Another one had an accident

[pete-p]

It seems the engineer has given my car a 'market value' of £2500. This being the reason for writing it off.

I can find two for sale, one being Professor Peach's (although he's taken a deposit now) at £7k and another which has no photos and suggest it's a 1998 pre-facelift at £8k.

What's the best way to tell them they're ignorant pen pushers and it's worth more than the £2,500? Just forward the adverts or something else?

[moltuae]

I don't think you'll be able to persuade them to change their valuation. I think they use reference data, based on trade values, that they have to adhere to.

Like I said earlier (here), same thing happened to me. It should be possible to get them to agree to give you a cash payout instead. In which case you would get to keep the car (without any recorded write-off against it) and the £2.5K that they would've paid you to replace it, though they may offer less as a cash payout, or deduct the scrap value. You're then free to take the car anywhere you like for the repair and have it repaired with used parts if you prefer.

[MikkiJayne]

Ffs thats total BS I paid more than that for mine with known engine problems.

Can't you negotiate the value by showing other similar examples? I've done that before although it was a long time ago. If they consider it a write-off and pay out surely it does get recorded?

Oh and another thing - I was looking at my headlight the other day and it looks *exactly* like your picture. Is someone mistaking the gap between the rubber seal and the plastic housing as a crack? If it doesn't need a headlight could you get them to just repair the bodywork?

[paulrstaylor]

Originally Posted by pete-p

What's the best way to tell them they're ignorant pen pushers and it's worth more than the £2,500? Just forward the adverts or something else?

This - keep it polite.

They need to put you back into pre-claim position, that could be by repairing your car, they could find you an equivalent car that you are happy with or they can give you a cash settlement.

If they are insistent on cash (or if you prefer that and they agree) then ask them to find you another similar car for sale for £2,500. Bear in mind, you are not a trader so it is retail value that counts - not trade. Alternatively you may be able to agree a partial payment/keep the car also known as a contract repair, they pay you and you get it fixed as you see fit.

Good luck with your negotiations

[HPsauce]

I used that "find me one the same for that price" when insurers were thinking of writing off my PF S8 some years ago (stolen, crashed and recovered with major body damage). I knew they couldn't, not least because it was pretty much unique.

They fixed it. Cost a LOT - I saw the bills, needed a whole new rear quarter panel which is a MASSIVE piece of aluminium.

[snapdragon]

That's terrible - did you persue this through Audi Assurance as you mentioned at the start? I thought if it was the third party who was liable, they couldn't write it off so easily. I know you have a duty to mitigate your losses but it's not like your car is damaged all over, it's just a minor shunt that happens to be on a rare classic performance car as as such, I think it is reasonable that you expect it to be repaired.

[paulrstaylor]

Maybe send them this link......

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/cars/audi/s8/

[pete-p]

Thanks everyone. Hopefully I'll get it sorted, of course it means I need the hire car for longer although I will be mitigating my losses by changing it for something a little smaller. Maybe an A6 or Q5, not sure our rear facing car seat would work well in anything much smaller.

Originally Posted by moltuae

I don't think you'll be able to persuade them to change their valuation. I think they use reference data, based on trade values, that they have to adhere to.

Like I said earlier (here), same thing happened to me. It should be possible to get them to agree to give you a cash payout instead. In which case you would get to keep the car (without any recorded write-off against it) and the £2.5K that they would've paid you to replace it, though they may offer less as a cash payout, or deduct the scrap value. You're then free to take the car anywhere you like for the repair and have it repaired with used parts if you prefer.

This is the thing, they've offered £2.5k but will 'dispose of the salvage', so presumably if I say I want to fix it myself they'll reduce this 'offer'...

Originally Posted by MikkiJayne

Ffs thats total BS I paid more than that for mine with known engine problems.

Can't you negotiate the value by showing other similar examples? I've done that before although it was a long time ago. If they consider it a write-off and pay out surely it does get recorded?

Oh and another thing - I was looking at my headlight the other day and it looks *exactly* like your picture. Is someone mistaking the gap between the rubber seal and the plastic housing as a crack? If it doesn't need a headlight could you get them to just repair the bodywork?

I've no idea on the headlight, but it seems that it's fairly insignificant given the valuation at this point. You'd think they would know and I've told the garage I'm happy for it to be repaired.

Originally Posted by paulrstaylor

This - keep it polite.

They need to put you back into pre-claim position, that could be by repairing your car, they could find you an equivalent car that you are happy with or they can give you a cash settlement.

If they are insistent on cash (or if you prefer that and they agree) then ask them to find you another similar car for sale for £2,500. Bear in mind, you are not a trader so it is retail value that counts - not trade. Alternatively you may be able to agree a partial payment/keep the car also known as a contract repair, they pay you and you get it fixed as you see fit.

Good luck with your negotiations

I've sent them the links for these:

Professor Peach Now sold though.

Dealer Pre-Facelift? No photos.

What I think has happened is that they've used the Glasses guide (I think Audi Ensurance lady even said that). This appears to base the value on a standard A8 as I've done a basic valuation on their website and it came back at £1.5k, they've then added on the 'optional extras' (although standard equipment on an S8) to give the value at £2.5k.

[moltuae]

Originally Posted by pete-p

This is the thing, they've offered £2.5k but will 'dispose of the salvage', so presumably if I say I want to fix it myself they'll reduce this 'offer'...

I think they'll want to deduct what they would've got for it as scrap. I'm fairly sure that's what happened in my case. If they're valuing it at £2.5K in good working condition, their valuation as a damaged/scrap vehicle shouldn't be more than a few hundred quid. I would imagine a good body shop could make it as good as new for much less than the insurer's estimate by repairing existing parts or using used parts, so the pay-out should more than cover it.

[sarg]

Originally Posted by paulrstaylor

This - keep it polite.

They need to put you back into pre-claim position, that could be by repairing your car, they could find you an equivalent car that you are happy with or they can give you a cash settlement.

If they are insistent on cash (or if you prefer that and they agree) then ask them to find you another similar car for sale for £2,500. Bear in mind, you are not a trader so it is retail value that counts - not trade. Alternatively you may be able to agree a partial payment/keep the car also known as a contract repair, they pay you and you get it fixed as you see fit.

Good luck with your negotiations

This is the perfect advice, they are under contract to return you to your pre-accident position

And never accept the first offer, wait until at least the 3rd

And see if you can get any help from the legal expenses element of your insurance if you have it