Insurance repairer asking for money?/ write off advice?
Discussion
Just a bit of background, my grandad had an accident in his Merc CLK last week, front damage.
He rang his insurance company when he got home and the next day they called back and said the car would be collected by a repairer.
A couple of days later, the repairer turned up and took the car leaving q courtesy car.
Today, they called my grandad saying 'we're not supposed to call you but wanted to let you know that the insurance isn't giving us enough to fix it, if you give us an extra £350 we'll make sure its fixed'
To me, this sounds like extortion. They said he needed to call them back within an hour is they'd be saying the car wasn't economical to repair.
My grandad rang back (after speaking to me) and said he would deal with the insurance directly. He went round and collected his personal stuff from the car...
So this leads me on to my second point.
The repairer said they think its beyond repair and have advised the insurance. I think the car is worth circa 2.75k, glass's retail is 3k and his was a tidy car.
He has a personalized plate which he will want to retain for the next car, how do we do that of its wriitten off?
Sorry for the long post, any help appreciated.
He rang his insurance company when he got home and the next day they called back and said the car would be collected by a repairer.
A couple of days later, the repairer turned up and took the car leaving q courtesy car.
Today, they called my grandad saying 'we're not supposed to call you but wanted to let you know that the insurance isn't giving us enough to fix it, if you give us an extra £350 we'll make sure its fixed'
To me, this sounds like extortion. They said he needed to call them back within an hour is they'd be saying the car wasn't economical to repair.
My grandad rang back (after speaking to me) and said he would deal with the insurance directly. He went round and collected his personal stuff from the car...
So this leads me on to my second point.
The repairer said they think its beyond repair and have advised the insurance. I think the car is worth circa 2.75k, glass's retail is 3k and his was a tidy car.
He has a personalized plate which he will want to retain for the next car, how do we do that of its wriitten off?
Sorry for the long post, any help appreciated.
Speak with your insurance company ASAP with regards to the private plate. Do not allow them to write the car off before you have transfered/retained the plate from the car. If the plate is not transfered then you will lose it when the insurance company takes ownership of the car.
Check the DVLA site on how to go about retaining the plate.
Check the DVLA site on how to go about retaining the plate.
This isn't quite as bad as it sounds (I hope!) The Insurance Co Engineer will place his valuation of the car on Glass's or any other market available information e.g Autotrader /E Bay. He will operate to guidelines based upon his company's policy with regard to salvage and disposal. Some companys will repair to 100% of market value others will only repair to 60%.
The repair cost will be based upon an estimate that has generally been compilled using standard industry times and calculated accordingly e.g Audatex or Glassmatix (Thatcham times)
The engineer will also be aware of contingency - suppose the garage discover a damaged power steering pulley which has hit the pump - suddenly an extra £400 tips it over the edge -maybe its easier to offer a settlement writeoff.
The garage on the otherhand wants a repair. No repair= no profit just the cost of handling a claim and a courtesy car thats been out over christmas for £70 fixed fee - bad news!
If the repairer is reputable then I would ask for a contract repair through the Insurance company (thus warranted) and no second hand parts fitted.
For your side a £ contribution wouldn't seem too bad - you'd spend that hiring a car for another ten days. Win- win - yes?
Talk to your insurance co - they'll do a deal for sure.
The repair cost will be based upon an estimate that has generally been compilled using standard industry times and calculated accordingly e.g Audatex or Glassmatix (Thatcham times)
The engineer will also be aware of contingency - suppose the garage discover a damaged power steering pulley which has hit the pump - suddenly an extra £400 tips it over the edge -maybe its easier to offer a settlement writeoff.
The garage on the otherhand wants a repair. No repair= no profit just the cost of handling a claim and a courtesy car thats been out over christmas for £70 fixed fee - bad news!
If the repairer is reputable then I would ask for a contract repair through the Insurance company (thus warranted) and no second hand parts fitted.
For your side a £ contribution wouldn't seem too bad - you'd spend that hiring a car for another ten days. Win- win - yes?
Talk to your insurance co - they'll do a deal for sure.
If the plate is worth a few quid or has sentimental value why not buzz down to DVLA now and get it on retention straight away. If he gets his car back then you've 'lost' the 120 quid or so when you put it back on, if he doesn;t you've saved yourself a shed load of hassle for 40 quid that it cost over a straight transfer.
all depends on what its worth to you/him and how much you value your time if it does get written off with all the hassle that will come of it.
all depends on what its worth to you/him and how much you value your time if it does get written off with all the hassle that will come of it.
Years ago I wasnt so quick to pull the plate off and after talking to insurer I had to put it in writing that I wanted it and they responded and that letter went to dvla with transfer papers etc
In future I would do as you and put it on retention asap
Although initially sounds dodgy if you had sentimental value in the car and wanted it repaired not written off its nice to have the option.
Simon
In future I would do as you and put it on retention asap
Although initially sounds dodgy if you had sentimental value in the car and wanted it repaired not written off its nice to have the option.
Simon
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