Buying car back off insurance company

Shadow22

Hi all,

Just wondering can someone help or advise?

My partner was involved in a RTA where someone drove into back of car. To make long story short there was little visible damage done to our car (7 seater with towbar fitted) the other guys car was completely written off.

An accessor came out to look at our car and came back and said it was an economic write off.

We had it accessed at a reputable dealer and advised there was no damage on the underside and mostly cosmetic but can be fixed.

Insurance contacted us and gave a figure to what car was worth (well undervalued as car is worth more to us than them) we accepted as we taught there was no other option. Because the car was in my name I was contacted and asked to reply to email stating "waive 10 days" with bank details. I done that but it always occurred to me what I had waived bit as this was new to me I was unsure.

The 7 seater in question is a 2007 renault espace, its worth more to us than what was given as it is our lifeline as we have two kids with needs (4 in total) and it's our only option to get out and without it life will become so much more difficult, anyways to get to the point I was advised to not give car to insurance company but to see if car can be bought back

My partner contacted them and explained the situation and the person stated but you waived your rights. ( this was not explained or stated that their was an option to buy back)

Loss of the car also means we are at loss of earnings as me and my partner work full time and once one is working the other is at home and 7 seater vehicle is a necessity

My partner stated this was never explained and insurance rep stated there was an option to buy back and this should of been explained. We are waiting a call back and is ongoing 2 days.

He also said it was sent to salvage company and would be collected soon.

Can anyone advise as its cheaper to actually repair the vehicle than for us to get a new one.

Seems very wasteful to just scrap a car that is 100% minus cosmetic repairable damage.

Do I offer salvage company money to purchase ?

Any advice appreciated

Eggs For Dinner

If it is a Category C or D (repairable) write-off, you can offer to purchase back the salvage. However, as you accepted the original offer, the salvage company may have already made arrangements to sell on, repair or otherwise dispose of the vehicle. In that case, it may not be possible, but wait and see what the insurers come back with. I don't mean to offend, but the onus was on you to query anything related to the offer that you were unsure of.

In any event, the vehicle will be noted as a write off and you will have to get an engineer's report to prove it's roadworthyness to get it insured again. While I appreciate your financial circumstances, you should really consider if it is a good idea to continue to use a 16yr old vehicle that received such a strong impact sufficient to write off both vehicles, even if it was just economically

Del2005

The car now belongs to the salvage company so you need to contact them to see if you can buy it back. Do this ASAP as the longer you wait they may have it sold or have start scrapping it.