Crashed car - what to do

jaxy999

My car got a right oul slap yesterday, :mad:I had her parked up on the roadside & a passing car swerved to avoid a speeding car coming from other direction & slapped into the back of my car. Crash repair man made alot of noises this evening assesing the damage, gonna cost a few bob I'd say. He asked me did I want to push for the value of the car & of course I hadn't a clue what he was on about so after him explaining, I said I'd prefer for it to be repaired, but it's up to the insurance assessor in the end he says.
Now my Dad is saying I should look for the value coz when I go to sell it it's basically a crashed car & the value will be lower and I'm goin to be at a loss. He was also goin on about the chassis etc etc.

Has anyone any experience here? It's a 06 peugeot 206 so crash repair man said the assessor may just pay out for the repair as it's a fairly new car.

mike65

Take the money if you can if its a fair offer.

Less hassle all round.

Mike

victor1

if possible then yes i agree, take money and run

Seth Brundle

look into prices for a 06 206 with the same spec as yours. DOn't expect the insurance company to cough up the real value initially!

jaxy999

kbannon wrote: »

look into prices for a 06 206 with the same spec as yours. DOn't expect the insurance company to cough up the real value initially!

A peugeot of the same spec as mine on carzone is selling min of €10,000 to about €11,000 but if the estimate to repair my car is for eg €6,000, what say do I have in saying the resale value of my car is down so I want the car scrapped and get the current value. What's in it for the insurance to give me the value, they're not going to just hand out money :mad: I must tell the crash repair guy I want to push for full value now. Can you get an independent assessor to take a look at it or would this just antagonise the insurance assessor & undermine him?

vibe666

one of the lads at work had something similar recently and they are taking him for a ride over the value of his old car. they won't give him anywhere close to the full value of replacing it despite a lot of haggling but he's getting a lot more from haggling than they initially offered him so keep at them and don't accept their first 2 or 3offers at least.

be ready with examples of why your car is worth more than they are willing to give you as they will try their best to shaft you over it if they can.

egan007

I'd get an expert to look at it, a slap like that could have bent the Chassis makeing it worth a fat 0.

ShayK1

I would also push for the value of the car over crash repair if it was me.

A little bit of personal experience:

My g/f had a 01 Peugot 206 and she was involved in a crash. The car was written off and with the cash she paided the remainder of her loan on the 206 and bought a 98 civic for about €3k. So now she has a car that she loves and no car loan.

Just something to think about.

Henry Ford III

egan007 wrote: »

I'd get an expert to look at it, a slap like that could have bent the Chassis makeing it worth a fat 0.

Chassis can be put on a jig and straightened. Whether or not it's a good idea depends on the cost versus the value.

jaxy999

egan007 wrote: »

I'd get an expert to look at it, a slap like that could have bent the Chassis makeing it worth a fat 0.

My father said the chaissis could be damaged aswell & that's something that's beyond repair. Will the crash repair man have any influence in what he says to the assessor e.g. "in my opinion it's a ball of sh*te mate" :P Which it is really now, even though I'm still driving it as I've to go to work. I suppose these guy's are experts and don't take no heed of anyone else. Another thing is will they pay if I have to hire a car out if I'm in the situation where it's been repaired?
I got a feeling the panel beater may not even want to repair himself coz the first think he said to me is alot of insurance companies have a list of nominated repair companies. & then the fact it's a huge job, basically the whole back of the car will have to come off + the right side back passenger door is stuck, the boot floor is all buckled, side panels will have to come off and on & on. I'd say there wouldn't be much change out of six or seven grand, in my opinion.

jaxy999

ShayK1 wrote: »

I would also push for the value of the car over crash repair if it was me.

A little bit of personal experience:

My g/f had a 01 Peugot 206 and she was involved in a crash. The car was written off and with the cash she paided the remainder of her loan on the 206 and bought a 98 civic for about €3k. So now she has a car that she loves and no car loan.

Just something to think about.

That idea went through my head last night aswell if I got the money, it's be great to have a smaller loan esp with the credit crunch & all that

Henry Ford III

So a similar car on Carzone is say €10k and the cost of repair is €6k+.

Sounds like it's uneconomic to repair and should be w/o.

S.I.R

sounds to me like your just purely unlucky, get the claim, if the car actually drives, wait till a " push tow or drive your banger into are showroom and we give youi a 2k p/x " kinda deal.... Every little helps.

ShayK1

jaxy999 wrote: »

Another thing is will they pay if I have to hire a car out if I'm in the situation where it's been repaired?

That's an individual policy thing. I think its call Replacement car cover or something like that. You'll have to ask you insurer or consult for insurance certificate to find that out.

jaxy999

ShayK1 wrote: »

That's an individual policy thing. I think its call Replacement car cover or something like that. You'll have to ask you insurer or consult for insurance certificate to find that out.

I would have thought that would be covered in the claim & the other insurance company would pay - the panel beater has a car for me. Why will my insurance company have to pay for a hired car when the wan who crashed into my car admitted liability + there is a garda report. They'd only use it as an excuse to hike up my premium. The panel beater said something along those lines aswell that it was up to me if I wanted to inform my insurance company coz sometimes they'll contact the other insurance company to speed thing up or it could go against me by them uping the premium.

jimmycrackcorm

One thing to do when negotiating with the insurance company is to ask them if they would pay the same money buying a car with a crash history as opposed to an equivalent car which wasn't.

ShayK1

jaxy999 wrote: »

I would have thought that would be covered in the claim & the other insurance company would pay - the panel beater has a car for me. Why will my insurance company have to pay for a hired car when the wan who crashed into my car admitted liability + there is a garda report. They'd only use it as an excuse to hike up my premium. The panel beater said something along those lines aswell that it was up to me if I wanted to inform my insurance company coz sometimes they'll contact the other insurance company to speed thing up or it could go against me by them uping the premium.

Sorry, you're right. Dunno what I was thinking.

jaxy999

ShayK1 wrote: »

Sorry, you're right. Dunno what I was thinking.

Whew that's a relief!! I had a mini stroke there thinking my insurance company will up my premium if they have to pay out for car hire. The panel beater knows now I want to push for the full value so hopefully the assessor will be in a good mood & mr panel beater will really really push for the full value. This is the first time in my driving career (8years) that something like this has happens. I'm quite sad if my poor car is salvaged coz it's a nice car other than d big mess from behind

jaxy999

Just an update. Got confirmation today my car has been classed as an uneconomic repair. Expecting a call from assessor to talk money. However one of the lad's in work has confused me. My car is book value about €11k. The crash repair guy said to me earlier the assessor has offered him first refusal on my crashed car if he's interested and I believe he is, but Mr know it here in work all here thinks I'm gonna be shafted. He says it's my car & if I scrap it myself I'll make money but sure when I get the value of the car (fingers crossed :-) ) from the insurance isn't the scrappage built into it. Can anyone explain? between my father & co worker I'm dreading the call from the assessor

Wiggles

Only new to this but can answer your question.

The insurance assessor will offer you the market value of your car (not re sale value) so carzone will not give a fair indication as these people are trying to sell and make a profit. Where you will have problems is that the insurer will only pay the market value so when you go to buy a similar car, the garage/seller price will be higher because they want to make profit. Insurance companies are not liable for other peoples profits but they do have to put you into the same financial position you were in prior to the accident. You are lucky that its a third party insurer as there is more room to negotiate.

Regarding the salvage of your car, once the insurer pays you the pre accident value, they are the owners of your car. They have the right to sell the car to the highest salvage bidder. Agents will bid on your car depending on the class of write off. If its a CAT C that means the car is beyond economical repair and can be put back on the road. Someone might bid say €2000 for your car, repair it themselves for a third of the original repair price with second hand parts and then sell it on again. If its a total loss then it can't go back on the road again and it is sold for parts hence the salvage bids would be lower. I don't think there is a lot to gain yourself by keeping it unless you knew a panel beater that would do the repairs for cheap. If you do decide to keep the car, the insurance company will pay the pre accident value less the highest salvage bid that they received. You would then receive a cheque for the balance and keep the car.

If there is a lot of damage get rid of it! Also, if its a CAT C that will go back on the road the insurance company have to pay you the remaining motor tax thats left on the car. If its a total loss you have to claim your motor tax back from the DOE.

jaxy999

What I'm confused about is when the insurance give me the value of the car & then they sell it to a salvage guy who pocket's the highest bidder money? I probably come across as a right dope!

Gary ITR

well once the insurance company pay out your claim they are effectively buying the car from you. So they try and recoup some of the claim by selling the car on.

In short the Insurance company pocket the salvage money

jaxy999

If I decided to sell the car to the salvage guy myself would that affect what the insurance co. will offer me. That's what my co worker was getting at - I sell my car to the highest bidder myself + I'll have the value of the car from insurance. Simple!!!

Wiggles

The insurance company always get the highest salvage bid because they are the owners of the car once they pay you the full value.

To put it simply, if they agree to pay you €10k - €11k you get the cheque for that amount. The car is then theirs to do what they like with it. You don't get paid the full pre accident value plus the salvage amount. More than likely, they are already at a loss by writing it off so they have to recover some money. For example, if your repairs exceed 60% of the value of the car the car is classed as beyond economical repair. They could have chosen to repair your car for the 60% of the value if it was borderline but they decide to write it off. In some cases it is actually cheaper for them to repair. They are then able to recover the money that they have lost (balance of say 40%) by getting back the salvage amount.

What you could do is see how much the highest salvage bid is. If its €1000 then you have to decide if you think you could sell it for more. They will always deduct the salvage amount from the pre accident value when you keep the car.

As the saying goes, you can't have your cake and eat it and that applies here. They are not going to give you full price for the car and then allow you to sell it on at a profit. The car is legally theirs once they have paid you full value.

Unfortunately, victims of accidents are always left worse off due to depreciation of cars, not getting full value etc. Most assessors will get their vehicle values from the Car Sales guide book (garages use this for trade in's etc) so if your car has normal mileage and is in good condition you can expect to get this book value.

Wiggles

In response to your last question, I can't see how you will gain here financially. Your panel beater has already put a bid on your car with the assessor. That is then recorded on your assessor report along with probably 5 other salvage bids from other agents. If your panel beater has the lowest amount he won't get to keep the car. Car goes to highest bidder like an auction.

If you tell the insurance company that you want to keep the car then they will deduct the highest recorded salvage bid from your pre accident value. Say €10000 for the car less highest bid of €1000. You get €9000 and keep the car. You then try to sell the car on yourself to try to get more than the €1000. Honestly, your panel beater is not going to give you more money than he has too so I can't see him offering €1000 to the insurance company and €1500 to you. There is no financial gain for him there.

Gary ITR

jaxy999 wrote: »

If I decided to sell the car to the salvage guy myself would that affect what the insurance co. will offer me. That's what my co worker was getting at - I sell my car to the highest bidder myself + I'll have the value of the car from insurance. Simple!!!

But the car isn't yours to sell. You can buy the car back from the insurance company but would have to match the highest salvage bid. No offence but your co-worker hasn't a clue

jaxy999

Wiggles wrote: »

The insurance company always get the highest salvage bid because they are the owners of the car once they pay you the full value.

To put it simply, if they agree to pay you €10k - €11k you get the cheque for that amount. The car is then theirs to do what they like with it. You don't get paid the full pre accident value plus the salvage amount. More than likely, they are already at a loss by writing it off so they have to recover some money. For example, if your repairs exceed 60% of the value of the car the car is classed as beyond economical repair. They could have chosen to repair your car for the 60% of the value if it was borderline but they decide to write it off. In some cases it is actually cheaper for them to repair. They are then able to recover the money that they have lost (balance of say 40%) by getting back the salvage amount.

What you could do is see how much the highest salvage bid is. If its €1000 then you have to decide if you think you could sell it for more. They will always deduct the salvage amount from the pre accident value when you keep the car.

As the saying goes, you can't have your cake and eat it and that applies here. They are not going to give you full price for the car and then allow you to sell it on at a profit. The car is legally theirs once they have paid you full value.

Unfortunately, victims of accidents are always left worse off due to depreciation of cars, not getting full value etc. Most assessors will get their vehicle values from the Car Sales guide book (garages use this for trade in's etc) so if your car has normal mileage and is in good condition you can expect to get this book value.

That's what i tried to explain to my colleague that the scrap value in built in to what they offer me. But he was adament that wasn't the case. Basically if they give me the value of the car, I'm away in a hack, I don't care what they do with it or who they sell it to afterwards.
I wonder would they give me the cost of the annual service, it was only serviced last month & i still haven't got the bill for it so I'll gonna be out of pocket to the tune of €100 or so aswell.

jaxy999

Onkle wrote: »

But the car isn't yours to sell. You can buy the car back from the insurance company but would have to match the highest salvage bid. No offence but your co-worker hasn't a clue

LOL, no offence taken!

kerryman10

Wiggles wrote: »

Only new to this but can answer your question.

The insurance assessor will offer you the market value of your car (not re sale value) so carzone will not give a fair indication as these people are trying to sell and make a profit. Where you will have problems is that the insurer will only pay the market value so when you go to buy a similar car, the garage/seller price will be higher because they want to make profit. Insurance companies are not liable for other peoples profits but they do have to put you into the same financial position you were in prior to the accident. You are lucky that its a third party insurer as there is more room to negotiate.

Regarding the salvage of your car, once the insurer pays you the pre accident value, they are the owners of your car. They have the right to sell the car to the highest salvage bidder. Agents will bid on your car depending on the class of write off. If its a CAT C that means the car is beyond economical repair and can be put back on the road. Someone might bid say €2000 for your car, repair it themselves for a third of the original repair price with second hand parts and then sell it on again. If its a total loss then it can't go back on the road again and it is sold for parts hence the salvage bids would be lower. I don't think there is a lot to gain yourself by keeping it unless you knew a panel beater that would do the repairs for cheap. If you do decide to keep the car, the insurance company will pay the pre accident value less the highest salvage bid that they received. You would then receive a cheque for the balance and keep the car.

If there is a lot of damage get rid of it! Also, if its a CAT C that will go back on the road the insurance company have to pay you the remaining motor tax thats left on the car. If its a total loss you have to claim your motor tax back from the DOE.

Very helpful information wiggles.

I just found out today that my truck is CAT C and the assessor has indicated that the PAV would be around €25K.
I haven't yet accepted any offers and can't until monday, but want to take the money! I will be looking at a replacement tomorrow (saturday)and would like to know if i can pay a deposit on it before speaking to my insurance company on monday? ie. can i assume that the money is mine if I want it?
I would greatly appreciate anybodys opinion on this before i go pay a deposit.
Also, it's very useful to know that i would be entitled to claim back my motor tax.

Toots

Well I wrote off my car recently, here's what happened to me:

The car was declared beyond economical repair. The assessor phoned me to talk money. Same year, spec etc car of mine was fetching between €3k and €4.5k on carzone and the like, so I fully expected the assessor to say something like €2.5k and I'd have to haggle.

You can imagine my surprise when they offered me €4k right off! I had to pay €200 excess on my insurance so I got €3800. Of that €3200 came from the insurance co, and the rest came from the salvage guy. Have to say the assessor was a really lovely guy, I was expecting this big meanie, and also being a 24 year old girl with very little knowledge of cars, I was expecting to get screwed over. He was so nice, and was asking how I was after the crash etc. Even phoned me a couple of weeks later to make sure everything had been sorted out.

Hope it works out for you OP, ring around a few local garages, explain your situation and ask them what value they'd put on your car. I did this in addition to looking at carzone, and I found them to be very helpful. Be prepared to haggle if you have to, but also don't overestimate what they'll offer you, I'd say if you're reasonable and look for a realistic value, the insurance company should hopefully be reasonable too.

Seth Brundle

please don't resurrect threads this old!