Written Off my 458 Spider

[Boosted LS1]

MustangGT said:

Earthdweller said:

I think you will know how quick “fairly quickly” actually was … as will the independent witness

Independent witness? Not unless they were a car enthusiast. A high-revving FPC engine sounds as if it is travelling faster than a standard 4 cylinder engine.

My understanding is that only a PC is qualified to make a judgement of speed. OP could look into this aspect.

[nismo48]

Earthdweller said:

MustangGT said:

Earthdweller said:

I think you will know how quick “fairly quickly” actually was … as will the independent witness

Independent witness? Not unless they were a car enthusiast. A high-revving FPC engine sounds as if it is travelling faster than a standard 4 cylinder engine.

Righto

So you can’t be “independent” and not connected to either party and give an account of what you saw unless your a member of the Ferrari enthusiasts club

Got it

[smn159]

Boosted LS1 said:

MustangGT said:

Earthdweller said:

I think you will know how quick “fairly quickly” actually was … as will the independent witness

Independent witness? Not unless they were a car enthusiast. A high-revving FPC engine sounds as if it is travelling faster than a standard 4 cylinder engine.

My understanding is that only a PC is qualified to make a judgement of speed. OP could look into this aspect.

Witnesses can give their opinion of the speed of a car and the way that it was being driven. They can't state that the car was being driven at, say 70mph, but can for example give their opinion that the car was being driven too fast for the conditions

[Boosted LS1]

^ And then you enter the realms of unreliable witnesses. Easily broken down by the defence or prosecution.

[TTmonkey]

“Travelling fairly quickly”…. Not, at or under the speed limit. Not safely, within stopping distance etc etc….

“Ended up bouncing off trees…. Destroyed car…. “

From what the OP freely says so far on here it’s looking decidedly dodgy in terms driving style prior to the accident.

And yet potential witnesses can’t be relied on to judge speeds of noisy cars….?

Oh wait. User names ‘Mustang GT’ & ‘Boosted LS1’ probably know all about cars bouncing off trees at relatively slow speed, as I’ve seen those you-tube videos of American muscle cars throwing hissy fits at about 35mph too!

[Chrism355]

It will be clearly worded in the policy how the insurance company reach a valuation in the case of a total loss. If it says average of three trade guides then that’s what you get, the ombudsman will not be interested in any dealer valuation or adverts you present. Bear in mind if you have not declared every option on the car they can deduct a percentage from the valuation payout.

[Monkeylegend]

Did the other car stop and assist the police with their enquiries?

[StressedDave]

TTmonkey said:

And yet potential witnesses can’t be relied on to judge speeds of noisy cars….?

IME witnesses can just about be trusted to give their name correctly two times out of three. Sensible barristers don't ask for speed estimates, rather asking whether the car was going faster than traffic you see normally going along the road.

To be honest though, it's not going to be that difficult to work out speeds and positions. Just plug the Bosch EDR into the airbag module and you'll have everything. Not like in my day where you had to do a lot of measuring and critical thinking. One colleage calculated an impact speed based on the trajectory of a loose bucket of oysters strapped to the back of a moped.

[MustangGT]

Earthdweller said:

MustangGT said:

Earthdweller said:

I think you will know how quick “fairly quickly” actually was … as will the independent witness

Independent witness? Not unless they were a car enthusiast. A high-revving FPC engine sounds as if it is travelling faster than a standard 4 cylinder engine.

Righto

So you can’t be “independent” and not connected to either party and give an account of what you saw unless your a member of the Ferrari enthusiasts club

Got it

Not what I said at all, merely the simple fact that an 8 sounds 'faster' than a 4 because it has twice as many firing pistons per rotation. Particularly an FPC rather than a standard crank.

[MustangGT]

TTmonkey said:

Oh wait. User names ‘Mustang GT’ & ‘Boosted LS1’ probably know all about cars bouncing off trees at relatively slow speed, as I’ve seen those you-tube videos of American muscle cars throwing hissy fits at about 35mph too!

Having owned 4 Camaros, 1 Corvette and 2 Mustangs, along with Ferrari, Porsche and TVR along with various other cars I can safely say the American cars were not the worst handling. Sorry to disappoint, but, zero claims in any of them.

[jm8403]

MustangGT said:

Having owned 4 Camaros, 1 Corvette and 2 Mustangs, along with Ferrari, Porsche and TVR along with various other cars I can safely say the American cars were not the worst handling. Sorry to disappoint, but, zero claims in any of them.

Or the best...

[anonymous-user]

slow ginn said:

I’m reposting as Admin removed presumably because I named the insurance company - now removed.

If you could cut and paste your previous valuable responses I’d be very grateful!

Back in early June whilst travelling fairly quickly on an A road in Sussex a car pulled out of a side road right in front of me and to avoid collision I left the road and bounced off several trees in the process destroying my beautiful 458 Spider. Police etc attended and a witness was present although I haven;t heard their view of events. Apparently the case is with Sussex Police Collision unit who will give no details and are investigating the incident but due to a back log dont expect to have concluded matters for 12-16 weeks.
My insurers, after much argument have made me a final improved offer of £141k, (based on CAP) still below what I paid for the car last October but wont pay out until the Collision Unit have confirmed that I will not be prosecuted for Drink Driving or Dangerous Driving - and this wont be confirmed for 12-16 weeks although I passed roadside breathalyser.
Im after some sound advise! It seems absurd that I’ll have to wait for the Police to conclude their investigations before tjhe insurer will pay out and the insurers offer is £30k below what I would have to pay today for a similar car. Spider, Nero and Crema, all options, 17k miles and FFSH.
Can any of you learned folks advise a company or individual that would take on and fight my corner in this nightmare? Do should companies exist?
Many thanks in advance!

There’s a lot of tangential stuff in this thread.

1. Any solicitor experienced in insurance or even general commercial litigation can help you.
2. Your policy will say what the exclusions are. Specifically whether cover if you were over the blood alcohol limit or are found to have been driving dangerously. You don’t need a solicitor to read the policy.
3. Your policy will say something about how the insurer will value a claim where the car is written off. Again you don’t need a solicitor to read the policy.
4. If cover for DD is excluded you’ll need to sit tight.
5. If the other driver was at fault, you can claim for your loss (or even a shortfall on your cover vs your actual loss) on their policy.

[PF62]

slow ginn said:

Back in early June whilst travelling fairly quickly on an A road in Sussex a car pulled out of a side road right in front of me and to avoid collision I left the road and bounced off several trees in the process destroying my beautiful 458 Spider.

Deliberately choosing to leaving the road and bouncing off several trees to avoid someone pulling out of a side road, and all whilst you were approaching the junction on this A road at less than 60mph.

Sounds odd, very odd - unless “fairly quickly” means driving at an illegal speed where choosing to drive the car off the road and into several trees was a sensible option.

No wonder why the police are investigating.

[paddy1970]

For a proper valuation of your car, go to a company like Laird Assessors. They will produce a report that you can send to the insurers. They are going to try to low ball you but stick to the valuation unless they can produce an alternative report.

[Boosted LS1]

TTmonkey said:

“Travelling fairly quickly”…. Not, at or under the speed limit. Not safely, within stopping distance etc etc….

“Ended up bouncing off trees…. Destroyed car…. “

From what the OP freely says so far on here it’s looking decidedly dodgy in terms driving style prior to the accident.

And yet potential witnesses can’t be relied on to judge speeds of noisy cars….?

Oh wait. User names ‘Mustang GT’ & ‘Boosted LS1’ probably know all about cars bouncing off trees at relatively slow speed, as I’ve seen those you-tube videos of American muscle cars throwing hissy fits at about 35mph too!

They can be relied upon as much as your granny. The law relies upon facts not opinions. The bar is lower in civilian cases but unless the police have forensics your granny, neighbour, you or your best dog are less expert then you may think.

I've never crashed a car.

[Boosted LS1]

PF62 said:

slow ginn said:

Back in early June whilst travelling fairly quickly on an A road in Sussex a car pulled out of a side road right in front of me and to avoid collision I left the road and bounced off several trees in the process destroying my beautiful 458 Spider.

Deliberately choosing to leaving the road and bouncing off several trees to avoid someone pulling out of a side road, and all whilst you were approaching the junction on this A road at less than 60mph.

Sounds odd, very odd - unless “fairly quickly” means driving at an illegal speed where choosing to drive the car off the road and into several trees was a sensible option.

No wonder why the police are investigating.

Two trees 15-feet apart perhaps? Maybe 3? Only the OP knows, the rest is speculation. I doubt it would be hard to hit several trees close together if leaving the road at 60 mph,

[PF62]

Boosted LS1 said:

PF62 said:

slow ginn said:

Back in early June whilst travelling fairly quickly on an A road in Sussex a car pulled out of a side road right in front of me and to avoid collision I left the road and bounced off several trees in the process destroying my beautiful 458 Spider.

Deliberately choosing to leaving the road and bouncing off several trees to avoid someone pulling out of a side road, and all whilst you were approaching the junction on this A road at less than 60mph.

Sounds odd, very odd - unless “fairly quickly” means driving at an illegal speed where choosing to drive the car off the road and into several trees was a sensible option.

No wonder why the police are investigating.

Two trees 15-feet apart perhaps? Maybe 3? Only the OP knows, the rest is speculation. I doubt it would be hard to hit several trees close together if leaving the road at 60 mph,

And eventually the police investigators will when they work out why choosing to drive off the road and into a tree (or two) was deemed a sensible option.

[Fermit]

Who needs the courts, when you have Pistonheads. fks sake.

[Boosted LS1]

PF62 said:

Boosted LS1 said:

PF62 said:

slow ginn said:

Back in early June whilst travelling fairly quickly on an A road in Sussex a car pulled out of a side road right in front of me and to avoid collision I left the road and bounced off several trees in the process destroying my beautiful 458 Spider.

Deliberately choosing to leaving the road and bouncing off several trees to avoid someone pulling out of a side road, and all whilst you were approaching the junction on this A road at less than 60mph.

Sounds odd, very odd - unless “fairly quickly” means driving at an illegal speed where choosing to drive the car off the road and into several trees was a sensible option.

No wonder why the police are investigating.

Two trees 15-feet apart perhaps? Maybe 3? Only the OP knows, the rest is speculation. I doubt it would be hard to hit several trees close together if leaving the road at 60 mph,

And eventually the police investigators will when they work out why choosing to drive off the road and into a tree (or two) was deemed a sensible option.

Correct and maybe it was his only option. You don't know and neiher do I but at least a granny won't be relied upon :-)

[ATM]

Jim1556 said:

AGTLaw is a motoring solicitor on here (and well regarded by Pistonheaders) - not sure if he does the insurance side as he's known for defending the driving side, but well worth asking him by DM.

No

He is a Barrister and deals with Court Cases involving Criminal proceedings - not sure of the correct wording

And therefore I can't imagine him beginning able to help here with Insurance Co

Unless you need help say if the Police charge you with an Offence