my car written off?? - help!

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taumaan

Active Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2007
Messages
200
Location
South Hertfordshire
Car
S203, 2007 C180K Estate, W204, 2010 C350 Saloon
s reg c200 classic saloon

was going along at 20mph when a driver of the fairer sex pulls out of driveway and drives straight into my right hand side!!! my first rta ever!!!

right passenger door and right rear wheel completed knackered..looking at the rear wheel , seems to indicate serious chassis damage, may well be a write off, i reckon.

spoke with insurance co (swiftcover)...some questions:

likely to be a write off?
if so, what happens then? how do they determine value?
can i buy it back?
they've recommended two bodyshops:
1 baldwins of aylesbury or 2 scotthall of borehamwood

anybody dealt with either? or where can i check their credentials?
am i obliged to use one of them?

thanks for any advice!!!

cheers
 
You are not obliged to use the preferred bodyshops so you can opt for one of your choice.
The rear wheel damage is probably quite insignificant being bolt on suspension parts.
 
Ian will be along sonn to point out (correctly) that as it's the third parties fault you are entitled to claim directly off their insurance and insist they put the car right whatever the cost. Anyone have the link to the Honest John thread.

Like DM I was thinking that a broken or bent rear suspension arm could leave the rear wheel looking in a pretty bad state, but not be that serious.
 
when mine was worth less than 1000k they wrote it off and still let me keep it.
 
s reg c200 classic saloon

was going along at 20mph when a driver of the fairer sex pulls out of driveway and drives straight into my right hand side!!! my first rta ever!!!

right passenger door and right rear wheel completed knackered..looking at the rear wheel , seems to indicate serious chassis damage, may well be a write off, i reckon.

Rear wheel at jaunty angle may just be a few bent suspension links.

If you're keen to see your car repaired consider a contract repair.
 
Rear wheel at jaunty angle may just be a few bent suspension links.

If you're keen to see your car repaired consider a contract repair.

what do you mean by "contract repair"?

anybody recommend a good repair shop in the watford/ amersham area?

cheers
 
I had a contract repair after my second shunt in the SL

After the first incident I had got it all straight again
http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=48758

I was actually taking it in to the bodyshop (via the Merc dealers to pick up the moulding clips) when this happened.

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=49616

I accepted a contract repair from my own insurers as she was denying any liability! In fact she has only just accepted liability after court papers were issued and I am still waiting for my excess back!
The N/S repair costs worked out at £3300 which was paid directly to the repairers and at that point all liability for any further undiscovered damage was mine.
The car was sucessfully repaired inside budget and I paid the extra to complete the paintwork from the original damage.

Was it worth it ?
Yes and no, financially I would have been better off writing it off instead of being left with a cat C car that has a lesser value than the cost of the repairs, however I still have my car and it now looks mint having had every panel painted :D
I was aware that for the cost of the repair and the extra that I paid I could have had a replacement vehicle but after 6 years of incredibly reliable open top SL motoring I just didnt want to part with it just to replace it with a car I didnt know as well as mine.

You will be in for a fight - how much you want that fight only you will know. I did it and I don't regret it for a moment.

HTH


Mark
 
s reg c200 classic saloon


spoke with insurance co (swiftcover)...some questions:

likely to be a write off?
if so, what happens then? how do they determine value?


cheers

If you decide to go for the write off option, the problem is they are going to offer you just below book value of the vehicle. An engineer will inspect the vehicle and it will be based on his decision.

When that happens you have to refuse the offer and prove to them that the car is going to cost more to replace by getting evidence in the way of adverts on autotrader etc, of similar cars with higher advertised prices.

They will then move up on their offer if they are a worthwhile insurance company.
 
what do you mean by "contract repair"?

anybody recommend a good repair shop in the watford/ amersham area?

cheers

Contract repair is where you accept a figure for the damage and essenially go away.

It means that you can use used parts and keep the cost of the claim down.

In Watford there's Autoprep, but if you're prepared to travel a little further Ital Coachworks in Wembley is very good, the guy who runs it is freindly and approacable and is ex main dealer bodyshop so he knows his stuff.
 
I accepted a contract repair from my own insurers as she was denying any liability! In fact she has only just accepted liability after court papers were issued and I am still waiting for my excess back!

Without possesion all the facts here the following may be wrong, however, if your agreement was with your Ins Co and you are out of pocket, I should have thought you can pursue the third party for costs. Particularly as she at first denied and then admitted liability. As I say, I don't know all the details, but on the face of it I think you have a case.
 
deepcut garage, camberley, surrey...feedback?

the saga with swiftcover begins...after agreeing that the car can be towed to scotthall in borehamwood (bmw repairer, so cant be too bad??), i get a second email to say that the car has been taken to deepcut garage in camberley..checked with them that this was not sent in error..indeed, scotthall is now unable to take my car, so they've sent it to camberley!!!!

not happy!!!

has anyone dealt with this repair shop before?

secondly,
im now sitting without a car as a replacement car is not an option on my policy...can i hire a car and claim it from the other party? if so, how do i go about doing this?

thanks again...
 
when mine was worth less than 1000k they wrote it off and still let me keep it.

Must be a fantastic car -- worth more than a Veyron......:D


Damn Stevesey beat me to it...lol
 
repair quotation

i now have the repair quotation in my possession...anybody knowledgeable in body repairs willing to have a look at it for me and advise, please? can pm it to you...

thanks
 
For a replacement car, this firm specialise in them when the accident was not your fault, worth a try, won't cost you a penny.
http://www.enterprise.co.uk/car_rental/worldLocationSearch.do

Also, with regards to the quote / estimate, just let them get on with it. The main thing you have to worry about is if the car is written off, or you have to pay for the repair, you need to find the excess amount agreed when you took out the policy. So if it is a total loss, the amount is deducted from the pay out. If repaired, you need to have the excess ready which I would try to claim back from t'others insurance.
 
For a replacement car, this firm specialise in them when the accident was not your fault, worth a try, won't cost you a penny.
http://www.enterprise.co.uk/car_rental/worldLocationSearch.do

Also, with regards to the quote / estimate, just let them get on with it. The main thing you have to worry about is if the car is written off, or you have to pay for the repair, you need to find the excess amount agreed when you took out the policy. So if it is a total loss, the amount is deducted from the pay out. If repaired, you need to have the excess ready which I would try to claim back from t'others insurance.


Be very careful with this approach. I understand that some of these companies will provide you with a car (and they stress it can be an equivalent quality car) for no charge to you - BUT then they claim an absolutely outrageous daily hire charge from your insurer or 3rd party. The danger is that the third party claims that you are not being reasonable in your claim and it ends up in a dispute. If you can demonstrate that you reasonably need a car (to go to work for example) then you should hire a car at a reasonable price from a local or national supplier and let the third party know what you are doing and why (and the daily amount) and that you will be recaliming the costs from them as part of the claim against them. They should forward it to their insurers and this will motivate them to move more quickly to settle the claim one way or another.
Make sure you put it all in writing.
 

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