Non fault accident - insurance want to write off car
Discussion
My wife was driving to collect me from work in Bradford yesterday evening just before we embarked on a trip to Bristol for the weekend. 2 minutes from work a taxi drove into the side of our Volvo, it was a very low speed accident and the wife said she barely felt it and just thought it would be paint damage until she saw the state of the wing and angle of the wheel.
Maybe it looks worse than it is, it still drove a short distance to get it off the roundabout despite that wheel being jammed against the arch liner.
The taxi driver tried saying 50/50 although it was clearly his fault as my wife was already on the roundabout and he was attempting to join. It also caused a bus behind to slam on, the bus driver was very helpful and gave us all his details for the CCTV.
Unfortunately despite being in very good condition my own insurance company have said that because of the cars age the car is a total loss, without even looking at it and are unlikely to come and assess the damage. They will probably offer me some pitiful sum that won't buy me a replacement car in the same condition.
Having never been in this situation before my question is how do I go about recovering my losses and if I wanted to have the car repaired myself do I need to persue the taxi drivers insurance company? (Having spoken to the police about obtaining the CCTV from the bus they checked his details and he is insured and his details check out).
Thankfully my boss lent me his year old Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV so we still made it to Bristol! It is very modern and the electric motor makes it surprisingly quick off the mark, but the quality of the seats and sound system aren't a patch on the old Volvos!
Maybe it looks worse than it is, it still drove a short distance to get it off the roundabout despite that wheel being jammed against the arch liner.
The taxi driver tried saying 50/50 although it was clearly his fault as my wife was already on the roundabout and he was attempting to join. It also caused a bus behind to slam on, the bus driver was very helpful and gave us all his details for the CCTV.
Unfortunately despite being in very good condition my own insurance company have said that because of the cars age the car is a total loss, without even looking at it and are unlikely to come and assess the damage. They will probably offer me some pitiful sum that won't buy me a replacement car in the same condition.
Having never been in this situation before my question is how do I go about recovering my losses and if I wanted to have the car repaired myself do I need to persue the taxi drivers insurance company? (Having spoken to the police about obtaining the CCTV from the bus they checked his details and he is insured and his details check out).
Thankfully my boss lent me his year old Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV so we still made it to Bristol! It is very modern and the electric motor makes it surprisingly quick off the mark, but the quality of the seats and sound system aren't a patch on the old Volvos!
I had something similar in 2011, idiot in a Mondeo just pulled out on me.
First job was to get an estimate - clearly not possible in your case. Then a 'hire' car came out from my insurance company. The prat in the Mondeo tried to blame it on me, but some photos taken of the roundabout very early one morning and a nice diagram soon shut him up. I had a cheque in the post for my car (written off) and I kept it, repaired it myself etc.
Do NOT let Copart or some other salvage clowns take it away! That's the last you will see of it. The car stays with you until you are paid, no exceptions. Chances are they won't bother coming to collect it anyway - that will only make 2-300 quid as a Cat C and they'll lose money on it.
First job was to get an estimate - clearly not possible in your case. Then a 'hire' car came out from my insurance company. The prat in the Mondeo tried to blame it on me, but some photos taken of the roundabout very early one morning and a nice diagram soon shut him up. I had a cheque in the post for my car (written off) and I kept it, repaired it myself etc.
Do NOT let Copart or some other salvage clowns take it away! That's the last you will see of it. The car stays with you until you are paid, no exceptions. Chances are they won't bother coming to collect it anyway - that will only make 2-300 quid as a Cat C and they'll lose money on it.
It's definetly a write off from an insurance perspective. Looking at that front wheel I suspect it'll have to be a back-street bodyshop job to be economical at all. I'd take it to one and have them do an estimate, if they're getting the job they'll help you with getting the salvage back, third party insurers can be a bit awkard about it at times.
To repair that, you'll need a wing, headlight and a complete front strut. Probably £150 in parts, £100 to paint the wing. Hopefully it won't have buggered the driveshaft but I'd get the strut with the shaft will fitted. Unlikely the lower arm or rack will be damaged - I had a 56 plate D5 and and they're built like a brick sh*thouse.
Is it really worth bothering with? However nice it is, it is still a 200k 2001 S60 which probably hasn't that much life left in it.
It is certainly a write off but before considering fixing it I would get it looked at carefully in case you are getting into more than you think. If the strut has bent it could have damaged the inner top strut mounting and then you're getting into serious rebuilding work. It actually looks quite a nasty knock.
Bear in mind you can probably find a nice facelift 2005/6 S60 D5 SE with about 100k for £1500-£2000 or maybe less these days so maybe it is time to change?
It is certainly a write off but before considering fixing it I would get it looked at carefully in case you are getting into more than you think. If the strut has bent it could have damaged the inner top strut mounting and then you're getting into serious rebuilding work. It actually looks quite a nasty knock.
Bear in mind you can probably find a nice facelift 2005/6 S60 D5 SE with about 100k for £1500-£2000 or maybe less these days so maybe it is time to change?
I think the inner wing and strut mounting will be out of shape, and no way is it a viable repair for £00s rather than £000s.
Get hunting for a replacement and find adverts of comparable cars to beat the insurance company over the head with.
Very sad, but these things happen from time to time.
Get hunting for a replacement and find adverts of comparable cars to beat the insurance company over the head with.
Very sad, but these things happen from time to time.
Get a photo of the engine bay. My dad caught his S80 front left wheel on a bollard. Car looked a state with front left pushed back towards passenger bulkhead and crumpled wing. But structure ok. A wishbone, drive shaft was mechanical damage and second hand wheel and wind meant back on road for £700
If turret is damaged don't bother repairing. If you've had from new appreciate it's not easy but otherwise cut losses. My dad's cars tracking has never been right since.
If turret is damaged don't bother repairing. If you've had from new appreciate it's not easy but otherwise cut losses. My dad's cars tracking has never been right since.
shost said:
Get a photo of the engine bay. My dad caught his S80 front left wheel on a bollard. Car looked a state with front left pushed back towards passenger bulkhead and crumpled wing. But structure ok. A wishbone, drive shaft was mechanical damage and second hand wheel and wind meant back on road for £700
Indeed. It's a Volvo, not a Vectra.Well the car is currently in an impound, didn't really see another way around the situation at the time, we're stuck on the side of the road with a broken car, what do you do other than call your insurance company and have it recovered.
I hope to speak to my local volvo specialist on Monday and see if they are willing to repair it for me.
We are struggling to get the name of the 3rd parties insurance company so far, so have been unable to speak to them, police did assure us the car was insured though and in the drivers name he provided. May have to persue this with the police if they are not forthcoming with details.
I hope to speak to my local volvo specialist on Monday and see if they are willing to repair it for me.
We are struggling to get the name of the 3rd parties insurance company so far, so have been unable to speak to them, police did assure us the car was insured though and in the drivers name he provided. May have to persue this with the police if they are not forthcoming with details.
Update on this, the 3rd party has finally admitted liability on this, not that he had much choice he drove into the side of my car on a roundabout!
His insurers have been to view the car and have said it will be a cat B, total loss meaning it can't go back on the road. I'm gutted and also quite surprised by this, I thought it would be a cat C at worse. They did say it was in above average condition for the year and mileage but have knocked off £65 for existing damage, valuing the car at £795 which I'm not entirely happy with. The car was well maintained, I have paperwork to back this up and it even had a (more or less) full tank of fuel!
So I'm not sure what to do, we have been pursuing his insurance but have not yet officially lodged a claim with either our own or his insurers. Would my own insurer be able to help me get me a higher value as they will be recovering the costs back from the 3rd party?
His insurers have been to view the car and have said it will be a cat B, total loss meaning it can't go back on the road. I'm gutted and also quite surprised by this, I thought it would be a cat C at worse. They did say it was in above average condition for the year and mileage but have knocked off £65 for existing damage, valuing the car at £795 which I'm not entirely happy with. The car was well maintained, I have paperwork to back this up and it even had a (more or less) full tank of fuel!
So I'm not sure what to do, we have been pursuing his insurance but have not yet officially lodged a claim with either our own or his insurers. Would my own insurer be able to help me get me a higher value as they will be recovering the costs back from the 3rd party?
Garett said:
Update on this, the 3rd party has finally admitted liability on this, not that he had much choice he drove into the side of my car on a roundabout!
His insurers have been to view the car and have said it will be a cat B, total loss meaning it can't go back on the road. I'm gutted and also quite surprised by this, I thought it would be a cat C at worse. They did say it was in above average condition for the year and mileage but have knocked off £65 for existing damage, valuing the car at £795 which I'm not entirely happy with. The car was well maintained, I have paperwork to back this up and it even had a (more or less) full tank of fuel!
So I'm not sure what to do, we have been pursuing his insurance but have not yet officially lodged a claim with either our own or his insurers. Would my own insurer be able to help me get me a higher value as they will be recovering the costs back from the 3rd party?
It could but really youre bringing someone else into the argument who'll be watching their costsHis insurers have been to view the car and have said it will be a cat B, total loss meaning it can't go back on the road. I'm gutted and also quite surprised by this, I thought it would be a cat C at worse. They did say it was in above average condition for the year and mileage but have knocked off £65 for existing damage, valuing the car at £795 which I'm not entirely happy with. The car was well maintained, I have paperwork to back this up and it even had a (more or less) full tank of fuel!
So I'm not sure what to do, we have been pursuing his insurance but have not yet officially lodged a claim with either our own or his insurers. Would my own insurer be able to help me get me a higher value as they will be recovering the costs back from the 3rd party?
Have a look through the various listings for a few cars in equivalent condition and demonstrate that's how much youd have to spend to get a replacement
After all they were lucky their insured didnt run into a veyron
I've agreed at just over £1k which I don't think is too bad for a 16 year old car with nearly 200k. I won't be buying it back, although I could have done I was worried that something like the rack could have taken a knock - it will be marked as a Cat C and most likely broken for parts and scrapped.
It was the best car I've owned in terms of practicality, reliability, comfort and running costs. For now the MX5 will be pressed into daily use but I'll see what happens when winter comes along, I have the feeling it won't be the last Volvo I own.
It was the best car I've owned in terms of practicality, reliability, comfort and running costs. For now the MX5 will be pressed into daily use but I'll see what happens when winter comes along, I have the feeling it won't be the last Volvo I own.
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