Accident damage

[mikejgeo]

Well this is where everyone has gone......

My '02 Aero had a bit of a coming togther with an 11 plate Fiesta... needless to say the Ford's front is not well!
Initial look was just a bit of a scrape to my left rear bumper, however bumper has actually moved sideways 4-5mm, boot shut lines don't look right, right rear wheel arch liner moved a few mm and the Aero trim on the right hand sill does not look right... oh dear i feel a right off coming on. Pity only 79,000, new shor engine and turbo at 45,000.

Keeping my fingers crossed!

Mike

[Max Headroom]

Struth a write off? That easily? 

Sorry to hear about the bump. Keep us posted 

Oh, and BTW... WELCOME! 

[phoenix]

Welcome

Sorry to hear of your misfortune but from the level of damage you describe and the age & relative value of the car, I find it difficult to imagine it would be anything other than a write off .

However, if it is definitely the 3rd party's fault, then you may be able to push for having your car restored to the condition it was prior to the accident.

More important that the above though is are you OK? If you have any signs of pain/ache in the next few days then get yourself off to the docs smartish. Not particularly from a compensation point of view, but I speak as someone who had an accident and whiplash injury 20 odd years ago that still troubles me.

[Audax]

Doesn't sound like a write off to me, have you got pictures? Go and get some quotes for the work now (main dealer, specialist and independent body shop) and call the other parties insurance company if it's their fault and claim off their insurance. If they push you and want to write your car off then point out it was exceptionally low mileage with a new engine blah blah and in immaculate condition (clean the inside so it's like new right now and sort any minor niggles!) and that if they want to write it off you want £5000, tell them if they want you to use an approved repairer then you'll accept nothing but perfection and that you want a loan car that is very similar to yours so a premium segment car. If you stick to your guns I'm certain you'll get it repaired, if it was your fault then you may be in trouble

I know of a 9-5 that had a reasonable amount of front end damage after a run in with a deer recently and that was well over £1k after it destroyed the front end of the car, the insurance co. were very happy to repair it.

[mikejgeo]

Work being done by insurers approved repairer.
Yes i get a courtesy car, they only have Corsa's!!
Other parties fault, i was on a roundabout had to stop, she hit the rear of my car..
Have now been told insurers man needs to see it.
A pain as I go abroad at the end of next week for 6 weeks....
Full comp insurance so will get sorted one way or another.
Here's hoping...
Mike

[Audax]

By your insurer or their insurer? If it's their insurer then you can demand a much better loan car, in fact, given those circumstances I'd stiff it to the insurance co and go through a claims management company.

[Saabman]

given those circumstances I'd stiff it to the insurance co and go through a claims management company

That's the reason all our policies have gone up recently, over priced repairs and credit hire  plus once you have agreed to have your car repaired by an insurance co with car included no Accident Management  company will touch you. You are entitled though to a like for like replacement vehicle

[Audax]

That's the reason all our policies have gone up recently, over priced repairs and credit hire  plus once you have agreed to have your car repaired by an insurance co with car included no Accident Management  company will touch you. You are entitled though to a like for like replacement vehicle

Yes I know this is why policies have gone up but stuff the insurance companies. They (Admiral) admitted to me last year that they lied as they didn't want me to go through a claims management company as it could have cost them more money... So their whole business model was designed to screw me as a customer as they knew they would get away with it. If I'm in a similar situation next time then sod 'em, if they won't play fair then neither will I. What do they honestly expect? If you treat customers badly then what do you think they will do back?

[Saabman]

Yes I know this is why policies have gone up but stuff the insurance companies

That's the whole point it's not the insurance companys that get stuffed as they just add the cost onto all our premiums, I'm not getting into a big debate over Accident Management companys but they are wrong on so many levels, also when you sign on the dotted line giving then permission to repair your car your also signing to say you are liable for the costs if for some reason they can't claim the costs back, Credit hire=£200 per day for a small car and something like a Range Rover will be £1000 per day, then you have overpriced repairs, solicitors fees and silly admin fees.
The average repair through insurance co's costs £1000 accident management average is £22,000 for the same repair.........I'd be scared if I was in credit hire 

Best way is to speak to a solicitor on a non fault accident if all else fails with an insurance co, as this is an out of pocket expence that can be claimed back.
You can get all you ever want out of an insurance co if you know what your doing/saying 

[Leon TurboX]

Hope your car gets sorted!

I went through accident management when I got T boned a few years back, NEVER again!
Hire cars costs were more than repair costs, I had to spend a day in court proving I needed a hire car and that I couldn't self fund and claim back later, and if you don't go to court, they will give you the bill for hire car!!!! Sharks the lot of them.
And I get at least 1 call a week asking if I want to claim for injury for that accident, I wasn't injured then, and I'm still not!!

[Audax]

Best way is to speak to a solicitor on a non fault accident if all else fails with an insurance co, as this is an out of pocket expence that can be claimed back.
You can get all you ever want out of an insurance co if you know what your doing/saying 

Trouble with that is I was in a 50/50 fault accident and the insurance co. decided to go with me being 100% at fault as it was cheaper for them and they admitted it. I can't afford the up front cost of a solicitor in this situation so I'm out of luck, so next time I'll use be using a separate legal protection policy I've purchased but I really don't care about the insurance co. they stiffed me so I'll stiff them next time. If they can't conduct their business in a reasonable manner being fair to the customer or that car insurance is under priced as claims are underpaid then as far as I'm concerned it's tough on us or them, we have insurance to cover us for losses, if they won't/don't pay out properly or protect their customers then it's not doing what it's supposed to. Why should I end up out of pocket because the insurance company deliberately (and they admitted this on the phone and via email) didn't want to complete my claim properly as it would be more expensive, they wouldn't compensate me any more for their lack of bother. If the insurance co. want to act like it's third party only cover then they should offer that kind of policy for less money, not sell it as fully comprehensive and then pretend it isn't.

[phoenix]

Anyway, back to the original query, the reason I would expect the OP's insurance co to call it a write off is because of the extent of the damage. Boot shut lines not looking right and wheel arch trim sounds like there's been a twisting of a significant portion of the rear shell.

If you want to keep the car the best option is to get estimates yourself. I was in a similar position a few years back with my 9000. Somebody turned into my rear NS quarter taking out the door and rear quarter panel. Approved repairer estimate was something like £2,300. On paper it was just a 15 year old 9000 with over 200,000 miles on the clock so it would have been a write off but it was in exceptional condition so I took it to my indy who used some s/h parts and cut in a panel section and reduced the price considerably, so I got to keep the car.

If you have DLP start using it now and pursue the TP.

[CitTone]

...................
And I get at least 1 call a week asking if I want to claim for injury for that accident, I wasn't injured then, and I'm still not!!

Next time they call, tell them that you were killed, and would like to mount a claim......

[davidjay]

I had an accident just over three years ago. Like a fool I believed the other driver (he reversed into me) when he said it was his fault so I had a very nice 93 convertible for a couple of weeks. Two years later I was still involved in legal wranglings and I still get texts and phone calls from ambulance chasers. If I ever have an accident again I'll forego the replacement car and catch the bus.

[nine-fiver]

mikejgeo,

Estate or sedan? If it is only the bumper cover then it is a cheap fix. Happened to me this year, with most of the damage just plastic panelwork. It looked really bad, but came up a treat, with a new cover. No structural issues.

The 9-5 is a strong car and you have to hit it REALLY hard to make a mess. Cosmetics at each end of the vehicle are sacrificial plastics, all designed to take 15km/h impacts and then be replaced. Modern motoring. But it preserves the chassis and important bits nicely.

Can you post a photo up?