cat C.
The ins co know cat D salvage will make more at auction simply because it wont need a VIC test and wont have any wording on the V5, it will still be recorded on the VCAR register.
Cat B is a breaker only and can not be sold to the public, only registered dismantlers can buy these.
OK so quick update - spoke to to my insurers today
They confirmed that they have classified the car as an insurance category D write off i.e. deemed uneconomically viable to repair - they have estimated over £6ks worth of repair bills (based on ordering new parts direct from Mercedes Benz to quote the insurance representative I spoke to). The kind AA man who towed me back suggested £100's if I bought bonnet etc from ebay as opposed to £1,000's
BUT (and this is what made me laugh) the quote to repair was based on an automated figure generated somehow.....
An engineer from the insurance/underwriters has not actually seen the car or carried out an inspection. I asked for a report and no details are available as to what parts or labour are required because the assessment is 'auto generated'. It was suggested that if we want the car back, we will have to send an independent assessor to Copart in order to establish exactly what work is required.
WTF
!!???
Have a look at the photo - what would you do?
They confirmed that they have classified the car as an insurance category D write off i.e. deemed uneconomically viable to repair - they have estimated over £6ks worth of repair bills (based on ordering new parts direct from Mercedes Benz to quote the insurance representative I spoke to). The kind AA man who towed me back suggested £100's if I bought bonnet etc from ebay as opposed to £1,000's
BUT (and this is what made me laugh) the quote to repair was based on an automated figure generated somehow.....
An engineer from the insurance/underwriters has not actually seen the car or carried out an inspection. I asked for a report and no details are available as to what parts or labour are required because the assessment is 'auto generated'. It was suggested that if we want the car back, we will have to send an independent assessor to Copart in order to establish exactly what work is required.
WTF
!!???Have a look at the photo - what would you do?
I would devote my time getting like for like valuations and spending time looking for a replacement with less miles.
If they were going to put a category on the car with that photo buyers will be put off in the future. Walk away.
Would you buy that car repaired if you were looking for one ? If no then walk away.
If they were going to put a category on the car with that photo buyers will be put off in the future. Walk away.
Would you buy that car repaired if you were looking for one ? If no then walk away.
The visible damage isn't really the point - what we need to know is what's UNDER that damage.
What expensive parts lurk at the front - rads for the cooling and aircon, oil coolers, ABS units and other stuff!?
Then there's the cost of replacing the airbags - the bodywork is peanuts after all of that (if sourced pattern or used esp.)
Copart are cowboys - your car will already be missing bits and decidedly tattier than it was when you left it - sending it to them indicates an almost certain write-off as they're primarily salvage dealers. Last car I saw consigned to them had been stripped on arrival - leather interior/wheel/gearstick etc. swapped with plastic items, hifi gone, mats gone and so on
They CANNOT sell the car until you accept a settlement tho - until then it's your property.
What would I do?
As someone said, put all your effort into finding localish comparable cars so you can fight your corner for the max payout and then buy a cheaper-to-insure car because your premium is about to go into orbit.
p.s. they will have costed the repair using Audatex or similar (standardised repair times/costs/parts prices) - you are entitled to ask for details of that via your insurer I believe, it's YOUR car and YOUR claim.
What expensive parts lurk at the front - rads for the cooling and aircon, oil coolers, ABS units and other stuff!?
Then there's the cost of replacing the airbags - the bodywork is peanuts after all of that (if sourced pattern or used esp.)
Copart are cowboys - your car will already be missing bits and decidedly tattier than it was when you left it - sending it to them indicates an almost certain write-off as they're primarily salvage dealers. Last car I saw consigned to them had been stripped on arrival - leather interior/wheel/gearstick etc. swapped with plastic items, hifi gone, mats gone and so on
They CANNOT sell the car until you accept a settlement tho - until then it's your property.
What would I do?
As someone said, put all your effort into finding localish comparable cars so you can fight your corner for the max payout and then buy a cheaper-to-insure car because your premium is about to go into orbit.
p.s. they will have costed the repair using Audatex or similar (standardised repair times/costs/parts prices) - you are entitled to ask for details of that via your insurer I believe, it's YOUR car and YOUR claim.
Edited by 405dogvan on Tuesday 7th May 23:23
405dogvan said:
The visible damage isn't really the point - what we need to know is what's UNDER that damage.
What expensive parts lurk at the front - rads for the cooling and aircon, oil coolers, ABS units and other stuff!?
Then there's the cost of replacing the airbags - the bodywork is peanuts after all of that (if sourced pattern or used esp.)
Copart are cowboys - your car will already be missing bits and decidedly tattier than it was when you left it - sending it to them indicates an almost certain write-off as they're primarily salvage dealers. Last car I saw consigned to them had been stripped on arrival - leather interior/wheel/gearstick etc. swapped with plastic items, hifi gone, mats gone and so on
They CANNOT sell the car until you accept a settlement tho - until then it's your property.
What would I do?
As someone said, put all your effort into finding localish comparable cars so you can fight your corner for the max payout and then buy a cheaper-to-insure car because your premium is about to go into orbit.
Thankfully for me its covered under a fleet policy so its not the premium Im concerned about but rather how much car that was for what its worth. Can't find any 06 C350 petrol estates on PH but will continue to scower the net. What expensive parts lurk at the front - rads for the cooling and aircon, oil coolers, ABS units and other stuff!?
Then there's the cost of replacing the airbags - the bodywork is peanuts after all of that (if sourced pattern or used esp.)
Copart are cowboys - your car will already be missing bits and decidedly tattier than it was when you left it - sending it to them indicates an almost certain write-off as they're primarily salvage dealers. Last car I saw consigned to them had been stripped on arrival - leather interior/wheel/gearstick etc. swapped with plastic items, hifi gone, mats gone and so on
They CANNOT sell the car until you accept a settlement tho - until then it's your property.
What would I do?
As someone said, put all your effort into finding localish comparable cars so you can fight your corner for the max payout and then buy a cheaper-to-insure car because your premium is about to go into orbit.
ta for your responses so far fellas
Still trying to get over how foolish the accident was in the first place 
405dogvan said:
The visible damage isn't really the point - what we need to know is what's UNDER that damage.
What expensive parts lurk at the front - rads for the cooling and aircon, oil coolers, ABS units and other stuff!?
Then there's the cost of replacing the airbags - the bodywork is peanuts after all of that (if sourced pattern or used esp.)
There was no visible sign of damage to the rad - no leaking etc... Airbags didnt go off. Only thing noted was the SRS light on the dash had activated (somethingto do with the seatbelt tensioners)What expensive parts lurk at the front - rads for the cooling and aircon, oil coolers, ABS units and other stuff!?
Then there's the cost of replacing the airbags - the bodywork is peanuts after all of that (if sourced pattern or used esp.)
Edited by 405dogvan on Tuesday 7th May 23:23
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