What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
Rover 25 - My story... (need help) - CarlH82

In May 2008 I was rear ended on a busy road. After the car was taken aaway, I was informed a few days later that the car is to be a write off. I thought it may have been because there was some un repairable damage to the main frame of the car.

After some months the other driver's insurance had agreed to pay out to my finance company, the value of the car ( I forget the amount ). We had our comepnsation through and everything was settled. Or so we thought....

A few weeks ago ( mid June-ish 2011 ), we were visiting some family not too far from where we live, and low and behold I see my car on the road pulling out of a Tesco car park. now, this is 3 years down the line and alarm bells have started ringing in my head.

I contacted the DVLA, gave them all my details and the car details and they tell me that the car has never been declared off the road or a write off. Not even Cat D. I am awaiting some details from a solicitor that I used to see if they know what may have happened to my car after the claim was settled.

The main thing that is bugging me is the fact that I still owe £3800+ on this car and the GAP insurance that I had taken out didn't cover the cost difference with the finance. It's 3 years later and I am in this debt for a car I no longer have, but would have paid for properly, or even finished paying for it had it been repaired. I am in the process of seeking advice from the Citizens Adviec Beaurau, but I would like to know if anyone else thinks there is or maybe a case here of maybe getting my debt written off.

Any help appreciated.

Carl

Rover 25 - My story... (need help) - Dwight Van Driver

You are sure you recorded the correct VRM of the car you saw at tesco's..........Mistake easily made on a moving car.

If absolutely certain then could well be that the number has been cloned so have a word with local Police to get it on PNC/ANPR.

Cannot help with your debt and it seems having acceptyed the pay out then I cannot at the moment see what course of action you can take to recover that.

dvd

Rover 25 - My story... (need help) - Collos25

A friend of mine specialises in Rover 25's can make any damaged car look like new, the car was obviously bought as unrecorded repaired and sold on very common practice,through lack of knowledge or bad advice you have been well stitched up.

Rover 25 - My story... (need help) - bonzo dog

Hi Carl, can't give you any advice about the legal situation, I'm afraid, but a couple of observations if I may:

We had our comepnsation through andeverything was settled

Whislt insurance is in general to put the insured party back in the same position as immediately prior to the incident, in the case of motor insurance they make "offers" which can be way below the true value of the car. If the customer accepts the offer, then tough. IMO this should be stopped

In your case though, I am intrigued how they could have valued a Rover 25 at nearly £4k below what you owe on it; this is mind-boggling! Can you give us any further details?

Rover 25 - My story... (need help) - CarlH82

When I took the car i had it on hire purchase through welcome finance. the apr was at 44?? ?percent. so a 3000 pound car would end up costing a hell of a lot. with the gap insurance not paying out, this has left me in this position of debt. when i rang the dvla, all the details i give them were correct, even the owner history back to my name. i told them the location i saw the car and the guys words were "you very well might have" but couldnt tell me exactly where the car is now registered (privacy reasons)

Rover 25 - My story... (need help) - unthrottled

My parents had a similar story. They were offered a (reasonable) price on an older car that was written off due to bodywork damage. Three weeks later the new owner phoned up to ask if they had a second key (they did) and complimented them on how well the car was maintained! He didn't get that key.

Moral of the story is if the car is worth more to you than the market value, tell the insurer at the time that you want to buy the vehicle back from them.

And don't go through welcome finance-no one needs a car that much! You could have bought 3 cars for £3k+ 44% interest-at least of them would have worked!

Rover 25 - My story... (need help) - Simon

Its seems simple to me...

Your car was written off by the insurance because it was beyond economical repair. Someone else has bought it through a salvage auction and done a cheaper/possibly diy repair job on it to make it roadworthy once again. The insurance company that wrote it off never categorised it to show it has been written off (nothing unusual there as a fair few fall through the net - plus don't forget it is a voluntary scheme not a mandatory requirement). You have seen it back out on the road and are assuming that something dodgy has gone on when it almost certainly hasn't.

I don't think you stand any chance of any comeback and as for the finance/insurance payout/gap insurance that is down to you and you should have got it sorted three years ago if you felt you were treated unfairly. The fact that the car is back on the road has no bearing on that whatsoever.

Rover 25 - My story... (need help) - OG

Too many people just seem to accept the first offer the insurance company make. Reject it on whatever grounds you can think of, my experience is if you ask for (say) another £1,000 they'll at least meet you half way with £500.