Accident - Insurance, is this right?

[Dingu]

No, the payout shouldn’t be linked to salvage value. It will be based on book value and likely some discussion between you and them etc.

For clarity: This isn’t the original post, not sure where it has gone. Didn’t think they totally vanished if deleted. That will teach me not to quote.

Edited by Dingu on Friday 3rd December 11:41

[Carbon Sasquatch]

The last part is wrong.

They often write them off for fairly low amounts of damage as the repairs can cost more than you think - add in courtesy car claim etc.

I wouldn't be letting them collect it until you have agreed a value - at least don't hand over a v5 and be clear you remain the owner until a settlement is agreed.

[Drawweight]

Copart uplift many of the written off vehicles by request from the insurance companies but they shouldn’t be doing anything till you have at least been contacted by your insurance company.

As said above this has nothing to do with any settlement you are due but it’s a bit presumptuous to be uplifting it before you’ve even heard about the case.

[Gareth79]

If it's light damage you may want to keep the car and take a cash payout to repair it yourself? In the olden days the salvage deduction was quite low, but that may have changed.

As mentioned absolutely do not let Copart take the vehicle until you have decided what to do. If they took it and then you had it delivered back you might find it filthy, stuff missing, and that it has been moved around with a forklift.

[Dingu]

Oakey said:

We've considered buying it back and trying to repair it ourselves but will that result in it being put on an N plate? Thing is, we don't know if it's superficial damage or if there's more serious underlying issues, because nobody has been to look at it!

Thing is they won’t need to look at it to write it off on a circa £2000 car so why add to the expense.

Ask for what the deduction will be for salvage if you retain the car and assume that you might then have to scrap it when making the decision on whether it’s worth going down that route.

[akirk]

Oakey said:

As an aside, if a long wheel base van was parked on double yellows on the very corner of this junction obstructing the view of the driver who pulled out, do they share any liability? The driver of said van made a sharp exit when it was pointed out to him the result of his inconsiderate parking but the company it belongs to is part of a national chain so should be easy to track down.

Unlikely - it might be parked illegally, but it didn't cause the accident - something blocking the view could equally be a tree / bush / hedge / etc.
Both drivers have a duty to drive within the space they can see to be clear - if anything the other driver could argue that they were coming out carefully to see past the van and your missus wasn't driving with due care and attention, and should have gone slower as she couldn't see past the van...

not sure I would raise the question!

[Pinkie15]

Remember the repair costs will all be brand new parts from MINI.

From my experience of accident repair to repair your missus car it will be new bonnet, headlight (possibly as a pair even though other one undamaged), bumper, crash bar, cash cans, all the plastic inserts on the bumper, new grille, wheel arch liners, wheel arch trim, number plate, headlight washers and parking sensors if fitted, plastic clips, screws, nuts & bolts, paint and labour.

This seems to me to be why so many cars get written off (Cat N) by insurers for a relatively minor bump because this method of operating means you're into at least 4 grand for an insurance repair.

Nothing from the damaged items is reused, it's all new bits fitted. What they take off that's undamaged gets cut up/broken (to stop any enterprising soul taking the parts and flogging them on eBay, etc...) and skipped.



[example chatting with the guy who ran the place my car was repaired at they had some M series beemer in (and I mean a proper M, not M Sport or whatever the badging exercise is named) part of the repair was a new bumper. Bumper has a carbon fibre insert, which was undamaged. This was removed from the damaged bumper, cut in half & skipped and new carbon fibre insert fitted.]

Edited by Pinkie15 on Thursday 2nd December 17:26

[MustangGT]

Oakey said:

We've considered buying it back and trying to repair it ourselves but will that result in it being put on an N plate? Thing is, we don't know if it's superficial damage or if there's more serious underlying issues, because nobody has been to look at it!

It will retain it's existing registration mark, but will have a 'Category' marker of N or S disclosed. N if it is non-structural, S if it is structural. This will affect it sale value, but at the value you are talking about it will not really be significant.

[joropug]

Copra handle written off cars so insurers have clearly chosen to write off.

RE Salvage value, if you want to retain its the value of the salvage that you would have to pay - Perhaps they have just phrased it strangely, or perhaps they themselves are confused.

They might have an arrangement with the Insurance company themselves to pay them the auction salvage value but that's nothing to do with you and irrelevant if you want to retain it.

Insurers will nearly always write off a £2k car, putting you in a hire car for a week whilst they repaint would massively outweigh repair costs.

[journeymanpro]

Pinkie15 said:

Remember the repair costs will all be brand new parts from MINI.
]

No, no they won't.

[Pit Pony]

journeymanpro said:

Pinkie15 said:

Remember the repair costs will all be brand new parts from MINI.
]

No, no they won't.

But they will be brand new parts from somewhere.

[Pinkie15]

Pit Pony said:

journeymanpro said:

Pinkie15 said:

Remember the repair costs will all be brand new parts from MINI.
]

No, no they won't.

But they will be brand new parts from somewhere.

I guess I should have made clear it was my experience when my car was in an accident that I was told the replacement parts came from the manufacturer and we’re not pattern parts.

So where will the insurers approved repairer be getting the new parts from then ??

[joropug]

Pinkie15 said:

I guess I should have made clear it was my experience when my car was in an accident that I was told the replacement parts came from the manufacturer and we’re not pattern parts.

So where will the insurers approved repairer be getting the new parts from then ??

My friend was assured the same yet they were pattern parts with Chinese stickers

[MustangGT]

Pinkie15 said:

I guess I should have made clear it was my experience when my car was in an accident that I was told the replacement parts came from the manufacturer and we’re not pattern parts.

So where will the insurers approved repairer be getting the new parts from then ??

Nearly all repairs are done with cheaper pattern parts, not originals.

[journeymanpro]

Pinkie15 said:

I guess I should have made clear it was my experience when my car was in an accident that I was told the replacement parts came from the manufacturer and we’re not pattern parts.

So where will the insurers approved repairer be getting the new parts from then ??

You get insurance approved pattern parts. Cheap crap essentially.

[egomeister]

Pit Pony said:

journeymanpro said:

Pinkie15 said:

Remember the repair costs will all be brand new parts from MINI.
]

No, no they won't.

But they will be brand new parts from somewhere.

I'm not even sure that is the case with some of the cheapest policies. I'm pretty sure the broker I was using a few years back told me that some of the real bottom end insurers allow used parts for repairs.