Car write-off advice

[Jack ketch]

Car drove into the back of my stationary vehicle. Driver’s insurer has been in contact stating that their client accepts responsibility and they will arrange repair. I fear that the cost of repair, approx £4K, will result in a write-off. I want it repaired. Is it reasonable to ignore his insurer’s decision and have the vehicle repaired and recover the cost direct from the driver?
Rick

[KungFuPanda]

No. You have a duty to mitigate your losses even if the accident isn't your fault. If the cost of repairs are high enough to warrant writing the vehicle off, that is exactly what they will do. Maybe you could offer to buy the salvage back to keep the car.

[Trailhead]

No.

But you can collect the cash, buy back the write off, and arrange repairs yourself.

I did this once and doubled my money.

[Dingu]

Firstly I would wait and see what decision they come to on repair vs TL. If repair all good.

If they say they want to write it off you could potentially consider asking for a cash in lieu settlement and then arrange the repair yourself.

Or as above after it has been declared TL try and buy it back (usually pretty cheap) and use the payout to repair.

[Aretnap]

No. It's irrelevant whether you try to claim from the driver or his insurer. The insurer's job is to cover whatever the driver is legally liable for, so if you try to claim from the driver directly he will just pass it back to his insurer to deal with on his behalf. There's nothing that you can claim from the driver that you can't claim from his insurer.

You're not, strictly speaking, entitled to have your car repaired at all, even if it's not a write-off. What you're entitled to is compensation for the loss in value that your property has suffered as a result of the other driver's negligence. In other words, the difference between what your car would have sold for immediately before the accident, and what it would sell for immediately after the accident. The cost of repair is technically only relevant because in most cases it it a reasonable way of measuring that loss in value - but by definition the loss in value can never be greater than the pre-accident value of your car.

As above, if it turns out to be a write-off and you want to keep the car your best bet is to ask them to deduct the scrap value from the settlement (if you're claiming from the 3rd party insurer you can actually insist on this) and then get the car repaired yourself. If you're willing to use second hand parts or put up with an imperfect colour match you can probably get it repaired a lot more cheaply than the insurer's price, and you may even have money left over afterwards.

[Jack ketch]

Thanks for replies, and for explaining the reasoning.
Rick

[littleredrooster]

As detailed by Aretnap, but put simplistically, the car belongs to you, so you don’t have to buy it back but just to ask for the salvage plus a settlement figure. BTDT, and got the T-shirt.