Advice following crash with ZT... - Page 7

wmj · 7th April 2014, 19:16

We had a similar experience when our insurance company tried to write off the car as a total loss. After taking some sound advice we were told to ask the insurance company to return the car to us with a cash settlement in leu of of our own repairs. Without any argument apart from a quibble over the value of the car, the assessor gave us the car back and full valuation minus a few hundred for what they would have received if they sold the car. I also insisted that the car was not recorded as any category write off. My argument was that the car was only uneconomical to repair for the insurance company and had it been within their price range they would not have recorded a cat c. In the end I repaired the car myself and was left with the best part of £2000 in my pocket and my ZT looking better than it did before the accident.

You have too remember it's your car not the insurance companies. They are there to pay for the repairs. That doesn't mean you have to accept their repairers estimates or their opinion on if it should be written off or not.

steveo · 7th April 2014, 19:35

Hi all
Didn't Smc have a full side for next to nothing (selling everything off )
Regards
Steve

Saga Lout · 7th April 2014, 19:45

Please PM me your idea of a price, I have a friend who wants a nice one. If it comes this way it will not be broken.

PaulE · 8th April 2014, 10:08

Cheers WMJ,

Sadly, I was under the impression that it was being taken care of at a repairers - I even had a message from the repairer that they had it and was going to carry out the repair. It was an error somewhere, but it ended up at salvage and was all marked up for auction (complete with my belongings in it)!

But I will say that although I ended up having to get another car, the end settlement was satisfactory. It wasn't a money thing to me, it was about having a car I had wanted for a long time and only got to drive for under a year.

PaulE · 8th April 2014, 10:09

I'll take a look and see what their part costs are like. Cheers Steveo

rover sd1 · 8th April 2014, 20:57

Hi Paul,

Sad to hear of this, It's been a bad week so I lose track of myself sometimes

.

So did you get your car back in the end?

If not good luck finding another beauty, I think its because these cars are extremely underrated and this means the insurance companies don't think they matter to people as much.

Soo annoying

( see I have even put a devil there, so yes angry and such )

Many thanks,
Will

Jumper75 · 9th April 2014, 00:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulE

Apparently, My insurer,

Octagon

, won't let me keep the salvage as it's total loss.

Any ideas on my rights here? Apparently its in their T&C's...

This has happened to me before, more than once. Argue with them that their offer is way too low then tell them ok but you're keeping the car. They know your car is worthless to them and will probably go for it, especially if you're bothering them daily (worked for me anyway).

Failing that, cancel your claim, keep the car and fix it up so it's road legal again and claim from the other party's insurance, assuming you can safely pin the blame on them, but if you were rear ended your chances are high. You don't have to go through your own insurer's claim process, but if you have legal cover your insurers still pay for all your barristers and do most of the work for you.

You need to get value out of these people, they do little enough for the money

PaulE · 9th April 2014, 09:04

Regarding the insurance company, it's all settled now. In the end I did get my car back - it's sitting on my drive at home, and is my property.

Had some bad luck along the way when I found out the garage had lied to me and that it still had finance outstanding from a previous owner! So always do a HPI check regardless of what the garage says.

Thanks for the advice though. I'd definitely not let an insurance company take possession of a car in future, until we had valuations agreed.

As it stands, I'm looking at re-homing the car (or possibly repairing it). In any case, I'd rather know it's going back on the road rather than being torn up for parts.

And you're right rover sd1, the valuations on these cars for insurance were next to nothing - so if you want it, protect it at all costs. As they say - possession is 9/10ths of the law! I was only certain about what was going on when it was delivered back to me.

Avulon · 9th April 2014, 12:29

Glad you got it back, and also with a reasonable settlement. Can I ask if the insurers admitted liability for the damage caused after accident (whilst in the salvage yard)?

7th April 2014, 19:35	#62
steveo I really should get out more....... None Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: N/a Posts: 2,108 Thanks: 1,369 Thanked 551 Times in 386 Posts	Parts Hi all Didn't Smc have a full side for next to nothing (selling everything off ) Regards Steve

7th April 2014, 19:45	#63
Saga Lout This is my second home MG ZT and Rover 75, Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Wigan Posts: 3,276 Thanks: 2,556 Thanked 2,685 Times in 1,037 Posts	Hi... Please PM me your idea of a price, I have a friend who wants a nice one. If it comes this way it will not be broken.

8th April 2014, 20:57	#66
rover sd1 Avid contributor blue mg zs mk2 2005 ignition blue and mg zt 1.8 t copperleaf red Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: manchester Posts: 157 Thanks: 23 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Hi Paul, Sad to hear of this, It's been a bad week so I lose track of myself sometimes. So did you get your car back in the end? If not good luck finding another beauty, I think its because these cars are extremely underrated and this means the insurance companies don't think they matter to people as much. Soo annoying ( see I have even put a devil there, so yes angry and such ) Many thanks, Will

9th April 2014, 12:29	#69
Avulon This is my second home 1.8t Tourer Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Tanelorn Posts: 4,830 Thanks: 956 Thanked 1,148 Times in 916 Posts	Glad you got it back, and also with a reasonable settlement. Can I ask if the insurers admitted liability for the damage caused after accident (whilst in the salvage yard)? __________________ Need a T4 ?: T4 Owners Map thanks to Stevestrat ( use at your own risk) Where?: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanelorn Mods/Retrofits: PCV vortex 'filter'; bluetooth; inline thermostat; reversing sensors; plenum spyhole ; headlamp washers ; Diy mp3 player replacing CD multichanger; FBH with remote; Headlamp washers; black/chrome front grille, rear blind; Xenon projectors To do: puddle lights; 2 Din cd/nav to fit; boot release button

7th April 2014, 19:16	#61
wmj Regular poster MG ZT diesel auto Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: ANGUS Posts: 33 Thanks: 0 Thanked 10 Times in 9 Posts	We had a similar experience when our insurance company tried to write off the car as a total loss. After taking some sound advice we were told to ask the insurance company to return the car to us with a cash settlement in leu of of our own repairs. Without any argument apart from a quibble over the value of the car, the assessor gave us the car back and full valuation minus a few hundred for what they would have received if they sold the car. I also insisted that the car was not recorded as any category write off. My argument was that the car was only uneconomical to repair for the insurance company and had it been within their price range they would not have recorded a cat c. In the end I repaired the car myself and was left with the best part of £2000 in my pocket and my ZT looking better than it did before the accident. You have too remember it's your car not the insurance companies. They are there to pay for the repairs. That doesn't mean you have to accept their repairers estimates or their opinion on if it should be written off or not.

8th April 2014, 10:08	#64
PaulE Regular poster MG ZT 135+ (04), MG ZT-T (06), Rover 75 (01) Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: London Posts: 63 Thanks: 7 Thanked 7 Times in 4 Posts	Cheers WMJ, Sadly, I was under the impression that it was being taken care of at a repairers - I even had a message from the repairer that they had it and was going to carry out the repair. It was an error somewhere, but it ended up at salvage and was all marked up for auction (complete with my belongings in it)! But I will say that although I ended up having to get another car, the end settlement was satisfactory. It wasn't a money thing to me, it was about having a car I had wanted for a long time and only got to drive for under a year.

8th April 2014, 10:09	#65
PaulE Regular poster MG ZT 135+ (04), MG ZT-T (06), Rover 75 (01) Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: London Posts: 63 Thanks: 7 Thanked 7 Times in 4 Posts	I'll take a look and see what their part costs are like. Cheers Steveo

9th April 2014, 09:04	#68
PaulE Regular poster MG ZT 135+ (04), MG ZT-T (06), Rover 75 (01) Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: London Posts: 63 Thanks: 7 Thanked 7 Times in 4 Posts	Regarding the insurance company, it's all settled now. In the end I did get my car back - it's sitting on my drive at home, and is my property. Had some bad luck along the way when I found out the garage had lied to me and that it still had finance outstanding from a previous owner! So always do a HPI check regardless of what the garage says. Thanks for the advice though. I'd definitely not let an insurance company take possession of a car in future, until we had valuations agreed. As it stands, I'm looking at re-homing the car (or possibly repairing it). In any case, I'd rather know it's going back on the road rather than being torn up for parts. And you're right rover sd1, the valuations on these cars for insurance were next to nothing - so if you want it, protect it at all costs. As they say - possession is 9/10ths of the law! I was only certain about what was going on when it was delivered back to me.