What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
My Rover 75 is to be written off - can I take a smaller settlement and keep the car?
My beloved Rover 75 Connoisseur CDTi is a superb, way-above-average 2003, 93,000 mile pre-facelift example in Copperleaf with unmarked beige leather. The car was vandalised recently by some lowlife hurling a brick, which careened off the rear screen resulting in the rear windscreen being smashed, the boot lid edge damaged and some small dents on the roof. My bodyshop repairer (Nationwide - very good, used them before) tells me that the damage is easily repairable but they have been informed by my insurer [Toyota Insurance/AGEAS] that the cost is at a higher proportion (it seems) of the car's value for them to meet the claim and as such the car is likely to be written off with a cash payment coming to me. Is this normal practice? The car is so good I want to keep it. Any advice gratefully received.
Asked on 13 July 2013 by SG, via email
Answered by
Honest John
Complicated, but case law only allows for an owner to be put back in the situation he was in before the damage was done, and a cash settlement of the 'market value' of the car has been ruled to do this. But in many cases (like yours) this is unacceptable to the damaged party, so it is better to come to a settlement whereby he/she keeps the car and gets a monetary amount equivalent to the write off value minus the salvage value that the insurer would have received on disposal. It also makes for a cleaner settlement, cutting out 'accident management' specialists and expensive 'credit hire' courtesy cars that can rebound on the damaged party.
We give you the low down on how to save on insurance, little-known tricks and tips, what insurance groups mean and how to use insurance aggregators to beat insurers.
Insurance group finder and how to save on insuranceSimilar questions
My locked 2007 Mazda 6 TS 5-door auto parked on my driveway was struck by a car veering off the road at speed. After demolishing part of my neighbour's wall and part of my hedge it bounced off the rear...
The boyfriend of my neighbour's daughter damaged my car lightly. As all parties agreed it was minor damage, I said I'd get a quote and we'd get him to pay the repairer on the day, I had him booked in this...
I had a low impact bump causing damage to rear bumper and small dent to body work above bumper. I claimed on my insurance and my Toyota RAV4 was allocated a date for estimate to be carried out at appointed...
Elsewhere on 
.jpg)
