T5 written off in a crash yesterday any tips on insurance etc

[Perfectos]

Do not let the V5 out of your possession
Nor agree to the vehicle being sold to trade or a reclaim company

It is very important to state that you own the vehicle until a settlement is accepted by you

It is normal strong arm practice for an insurance co to sell a vehicle in their charge (they do not own) before making an offer
I.e the Insurance co get the money in the bank form the salvage co to offset any future offer to yourself.

Get the vehicle assessed

The third party will be charged storage and recovery and they will dispose of your vehicle as quickly as possible (at your future expense)if you let them

DO NOT let that vehicle be disposed of by the third party insurer

YOU own it until you agree to an offer

I promise you It will compromise your future offer if the vehicle has gone.

If you are not confident in handling the claim get a reputable claim co. On the case to claim back every penny, damages and lost holiday etc

You must state in writing that you do not wish for the Vehicle to leave your ownership until after an offer has been accepted (I.e you still own it subject to an offer being accepted)

I sincerely hope the vehicle has not already been sold for salvage / repair if it has kick up an almighty stink

Remember you own that Van and it has a value (even written off) in parts IRO 10k +

Get an email sent ASAP to the both insurance companies (your and the third party) + Call the recovery company and make it clear the vehicle is yours a different they sell / dispose of it you will take legal steps. Follow up with an email to all parties

Go see the van ASAP and take as many photos as possible.

Keep reiterating the van is yours and it is not to be disposed of at every opportunity.

I would not trust anyone who said a vehicle is written off without and engineers report a current market valuation and a written detailed and reputable repair estimate !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Perfectos]

Get an email sent ASAP to the both insurance companies (your and the third party) + Call the recovery company and make it clear the vehicle is yours a different they sell / dispose of it you will take legal steps. Follow up with an email to all parties

Go see the van ASAP and take as many photos as possible.

Keep reiterating the van is yours and it is not to be disposed of at every opportunity.

I would not trust anyone who said a vehicle is written off without and engineers report a current market valuation and a written detailed and reputable repair estimate !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

An assessor will not write a vehicle off these days unless the cost of repair exceeds the repair cost.

Long gone are the days of 70% rule

IMO you can do an awful lot of repairs for 10K !

I bet your van was / is worth more than 10k ?

Keeps perspective of how business works to rob you and keep your BS radar turned on high with a mind of how the trade look after themselves every step of the way


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Perfectos]

An assessor will not write a vehicle off these days unless the cost of repair exceeds the repair cost.

Long gone are the days of 70% rule

IMO you can do an awful lot of repairs for 10K !

I bet your van was / is worth more than 10k ?

Keeps perspective of how business works to rob you and keep your BS radar turned on high with a mind of how the trade look after themselves every step of the way


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Apologies regarding some of the auto correction, I’m away and trying to reply on my phone.

It’s an appalling situation to be in , particularly when distressed and if you have no experience of how the trade works

get help if you need it from a reputable claim handling company.

Insurers hate claim companies because they know every trick in the book and claim their costs as well as expenses personal injury etc.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[andyinluton]

Agree it’s unheard of for a vehicle to be declared a write off at the scene.

You only have to see what was done to the kebab shop van in a previous thread to see how much damage is actually repairable.

With the rising costs of secondhand calis it’s harder and harder to get one written off.

 

[Perfectos]

Can anyone post a link to that repair thread and the miraculous repair so the op has a perspective please (sorry I’m notable to easily on Tapatalk)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Wogga]

No fault accident our experience with write off on our GW, at the scene everyone commented it is a write off, the cab crumpled. Wrong, due the value of the replacement van £50k wish) it was repaired at a cost of £24k. The lack of damage to accommodation helped. Our insurer was Comfort so legal protection was covered and Aviva handled the repairs.

Good luck and hope it all works out for you.

 

[reserves]

Remember you often have the chance to buy it back and get it repaired.

I agree that it’s very odd for something to be written off at the scene.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

No fault accident our experience with write off on our GW, at the scene everyone commented it is a write off, the cab crumpled. Wrong, due the value of the replacement van £50k wish) it was repaired at a cost of £24k. The lack of damage to accommodation helped. Our insurer was Comfort so legal protection was covered and Aviva handled the repairs.

Good luck and hope it all works out for you.

What Category did it come under as that makes a huge difference with the future resale values.

 

[thehorse]

I wouldn’t use WBAC for a valuation, this would give you a low trade auction price if you were selling, not the cost for you to replace. Check out autotrader etc., for more accurate pricing and aim a bit higher - reject the first offer they make as they will always come back with a better offer.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

I wouldn’t use WBAC for a valuation, this would give you a low trade auction price if you were selling, not the cost for you to replace. Check out autotrader etc., for more accurate pricing and aim a bit higher - reject the first offer they make as they will always come back with a better offer.

Insurance companies will use Glasses guide or similar for valuations it’s up to you to keep rejecting their offer as their idea is to pay you as little as they can..They will never pay forcourt prices. As long as you have other vehicles to use and the summer season is coming to an end you have all winter to hold out for the best deal..

 

[reserves]

If you supply the spec / year / mileage etc here I’m sure most can give you a good guide on true replacement value

 

[Elmo3]

Awful situation. Of course the main thing is that you’ll all OK. You can sort out a lump of metal. Clearly you need to collect evidence to support the communications which will follow. Insurers are not always complete sharks. My father recently wrote of his BMW, the offer made was extremely fair and would have comfortably funded a like for like replacement. The challenge will be reaching agreement in what seems a ‘kite flying’ market. You only have to look at the classifieds to know some of the asking prices are exactly that and will simply not be achieved.

I know this isn’t helpful right now, but for the next one look at an agreed value policy. I think all Cali owners should do this. I’ve just been through it, very straighforward and avoids any uncertainly in write off / theft situations. Good luck.

 

[Borris]

I wouldn’t use WBAC for a valuation, this would give you a low trade auction price if you were selling, not the cost for you to replace. Check out autotrader etc., for more accurate pricing and aim a bit higher - reject the first offer they make as they will always come back with a better offer.

It is important to gather as much information as possible regarding the vehicle's value. Getting a WBAC valuation is useful in that it will give you what will probably be located at the lower end of the value spectrum. You will need to establish where both ends of that price spectrum are plus as many examples in between as you can gather. It costs nothing to obtain and you don't have to mention the quote in your correspondance with the third party's insurance company. However, it should help to give a good indication whether the insurance company offer is a fair one or not.

The important thing is to gather For Sale prices and supporting info including photos, for similar vehicles from as many different sources as possible. That way you will establish where on the pricing spectrum your vehicle is and therefore what a fair and reasonable offer should look like. It will also give you the ammunition to argue the case with an organisation that just wants to minimise it's costs and protect it investors.

Try:
1. WBAC
2. Your local VW Cali Dealer
3. Parkers car price guide
4. Glasses " " "
5. The Forum Calis For Sale section
6. Autotrader
7 etc etc

The more info you have the more accurate your valuation should be.

 

[Qnapper]

Written off at the scene......... Never heard that one before.
Called mate at AXA (he is an assessor) this morning and in his 23+ years of working for them he has never heard of that happening. All very odd if you ask me. Lets see were this thread goes.

 

[paul_f]

If there was any fire brigade extraction necessary then it is safe to say it will effectively be a write off as they don't reshell vans of this sort of age

 

[Qnapper]

If there was any fire brigade extraction necessary then it is safe to say it will effectively be a write off as they don't reshell vans of this sort of age

They do not have the power to do that only the insurance company can. They can state as the police might and say not fit for road use in current state. Big difference.

 

[ardvark]

What year would that be? As distressing as it may seem you and your family are all safe and that’s the most important thing. As far as being compensated for the vehicle you really don’t need to worry too much if you don’t cave in too soon with a silly first or second offer they make you.Stick it out....You will get another vehicle and probably better than your old one. Plus compensation for lost holidays and injuries you have all sustained. You won’t lose any NCB and hopefully will not be out of pocket in any way.

Hi it was 2008 reg a beautiful dark metallic blue. In amazing condition

 

[Wogga]

What Category did it come under as that makes a huge difference with the future resale values.

It wasn't Catorgorised because it was completely and fully repaired to manufacturers specification using genuine parts. The "experts" who wrote it off at the scene were not motor engineers.

 

[Borris]

They do not have the power to do that only the insurance company can. They can state as the police might and say not fit for road use in current state. Big difference.

Apart from adding to the damage already sustained, possibly turning a repairable vehicle into a write off, the Fire Service play no part in deciding the insurance fate of a vehicle post accident.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

It wasn't Catorgorised because it was completely and fully repaired to manufacturers specification using genuine parts. The "experts" who wrote it off at the scene were not motor engineers.

This is all well and good but In reality when you tell a future purchaser that the vehicle has been in an accident that cost £24k to repair ( which you are obligated to tell them) unless you are going to give a hefty discount you may well find it very difficult to sell.

 

[andyinluton]

This is all well and good but In reality when you tell a future purchaser that the vehicle has been in an accident that cost £24k to repair ( which you are obligated to tell them) unless you are going to give a hefty discount you may well find it very difficult to sell.

As a private seller you are not obligated to tell a prospective buyer anything. You are not allowed to misrepresent the vehicle though, so no saying "no accident damage" if it has been.

All insurance claims at the moment are expensive, it might be say just a broken window, which costs hundreds of pounds, but if that means a hire vehicle is needed for six months whilst VW get their act together & source the parts, the total cost can be huge.

The insurers would also be unwilling to go into an open ended hire arrangement if the repair costs are already adding up to a substantial proportion of the vehicles value.

On a 2007 cali a replacement like for like hire vehicle could easily be £1000 per week, a six month wait for repairs = £26k of costs without anything actually being done = write off for even a minor amount of damage.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

As a private seller you are not obligated to tell a prospective buyer anything. You are not allowed to misrepresent the vehicle though, so no saying "no accident damage" if it has been.

All insurance claims at the moment are expensive, it might be say just a broken window, which costs hundreds of pounds, but if that means a hire vehicle is needed for six months whilst VW get their act together & source the parts, the total cost can be huge.

The insurers would also be unwilling to go into an open ended hire arrangement if the repair costs are already adding up to a substantial proportion of the vehicles value.

On a 2007 cali a replacement like for like hire vehicle could easily be £1000 per week, a six month wait for repairs = £26k of costs without anything actually being done = write off for even a minor amount of damage.

So you would be quite happy to buy a vehicle only to find out it’s had a repair costing £24k. You may not be “legally” required to tell the purchaser but”morally”that’s another thing. I know I would be extremely unhappy to find that I vehicle I had bought had been in a massive collision regardless of who repaired it. But then I suppose everyone is different.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

So you would be quite happy to buy a vehicle only to find out it’s had a repair costing £24k. You may not be “legally” required to tell the purchaser but”morally”that’s another thing. I know I would be extremely unhappy to find that I vehicle I had bought had been in a massive collision regardless of who repaired it. But then I suppose everyone is different.

If you add up £24k rental costs and then £5k damage costs then on a £50K vehicle would be more than the required 50% to make it a right off..But we are not talking about them renting you a vehicle at £1000 a week just because you want one. It would be a vehicle at £150 a week from their pool.

 

[andyinluton]

If you add up £24k rental costs and then £5k damage costs then on a £50K vehicle would be more than the required 50% to make it a right off..But we are not talking about them renting you a vehicle at £1000 a week just because you want one. It would be a vehicle at £150 a week from their pool.

There is no required percentage for anything to be declared a write off.

If it was the other parties fault you are entitled for a like for like replacement - in this case a 4 berth camper van.

 

[andyinluton]

So you would be quite happy to buy a vehicle only to find out it’s had a repair costing £24k. You may not be “legally” required to tell the purchaser but”morally”that’s another thing. I know I would be extremely unhappy to find that I vehicle I had bought had been in a massive collision regardless of who repaired it. But then I suppose everyone is different.

Where have I said that I would be happy buying a repaired van?

All I said was that there is no obligation to volunteer that a van had been damaged and repaired. Whereas you suggested that you were obliged to.

The best way of protecting yourself as a buyer is to ask the right question & document the answer on a signed receipt.

I traded in a year old BMW with about £25k of damage, both wings, doors and door pillars from being T boned. Agreed a price before the repairs were done & they said as long as repairs were done by BMW garage & it wasn’t recorded it made no difference to them, it was then sold on as an approved used BMW