Friend borrowed my car and had an accident.

I would be discussing this ad infinitum with wider friendship group. Make sure her name is dirt socially.

Keep asking her for updates on a daily basis! She should feel mortified and put it right asap even if it ends up costing her

how dare she put you through this and not be bothered!

And never lend her as thing again ever once it is sorted

what kind of friend is this!

This with fucking bells on! Surely you'd have noticed a noise? Take it for a second opinion!

Do you have gap insurance for your car?

You shouldn't be out of pocket for your car at all and less reason to be soft about it now she's charging you £1500 for doing her a favour. She's despicable.

Car repairs are taking a while now, especially if it’s classed as minor damage. Mine was 6 weeks before the insurers garage could fit it in and the insurers declined the other quotes I got.

Bodyshops approved by the insurer most def don't get paid good hourly rates or over and above the bare minimum repair time. Everything part needing to be replaced or repaired has to be imaged as does every part that needs painting. The insurance company takes a massive discount on the retail price of the parts and then charges the bodyshop a fee for referring a repair to them.
Some insurers will charge double your excess if you don't use their approved bodyshop but that will be in the small print of the policy.

Bodyshops are busy and don't appreciate being threatened.

Believe me I know, having been in the business for many years.

Well she’s no friend is she.

Wow. This ‘friend’ is a piece of work.

Can she give you permission to talk to her insurance company then you could chase directly. I do this for my Mum’s gas etc, they just put a note on the account that I’m authorised to talk to them (we don’t have power of attorney)

I think a few people upthread mentioned checking their home or car insurance to see if it included a legal helpline.

Sounds like you are going to need a solicitor.

Your friend is sounding less lovely with every update.

What is this excess? On the accident with your car? Either she pays it or you reclaim it from the third party. You should not be left out of pocket by a no fault accident.

This reeks of bullshit.

Do you believe your friend and can she provide evidence of the issue she alleges her vehicle has?

Hmmm that sounds very convenient.
However, why are you paying the excess on your car? If it’s via her insurers, I’d assume she was paying it?

Your so called friend is now playing games, you must of hit her wheel very hard to damage the axle . I'm starting to think she's trying it on .

Taxguru, this is 'keiciu' , whose post you have replied to. Thank you.
My car was stolen, but then recovered (damaged) by the police 3 weeks later, so I do not have any other party to claim insurance from 😤

She had the accident so she needs to pay all. None of this accident damage was your fault and you should not have to pay a penny. She is the one who has caused your car to be written off. I think you may lose a friend over your kindness.

You claim the "extras" costs via uninsured loss recovery. That includes the full time a hire/courtesy car may be required if not provided/paid for by the insurer. You can also claim lots of other costs too, such as costs of phone calls, taxis to/from the bodyshop if necessary, the loss of your excess, etc etc. The OP needs to start being more proactive and assertive with both her "friend" and the various insurance firms involved. She shouldn't be out of pocket for even a penny if it wasn't her fault and she wasn't the one driving it at the time.

Irrelevant. It wouldn't have happened had the OP not lent the car. The friend may not have caused it, but we don't know if she contributed to it by parking badly, or where she shouldn't have done. But that's irrelevant. It wouldn't have been in that place and at that time if the friend hadn't taken it.

It's 100% on the friend to sort this out and ensure the OP isn't out of pocket at all.

My car went into garage for repairs at the end of June and it is still not ready! I was given crappy tiny courtesy car after 28days passed (during which I had similar replacement car to what I originally had) and insurance company said that according to my insurance agreement, I am only entitled to 'like for like' car for 28 days only. Absolutely crap crap crap service, but can not do anything about it 😤
There's nothing your friend can do at this point, I believe, but wait. Ask her to authorise you to speak on her behalf (especially, that she is going abroad soon) and try calling the insurance. But it wouldn't move your case faster, I am afraid 😟

But the OP a had absolutely nothing to do with the accident. So the “friend” suggesting that OP should be out of pocket for 50% of the costs is totally outrageous.

If you can’t see this, you need to be aware that you may well be a CF/user in your own life

Have you tried approaching the fault persons insurance company? They might offer a cash in lieu and not write it off. You can then get the repairs done.
It's probably only a CAT N write off

That’s good. I was told that my insurance would have been invalidated as I was driving a car knowingly un road worthy. My case was a bit more clear cut as I def couldn’t open the door.