I was turning right off a main road and my X Type got hit at low speed above the rear wheel arch.
I have only had one write off decades ago. An innocent in the middle of a four vehicle sandwich and an obvious old car to the scrapper.
Only other UK damage was to a door skin so fortunately not been in this sort of situation before.
Repaired says it needs a new panel and cost etc exceeds what the insurers basic guide is so it is being referred to them.
It might be a write off ?
I want to keep the car so what are my options.
The X type is in good nick, v high spec, low mileage and almost impossible to replace with a similar vehicle.
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>> I want to keep the car so what are my options.
>> The X type is in good nick, v high spec, low mileage and almost impossible
>> to replace with a similar vehicle.
>>
If you want a very reasonably priced repairer in Shepperton, let me know.
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You can take the write off money, buy the car off them and pay to fix it. You should end up with money in pocket if you manage the repair correctly.
Only problem is the car is tagged as a write off, and hard to sell, not a problem for you I guess.
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Thanks Zero. That is exactly what I wanted to know.
No intention of selling it.
Actually the damage is a ding ( repairer says it will not pull out ) not structural and I would have no problem living with it.
It was a very low speed coming together.
I involved the Insurance co as i knew the other driver would do so.
If I arrange to keep it by whatever mechanism then what happens with insuring the car ?
Will the same Insurer still cover it ?
I assume I start a new policy from now ?
What will be the value of the car for insurance ?
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There are plenty of outfits that can work miracles with bodywork. Insurance companies look at everything purely from a financial point of view. As Z says if they wont repair they can write it off and you can buy it and have the repairs performed by someone who is not charging out to an insurance company at inflated costs.
Have a look at this guy. Now this is proper 'panel beating'
www.youtube.com/watch?v=18hgmzxzJ3A
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A bit far to make his Mondeo to that repair guy.
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Although you've informed your insurer are you obliged to take the write-off?
I mean can't you just carry on with your dented car and repair it at your leisure?
Sorry if that does come across right.
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>>If I arrange to keep it by whatever mechanism then what happens with insuring the
>> car ?
>> Will the same Insurer still cover it ?
>> I assume I start a new policy from now ?
>> What will be the value of the car for insurance ?
>>
We bought a repaired Cat D car and had no problems insuring it with our insurer (Admiral multi-car). Insured value would normally be lower as the market value is lower.
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One option is to tell the insurer that you are not making a claim. They probably won't hold it against you at renewal time. (The world may have changed since I didn't make a claim for a stolen car fifteen years ago.)
Last edited by: Mapmaker on Tue 4 Sep 18 at 09:51
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No need to deal with your insurer, other than to inform them of the accident. Contact the other party insurers and tell them you'd accept a payment of £xxx for repair or loss of value, at your own discretion. I've done this in the past and as long as my required sum isn't silly, I've found they jump at the chance.
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Whose fault was the accident? OP?
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>> Whose fault was the accident? OP?
>>
I was always told " Never admit liability" so I did not.
I understand it is so not to compromise your legal bods options.
After informing me that it probably needs a new OE panel which is several £100s further talks have come to the conclusion that they can pull the dent out.
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In the meanwhile after confusion by the car hire co, only resolved late in the day. instead of a the agreed small manual hatchback I have an 5 door auto Golf with a few bells and whistles.
It is a 66 reg with 20K+ on the clock. I guess that was what they had left in stock.
A chance to sample a modern car for a few days.
Learning to live with stop/start and electronic handbrake etc.
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Told you. They are shipping it to Russia :))
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A few years back , I’d parked on the RHS of a road , aand had to pull out from behind a car , which as I pulled out n ambulance pulled out from its depot , so I reversed back . I didn’t know there wasn’t a kerb , and I was stopped by a lelegraph pole finishing up in the middle of the boot of my then Vauxhall Zafire .
Cut a long story short, the glass came out , and so I took it to a glass replacement place , who said for 250 they could put it in , but it would fall out .
I logged into a Car ebay site , name escapes me , where I listed
Wanted back door for a Black Zafira door ....every sraappy came back back with doors from 50-150 , the first 5 cheapest weren’t in black ! But I got the door , delivered and fitted for under 200 .
So yeah get the other guy to contribute 500 , to save his car insurance premiums ( I assume he’s got some ). Don’t tell your insurance co yet, in case he doesn’t have any .
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>>So yeah get the other guy to contribute 500 , to save his car insurance premiums ( I assume he's got some ). Don't tell your insurance co yet, in case he doesn't have any .
Why would other guy contribute if it is the OP's fault?? (Not saying it is)
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The hire car is probably going to cost more than the X-Type is worth whilst they repair it. So they may still write it off.
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Who is funding the hire car?
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>>Who is funding the hire car?
I have twice kind of asked the same question - if the OP was turning right off a main road then I would guess there is a good chance (though not necessarily) that he is to blame. In which case the other vehicle will be pursuing insurance etc and insurance will be notified.
In this scenario all talk of going to scrappies etc to avoid insurance claim will be irrelevant.
As previously mentioned the OP could offer to buy the car back from insurer but there is no sign that this is going to be concluded without any insurer involvement and a claim against his record.
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I knew the other guy was going to claim on his insurance so I informed my insurer.
My insurer is paying for the hire car. They immediately acted on this and due to a advised delay by the body shop I delayed getting the hire car.
I was a bit taken aback when having left the guy to examine my car, my next sight of it it was covered with lots of orange "s" es in Chinagraph. All indicated even the tiniest chip or blemish on the bodywork .
A few more days delay and now the good news, to me, it is now going to be repaired and is not a write off. Although my premium may go up I am relieved at the outcome to date.
They are going to pull out the dent using the key method as shown on Wheeler Dealers by Ed China.
It would be quite difficult to find a close spec replacement (from my point of view.)
A saloon petrol, auto, AWD SE spec 2.5L to start with
Autotrader countrywide shows 2 out of a total of 7 are SE versions and the one higher spec available for sale is older and nearly twice the mileage. I do not like dark cars but do like light
coloured leather.
www.highstonecar-company.co.uk/used-cars/jaguar-x-type-3-0-v6-sovereign-awd-4dr-enfield-201805116400702
Ticks quite a few boxes,
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You could get something a lot newer for £5k than a Mondeo based X-Type.
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>> ..... than a Mondeo based X-Type.
>>
ZZZZZZZZZ
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Got to be good to find a car you like so much you want another.
And who cares what it's based on?
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Did you get an offer for a write off? Or did they quickly move on to repair?
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When my old banger was written off years ago, the insurance company let me buy it back and put it back on the road only if an engineers report was obtained to show it was sound along with a new MOT.
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>> ..... the insurance company let me buy it back and put it back on the road
>> only if an engineers report was obtained to show it was sound along with a new MOT.
>>
That was the hoped for default situation but I had no idea of the details
The MoT was valid at the date of the incident but it had a new MoT after the incident.
The reason was that I estimated the the old MoT would possibly expire before the repaired car was driven back to my home.
I did it to avoid any further problems with either them refusing to drive it back or getting caught driving it without an MoT.
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The first response from the repairers was that it could not be economically repaired.
A new OE quarter panel required. Remove the back window,cut across half way down the C pillar etc which seemed to be a very expensive job.
They had further discussions with the insurance co engineer and it was then decided that the dent could be pulled out.
I believe this sort of approach is what is proposed.
I have seen Edd China use a similar method in one of the Wheeler Dealer programmes
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkWm78ClA_Me
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I think a few of us are concerned you don't end up liable for hire car costs. And me mindful of the other car needs repairs so will have courtesy car as well.
Total cost will be thousands for damage that was fairly trivial.
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Do you need a hire car? I know when I was in a similar situation I turned the hire car down, I guess it kept the cost of the claim down and helped to not right the car off.
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The insurance co arranged the car hire. The car hire co phoned to say they had been instructed to supply a car ( the cheapest spec) .
I had always assumed it was an option that I had ticked on my policy.
I will check it out.
Even though my annual mileage is low, bus to nearest shopping centers is good and free plus trains to London are 10 mins away I do need a car.
Doctors orders ( and friends ) instructions to get out as often as I can.
Not really a taxi option to some locations I visit which are not local.
Thanks to all for all help.
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An update.
Yesterday my car was returned and the hire car collected.
I am impressed with the restoration work they have done.
The delivery driver took lots of photos and a video as a record.
As agreed, paid the excess, as per policy, by cc via hand terminal.
A 5+year warranty of workmanship.
Confirmation of me accepting the car plus my signature was emailed to me within a few minutes.
I had a call this morning from the hire car co to confirm petrol charge to restore fuel level ( at pump prices) and any feedback of the car.
They agreed with me that the creep from the gearbox was poor.
Surprise, surprise I now have a cheque and and an apology for the delay in getting the repair done.
Using the Golf was no real inconvenience and a free experience of some of the features now included in a "modern" car.
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A write off or not? advice please. - Duncan
