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Original poster

Someone went into the back of my car and now it’s a write off and I’m out of pocket :(

39 replies

Bagelsandbrie · 06/08/2020 20:51

I’m having a really shit time of this and need some advice.

Last weekend I was waiting at a roundabout-completely stationary - and a car went into the back of us. Thankfully everyone was fine, that’s the main thing. Car however was badly damaged. Driver of other car got out and we swapped details and when I got home I claimed on my insurance. Driver admitted full fault.

Insurance were great, arranged for courtesy car for us and picked our damaged car up. Call from bodywork place today to say that car is damaged beyond repair (really didn’t expect that! We drove it home and it seemed fine!) so offering us £3.8k. Car was purchased for £7 a couple of years ago.

I rang the insurance company and they said to ask the valuation people to re value the car and so I have done this. I am not hopeful though.

So now I have no car and not enough money to get a decent ish one and it’s not my fault! I’m so upset. I genuinely don’t know what to do re buying another one. Is it better to do some sort of finance deal with an actual dealer or is a personal loan better?! I don’t know what I’m doing. The last car we got from savings and we now have what we have left earmarked for something else.

Or should I just use the £4k to buy something?

What would you do?

I know this is very much first world problem stuff but I’m going through a horrible time health wise and struggling and this is the icing on the cake.

OP posts:
Original poster
Bagelsandbrie · 06/08/2020 20:52

£7k obviously...!

OP posts:
Original poster
Bagelsandbrie · 06/08/2020 20:53

I should add we can keep the courtesy car until the cheque clears so that’s good but I don’t know what to do about getting a new one... whether to borrow extra money or not.

OP posts:
ClamDango · 06/08/2020 20:53

I would buy a car from a dealer for under £4k and spend the rest on myself. what sort of car do you need?

Original poster
Bagelsandbrie · 06/08/2020 20:55

Well we live quite rurally and there’s 4 of us and we like to go away now and again so like a reasonable boot. I’m not fussy as long as it’s reliable. And safe..!

OP posts:
OhWifey · 06/08/2020 20:57

I had to haggle a lot with the valuer when my car got written off. I think I got it from £6.5 up to £8 as I argued I couldn't by like for like

PrayingandHoping · 06/08/2020 21:01

Look online and find your exact car and see how much they are selling for. Model, year and mileage is key. If they are selling for more than the offer you've been made print them off and present them to the insurance company

I had the opposite. They offered me MORE money than I could find one for! But they told me to go through the above process and confirm I thought the offer was fair

You won't get the money u spent back, as your car has devalued, but you should be able to buy the exact same one and be in the same position as u were

DonLewis · 06/08/2020 21:02

What a bummer.

I looked into pcp. You can get something decent for 2/250 pcm. But that's a lot of money every month. I'd get a loan to top up the 4k to 9/10k and buy something outright. I always like owning my cars.

The last one I bought was a 3 year old astra for 6k. Lasted for 12 years with very few repairs. I could keep it limping on a bit longer, but I've bought something second hand for 6k.

stargazer101 · 06/08/2020 21:04

I had a lorry write my car off the week before Christmas. The insurance company offered me a low value. I rejected it and they said to show examples of my car for sale to prove I couldn't buy like for like. After a lot of discussion they agreed to increase their offer. I was advised by a friend who works for a claims department to never accept the first offer.

PrayingandHoping · 06/08/2020 21:06

@stargazer101 except in my case where they offered too much 😂

Greenforett · 06/08/2020 21:15

Oh I'm sorry you're having a tough time at the moment, OP.

Sending UnMumsnet hugs your way

Original poster
Bagelsandbrie · 06/08/2020 21:19

Thank you everyone. I think I will look online and see what my car is worth. Obviously I’m not expecting it to be the same as I paid for it but more £5k ish maybe a little more. At least that would give me a bit extra to play with. I think they’ve based it on a standard model but mine had a full length panoramic sun roof thing and lots of extras. I’ll see what I can do.

I certainly can’t buy like for like with their offer that’s for sure.

Appreciate the input. Was expected to be told to be thankful for anything Grin and I am of course but it’s just such an unfortunate chain of events.

OP posts:
PrayingandHoping · 06/08/2020 21:27

@Bagelsandbrie go on autotrader and find the same one. That's the only way you can argue it. You will only be given the money to exactly replace it.

Original poster
Bagelsandbrie · 06/08/2020 21:28

@PrayingandHoping thank you, I’ve been looking a new cars on there but didn’t think to look up my own! Blush My brain is fried.

OP posts:
PrayingandHoping · 06/08/2020 21:30

🤞🤞 for u!

finished31 · 06/08/2020 21:31

Something similar was offered to me when my car was stolen years ago. DH argued that the quote was far too low and we eventually got a better pay out.

Go on Parker's for a valuation. Look at what it would be if bought by garage and ask for that amount.

Feminist10101 · 06/08/2020 21:54

Why have you claimed from your own insurance? The third party owe you more than your own insurers will.

Jacky209990 · 06/08/2020 21:58

I had very similar scenario. Dominoes driver drive into me, accepted fault but now is not accepting fault. Will likely be 50/50, so I've lost no claims. You can Google car valuation, I made sure I had 3 ready to argue my case. I paid 7,000 four years ago and average value as right off was between 2500-2900. So was quite happy they offered 4,000. I found personal loan was the cheapest way to finance a new car. The interest rest on hcp and pcp was far higher than the bank loan I got.

IWantToBeAFairy · 06/08/2020 22:07

Just be careful about the courtesy car, when mine was written off last year they gave me 7days from the insurance company sending the cheque out. They sent it out on a Wednesday, I didn't receive the cheque until the Friday and couldn't get it in the bank until the Monday. They rung me on the Monday and told me to take the courtesy car back by the Wednesday or face a fine. I tried arguing it saying that the cheque wouldn't even be cleared but they were having none of it!!
It left my in a difficult position with work and I then had to rush to buy a new car. The accident wasn't my fault either.
Good luck

vanillandhoney · 07/08/2020 08:05

Be careful about the courtesy car - my car was written off last month and I lost my courtesy car the same day as Tesco kindly paid me by bank transfer!

I ended up with no vehicle for a week and had to get lifts to work with my FIL until I could collect my new vehicle. You may not have it for as long as you think.

DivGirl · 07/08/2020 08:13

@Feminist10101

Why have you claimed from your own insurance? The third party owe you more than your own insurers will.
That's how it works. You deal with your own insurance company who claim from the other party.

OP - can only really echo what other people have said. I used to work in insurance (specifically motor insurance). You need to get as many examples of your exact age, make and model (or close to) for sale currently. That's what they should be offering to pay you - you should never be put in the position where you're out of pocket.

Original poster
Bagelsandbrie · 07/08/2020 09:37

Hi all,

Thank you so much for your advice and help.

I have got some links showing cars of like for like (model, mileage etc) and sent them to the valuer people whatever they’re called and asked them to revise their offer. So we will see. They definitely need to be giving me an extra £1-1.5k I think. Not a huge amount but will make a difference.

Yes we claimed on our own insurance and that’s what is best to do - it doesn’t affect your no claims as I wasn’t at fault and they deal with it all and reclaim the costs from the other side for you.

OP posts:
TheKickInside · 07/08/2020 09:46

You can actually get the repairs done and keep your car, but the amount you receive would be the write-off value (if that is a smaller amount than the cost of repairs).

A 'total loss write off' simply means that the insurer calculates that the repairs would cost more than the value of the car. It does not mean that it is impossible to repair the car.

So as pps have said, negotiate with your insurer about the pay out, but you can also ask to have your car back, then you use the pay out towards getting the repairs done. You might be able to get a cheaper quote from another repair shop.

Lazypuppy · 07/08/2020 09:54

OP this is what gap insurance is for. You will never get enpugh back out of insurance to buy like for like.

When you buy your next car, take out gap insurance! Not from the dealer though, just google gap insurance, its much cheaper

carolebaskinfedhimtothetigers · 07/08/2020 10:06

@Lazypuppy has beat me to it, I was just reading all these replies wondering why no one has mentioned gap insurance! OP when you buy your next car car take out gap insurance (mine is £6 per month for a 3 year policy) which means if I crash within 3 years of purchasing my car I get the full £8500 I paid back instead of what my car is worth at that date so you actually end up better off. This is on a car I bought outright though, I think the policies work slightly differently if you have financed the car. With regards to how to buy your new car as I said I bought this car 'outright' but I've actually got a personal bank loan for it at 3.8% interest, most finance companies are between 6-10%. I'm with Santander and had the money in my account within 48 hours of my application.

carolebaskinfedhimtothetigers · 07/08/2020 10:07

Also my gap insurance was with the dealer this time but on my old car I just bought my own policy online.