Insurance write off

[shibbs]

Not boat related so apologize for that, however, it does affect the boat as i potentially lose my tow vehicle.
A month or so back, someone reversed into my Disco, cracking the front bumper, the insurance have subsequently said that it will be a Cat N write off and that they wont repair it.
It is easily repairable by fitting a new bumper which i am yet to source but they are available second hand for not a huge amount. Thing is, i want to keep it as i'm not ready to get rid of it yet and i actually need it for towing over the next few weeks or so.
Does anyone know what the process for this is and how it works? I had planned to sell it later this year to replace with something newer but the Disco itself ( apart from the front bumper) still has plenty of life left in it and is actually one of the few good ones out there with none of the usual issues.
Any advice would be really useful.

[betty boop]

Not boat related so apologize for that, however, it does affect the boat as i potentially lose my tow vehicle.
A month or so back, someone reversed into my Disco, cracking the front bumper, the insurance have subsequently said that it will be a Cat N write off and that they wont repair it.
It is easily repairable by fitting a new bumper which i am yet to source but they are available second hand for not a huge amount. Thing is, i want to keep it as i'm not ready to get rid of it yet and i actually need it for towing over the next few weeks or so.
Does anyone know what the process for this is and how it works? I had planned to sell it later this year to replace with something newer but the Disco itself ( apart from the front bumper) still has plenty of life left in it and is actually one of the few good ones out there with none of the usual issues.
Any advice would be really useful.

We have a local guy who repiars cat C & D Fiats- we bought one on behalf of my son with no issues, insured OK with Admiral no questions and he uses it in London no problem. so its easy enough to do - more relevant is I had a Galaxy tow car in 2010 and it got hit wing to wing with an artic, Cat D again, Admiral paid out £2800 and asked if I wanted it back for £500 - I subsquently got paid £2300 for a new kitchen fund. the car looked a bit shite but drove on for 4 years until someone stole the cat converter and it went for scrap (but by then the ex had the kitchen and the car and everything else so I didnt really care but thats another story )

Long and short is ask the insurance company for the option, most of the time if not claimed they go the salvage auction - cant remember then name but it s a national company with sites all over. they turn up there and go for a few £ get rebuilt and back on the road so why not do it and make a few £ - you can sell it OK but have to declare it, Said Fiat man above picked up a Range rover P38 - original 50k miles immac condition with a dented bumper/minor front end -it was written off and sent to auction he paid £99. OK its a RR and 18+ years old but you get the idea. My problem is keeping the live in 21 yo s/son car nut /hoarder away from both places and filling up the drive with wrecks to rebuild

[ChrisH]

Or can you do a private deal with the person that hit you. Get them to pay directly to you for the parts and your time. Will mean theybdont take a hit on their insurance either .

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[shibbs]

Or can you do a private deal with the person that hit you. Get them to pay directly to you for the parts and your time. Will mean theybdont take a hit on their insurance either .

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

He person that hit me wasn’t decent enough to let me know!
Was parked outside the house, they hit it and drove off.

[shibbs]

Or can you do a private deal with the person that hit you. Get them to pay directly to you for the parts and your time. Will mean theybdont take a hit on their insurance either .

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

He person that hit me wasn’t decent enough to let me know!
Was parked outside the house, they hit it and drove off.

[ChrisH]

Or can you do a private deal with the person that hit you. Get them to pay directly to you for the parts and your time. Will mean theybdont take a hit on their insurance either .

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

He person that hit me wasn’t decent enough to let me know!
Was parked outside the house, they hit it and drove off.

Oh what a bummer.
So surely if you dont make a claim, and just fix the bumper the car is not written off ?

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[shibbs]

That’s true but I went about it all wrong. Spoke to police who said I need to inform my insurance, when informing insurance I was unaware that it could be fixed. I am where I am now.

[betty boop]

That’s true but I went about it all wrong. Spoke to police who said I need to inform my insurance, when informing insurance I was unaware that it could be fixed. I am where I am now.

that shouldnt matter - I know we have an ex office now but as far as I am aware you have no legal obligation to tell the insurance company and can resolve the matter yourself at any time. I've pulled out of many a car and home insurance claim to save my NCD and so have the other half's kids, one norrowly missing 2 trees at 50 mph going backwards and was lucky to be alive - but sorted the damages himself. As long as you havent had work done by their agents/repairs you should be able to walk away at anytime

As for the police advice..... my experience of that (apart from having 4 senior ex met officers in the family), is they cant/shouldn't give advice, you'll know next time but hopefully wont need to. Hope you get some resolution in your favour

[Ianfs]

Was parked outside the house, they hit it and drove off.

Any witnesses? Type of car, colour etc?

I doubt this is going to help you Stu but I was listening to radio programme once, which had a specialist lawyer talking about insurance and the question arose "should any damage need to be reported". He said that any damage to property which is insured i.e. car, house, boat etc should be reported, unfortunately I can't exactly remember why now, but his answer sounded logical. However he did also say that in an example of a house where a fence had blown down and the owner repairing it, the chances of the insurance company finding out was pretty slim, but, if it was reported by a neighbour in a dispute and the insurance company found out the insurance may be invalid. Plus I always thought that road incidents i.e. a car hitting another car, must be reported by law, I could be barking up the wrong tree here though.

As already said thought Stu, get the right off cash, buy it back and get it repaired or not, depending how bad it is, you may just need to make it legal. Cat N is non structural damage. Cat S & N replaced Cat C & D, Cat S being structural.

Once its repaired I doubt a Cat N will affect its price much, 27 yrs motor trade experience tells me that condition, service history and mileage play a larger part and in any case if it was a much younger vehicle they would have repaired it anyway, which would still be on record, if you see what I mean. At least 50% of vehicles on the road have had some sort of damage in their lives and nearly all new cars have had some sort of cosmetic renovation.

Best thing to do is to get hold of and keep any relevant paperwork which relates to the damage to show the next owner.

Oh by the way, if you need to do any towing whilst its off the road, give me a shout and I'll pop over with my Landy.

[shibbs]

Thanks Ian, a really kind offer from you as always!
I’m just waiting for the cash offer, will be keeping the vehicle and as you say, will document the damage for when I move it on. It’s more than drivable.
With regard to reporting damage, I’ve been told by the insurer that all damage has to be reported in case it may affect a future claim. Which makes sense really.
To answer your questions, no witnesses, car colour red, red paint left on car. Nothing else to go on though.
Having spoken to the insurance company, they’ve said if I keep it they will continue to insure it for 3rd party F+T so happy with that.
Boat should be ready to come home next week ish so should be ok to go and get it.
Thanks again for all info and advice though.