My 309 Written Off

[pugdamo 111 2 Cars]

I was stationary waiting to turn into a side road last night and someone drove into the back of my 309,they admitted liability at the scene and my insurance company said theres no question i was stationary when hit.They are writing the car off without even seeing it and offered me book price which isnt good,i went mental on the phone because i had the best cover they did,all mods declared,you try and do things properly and get shafted.Also i was also going to change insurance companies when i took out this years insurance to a more specialist one but was talked out of it because of the cover they can provide.But when you actually need to clain her answer on the phone was i should have had a classic policy,but they never explain this when taking the cover out.

Iv read a few posts on here about people standing their ground and getting more but i have no clue what im supposed to do,iv managed to get them to send an engineer to my house to value it now,they also said that he will search the market place rather than book price but iv still got a funny feeling im going to end up out of pocket.

 

Any advice however small is greatly apprieciated.

[Tom Fenton 1,526]

I think you are in a decent position even though it may not feel like it at the moment. For one, do not let the car out of your sight until you have agreed a settlement with the insurance company.

As you say start doing research and find what are comparable 309's to yours condition wise out there for sale (will be difficult I guess as there aren't many out there) but print off any you find and keep as evidence of what the actual market value is.

Don't be too put off about them offering you book value, thats the standard response they will give anyone that rings up, if you had some 15 year old shopping car then 90% of folk would probably be happy with that.

[rallyeash 155]

Just remember. They are a business so will pay as little as possible. Stand your ground bud

[Wallby 39]

As they have admitted liability, you may find that their insurance company will contact you and sort it out. Could be another option if they would repair it?

[Loose Hand Luke 6]

Also see if someone from a local bodyshop can pop round to tell you if its repairable or not, just so you can argue the case.

[sp_en_ny 14 1 Cars]

All insurance companies in my opinion are legalised robbers ! Do as above, find comparable vehicles for sale and obtain proof, don't accept first offer and just keep fighting the whole way. Not sure how you stand with this now but when someone last wrote my car off I got minicabs everywhere and submitted the invoices as part of my claim, that prompted them to settle in my favour very quickly.......this was some 15 years ago now so not sure if you can still get away with it, cant see why not.

[allye 530 3 Cars]

Hi Damien, have a good read through this.

 

http://forum.205gtidrivers.com/index.php?showtopic=121710

 

How compariable is the damage?

[yippeekayay 18 1 Cars]

you can insist that the car is repaired... you dont have to take the offer. tell them you will use the legal protection to get the car fixed if they wont. a guy did it recently on the 306 forum with a rallye and they put a new quarter and back end on it as he insisted it be fixed. As tom says. do not let them take it away as they will then try and charge you storage etc as a lever to make you accept. you have no liability so ensure they know that.

 

And i know it sounds stupid. but put

 

"I ACCEPT ABSOLUTELY NO LIABILITY FOR THIS ACCIDENT THE OTHER PARTY IS TOTALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACCIDENT" on all paper work to them and it stops your claim being part of a larger picture of blame swaps commonly used in the insurance world.

[Andy_C 50]

Sorry to hear about this.

 

First up, there won't be a "book" value for a 309 (or a 205 for that matter) as they're now too old to appear in the guides most engineers and insurers use.

 

This is good as they're essentially sticking a finger in the air, whereas you can find comparable examples in terms of condition and mileage to support your argument. That said, ask them what resource they use to value your car so you can discuss fully with them how they reached the figure you're not happy with.

 

If the cost os repairs exceed whatever figure you come up with then the car's a write off under either category C or D but you may be able to buy back the salvage - depends on your insurer.

 

Categor A/B are deemed unsafe or total destruction such as a fire so they're for the crusher.

 

Keep a record of every email and every conversation with the insurer and engineer.

 

As regards modifications, see whether you can strip everything salvageable and keep it regardless - as we all know, mods add little to a car's "value".

 

If there was a mis-sale when you last renewed and the cover isn't fir for purpose then that's worth taking up as there will be a formal procedure which must be followed.

 

Hope some of this helps - I've been a "legalised robber" for over 25 years now so hopefully know some of my stuff.

 

 

[pugdamo 111 2 Cars]

Thankyou so much for all the replies,i definatly wasnt going to let them have the car as iv read all sorts of stuff happening.

I guess just stick my ground and be prepared for a battle.

Im not sure if i want it repaired now though,it wont be the same car after this,if i had it repaired i would probably just sell it as soon as i had it back.

Iv saved a few links on my phone so ill get them printed off ready,the assessor is supposed to call in a few days to arrange to come round so i guess ill know more then.

Thanks again,ill keep you posted.

[hoodygoodwood 70 3 Cars]

Sorry to hear of this incident , good luck getting a decent payout .

Try and buy the wreck back as salvage and strip it to help keep other 309's on the road .

[nomis 12]

If you were talked out of taking out a specialised policy it would be well worth raising this as an official complaint using the words 'I was mis sold this policy and I will take this to the financial ombudsman'.

 

Also that you think the company is failing in its duty to 'treat customers fairly'

 

You should find that ears perk up at that point. stand your ground, repeat the above and argue the case with as much evidence of value as possible and that you were talked out of the right policy.

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

Also remember "they record telephone coversations for training purposes"..... If they have a short memory.

[pugdamo 111 2 Cars]

When they said i should have had a classic insurance i reminded her that i was convinced to stay with them when i had this policy,i asked if all old conversation recordings were kept,that was the point i was put on hold,then she came back suggesting an engineer takes my car to a salvage yard for assessment,i said no and they agreed to then send him here so maybe theyve heard the recording and iv got them,hopefully hear from the assessor before the weekend.

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

It's really for them to claim off the person's insurance that caused this isn't it, not what they value it at?, worth printing off how many left to add to it's rarity as well, makes the 205 look very common

[ALEX 98 1 Cars]

Is it repairable? You want it repaired?

If so get a quote from an independent garage you trust (Not one of the certified Insurance companies, as they will quote silly money or say they wont do it)

It's what I had to do to keep mine on the road, they were willing to pay upto £1500 for a write off after much haggling and they wouldn't repair it, So I showed them the quote of £900 for the repair from my chosen garage.

They went along with that, and the car wasn't then listed as a write off.

Damage was a rear shunt. Boot floor was fine, mainly rear quarter damage, bumper lights and valance.

Was better than new when done.

[jeremy 68]

I am insured with a company who made a big thing in their adds about multi car polices, so you should know who they are! Now my Disco was crashed into and they wanted to write it off just by the pictures I sent them. To cut along story short their valuation was out by 33%, even the independent valuer agreed with me and eventually the car was repaired. Ironically this saved my insurer £1400 less £200 as they payed for the valuer.

Do your homework on its value, but don't take the mickey. If offered silly money then ask them to provide comparisons for sales as you would want to go and possible get one as a replacement. Remeber it is your car till either you agree an insurance payout or sell it. Best of luck.

Also on a side note just make a general enquiry into the time scale and cost of having all details they have on you under the Data Protection rules... ...its a real pain in the axse for them they may just be a little more helpful

[pugdamo 111 2 Cars]

Didnt think of printing of the how many left,will definatly do that.Will ask a bodyshop that my work uses,im still not sure id want it repaired,wouldnt be the same car.

Thanks again for the replies,my poor printer is taking a battering at the moment lol

[Toddy 7]

If you want to keep the salvage tell the engineer you want a cash settlement.

 

As said print off other dealer for sale adds and give copies to the engineer before/during inspection.

 

The engineer may ask what you think it's value is, have a figure prepared.

 

Play down the modifications as this may increase what they charge you for salvage retention.

 

At present you are the legal owner of the car, until you decide that the offer is acceptable to you.

 

Don't let the car out of your sight!

[pugdamo 111 2 Cars]

I spoke with the engineer on the phone earlier,he said he can't travel down to me so i have to send an email with photos of all the damage,pictures of mileage etc.Im also going to send him the links to all the 309's iv found so far.

Im not holding my breath for a sensible offer,he said on the phone "surely its not worth a great deal its an old Peugeot" it was pretty hard to bite my tongue but getting angry with the person who's putting a price on my car is not a good idea.

I did ask whether he had been asked to look at the market value,he said yes and i also said that i wanted to retain the salvage.

Will keep you posted,fingers crossed.

[Biggles 65]

He's going to assess it from photos ?! Fcuk that - tell your insurers to find someone who'll get off his arse and hasn't already made up his mind what it's worth ...

[Tom Fenton 1,526]

"deathbringer929" aka Paul is an insurance assessor. I'll point him here he may be able to advise you.

[pugdamo 111 2 Cars]

Thankyou very much,iv got to ring the assessor before 4o'clock tomorrow as he's on holiday for 2 weeks,just seems like this is going to go on forever .

[deathbringer929 49 1 Cars]

have they made you an offer? if so whats the gap between their offer and what you want?

 

your probably better off having them value it by image, if they do a physical inspection they are more likely to see things to devalue it unless your car is absolutely mint.

 

lets face it we all value our cars verh highly but do the reverse psychology, what would you value it at if you were going to buy it from someone else? if were honest the value would be less.

 

have you had an estimate for repairs? all too common a phrase it wouldnt be the same car, has it never had any previous repairs in all its life? a reputable repairer would likely be able to return it to its pre accident condition. that said I havent seen it. Can you post some pics up showing its condition and the damage?

[pugdamo 111 2 Cars]

Thanks for the response,ill post some pictures when im back from work.The insurance company said the offer was a few hundered i wasnt interested in hearing the actual offe.The assessor said there isnt much value in it.I like to think im realistic,i was going to sell the car in the summer and wanted £2200 for it,if i didnt get it id just keep it.Mine is very clean,not concourse but clean,with the market value range from around £1000 for a project to £5500 for a concourse example i think my estimate was pretty good.Im not out to make a fortune on this,i want what i feel my car is worth.

Im not so worried about it being repaired i know that it can be repaired well,i also know it can be repaired badly,depends on the bodyshop,my main thing is i wouldnt want a CAT C car,for me i would only sell it straight away and also i wouldnt be able to sell it so easily.I want to keep it and break it.

What do they normally charge for the car when retaining the salvage?

 

Thanks again