We’ve had a bad accident

[punchandjudyblubberhouses]

must have been terrifying

 

[Alan Andrews]

must have been terrifying

All happened very quickly.

Fortunately I had a very good dashcam installed which captured everything, including time, location, my speed, voice, registration numbers and witnesses.

I was trapped inside the drivers seat until Fire Service removed the door and freed up my seat. then off to A&E.

The dashcam is invaluable in this type of incident, as I was unable to obtain details from other driver and witnesses.

 

[punchandjudyblubberhouses]

That’s awful. Sounds like you were lucky though

 

[Andy]

Recently had a tree fall on my Smart Fortwo. Damage looked minimal & repairable. Indeed a Smart specialist looked at photos & said not total loss, repairable.
However insurers looked at same photos & said total loss. The car was not seen by an assessor. May be different for a Cali as worth much more than my Smart. Once they deem it a total loss it is done deal, no going back. The category stays on the vehicle for life. Cat S can only be bought by a specialist registered business & stripped for spares, not repaired.
The buy back price will be the same as insurers will get from the likes of Copart. A couple of things to be aware of if you ever buy a total loss, the value will be much less, there maybe unseen damage, insurance will probably go up & may not be able to get insurance.
Insurance pays out forecourt values, not trade or private value. I got paid out £500 more for my Smart than i paid for it in 2020.

Good luck with whatever happens.

 

[punchandjudyblubberhouses]

Thank you so much for this info

 

[jamesmeaning]

My friend has a california t6 front end with radiators and panel, led headlights etc that came off a year old van. Has been sat in his garage for 6 years. He was going to facelift a t5 van and then sold it. All genuine parts. He would probably sell it all to the right person. Might be an option for you.

 

[reserves]

Thank you so much for this info

Any update?

 

[da_murphster]

Look into contract repairs.

Insurance estimate includes hire car costs, all new oem parts and potentially dealer hourly rates.

Contract repair is an amount of money you take and keep the van and the repairs are for you to complete and take responsibility for and often avoids a cat marker.

cash-in-lieu-of-repairs-as-part-of-motor-insurance-claim - Motor Claim Guru - Motor Claim Guru

motorclaimguru.co.uk

Happens a lot in the niche car world where insurance are quick to write off cars as they are considered ‘tricky’ to repair.

Owners then repair them with second hand or aftermarket parts.

Key is to ensure your van does not end up somewhere degrading or getting parts stripped from it.

 

[CALIFORNIA-VW53DUB]

JUST BE AWARE

Insurance companies will make a first ‘low ball’ offer in the hope you accept that as your final payment.
Make sure you have some figures (with adverts if necessary) of similar spec vans and mileage.

Use these to argue your point on the true replacement value of your van. It is just another way that insurers try to reduce their losses, at your cost. It maybe they do make a sensible first offer, but this is very few and far between with insurance companies nowadays.

Good luck

 

[reserves]

Also, if you’re that attached to the van.

You can always ask to buy it back if they wrote it off and get an accident repair company repair.

Just remember that the van will be worth less if you resell for to it being classified as a write off.

You could also ask for a price and see if anyone here / elsewhere would be interested. You might make a little to put towards your replacement.

Hope you can as close to a satisfactory outcome as you can.

 

[da_murphster]

IMO there is no way that van should be written off.

I’d get the chassis checked but if that’s fine and it’s running and airbags didn’t deploy it should be bolt on parts.

I’d be looking contract repair and avoid a cat marker.