Accident damage assessment - use Axa approved assessor?

olewy

My car; 09 Audi A4 B8 2.0 TDi Executive SE, 62,000 miles. Insured for about €14k. Full Audi service history. Bought 2nd hand in July 2013 from an approved Audi dealer in the UK with all the bells & whistles. (Was) in mint condition.

I was involved in an accident (head-on collision) recently where the 3rd party was liable. Thankfully no known injuries to any party. After calling the Guards I phoned my insurance company to report the accident & arrange towing. I opted to have the car towed away for storage overnight & for it to be assessed by an Axa approved assessor. This was apparently the quicker, smoother less hassle option for me & was instead of paying €150 each way to have it towed to an Audi garage for damage assessment by an Audi mechanic/assessor.

My only concern is ensuring that the car is assessed to the proper standard & repaired fully & correctly from the point of view of safety & maximising resale value. This concern is because the Axa approved assessor will very unlikely be an Audi mechanic & may not be as familiar with Audi's & repairing them as obviously an Audi garage would.

After I receive notification of the repair costs from the Axa approved assessor would it be prudent to get a second damage assessment/opinion from an Audi garage or independent Audi specialist?

If I do I would have to incur the costs of this. I anticipate the costs to me will be for;
1. Getting it towed from storage to the Audi garage (be-it Audi dealer/branch or an indy with Audi experience).
2. Getting it assessed (obviously higher cost at an Audi dealer/branch than at an indy Audi specialist).
3. Getting it towed back to storage (depending on who I arrange with my insurance company to have it repaired).

In otherwords a potentially hefty bill (bar the actual repair).

Visible damage (no official assessment has been done yet);
- front bumper crumple zone pushed in from the front by about 3 or 4 inches right across the front,
- front fender in pieces
- both headlights well receeded
- winscreen smashed (by passenger airbag)
- All 6 or so airbags deployed (driver, passenger, 2 front curtain airbags, 2 rear curtain).
- engine seems to be ticking over but given where Audi's position their engines very far forward almost partially in front of the front axel I wouldn't be surprised if there's engine damage of some form, maybe.
- possibly other unseen damage

The towing guy told me the airbag deployment alone would likely be a significant part of the repair costs & that depending on the total repair costs it could be written off if the costs are over a 3rd of the resale value of the car. We'll see.

My only other concern is that this accident is likely to significantly reduce the car's resale value. If it's not written off & if I get it repaired then from a purely resale value perspective I assume I would be better off selling it now rather than waiting until I actually need to change it?

I absolutely love the car, I was very lucky to get a great deal on it when I bought it & if I sell it I doubt I will ever find something else again so nice for such good value in Ireland or the UK.

Dilemnas.
Oh, and Happy New Year.

bazz26

Going by your description of the damage I'd say the insurance company will write that car off as uneconomical to repair. Being honest, after a head on collision I don't think I'd want it repaired.

freshpopcorn

I think the car might be written off going by your description.

olewy

bazz26 wrote: »

Going by your description of the damage I'd say the insurance company will write that car off as uneconomical to repair.

Hmm, I was hoping that wouldn't be the case but depending on how insurance works (my first ever claim) this outcome may prove be the better one for me financially in the long-run, we'll see what pans out. If the insurance company does decide to write it off how does this work? E.g. does the insurance company pay me either;

A. The value that the car was insured for less depreciation since the start date of insurance. (i.e. 7 months depreciation).
Note: I think I probably underinsured the car. When asked its value at the time of insuring I said 14 or 15k. Hopefully this won't work against me. To be honest & impartial €14k is well under the Irish open market resale value given it's pre-crash history, milleage, additional spec etc & what similar models are selling for here. More like €20k possibly.

B. The open market resale cost pre-crash

C. Some actuary-assessed variable involving both of the above.

What a way to start the new year.

sonyvision

Some 1 was clearly looking down on you...

be glad your alive and of they write off the cat which i would rather take a car similiar to your own with the payout...

sonyvision

Some 1 was clearly looking down on you...

be glad your alive and of they write off the cat which i would rather take a car similiar to your own with the payout...

olewy

sonyvision wrote: »

Some 1 was clearly looking down on you...

be glad your alive and of they write off the cat which i would rather take a car similiar to your own with the payout...

Oh believe me when I say I'm extremely lucky & grateful nobody was seriously hurt. Particularly as there was a passenger in both cars (family member in mine) & if I had been driving the car I changed from in July the outcome would have been a lot lot worse (96 Micra with no airbags).

visual

the value you insured it at or the market value as decided by insurance company if it's lower.

A taxi driver said to me getting a car repaired is one thing but you need compensation for car being devalued because of crash record and less valuable than a clean car.

Never sought this myself but it's worth enquiring about

bazz26

There is a good chance that there is chassis damage from a head on collision so the car would never be right imo. All air bags deployed would mean big bucks to replace.

No first hand experience but my understanding is that insurance companies will arrive at a figure below the market value minus it's salvage value. The salvage company will then pay you the salvage value if you chose to sell it to them. Of course insurance companies will try and pay out the lowest value possible for them but you can decline their initial settlement offer and negotiate a higher settlement value based on producing evidence of average selling prices of similar cars on the likes of donedeal, etc.

Maybe someone here with first hand experience might be able to shine some more accurate information though.

TheBoffin

Most likely they will go with their own valuation for the car. Insurance companies are not interested in what re-sale value you will loose, the obligation is to assess the actual damage and put it right either by paying out repair costs or by buying the vehicle from you at whatever value they determine it was worth pre-crash, so as you put it, the book value less whatever miles and ware you put on it during your ownership.


Just some advice for you. I assume from reading your OP that this is your own insurance company you are claiming from. This makes the situation slightly different if your insurer has a vehicle replacement policy. If the vehicle is a write-off they may insist you pick a replacement car from a list they give you.

Truckermal

Make sure you meet the assessor when he looks at it and point out what extras the car had I have had 2 experience's of this not through my own fault and it worked well in my favour. Axa are fairly good in fairness so you should be OK also the car will most likely be a write of as Bazz said, just start looking for something else now.

olewy

TheBoffin wrote: »

Most likely they will go with their own valuation for the car. Insurance companies are not interested in what re-sale value you will loose, the obligation is to assess the actual damage and put it right either by paying out repair costs or by buying the vehicle from you at whatever value they determine it was worth pre-crash, so as you put it, the book value less whatever miles and ware you put on it during your ownership.


Just some advice for you. I assume from reading your OP that this is your own insurance company you are claiming from. This makes the situation slightly different if your insurer has a vehicle replacement policy. If the vehicle is a write-off they may insist you pick a replacement car from a list they give you.

I don't know yet whose insurance company I will need to be claiming from tbh. I wasn't liable for the accident so I'm not sure how it should work (i.e. whether I have to claim from my own insurance company who then in turn recoup their costs from the other driver's insurance company or whether I need to claim directly from the other driver's insurance company). Or even what my options will be.

If I do have to claim from my own insurance company & choose from a list of cars that they give me; I don't think this would work for me. The specific model I have never sold from new in Ireland & what UK imports I've seen selling in Irish dealers of the same model have either been of awful comparative condition to my own, much lower spec or usually both.

olewy

Truckermal wrote: »

Make sure you meet the assessor when he looks at it and point out what extras the car had I have had 2 experience's of this not through my own fault and it worked well in my favour. Axa are fairly good in fairness so you should be OK also the car will most likely be a write of as Bazz said, just start looking for something else now.

Thanks, will do. I'll call my insurance company tomorrow to request this, or Thursday (assuming they'll be closed tomorrow, though they do have a 24hr helpline).

visual

I don't approve of it but they do pull the chassis back into place with a jig and alignment

My fathers car was repaired like that looked as good as new but he always said it never felt the same. Be that in his mind or car not being 100% is hard to prove but I would be inclined to believe it was due to crash repair.

You can always decline insurance companies first offer but the loan car is for a fixed duration and additional costs incured in storage will not be adsorbed by insurance company for long.

So while its possible to haggle for higher pay out, time will not be on your side. Act quickly and keep the ball in insurance company court. Then delays and incured cost are on their side.

I take it one step at a time see if its written off at 14 or 15k replacement value ( going from whats said so far ) is a lot of money for parts and labour and still return car to road.

olewy

visual wrote: »

I don't approve of it but they do pull the chassis back into place with a jig and alignment

My fathers car was repaired like that looked as good as new but he always said it never felt the same. Be that in his mind or car not being 100% is hard to prove but I would be inclined to believe it was due to crash repair.

You can always decline insurance companies first offer but the loan car is for a fixed duration and additional costs incured in storage will not be adsorbed by insurance company for long.

So while its possible to haggle for higher pay out, time will not be on your side. Act quickly and keep the ball in insurance company court. Then delays and incured cost are on their side.

I take it one step at a time see if its written off at 14 or 15k replacement value ( going from whats said so far ) is a lot of money for parts and labour and still return car to road.

Thanks visual.

Re chassis jig & allignment; it's definitely not something I'd go for by the sounds of it. If this is done I assume under law its obligatory for garages to put on their repair report that they've done this?

I guess it's in the interest of the Axa approved assessor to give their assessment in the favour of the insurance company obviously to keep the insurance company's business. So many conflicting vested interests involved & I've heard insurance companies can be notorious when it comes to claims.

I'm going to ask my insurance company about a loan car while I'm getting this sorted out (I don't think they mentioned it to me when I phoned them, I'll check my policy details too). If it comes to it I can arrange to use a family member's car after the loan car duration expires so that's not a problem.

Re storage; if it comes to it I might be able to get it stored cheaply at a local indy (or even at home, or is that allowed, e.g. on my driveway?). If the cost of keeping it in storage for as long as is needed is more than the cost of getting it towed & stored elsewhere I'll get it out of storage to one of the above. Better to get things done right than be rushed by someone else & regret it later.

Mech1

Remember, your not to blame here, its the third party's insurance that is paying.

BE A BOLL*X of the highest order until you get what your due, don't give in for anything less, and remind them that there is a time period after the collision when at any time you could start to have physical or mental suffering.

olewy

Mech1 wrote: »

Remember, your not to blame here, its the third party's insurance that is paying.

BE A BOLL*X of the highest order until you get what your due, don't give in for anything less, and remind them that there is a time period after the collision when at any time you could start to have physical or mental suffering.

Thanks Mech1, I've read advice on another thread that being nice to the insurance company generally results in a better outcome & is the way to go. You want the insurance company to like you. Hopefully I won't need to be a boll*x to get what I;m due but if needs must I'm prepared to do whatever is needed to ensure I'm not out of pocket.

Mech1

olewy wrote: »

Thanks Mech1, I've read advice on another thread that being nice to the insurance company generally results in a better outcome & is the way to go. You want the insurance company to like you. Hopefully I won't need to be a boll*x to get what I;m due but if needs must I'm prepared to do whatever is needed to ensure I'm not out of pocket.

You wont have a chance to be "nice" they will phone you and tell you what they are doing, your supposed to agree at that stage. "Nice" wont get anything done.

olewy

Mech1 wrote: »

You wont have a chance to be "nice" they will phone you and tell you what they are doing, your supposed to agree at that stage. "Nice" wont get anything done.

No Mr Nice, gotcha. Yeah I know what you're saying alright & do appreciate the advice. I'll keep it in mind.

Mech1

Oh almost forgot.

Its your car, you and you alone decide who is gonna fix it, if its not written off. Dont take any of this "approved repairer" shi*e.

visual

The repairers and insurance companies will keep a record of repair and share this information with other interested parties.
Car if repaired will be road legal and you given assurances its repaired correctly and safe.

Im surprised you haven't been offered a loan car it be worth asking as your the victim and shouldn't be incurring additional losses like hiring another car ( although you have option of friends car it doesn't matter they should have offered) if repaired ask what compensation you will get as the car will be devalued as it will have a crash history not important now but when you trade it in the dealer will do car check and offer you less.

If car is written off insurers will low ball you. You can choose to accept or haggle for better price. I would expect them to better their first offer but very difficult to better their 2nd offer.

Storage will only become an issue if it drags on with you refusing to accept repair or money offer. They will tell you storage charges will be incurred to pressure you into accepting. Only then you need to consider moving to cheaper storage. Rust is the only thing you need to worry about so a car cover and you could store it in your drive way. Bit of an eye sore but if needs must.

The time thing also works in your favour as you need to have a loan car that is a recurring cost the insurance company will want to get rid of.

There is lots of grey areas in all your dealings with insurance company. So if you dont push you will not get what you want.

In my experience you never come out ahead however you want to minimise your losses and hassle.

lomb

Its easy to get the cars pre accident value by ringing 3 or 4 Audi dealers with similar cars/specs/miles for sale and asking their best price and writing down the info.
As its the other insurer at fault you will need to claim directly from them as you have underinsured your car so would be worse off doing it through your own insurer. I always tend to give low values for cars for insurance not sure why as it doesn't cost more to insure for more and then there is no stress later if damaged.
Its always best to be honest, pleasant and polite, you attract more with honey etc etc.