Insurance write off question

racso1975

Had an accident last week. Did not think it was tooo bad but just got text from assessors to say they are writing it off.

My problem is it is an 05 octavia II elegance from uk with all the extras. I will prob only get 3 grand for it. I would really like to keep it going as I know the history and kept it well. It would be hard for me to get a replacement in that bracket that I can trust

scrap_man

If the damage wasn't too bad then its probably written off as an uneconomic repair i.e the cost to repair it out ways the value of the car. In this case you could try and buy it back off the insurance company and get it repaired with 2nd hand parts and maybe a cheaper body shop. Most companys will have no problem with this, but some insist on taking the car and paying you the full market value of it. If you do buy it back and get it repaired, you will need to get an engineers report done on it before they will insure it again.

bazz26

You need to talk to the assessor again and ask him if it is an economical write off or if the car is damaged beyond repair. If it is an economical write off then it can be repaired again.

As the insurance company are writing it off and settling with you the car becomes their property. You can however instead accept a settlement figure minus the salvage value of the car which means you are buying back the car at it's scrap value. So my advice is talk to the assessor again.

zarquon

You need to ask them what the salvage value is and decide if you want to take the difference and fix it yourself.

racso1975

Cheers will talk to insurance today. Only found out yesterday when I got a text from the assessor. ....pretty ****ty text to get

quenching

I went through this process a couple of years ago. The car is your property and remains so unless you agree to "sell" it to the insurance company for the salvage value they have obtained. They ask for salvage quotes from several sources and will quote you the highest figure they obtain. You are under no obligation to part with the car, they will then offer you what they value the car at less the highest salvage value quote they have obtained. So, if they value the car at €3k and have received a salvage value or €500, they will pay you €2500. At no stage do the insurance company automatically gain ownership of your car unless you agree to it. In my case I agreed to keep the car and take the agreed value less the salvage value.

BTW, don't accept the first figure they offer if you don't think its fair, find some similar examples and negotiate.

racso1975

Well rang earlier and all she could tell was that it was a cat d and was waiting on bids to come back in for it

MugMugs

racso1975 wrote: »

Well rang earlier and all she could tell was that it was a cat d and was waiting on bids to come back in for it

Ask for proof of bids and match the highest (if it suits)