I think my car will be written off

[Keiron]

I was involved in an accident this morning and it's probably my fault. Long story short, my 2001 hag XKR convertible looks like it is going to be written off. There's serious damage to at least 4 panels, broken glass etc, steam coming from the engine so almost certainly damage in the engine bay and lord know what other unseen damage. It was relatively low speed but still a lot of damage. (I'm ok but feel in case anyone was worried...!)

Anyway, the insurance company (who have collected the car) say that the default position on cars 10 years old is to write them off. I would say they are probably right and it is uneconomical to repair. They are getting an assessor to look at it in the next 4 or 5 days.

Anyone know what happens now? I guess they will make me an astonishingly low offer? Do I have to take it? How do you value a car? What are my options?

Any help appreciated thanks.

 

[lmccauley]

First, glad to hear that you're uninjured.

To get an idea of your car's value, trawl through autotrader looking for similar spec, age and mileage cars as yours. Print them out, and use as evidence when negotiating with the insurance assessor. Probably also worth finding out the Glass book price (I think you can order a valuation online for a small fee).

 

[PAH]

I had a car of similar age (though not similar calibre!) written off just over a year ago.

They took away the car to be assessed. I removed all my possessions, including the tax disc, as I expected I'd never see it again. Would have drained the petrol tank (had filled up just hours before the accident) but most cars have protection against that, so drilling a hole would be the easiest way.

They decided it wasn't economical to repair.

They made a reasonable offer straight away (no hassle negotiating or trying to prove how much it was worth on the open market), which I accepted. I had paid £2k for the car, was offered £1500 having owned the car ~6 months, which I thought was pretty good.

They sent me a cheque.

Pretty painless really. Only pain comes when declaring the claim to potential new insurers and them upping the premium accordingly.