C damaged in crash - insurance/claims advice?

[Andy T 0]

My C got damaged this morning by a driver who decided to swerve into my lane to turn left into a side road, hitting my o/side wing, which pushed the car into the kerb. The wing is crumpled, and the side of the bumper is heavily scuffed. On the n/side, the wheel and tyre took the impact, ripping the sidewall and damaging the rim a bit. :(

 

She wouldn't admit fault, then didn't want to exchange details, and suggested that we fix our own cars! There were no witnesses (well, no one bothered to stop) eventually she gave me her details. I rang my insurer to report it, and they arranged for a local bodyshop to quote for the repairs, but when I asked questions about no claims discount/fault/blame/write off's etc. they seemed totally clueless.

 

If no one admits fault, and they can't prove who was at fault, what happens about the repair costs etc.? I'm fully comp with 8 yrs NCD, but I don't think they're protected. If I have it inspected by their approved repairer and they decide that it's uneconomical to repair, does it automatically become an insurance write off, or can you tell them where to stick it then pay to get it fixed as normal? There's no way I'd want to part with this car even if they offered what I paid for it!

 

I've just checked the mechanicals over and it all looks/works ok, and the rim runs true, hopefully just a new tyre and four wheel alignment to make it driveable again. I'm wondering if it would be better if we both paid for own repairs outside of the insurance companies- can this be formally agreed through the insurers at some point? I don't fancy losing my NCD and paying £350 excess on repairs!

 

Any advice/experience is appreciated, thanks.

[MK1Campaign 0]

Front wings alone unpainted are about £300. Id let the insurance deal with it.

[Critical_Mass 10]

Firstly, no one HAS to admit fault, your insurance company and hers should ask for a record of the event in writing. This will then help the insures decide who's fault it is or whether its 50/50. But if you say you were driving 'normally' and she swerved into your lane, its sounds like she wasnt taking any care in carrying out the maneuver to head left.

 

You want to write as much detail down as possible and do it as soon as possible whilst its still fresh in your mind. Even draw diagrams of theirs and yours position on the road and what the position of the cars were when you came to rest. I've even gone out and taken photo's of the very same part of road to help, maybe you could even show them the damage.

 

I had a similar bump in mine once (front wing damage) they ended up writing it off. However dont take it laying down whilst they write it off. Insist its worth fixing, even get similar spec'd/age/mileage car ads to help your case. This will try to prove how much its worth and that can be compared against the amount of money it will cost to fix. IF they do write it off in the end you can either let them write it off as a cat c and get paid out, then buy it back for sod all and fix it yourself. Corrado parts are still pretty expensive even though they arent close to being new cars, so bear that in mind.

 

Hope that helps in some way.

 

Gaz

[PROVR6 0]

If you do make a claim and blame is not appointed to the other driver, you will lose one years bonus as its not protected. The fact you have already reported it will be noted as you have been involved in an accident. Even if you decide to repair it yourself your premium will probably go up a bit but you won't lose any no claims.

 

Its a f***er when this happens as it always costs the innocent party.

[RaddoMan 0]

that will be a cat D mate , let them right it off and keep the car , get a 2nd hand wing , it cost me 550 to get mine fixed and sprayed , the 3rd party ins gave me 2200 I gave them 200 for my car back , so 2k to play with .

anyone with an ounce of sence can see it was her .

just keep banging on about it to them, if so get your comp to give you a hire car and legal stuff to win this case :)

this was what my car looked like after the dick hit it

DSC00066.JPG[/attachment:2ljked9t]

 

The Man.

[RaddoMan 0]

and if you win your get your 350 back mate

 

The Man.

[Andy T 0]

Cheers for all the advice, I took lots of photo's of the accident scene before I moved the car, and have done a sketch. I didn't realise that I would only loose one years NCD, always assumed I'd loose the lot, does one year just apply to situations where the blame is 50/50?

 

I contacted my insurer, who have arranged for their approved repair centre to asess the damage. I'm assuming this will be a bodyshop, are they going to be able to properly check if the suspension/chassis is out of alignment or will they basically just check that nothing is broken/bent? They insurer said that I can get my own quotes but the process will take longer because they will have to send out an engineer to inspect it etc.

 

This morning, I get a knock at the door, its the husband of the woman who hit me. He says sorry for his wife's error and offers to pay for all of the repairs, he doesn't want to go through the insurance if i'm in agreement, because their full no-claims aren't protected. After a bit of a discussion, I tell him that I will consider it, and get written quotes for the bodywork/alignment checks/new tyre. Any thoughts on this? I would prefer this route, I get to repair the car to a high standard without insurance hassle/possible no claims loss, and not have the car branded as a write-off which would surely de-value it. If I give them the quotes and they decline to give me the cash, I can just continue with the insurance route, what does everyone think?

 

Cheers.

[PROVR6 0]

I think he will probably change his mind when you tell him the repair cost. From his perspective it would be much more economic to lose his no claims but if hes willing to pay let him.

 

Providing your insurance company dosen't want to write it off, I think it will be less hassle for you to get it repaired through your insurance. Your own insurance will cover the repairs and in the background your insurance company will try to recover the costs from the other party. You won;t have to wait around while blame is being argued.

[Critical_Mass 10]

DOnt you lose 2 years NCB not just the 1. Thats from my experiences anyway.

[RaddoMan 0]

Phone the 3rd party insurance .

[carpy25 0]

if your not at fault aways call the police , its the only way , sunday morning maybe she was still a drunk fom saturday night ?

 

Rob

[Andy T 0]

I was thinking the same, when he sees the quotes for bodywork+wheel alignment + tyre he might get a shock!

 

why would I need to contact the third party insurer? won't my insurer be doing that on my behalf?

 

I should of called the police I guess, although nothing made me suspect she was under the influence. I reckon she had her wing mirrors in her tall SUV set too high, she probably couldn't even see my dark green, low slung coupe

[Andy T 0]

Got the first quote back, new VAG wing(late ones still available, £300) repairs/paint/new tyre/wheel alignment comes to £804 in total.

 

Does anyone think it's a dead-cert write off or could I have a chance through insurance? Car is almost mint, 105k on clock.

[horney 0]

You got agreed value with your insurer? It's boderline I would have said.

 

Nick

[coolrado 0]

If the other person has accepted responsibility it doesnt matter if it's uneconomical to repair as you should be able to demand that they pay for it to be repaired anyway.

 

When mine was rear ended i spoke to my insurance company and they told me that i would have to pay my excess, and they would refund it once they had recovered the costs from the other persons insurance, as i didn't have £500 quid lying around at the time, they told me to contact the other persons insurance company and claim through them which i did, it was easier than dealing with my insurance company.

[Andy T 0]

No not on agreed value, wish I had done as I'd not have much to worry about then!

 

I didn't know you could deal direct with the other persons insurer, nice to know i'vce got another option there if I need it.

[g60bron 0]

Sorry to hear about this matey... £800 Should not write it off... as its less than 50% of the Value of the car...

 

When i had me golf... it had 3k value and i got £2k to the repairs... Just See what the bloke says when you tell him how much... if he doesn't agree ring your insurers and hers to report the accident with them... i doubt their insurers know...

[Andy T 0]

Sorry to hear about this matey... £800 Should not write it off... as its less than 50% of the Value of the car...

 

When i had me golf... it had 3k value and i got £2k to the repairs... Just See what the bloke says when you tell him how much... if he doesn't agree ring your insurers and hers to report the accident with them... i doubt their insurers know...

 

Alright Bron! what are you driving now? Lucky for me she paid up last week, just waiting to get it in the paintshop now :)

[Leonard 0]

if your not at fault aways call the police , its the only way , sunday morning maybe she was still a drunk fom saturday night ?

 

Rob

 

I have done this before and they don't want to know.

 

My sister even rang them when she was hit by a car full of bloke teens who were all off their heads on weed and they still didnt want to know.

 

Then again the one accident I was involved in that was my fault 4 cop cars turned up, DOH! So after saying all that I guess it is worth a try LOL

 

Glad you got everything sorted it is a stressfull time dealing with insurance companies.

 

Matt

[g60bron 0]

I'm still in me Vento VR6 at min... Loving it tons... best car i've owned in ages.... on the look out for a nice Raddo Cheap to play with... :)

[KipVR 1]

I've just been through the same process, someone swerved into my lane on a roundabout when it was dark and they were in a Nissan Nivara so didn't see me (blacked out windows didn't help) he didn't stop at first and then tried to deny it. Then he admitted it and we exchanged details.

 

Months went by with lame excuses from his insurance company. Eventually they settled for a 50/50 as he denied all involvement. So basically i've got a dent/crease in my rear wheel arch thanks to him, I'm going to have to pay for it out of my own pocket to get it fixed, luckily I've been thinking of a back to metal respray anyway but still, it makes you hopping mad, I just wouldn't do that to someone else. See the crease on the wheel arch, it actually looks a lot worse than it really is.