Insurance write off

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

ghummy

Active Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2011
Messages
64
Location
England
Car
Mercedes Benz c220 (w203 2005)
Hi all. Despratley need some advice

Had a lovely c class. 54 plate. C220 avantgarde. Had it for 7 years and looked after it like a baby.

Knock on the door this morning. Some scrote has gone into it whilst it was parked. Neighbours got the registration and surprise surpirse my insurance company has confirmed no insurance

Police dont want to sod all saying likely stolen car so cant be traced

Damage to offise bumper. Headlight and wing. Wing is creaaed and touching front tyre. Dare not drive it as it doesnt seem road worthy

Insurance repair company have said over the phone it sounds like its beyons economic repair ans wanr to class it as a total loss. Their sending an independent engineer to assess

In 13 years never even had a near miss and now this extreme. Glad i had protected ncd not that it means anything in the grand scheme of things

My question is. If they deem it a total loss. Im.worried they will offer something stupid to settle. Just after a rough ball park figure of what i should expect. Here are the care details

54 plate c220 cdi avantgarde. Facelift
Full leathers
Normal wear and tear to bodywork due to age
77k on clock. Full independent service history
2 keys and all documentation

Im a realist but just dont want any surpised like a cheque for £1500ish

Thank you
 
That's not a nice experience for sure. :(

Sadly, knowing what insurance companies are like, I think your estimated £1500 cheque is probably optimistic. Don't accept the first offer is all I can say. Good luck.
 
Also think of a repair estimate from a body shop and, if insurers class it as a Cat D write-off, of taking the money and the "wreck" from them and getting it repaired yourself. With my 968 insurance, in the event the car is deemed an insurance write-off, I have the option of the full agreed value and they keep the wreck, or 70% of the agreed value and I keep the wreck. In the case of the 968, I'm pretty sure that the 70% would pay for repairs and leave me cash in hand, as insurers use manufacturer's parts prices and it's easy to source alternatives for far lower cost (E.G. a coupe tailgate from Porsche is about £7k, whereas a second hand acceptable one from a breaker would be less than £1k!).
 
find adverts on auto trader on a like for like basis, submit them to the insurance company stating you want to replace the car with another similar one, but wait until the assessor has been and you have discussed its value with him, once an offer is made, if its way below your valuation, submit the advert copies and attempt negotiation.
Just a thought have you put your reg number into we buy any car.com to get some idea of its current market value
 
Thanks all for replies. I have beeb checking autotrader and like for like is around £3k mark

Good idea about webuyanycar. They quoted £2350
 
As long as there's nothing structural get a secondhand bumper and headlight off eBay, a new wing from Merc and your local bodyshop to fit it up.

Stuff the insurance robbers.
 
Druk speaks words of wisdom - a precis of what I said!
 
Thanks all. Just waiting for the independent assessor to come tomorrow

Some slight good news. My claims handler called today to say because i have a witness. Reported to plod and have the registration of the other car i come under the uninsured driver promise. Alteast no excess to pay

 
Just an update. Firstly thank you for all your help.

The insurance companies engineer has been out just now. Confirmed it a write off. He has offered a value of £3650 which really surprised me. Just awaiting for claims team to get in touch
 
Do you actually want rid of it? If not, take the money less the salvage value, keep the car and follow the advice in posts #3 and #6.
 
Just an update. Firstly thank you for all your help.

The insurance companies engineer has been out just now. Confirmed it a write off. He has offered a value of £3650 which really surprised me. Just awaiting for claims team to get in touch

Unfortunately it tends to be only the stories of poor service that get shared, but that is human nature. I do hope that you tell everyone that will listen about your good experience.

I agree, try to to get cash and keep the salvage, if that's what you want but do bear in mind that depending on the policy wording your insurer may not be obliged to let you keep your car.
 
Just an update. Firstly thank you for all your help.

The insurance companies engineer has been out just now. Confirmed it a write off. He has offered a value of £3650 which really surprised me. Just awaiting for claims team to get in touch

Seems a very fair offer
 
It is indeed a very fair offer. T'other half just wants rid and get a new one. My brother however wants to buy it so will ask to buy it back for him

Currently the offer is still verbal. Still awaiting written offer as the assessors report was recieved by the insurance company this morning. Now the waiting game. Anyone have experience of how long an average wait is before they want to take the car away and post me a cheque
 
Thanks all. Just waiting for the independent assessor to come tomorrow

Some slight good news. My claims handler called today to say because i have a witness. Reported to plod and have the registration of the other car i come under the uninsured driver promise. Alteast no excess to pay


That looks easily fixable .

You are fully entitled to ask for cash settlement in lieu of repairs ( car not recorded as write off ) , then get local bodyshop to quote for 'contract repair' .

You'll be left with cash in hand .

I'd also suggest just pulling the wing back out away from the tyre and it should still be easily drivable in the meantime .
 
Unfortunately it tends to be only the stories of poor service that get shared, but that is human nature. I do hope that you tell everyone that will listen about your good experience.

I agree, try to to get cash and keep the salvage, if that's what you want but do bear in mind that depending on the policy wording your insurer may not be obliged to let you keep your car.

That is backwards .

It is HIS car , they can't take it away without his consent , and he doesn't have to agree to sell it to them if he doesn't want to .

You are always entitled to cash in lieu of repairs , up to a value lower than the write off value .

See below

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/insura...ign monitor&utm_term=Read the full road guide
 
Last edited:
Looks like a good result,the car is a easy repair,and to top it all you have a buyer,and of course the most important thing SWMBO wants a new car so off you go to the dealership,you know it makes sense.
 
A wing, a bumper and a headlight is enough to write off a car...wow!!
 
I used to work in the crash repair industry, insurance would request pattern parts, even the headlight. The parts themselves would be buttons. It's the ridiculous labour costs that whack it up.

On a side note, a decent panel beater could probably mend that. But it's a dying art.


Sent from my iPhone 7plus, which is exactly the same as the iPhone 3/4/5/6. Using Crapatalk
 
On a side note, a decent panel beater could probably mend that. But it's a dying art.


It would be an easy repair in the right hands, if you could find a retired panel beater, it could then be sprayed using cans for a reasonable job
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom