Car May Be A Write Off

[toddx]

Hi guys,

I'm new to the forums, but have been lurking a wee while.

The other day my girlfriend was driving back from Livingston in the snow when she pranged the car. She managed to drive it back home, but by the time she got there, the cabin had filled up with smoke and the engine was making a helluva racket. So, I get on to the insurers (Norwich Union through Keith Michaels) and agree to have the car taken to one of their repair centres (Nationwide in Falkirk). Unfortunately, we're quite new to the area so didn't have any contacts. We get a call today saying that they estimate the repair costs to be just shy of £6500. The car itself is probably only worth £8K (54 reg WRX wagon with PPP).

Can anyone give any advice on what options I have here? Ideally I'd like a second opinion on the work required (primarily body panels, but some very basic mechanicals when the front wing got bashed in too). Can I insist on this, or is it a case of having chosen to go with the recommended repairers, that's who has to do the work? Equally, if NU come back and say we're writing it off, can I fund the difference on the repairs myself? Or does the insurer not give that option? Sorry for asking what seem to be very basic questions, but it's the first time I've had to make a claim and I don't want to be taken for a monkey.

BTW - great forums, and if I get the Scoob fixed, I'll do less lurking and more writing.

Cheers guys and gals,

Andy

Edited December 24, 2009 by toddx

[Wee Jock]

  toddx said:

Hi guys,

I'm new to the forums, but have been lurking a wee while.

The other day my girlfriend was driving back from Livingston in the snow when she pranged the car. She managed to drive it back home, but by the time she got there, the cabin had filled up with smoke and the engine was making a helluva racket. So, I get on to the insurers (Norwich Union through Keith Michaels) and agree to have the car taken to one of their repair centres (Nationwide in Falkirk). Unfortunately, we're quite new to the area so didn't have any contacts. We get a call today saying that they estimate the repair costs to be just shy of £6500. The car itself is probably only worth £8K (54 reg WRX wagon with PPP).

Can anyone give any advice on what options I have here? Ideally I'd like a second opinion on the work required (primarily body panels, but some very basic mechanicals when the front wing got bashed in too). Can I insist on this, or is it a case of having chosen to go with the recommended repairers, that's who has to do the work? Equally, if NU come back and say we're writing it off, can I fund the difference on the repairs myself? Or does the insurer not give that option? Sorry for asking what seem to be very basic questions, but it's the first time I've had to make a claim and I don't want to be taken for a monkey.

BTW - great forums, and if I get the Scoob fixed, I'll do less lurking and more writing.

Cheers guys and gals,

Andy

Sorry about the car m8!

Phone the Ins Co and ask them if they have another recommended repair centre, if not guess its their call!

[pmacFTO]

afaik from looking on various forums over the years you CAN go to your own repairer if you can confirm an agreed quote from them - their ones are only recommended - not required. If you get a quote from somewhere like Steve Walker Bodyshop in West Calder I think you'll find it will NOT be 6.5k - that's a ridiculous quote.

I have been on the FTOOC for about 7yrs and there is a LOT of them being told their car is a write off but there is one repairer who has been fixing FTOs as long as I can remember and he deals with the insurance companies and gives them much more realistic quotes and has saved a huge amount of owners from losing their P&J - most have ended up even better

Good luck with it all!

[corsa]

My wifes 53 plate Mini one sustained an impact on the nearside wheel area and they repaired it at a cost of £5,500 !!!

Cars only worth that so theres hope yet for you mate.

davie

[oobster]

As pmacFTO says give Stevie Walker a try - he's in Bathgate - 01506 633471.

The cabin filling up with smoke and the engine making "a helluva racket" does sound slightly worrying though - you sure the pulleys/belts weren't damaged in the impact (or the radiator) and thus the engine is damaged?

[Joe G]

Get the insurance company to write the car off, get the cash for the car from the insurance company to buy a new scoob and buy yours back from the insurance company for buttons. My mate did that and it ment he could break the crashed and make a few quid from it!!

[tommo9375]

Sorry to hear this mate,hope you get things sorted out.

[StrikE]

not the best of news, hope you get sorted

[dannymac]

yes mate,you can choose another bodyshop,if you can get the repair done cheaper,the insurance firm will be ok with that.Tell them the car has sentimental value to you.I have experience of this practise cos i run a bodyshop:)

[toddx]

Thanks very much for all your replies, guys - I feel a little better about things this morning. I'll give Steve Walker a call this morning to see how I'd go about getting a quote for repairs from himself. I don't think there's much wrong mechanically with the car - that's the steer I've been given by Nationwide Falkirk. I'm not dissing them at all (just in case anyone on the forum works there), but I can't believe it costs £6.5K to replace the panels and lights. Anyway, I'll see what Mr Walker says.

Cheers again for the advice!

[C_WRX]

Did you ask if that was "just" for the bodywork repairs ??

Just that the smoke and rattle seems worth investigating for couple reasons 1. as they may be adding in mechanical work also (not sure if where it is does that work though??) and 2. that does not sound good at all.

As you say, £6.5k for some panels doesn't sound right.

Hope it turns out okay in the end, i.e. you get it fixed and get to keep it.

[pmacFTO]

If they are adding mechanical work they will be quoting based on top dollar main dealer prices and you'll find that a lot of things can be uprated for less than main dealers OEM parts! But, buying it back is a good option if you get quotes for 2-3k to sort it and they give you a decent whack more than that back.

[Hightower]

i have had dealings with nationwide in larbert before and there price is astronomically higher than most places for repairs and to be honest the work they did was not great.

if i were you i would push to get the car written off as anything on the engine has gone slightly wrong and it had been driven, not worth the risk dude. i would say you could get it reparied for half if not less that they have quoted as they are shocking.(less if you can source the panels damaged from somewhere other than the main dealer) as i know that larbert deal with S&S subaru in ayr for there subaru parts as one of my mates had some stuff done there via there insurance and was back several times getting things re-done.

i would get the money from the insurance then buy your impreza back from them and repair it yourself. and you will be up a couple of grand and have the car you already have,

it will be worth less when you come to sell it as will be on a VCAR worth bearing in mind if the worth of car/price insurance company want/ repairs/ then resale make it worth while.

hope you get it all sorted out dude

[toddx]

  C_WRX said:

Did you ask if that was "just" for the bodywork repairs ??

Just that the smoke and rattle seems worth investigating for couple reasons 1. as they may be adding in mechanical work also (not sure if where it is does that work though??) and 2. that does not sound good at all.

As you say, £6.5k for some panels doesn't sound right.

Hope it turns out okay in the end, i.e. you get it fixed and get to keep it.

The steer I got from Nationwide was a new radiator cover was required - nothing else mechanical was mentioned. That said, I'll be sure to get an entire list of things they were quoting for so nothing's missed should I have to get another repairer involved.

Talking of which, talked to the lovely Mr Walker this morning and he suggested I get some pictures of the car and email them across. I never saw the car in the light, so will probably need to pop across to Larbert, but based on the pics Stevie reckoned he could provide me with a guess-timate. He seemed fairly confident that he could come in under Nationwide though.

I reckon Duncan at Hypertech would take care of the mechanicals as he knows the car. I'll keep you guys updated re progress - as yet NU haven't made a decision (I'm guessing they're snowed under...OUCH!)

[toddx]

  Joe G said:

Get the insurance company to write the car off, get the cash for the car from the insurance company to buy a new scoob and buy yours back from the insurance company for buttons. My mate did that and it ment he could break the crashed and make a few quid from it!!

Showing my ignorance now, but how would I go about doing that? Surely the insurance companies aren't so daft as to pay out, then give you the option of buying the car back for less than they paid out? Or am I being too kind to them?

[Joe G]

  toddx said:

Showing my ignorance now, but how would I go about doing that? Surely the insurance companies aren't so daft as to pay out, then give you the option of buying the car back for less than they paid out? Or am I being too kind to them?

Not exactly sure how you go about it. My mate had his insurance company write off his merc as they said the price of the repair costs were too high in comparison to the value of his car (think the car was worth about 8k and repairs were about 5k). He agreed to get the car written off and asked what will happen with the crashed merc. They gave him the option of keeping the crashed merc for a small fee (think about 600-800quid). In the end he repaired his merc himself and was left with a couple of grand in his hand. Just ask your insurance company what will happen to the car if they were to write it off. They should give you the option to hold on to the crashed car, if they dont just ask and tell them it has sentimental value to you or something. Just google "buying your car back from insurance" and you will get a lot of info on how to go about it. Hope this helps.

Joe

[dark]

You're perfectly within your rights to decline the insurance company's recommended repairer.

My wife recently bumped her car (twice) and we used Steve Walker's for the repairs. Both times the insurance company (Axa) wanted us to use Nationwide in Loanhead but a quick internet trawl for reviews quickly put me off that idea!

Just bear in mind that if you use the non-insurance company repairer it will take longer to get the quote authorised and you probably won't get a loan car (unless you speak very nicely to Steve).

We've used Steve Walker's for four repairs during the last 18 months and I've been very pleased with the results and the excellent level of service.

Cheers, Mark

[toddx]

OK, thanks once again for all the advice guys.

Have a top Christmas.

Cheers,

Andy

[gus the bus]

Andy,

I have been using Stevie Walker for over 20years now and deffo think you would be doing the right thing heading in his direction. Hope you get it sorted

Gus

[toddx]

So, the car has been written off as a Cat D by Aviva. The guys at Nationwide have kindly offered to give it a thorough once over to check that there are no more hidden nasties before I buy the car back as salvage and ask them to repair it. If, as expected, it's purely bodywork, then I'm happy for them to complete the work. I did get a quote from Steve Walker and it was a fair bit more expensive, though I'm guessing they were erring on the side of caution not having seen the car in the flesh. The extra cost may not have been a massive problem in itself, but when you throw in the need for a hire car, it made it prohibitive.

So, I know having a Cat D car shouldn't affect my insurance premium (though I obviously need to flag this to them), but am I right in thinking that if I want to move the car on in the future, I can only expect to get about 60% of its true worth? Again, not a massive problem because we're looking to keep hold of it anyway. I'm just asking out of interest really. The amount of work Duncan at Hypertech has put in to the car means we want to keep it as we know what we're getting and don't need to compromise looking at other cars.

Just as an aside, I talked to Gary Moulson at Keith Michaels Insurance and apparently alot of the insurance companies are looking to build up their books in Scotland and there are good deals to be had - may be of use to someone if you're insurance is due for renewal soon.

Cheers,

Andy

  Gus the Bus said:

Andy,

I have been using Stevie Walker for over 20years now and deffo think you would be doing the right thing heading in his direction. Hope you get it sorted

Gus

[dannymac]

Ive lost count of cat C and D cars Ive repaired and sold over the years.Do you have the documents?I presume the insurance have them now,so when you apply for them again the insurance will have notified the dvla of the new info re its damage,so they will then know abouts its history when you insure it again.Doesnt make any odds.

Not 60%, but the car will be worth less than an undamaged/repaired car,but more like trade value compared to private /excellent condition as an example.But it depends on each car and its spec really.Its not a 'worthhalf its value' situation.Take pics of the damage and its progress during the repair,I have done this before and when it comes to selling it ,it reasures the buyer when they see what the damage was like and how well it was repaired under the new shiny paint .Sometimes a cat d is only a new wing and a headlight,its good to be able prove thats really all the damage was