Ford Mondeo - Non fault accident: economic write off?

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Wed 12 Sep 2012 22:26
Ford Mondeo - Non fault accident: economic write off? - cat76
A friend of ours bumped the back of our car whilst we were on holiday, which slightly damaged the bumper and boot lock. He of course accepted liability and contacted his insurers to make a claim for the repairs to our car (we went to a reputable repairer locally who estimated the work at £1000ish if a ford bumper was fitted, so said to get it done on the insurance).
Our friend's insurers (admiral) have now come back to us and said that the work will cost £1700 and have valued our car at £900; therefore they are saying that it is economically unviable to repair. The car works fine, so we could take the £850 and get the car back, then get it repaired ourselves but can we push for them to do the repairs. I'd be grateful if anyone could clarify what our legal entitlement is.
Many thanks,
Catherine
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Thu 13 Sep 2012 00:26
Ford Mondeo - Non fault accident: economic write off? - tony g
Hi,
I guess the problem would be that the insurance company would pay you £850 /£900 ,and would then own your car ,which would then have a value of at least £200 ,perhaps more .depending on the cars age and the cost of repairing it .

It would probably be listed as a cat d ,whether you buy it back or not .and would always have a reduced value because it would always be a cat d .

So , at the end it comes down to pure economics .how much will the insurance company pay and then leave the car with you .deduct from that the cost of the repair .How much money are you then left with if anything .

Finally the insurance company are obliged to leave you in a situation where you are no worse off than you were prior to the accident . In effect if your car had a retail value of £900 prior to the accident that's what they will pay .

Retail values are debatable ,check out how much you could buy a similair car to your own ,with similair mileage and condition ,length of mot etc .That would be the amount you're entitled to ,sadly you cannot force the insurance company to repair your car .

If you do decide to repair your car ,buying pattern and second hand parts will dramatically reduce the total cost .

Good luck ,please let the forum know the outcome ,your experience will help others .
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