Buy back the write off or get a new car
Discussion
So recently the Wifes wagon was written off in a car park.
The car was a 2011 Mercedes C Class 350cdi estate, the damage was the rear door
The insurance have offered 5k pay out and if I want to buy the car back for £1,300
I have obviously gone back as I think this is a low offer, trying to get close to 6k as i think thats market value.
In the meantime I have been looking at what to replace this with to which I've shortlisted the following:-
Audi S4 either saloon or Avant B8
Ford Focus ST Mk3
Golf Gti Mk6/7
These cars are circa the 10k mark so would mean me putting my hand in my pocket for 4/5k also.
This has got me thinking perhaps I just buy the old Merc back and either getting a smart repair on the door, of buy a 2nd hand door then run it as a shed until something major goes wrong then either scrap or sell cheap.
Just interested in what others would do in this instance.
The car was a 2011 Mercedes C Class 350cdi estate, the damage was the rear door
The insurance have offered 5k pay out and if I want to buy the car back for £1,300
I have obviously gone back as I think this is a low offer, trying to get close to 6k as i think thats market value.
In the meantime I have been looking at what to replace this with to which I've shortlisted the following:-
Audi S4 either saloon or Avant B8
Ford Focus ST Mk3
Golf Gti Mk6/7
These cars are circa the 10k mark so would mean me putting my hand in my pocket for 4/5k also.
This has got me thinking perhaps I just buy the old Merc back and either getting a smart repair on the door, of buy a 2nd hand door then run it as a shed until something major goes wrong then either scrap or sell cheap.
Just interested in what others would do in this instance.
This was the daughter’s car , got hit by another car & wrote off ( it came back from ins ( long story).
I brought my daughter a new car & was left with a car that was scrap basically, so I got door open , knocked out dents as best I could , filled & rattle caned , then ran it as a works car for 3/4 yrs .
Loved it , it was worthless so didn’t have to worry about the works car park parking dents , stone chips .
I can’t answer about the damage to the wheel , but the damage to body , I’d buy back , tidy up as best is possible , some filler , rattle can & enjoy .
mr2turbogts said:
So recently the Wifes wagon was written off in a car park.
The car was a 2011 Mercedes C Class 350cdi estate, the damage was the rear door
The insurance have offered 5k pay out and if I want to buy the car back for £1,300
I have obviously gone back as I think this is a low offer, trying to get close to 6k as i think thats market value.
In the meantime I have been looking at what to replace this with to which I've shortlisted the following:-
Audi S4 either saloon or Avant B8
Ford Focus ST Mk3
Golf Gti Mk6/7
These cars are circa the 10k mark so would mean me putting my hand in my pocket for 4/5k also.
This has got me thinking perhaps I just buy the old Merc back and either getting a smart repair on the door, of buy a 2nd hand door then run it as a shed until something major goes wrong then either scrap or sell cheap.
Just interested in what others would do in this instance.
I'd buy that back for £1300 in a heartbeat. A new wheel (or even a set of four aftermarket wheels if a Merc OE one is rare or expensive) and a black door can't be too hard to source off ebay or Partsfinder. Should be back on the road for under £2.5k. The car was a 2011 Mercedes C Class 350cdi estate, the damage was the rear door
The insurance have offered 5k pay out and if I want to buy the car back for £1,300
I have obviously gone back as I think this is a low offer, trying to get close to 6k as i think thats market value.
In the meantime I have been looking at what to replace this with to which I've shortlisted the following:-
Audi S4 either saloon or Avant B8
Ford Focus ST Mk3
Golf Gti Mk6/7
These cars are circa the 10k mark so would mean me putting my hand in my pocket for 4/5k also.
This has got me thinking perhaps I just buy the old Merc back and either getting a smart repair on the door, of buy a 2nd hand door then run it as a shed until something major goes wrong then either scrap or sell cheap.
Just interested in what others would do in this instance.
Push them for more cash using ads for similar cars. Get a replacement door from somewhere, smart repair other bits, back on the road with cash in the pot for replacement time.
Don't forget pics pics pics and receipts/invoices for the repair as it will assist you when trying to sell later.
Don't forget pics pics pics and receipts/invoices for the repair as it will assist you when trying to sell later.
mr2turbogts said:
Yep you’ve all convinced me to buy it back.
Just need to negotiate with the insurance company now.
Does anyone know if it’s best to argue the settlement value of the car up or drive the cost to purchase back down
With the Honda I bought back recently, I went with upping the settlement value. It was easier to find other examples for sale that we could send as evidence of the market price. Slightly different values, but I was offered £1100 settlement/£300 buy back to start with and after sending one email it went up to £1400/£400. Just need to negotiate with the insurance company now.
Does anyone know if it’s best to argue the settlement value of the car up or drive the cost to purchase back down
A new bumper impact bar was £50 and some hot water and pushing got rid of the dent in the bumper
It depends on whether it’s a CAT N or CAT S. If the latter there’s likely structural damage, that may not necessarily be visible but could make the car dangerous if the chassis is not straight. You say it’s your wife’s car - do you have kids? Would you trust the car to safely transport your family?
If this was my choice I’d be taking my family’s safety into consideration. Good luck.
If this was my choice I’d be taking my family’s safety into consideration. Good luck.
I'd keep that car as the damage looks pretty minimal, but maybe check out the rear suspension and wheel.
You'll probably have more success getting a higher write-off valuation than reducing the salvage value as it's a bigger number. When I kept my Cat N car last year Hastings deducted a straight 22% of the valuation as the salvage value - presumably that's what they get from their salvage contractor. So the extra £200 I got on the valuation cost me £44.
Anyway good luck.
You'll probably have more success getting a higher write-off valuation than reducing the salvage value as it's a bigger number. When I kept my Cat N car last year Hastings deducted a straight 22% of the valuation as the salvage value - presumably that's what they get from their salvage contractor. So the extra £200 I got on the valuation cost me £44.
Anyway good luck.
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