Car accident write off - next steps (copart)
Discussion
Hi - I'm looking for some advice please.
My teenage son recently crashed his car (technically my car). He bumped the car in front of him in slow speed town traffic.
The damage to our car is to the bumper / radiator / bonnet. It was not drivable (fluids leaked - i assumed radiator damage) so the car was recovered by the insurance company. I did not see the car in person and only have a photo of the damage
We have just had word from his insurance company (Tesco Black Box, but the comms came from Copart who have the car) that they have assessed that the car its a write off in their eyes (Cat S) and we have a £3k settlement offer (less excess).
Their offer seems low on what was an otherwise very good condition 2008 70k mile Mk5 1.9 tdi Golf match. This was a family car- so we know its history well - completely standard, no other damage / full VW service history etc / recent brakes / four new goodyear tyres.
Ebay shows similar age golfs asking at around £4k - but i haven't looked beyond ebay yet.
My questions are
1. Should we reject the offer - it came from Copart ? do they just low ball first offer?
2. Can we buy the car back ? if so how does that work?
Thanks in advance
My teenage son recently crashed his car (technically my car). He bumped the car in front of him in slow speed town traffic.
The damage to our car is to the bumper / radiator / bonnet. It was not drivable (fluids leaked - i assumed radiator damage) so the car was recovered by the insurance company. I did not see the car in person and only have a photo of the damage
We have just had word from his insurance company (Tesco Black Box, but the comms came from Copart who have the car) that they have assessed that the car its a write off in their eyes (Cat S) and we have a £3k settlement offer (less excess).
Their offer seems low on what was an otherwise very good condition 2008 70k mile Mk5 1.9 tdi Golf match. This was a family car- so we know its history well - completely standard, no other damage / full VW service history etc / recent brakes / four new goodyear tyres.
Ebay shows similar age golfs asking at around £4k - but i haven't looked beyond ebay yet.
My questions are
1. Should we reject the offer - it came from Copart ? do they just low ball first offer?
2. Can we buy the car back ? if so how does that work?
Thanks in advance
How much is the excess. Does that give you your 4k total?
I personally would take the deal and get a new car at that price point. You will be in for £1500 or more parts and labour and hoeever long it takes to get fixed. Then it will always be the car that was crashed and never feel quite the same again.
Then when you come to sell it in 6 months as you no longer trust it, its a cat S and worth a grand
Your tyres and servicing mean didly squat.
The front tyres might need replaced now and the engine might need bits replaced as everything got shoved back.
I personally would take the deal and get a new car at that price point. You will be in for £1500 or more parts and labour and hoeever long it takes to get fixed. Then it will always be the car that was crashed and never feel quite the same again.
Then when you come to sell it in 6 months as you no longer trust it, its a cat S and worth a grand
Your tyres and servicing mean didly squat.
The front tyres might need replaced now and the engine might need bits replaced as everything got shoved back.
This happened to me recently when someone backed into me in a supermarket car park.
- Insurance decided it was a write off.
- I thought their first offer was too low and explained why - I tried showing examples of similar cars on Autotrader etc. - but was told that they can only go off Glass's guide values.
- Nevertheless about a week later I got an improved offer which I was happy with (about 10% more than initially offered).
- I also accepted their value to buy back the car and repair it myself
- However, bear in mind that the buy back value is a fixed percentage of the payout - so negotiating an increased payout also increased what I had to pay to buy back the car. For me it was worth it but obviously check all repair costs first.
- Throughout this process and for 7 days after agreeing settlement I had use of a hire car - end bill for that was in excess of 2k for a tiny Toyota Yaris (paid for by insurance of guy that hit me)
- Insurance decided it was a write off.
- I thought their first offer was too low and explained why - I tried showing examples of similar cars on Autotrader etc. - but was told that they can only go off Glass's guide values.
- Nevertheless about a week later I got an improved offer which I was happy with (about 10% more than initially offered).
- I also accepted their value to buy back the car and repair it myself
- However, bear in mind that the buy back value is a fixed percentage of the payout - so negotiating an increased payout also increased what I had to pay to buy back the car. For me it was worth it but obviously check all repair costs first.
- Throughout this process and for 7 days after agreeing settlement I had use of a hire car - end bill for that was in excess of 2k for a tiny Toyota Yaris (paid for by insurance of guy that hit me)
Converse2020 said:
Hi - I'm looking for some advice please.
My teenage son recently crashed his car (technically my car). He bumped the car in front of him in slow speed town traffic.
The damage to our car is to the bumper / radiator / bonnet. It was not drivable (fluids leaked - i assumed radiator damage) so the car was recovered by the insurance company. I did not see the car in person and only have a photo of the damage
We have just had word from his insurance company (Tesco Black Box, but the comms came from Copart who have the car) that they have assessed that the car its a write off in their eyes (Cat S) and we have a £3k settlement offer (less excess).
Their offer seems low on what was an otherwise very good condition 2008 70k mile Mk5 1.9 tdi Golf match. This was a family car- so we know its history well - completely standard, no other damage / full VW service history etc / recent brakes / four new goodyear tyres.
Ebay shows similar age golfs asking at around £4k - but i haven't looked beyond ebay yet.
My questions are
1. Should we reject the offer - it came from Copart ? do they just low ball first offer?
2. Can we buy the car back ? if so how does that work?
Thanks in advance
A quick look on autotrader seems to be about £4k also. Worth picking a couple of examples similar to yours and going back to them? My teenage son recently crashed his car (technically my car). He bumped the car in front of him in slow speed town traffic.
The damage to our car is to the bumper / radiator / bonnet. It was not drivable (fluids leaked - i assumed radiator damage) so the car was recovered by the insurance company. I did not see the car in person and only have a photo of the damage
We have just had word from his insurance company (Tesco Black Box, but the comms came from Copart who have the car) that they have assessed that the car its a write off in their eyes (Cat S) and we have a £3k settlement offer (less excess).
Their offer seems low on what was an otherwise very good condition 2008 70k mile Mk5 1.9 tdi Golf match. This was a family car- so we know its history well - completely standard, no other damage / full VW service history etc / recent brakes / four new goodyear tyres.
Ebay shows similar age golfs asking at around £4k - but i haven't looked beyond ebay yet.
My questions are
1. Should we reject the offer - it came from Copart ? do they just low ball first offer?
2. Can we buy the car back ? if so how does that work?
Thanks in advance
When my car was written off the insurer's offer was £900. I scoured Autotrader for comparable cars nationwide (give or take 1 year either way) and went back with 6 examples which showed an average value of £2,000. I also mentioned my clean service history / relatively new tyres etc.
Insurer came straight back with a counter-offer was £1,750 which I thought was more than fair.
Check Motorway, WBAC etc to see what they quote.
Only had to go through the process once thankfully but I guess like anything they will low ball you to see whether you just roll over as ultimately any amount they can save paying to you is profit for copart when they come to sell it.
Insurer came straight back with a counter-offer was £1,750 which I thought was more than fair.
Check Motorway, WBAC etc to see what they quote.
Only had to go through the process once thankfully but I guess like anything they will low ball you to see whether you just roll over as ultimately any amount they can save paying to you is profit for copart when they come to sell it.
sherman said:
How much is the excess. Does that give you your 4k total?
The excess is £650 and the settlement is £3k before the excess. So in effect we would get £2350 paid out. Given a replacement equivalent car is £4k the £3k settlement is about £1k short in my view.
In fact the closest eBay priced car I can see based on spec / miles is £4.8k.
Converse2020 said:
The excess is £650 and the settlement is £3k before the excess. So in effect we would get £2350 paid out.
Given a replacement equivalent car is £4k the £3k settlement is about £1k short in my view.
In fact the closest eBay priced car I can see based on spec / miles is £4.8k.
Send them the eBay car, tell them you want that to be the pay-out, they'll give you something close.Given a replacement equivalent car is £4k the £3k settlement is about £1k short in my view.
In fact the closest eBay priced car I can see based on spec / miles is £4.8k.
Thanks for the feedback.
They’ve agreed to review the higher price I’ve suggested and have said if that doesn’t work then I can submit evidence of market price to justify so we will see what they say.
They’ve also said I can buy it back for 24% of the settlement value but It’s deemed a cat S so that’s not very tempting.
They’ve agreed to review the higher price I’ve suggested and have said if that doesn’t work then I can submit evidence of market price to justify so we will see what they say.
They’ve also said I can buy it back for 24% of the settlement value but It’s deemed a cat S so that’s not very tempting.
It costs money to auction a car and the fees are quite high. An old car could be written off even if just needs a replacement bumper. I own a bunch of cars with salvage titles. If you can get it back for 800 GBP and fix it for a few hundred bucks, then I would not be too concerned about resale. In a few years, the goverment is going to force you to scrap your deisel anyway.
Dog Star said:
Why do they insist on offering these Glass/CAP etc prices?
Since when can we (ie normal people) get our cars at these stupid prices?
Because it's an easy index of prices which can be integrated into their systems. The unfortunate thing is that the prices aren't updated quickly enough.Since when can we (ie normal people) get our cars at these stupid prices?
I would reject their offer & give evidence (recent adverts for similar cars, etc) as to why the car is worth more
Re buying it back, this will only work well if you can have a way to repair it in a sensible manner - tame local bodyshop, secondhand parts, etc. If you think you can do that, why not do it? Converse Junior can learn to use a socket set and you'll have your car back on the road
I do, however, question the logic of getting a VW dealer to service a 14 year old car
Approach the whole thing assuming that insurers are lying, robbing b
ds and you won't go far wrong
Re buying it back, this will only work well if you can have a way to repair it in a sensible manner - tame local bodyshop, secondhand parts, etc. If you think you can do that, why not do it? Converse Junior can learn to use a socket set and you'll have your car back on the road
I do, however, question the logic of getting a VW dealer to service a 14 year old car
Approach the whole thing assuming that insurers are lying, robbing b
ds and you won't go far wrongBlanco92 said:
Dog Star said:
Why do they insist on offering these Glass/CAP etc prices?
Particularly when, I'd imagine most policies are based on paying out market value in the event of a claim?There’s the answer. It’s all driven by what customers differentiate companies with. Low cost is king.
I could, in theory, set up an insurer which did it differently but it wouldn’t last a year.
Dingu said:
Do you (read generally most people) pretty much always buy at the cheapest price for the cover you need?
There’s the answer. It’s all driven by what customers differentiate companies with. Low cost is king.
I could, in theory, set up an insurer which did it differently but it wouldn’t last a year.
Whilst I get your broad point that you get what you pay for (I know well that cheapest is not always best value) and the majority buy cheap and have driven this race to the bottom... even a "budget" Ins Co, if their policies state market value, then they should payout the sticker price of equivalent spec vehicles for sale at private sellers or indies. Because those vehicles are on the market.There’s the answer. It’s all driven by what customers differentiate companies with. Low cost is king.
I could, in theory, set up an insurer which did it differently but it wouldn’t last a year.
If the OP has bona fide examples to show then this should be simple.
FWIW in my personal experience of Ins Co payouts they've been fair with the first offer.
Perhaps market value is actually a myth and the T&Cs state some other more vague term. I'm not actually sure what mine states.
Dog Star said:
Why do they insist on offering these Glass/CAP etc prices?
Since when can we (ie normal people) get our cars at these stupid prices?
LV= used Autotrader to value daughter’s 2011 mk6 Golf Twist 3.5 yrs ago. Should have been super-easy to value accurately as VW sold loads in a short space of time. Trouble was they picked the cheapest (of 35) listed at £4995 - yet the photo had the price in the screen at £5995! It was also 200 miles away and they’re only supposed to look at cars within 50 miles.Since when can we (ie normal people) get our cars at these stupid prices?
They straight away offered another £500 but then just wouldn’t budge from that even though both the mean and median price of the cars listed was £5995. We’d had the car from new and in the prior year had spent loads on cambelt, brakes, tyres etc - they didn’t give a toss. However they never mentioned the mileage, which was about 75K - most for sale were typically mid-30’s.
Converse2020 said:
Thanks for the feedback.
They’ve agreed to review the higher price I’ve suggested and have said if that doesn’t work then I can submit evidence of market price to justify so we will see what they say.
They’ve also said I can buy it back for 24% of the settlement value but It’s deemed a cat S so that’s not very tempting.
Do you know the extent of the damage? For the fluid leak could this have been the washer bottle splitting - where is that situated on the car?They’ve agreed to review the higher price I’ve suggested and have said if that doesn’t work then I can submit evidence of market price to justify so we will see what they say.
They’ve also said I can buy it back for 24% of the settlement value but It’s deemed a cat S so that’s not very tempting.
Sheepshanks said:
LV= used Autotrader to value daughter’s 2011 mk6 Golf Twist 3.5 yrs ago. Should have been super-easy to value accurately as VW sold loads in a short space of time. Trouble was they picked the cheapest (of 35) listed at £4995 - yet the photo had the price in the screen at £5995! It was also 200 miles away and they’re only supposed to look at cars within 50 miles.
They straight away offered another £500 but then just wouldn’t budge from that even though both the mean and median price of the cars listed was £5995. We’d had the car from new and in the prior year had spent loads on cambelt, brakes, tyres etc - they didn’t give a toss. However they never mentioned the mileage, which was about 75K - most for sale were typically mid-30’s.
Things changed a few years ago, and insurers dont have to check within a certain radius anymore, they just check nationally, and brakes and tyres dont add value to the car as they need to be replaced anyway.They straight away offered another £500 but then just wouldn’t budge from that even though both the mean and median price of the cars listed was £5995. We’d had the car from new and in the prior year had spent loads on cambelt, brakes, tyres etc - they didn’t give a toss. However they never mentioned the mileage, which was about 75K - most for sale were typically mid-30’s.
And the insurance company will look at what it costs to replace the car as a like for like, so if your car was on 75k, and everything else being sold for £5995 was at 30k, then your car isnt worth £5995.
Most people will try and get the best examples possible, in better condition with lower mileage as an example to give to the insurance company, which is why the insurance company look themselves, and if they can find a similar car, with similar spec and mileage for a grand less than what you want, why would they pay you the extra grand.
Smurfsarepeopletoo said:
Things changed a few years ago, and insurers dont have to check within a certain radius anymore, they just check nationally, and brakes and tyres dont add value to the car as they need to be replaced anyway.
And the insurance company will look at what it costs to replace the car as a like for like, so if your car was on 75k, and everything else being sold for £5995 was at 30k, then your car isnt worth £5995.
Most people will try and get the best examples possible, in better condition with lower mileage as an example to give to the insurance company, which is why the insurance company look themselves, and if they can find a similar car, with similar spec and mileage for a grand less than what you want, why would they pay you the extra grand.
£5995 was the average - I didn’t do an average of the mileages but it was the dearer cars - they went up to £7495 - that were low mileage and it was noticeable the ads for the dearer ones mentioned they’d had the cambelt done and the cheaper ones didn’t. The cars spanned 2010 and 2011. - ours was 2011 (on an 11 plate). The cheaper ones tended to have had multiple owners too. If I’d been selling the car £5995 would have been easily justifiable in that market.And the insurance company will look at what it costs to replace the car as a like for like, so if your car was on 75k, and everything else being sold for £5995 was at 30k, then your car isnt worth £5995.
Most people will try and get the best examples possible, in better condition with lower mileage as an example to give to the insurance company, which is why the insurance company look themselves, and if they can find a similar car, with similar spec and mileage for a grand less than what you want, why would they pay you the extra grand.
I think it was pretty cynical of the insurance company to just go straight to the cheapest one but they shot themselves in the foot by not following their own rules and when they realised it was wrongly priced too (which I believe is common on Autotrader to get a car to the top of listings).
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff