14 replies to this topic

[pjm]

Our mini was hit whilst statioary at some traffic lights last week, dozy Dutch lorry driver realised he was in the wrong lane as the lights changed so just swung straight into our lane, clipped the rear wheel scratched the rear panel, caved the passenger door in bent the front panel and scuffed the wheel arch and front wheel.
Just waiting to hear from the insurance company whether they'll repair or write it off, I'm not optomistic it's a 1999 cooper le with 78K on, I don't really know the current value but I believe they'll repair up to 70% of the market value. The wife will be gutted if it's a write off, I bought her the car for Chrismas 1999 and she's loved it ever since.
What would the value of this car be in very good condition?
If they do write him off, is it possible to buy back from the insurers, does the car then have to go on q-plates?

[minislapper]

You might get lucky as it's such a late one. If it's on a standard insurance policy then your chances go down. If it was a proper agreed valued policy you would be fine. It's got to be worth a fair few thousand (depending on condition etc).

Depending on the category of write-off (if it happens) will depend what you can do with the car. Certain categories of write-off have to be crushed. If it's a category where you are allowed to buy it back then it won't go on a Q plate.

[Dev]

Suggest you buy the latest copies of mini mag and mini world to gather evidence in case they write it off.

to prove the value. you are looking between 4k and 6k depending on mods and how much the garage charge.

[luvlygal]

Good luck with the insurance company

[BabyBek]

To give you a rough idea of the value of my 1997 Cooper (not a LE) it was in OK condition when agreed value policy was taken out. I had no quibbles at 4k. It had about 40k on the clock at time of agreed value policy being taken out.

[Jammy]

Moved to Mini Chat.

[Dan]

You should be claiming off the lorry drivers insurance, not your own. If you do claim off your insurance they will pass the costs on to the other drivers policy anyway. This was not your fault, you must stand your ground and demand that the car is repaired and not written off. This is a third party claim which makes it different from a direct claim for damage that you did yourself. Don't cave in, don't let the insurer fob you off with a small payout. Foreign lorry drivers are causing millions of pounds worth of damage every year in this country currently and the insurance industry is very experienced at claiming off them.

[Guess-Works.com]

Dan's hit the nail on the head...

[PhoenixSimon]

ruddy foreign muppets!!!!! one crashed into my local shell garage, didnt even want fuel he was asking for directions and ripped off the top of the forcourt cover. Garage was closed for 2 days and cost a huge amount to fix. Surpise surprsie he couldnt speak english and just went to drive off!!!!
Simon

[taffy1967]

Well so long as the roof isn't kinked or bent then I'd say you've got every chance of a repair, but don't accept the insurance companies poxy recommended repairer.

No instead get it fixed by a Mini specialist or at the very least, a Mini friendly body shop who knows what their doing. You may not get a free courtesy car and you will have to take your car to the repairers and fetch it when the works done perhaps. But it's far better to have the job done properly than bodged so that after a year or so, you end up paying out of your own money to get it put right.

So yes stand your ground and demand it gets repaired and then maybe add agreed value to your policy just to be on the safe side.

Did anyone suffer whiplash or any other injuries? If so claim for compensation for that too!

[THE ANORAK]

now i'm not having a go or trying to preach at anyone but could all the people reading this consider the following:

the time to ask if your mini can be bought back after a right off is when you start the policy, NOT after the accident.
the mini is in a unique position where it IS a classic but most insurance companies DON'T recognize the late ones as classics.
insuring your mini on your normal "direct line" type of policy is not a good idea if you never want to part with it.

take out a classic car policy if you can, most of the time this will require the mini to be a second car and you will probably have to have some limit on your mileage but you can get an agreed valuation and salvage retention.

don't just go for the cheapest deal !!!!

i'm not having a go and i know a classic policy would not be possible for all people, but i do feel strongly about the amount of minis that are written off for minor damage.

i guess what i'm trying to say is "think about the pros, not the cost"

[minislapper]

now i'm not having a go or trying to preach at anyone but could all the people reading this consider the following:

the time to ask if your mini can be bought back after a right off is when you start the policy, NOT after the accident.
the mini is in a unique position where it IS a classic but most insurance companies DON'T recognize the late ones as classics.
insuring your mini on your normal "direct line" type of policy is not a good idea if you never want to part with it.

take out a classic car policy if you can, most of the time this will require the mini to be a second car and you will probably have to have some limit on your mileage but you can get an agreed valuation and salvage retention.

don't just go for the cheapest deal !!!!

i'm not having a go and i know a classic policy would not be possible for all people, but i do feel strongly about the amount of minis that are written off for minor damage.

i guess what i'm trying to say is "think about the pros, not the cost"

I've given up trying to get this message across. It falls on deaf ears as everything thinks it will never happen to them.

Good luck sorting the car out. Hope it goes in your favour.

[taffy1967]

now i'm not having a go or trying to preach at anyone but could all the people reading this consider the following:

the time to ask if your mini can be bought back after a right off is when you start the policy, NOT after the accident.
the mini is in a unique position where it IS a classic but most insurance companies DON'T recognize the late ones as classics.
insuring your mini on your normal "direct line" type of policy is not a good idea if you never want to part with it.

take out a classic car policy if you can, most of the time this will require the mini to be a second car and you will probably have to have some limit on your mileage but you can get an agreed valuation and salvage retention.

don't just go for the cheapest deal !!!!

i'm not having a go and i know a classic policy would not be possible for all people, but i do feel strongly about the amount of minis that are written off for minor damage.

i guess what i'm trying to say is "think about the pros, not the cost"

You've certainly hit the nail on the head Mr Anorak and my 1990 Mini was covered on an agreed value policy from when it was less than 8 years old via Adrian Flux. And after a minor parking prang (not our fault) we thanked our lucky stars that we had the cover, because there was no quibbling from the insurers and they payed out for the repairs in full without any hassle.

For a couple of extra quid a year, an extra form to fill out and a few current photographs to send, i'd say it's worth every penny and mine was on an unlimited mileage policy too. When I put it back on the road for the summer, it will be on a limited mile policy now and we'll probably shop around because i've heard HIC are good.

We'll have to remember the Salvage Retention part too, but I've found you generally do have to ask for these special policy extra's.

[pjm]

Well good news, the letter arrived today stating they will repair! I'm looking into getting the work done with a Mini specialist, in the next two years I was intending on spending a fair amount of money on the car to get it pristine, new shell and a rebuit engine from Med or Morespeed, so I will be looking into this agreed value business.
From a purely financial point of view I would have been annoyed if the car was written off as I fitted a full s/s exhaust system 8 months ago, a new clutch 1 month ago and had a right game with a faulty oxygen sensor recently, as I replaced the faulty one with another (brand new) faulty one so for the first time ever the car ended up in a garage, who had it for a week and after trying everything they could think of, changed the o2 sensor again which cured the fault.
Thanks for everyones help, the wife doesn't know yet but will be overjoyed (we had a few tears when she realised the car may be written off).

Edited by pjm, 08 March 2007 - 07:56 PM.

[THE ANORAK]

good news mate, but please take the points made into consideration, you may not be so lucky next time!!!
i wasn't having a go, i was trying to advise (thanks for taking it that way )

Mini do become cherished items, so protect them

Edited by THE ANORAK, 08 March 2007 - 08:43 PM.