Car probably written off in hit and run - what are my options?

[ninja]

It was in a slow moving traffic jam and the car bashed into the back. It's an old car and almost certainly not worth repairing (which the insurance company have said).

The car sped off but I have the registration and a picture but no witnesses. I've contacted the police too.

The insurance company have offered me £1200 - £250 excess but I have to make a decision by tomorrow and that would then leave me without a car and the chances of getting anything before Christmas and then going into an inevitable lockdown are low.

The alternative is they send an engineer out - which might buy me some time, but it's quite battered so I'd almost certainly be offered less.

Thing is my car was really reliable - just flew through its MOT last month and where else can I get a car that I can trust for £1000? Mine is drivable and I wish I could just keep it until I have the chance to get anything else.

Just wondering is anyone has advice or a way I can delay the whole thing (also obviously don't know if they'll manage to get the other car to admit liability so this could affect my insurance too).

Just feels like a shit time of year to have to sort this out :(

Can you see if you can buy it back? I think that's still a possibility if a car is written off due to value.

I bought my car back when it was written off. Ex dh worked on it , had a bit of a re spray and got 3 years out of it. Just ask your insurers. Or don't tell them, as long as its safe and will pass its MOT .

My last car was written off and I bought it back and had it repaired. However the vehicle required a write off inspection to enable my insurance to continue.

I asked them if I'd be able to continue driving it and they said they'd own it and dispose of it. They didn't give me the option of buying it back - but I guess I could ask.

Thanks

Definitely ask about buying it back, but if it's only cosmetic bumper damage I wouldn't bother repairing it either. Just save the money towards another car, or anything else really.

DP had a similar thing happen to him and they paid out within about 2 days and then came and took his car off him, which was a surprise and with hindsight, he wishes he'd asked to keep the car, because like you, it was a reliable car with a long MOT.

Plus, if you have the other car's registration, you can claim your excess off them (in reality, their insurance company pays your claim in full, so it's not a claim on your record, which will make your insurance more expensive in future). Expect them to drag their feet though.

After over a year of DP being given the run around by his insurance company, he used the MSE resolver tool to make a formal complaint, and got the excess money back, plus compensation, in under a fortnight.

It's not just cosmetic damage - there's a huge crack in the panel and the chassis is quite dented. It's driveable too and would buy me some time

Because it was a hit and run the other vehicle have to admit liability so
I'm not confident I will get my access back :(