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Original poster

Anyone work in car insurance ? Econimical to repair car , do they take into accout that it is mechinically sound and low milegae ?

25 replies

CaptainUnderpants · 28/07/2008 14:07

OK , our little run aorund is 15 yrs old but low milegae and mechically sound . It decided to have an argrument with a HGV and got dented along the side ( DH driving , me not there , HGV driver to blame apparently).

we have conatcted our insurance and they will go ahead with repair as long as it is economical to do so . So what do they base the price of car on ? and howmuch differnce between value of car and cost of repair will they go to before they right it off ?

OP posts:
LadyBuzz · 28/07/2008 14:52

Hiya,
They will asses the age and mileage of the car, they send an assessor to check the condition of the bodywork, rust patches etc and value it based on all of those details, I think there are 3 categories of condition they will repair in most cases if the cost to repair is less than 60% of the estimated value. Hope this helps

blushingm · 28/07/2008 16:22

we have 2 systems where the garages can send idgital images to our inhouse engineers. they use the general condition of the car and glasses guide to get a rough valuation to see if it's economical to repair or not. There are 4 classes of total loss/right off A Total burn out, B Break for spares (these 2 categories are when they cannot be repaired safely. C when the cost of repairs is greater than the value of the car and D when the repairs are not economical (usually 60% of value and over) These can both be repaired safely but it's not economical for the insurance company. If the do decide it's not economical to repair you can ask to buy it back abd get it repaired (but you have to get a certificate to proove the repiars are done properly but it will be regisitered at the dvla as an accident damaged car) or ask for a cash in lieu payment when you sort out the repairs and they just give yoou cash to get it done - if it goes over this amount that's tough

hope this makesz sense x

Original poster
CaptainUnderpants · 29/07/2008 00:06

blushingm - dont quite get this bit -

'If the do decide it's not economical to repair you can ask to buy it back abd get it repaired '

Buy it back after insurance compnay have paid out do you mean ? Will they pay out on market value and then how much would yoou buy it back for ?

I am not bothered whthered dvla register it as accident damaged car as we were hoping to keep it to run it into the ground and probably would never sell it on anyway .

The car is sill with us and is driveable so at the end of the day could we say to insurance company 'forget the claim' and get it done ourselves ?

The car is only worth about £500 but there is no way we could afford to buy another car at the moment , and we would never get a similar mileage and condition the car if insurance gave us £500 .

what do they base the case in lieu payment on ? and would they take off your excess ?

OP posts:
SaintGeorge · 29/07/2008 00:20

Not sure what they base the figures on but cash in lieu can work out well.

Our car was written off because of cosmetic damage. Car value was £2500 less excess, repairs estimated at about £2100 IRCC so they wrote it off.

We asked for cash in lieu. Got £1651 less excess, so a nice cheque for £1451.

Got the car repaired for £800 - at the same garage that had provided the £2100 estimate!

Original poster
CaptainUnderpants · 29/07/2008 00:28

So was your car then registered with dvla as accident damaged - if so how did that affect your premiums and getting insurance for it ?

OP posts:
Hannah81 · 29/07/2008 00:32

I had a fiesta once and an old lady reversed into my parked car and crushed the drivers door - her insurance paid up, it cost £996 just for one new door and door respray - i had it done at fords!!! the car was only worth £1k at the the time!

The day after I got held at knifepoint in the shop i worked in - bad week, but thats another story!

SaintGeorge · 29/07/2008 00:32

No, ours was purely cosmetic - new side wings and doors on passenger side and respray - so no major damage.

We did have to have it properly assessed on one of those laser thingymabobwotisits* to make sure the chassis wasn't bent.

SaintGeorge · 29/07/2008 00:34

The side wings obviously as opposed to the ones on the roof

And feck knows what the random * was for.

Hmm, maybe I need sleep

Original poster
CaptainUnderpants · 29/07/2008 00:35

hannah - sorry about your bad week

ours is only cosmectic but I dont wnat it to be an old car on the road with dents and bits hanging off like you see somtimes

OP posts:
Hannah81 · 29/07/2008 00:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster
CaptainUnderpants · 29/07/2008 00:42

Did they catch the robber ?

OP posts:
SaintGeorge · 29/07/2008 00:42

The thing with insurance estimates is that they allow for new, branded parts.

The garage used 2nd hand parts when we were paying instead of the insurers so the price plummeted. You can't tell the difference anyway once it is resprayed.

Original poster
CaptainUnderpants · 29/07/2008 00:44

I doubt wther they will get a new wing for a car 15yrs old , I woould imagine that the updated model of the car may be a slighly differnt shape .

OP posts:
Hannah81 · 29/07/2008 00:45

yes - he didn't even change the plates on the getaway car which was his girlfriends - he got just over a year for it i think, can't remember the exact time he got, i gave a positive id - he had a very distinguished nose - mind you, they all looked like crims in the line-up! he was a heroin addict.

SaintGeorge · 29/07/2008 00:47

Definitely try for a cash in lieu deal then if you can.

What car is it?

Hannah81 · 29/07/2008 00:47

Sorry I'm crashing your thread now! oh crashing! lol sorry no pun intended! hope they get it sorted for you anyway.
x

Original poster
CaptainUnderpants · 29/07/2008 00:49

hannah

SaintGeorge - Fiat Punto

OP posts:
SaintGeorge · 29/07/2008 00:49

Bloody hell Hannah, what a nightmare week that was for you! Glad you weren't hurt.

BTW, might be worth getting MNHQ to delete your post with the link, your full name is in there.

Hannah81 · 29/07/2008 00:51

its too late to have made that up - my eyes are failing, baby still feeding - must.... get... sleep... [yawn]

Hannah81 · 29/07/2008 00:52

my name is changed now will that matter?
how do i get them to delete it?

Hannah81 · 29/07/2008 00:53

i didn't think of that - stupid of me really

Original poster
CaptainUnderpants · 29/07/2008 00:55

Click on red exclaimation mark on post and that will send you to an email format to MNHQ

  • ujust explain why you wnat it deleted .
OP posts:
SaintGeorge · 29/07/2008 00:56

You should be able to pick up spares for a Punto fairly cheaply.

See here for example.

Of course, your insurers might still say yes. I am just coming up with options in case they don't

Hannah81 · 29/07/2008 00:58

thanks, i just did that! that shows how tired i am! well, baby stopped feeding, ~I'm off to bed - nite all
x

Original poster
CaptainUnderpants · 29/07/2008 00:59

yes , I have just goggled spare parts for it and it seems that they are easily available.

Oh we wait and see - thanks all for help , useful to know what to do should they say No .

OP posts:
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