Rear-ended insurance claim advice

[julianev]

Hi all,

 

This afternoon some idiot in a Mercedes C180 ploughed into the back of my pristine, super reliable 2003 Alphard (only 60K miles). The tailgate and read bumper aren't in a good way but it was still driveable to get back home. Once I got home I initiated the claim against the Merc driver via my insurer, and they are sending a garage to collect the vehicle on Monday. Given the fact it's an older import, I am concerned they might just write off my vehicle rather than try to source a replacement gate and bumper and do the full repair. It is a wonderful car that took me ages to find, so I really want to avoid that scenario if at all possible (that said, I realise it may be unavoidable if the chassis has crumpled). If anyone has been through a similar thing and has any advice to share that would be massively helpful. Thanks a lot.

cheers

 

Julian

[Picasso]

A lot of insurers will now let you use good 2nd hand parts 

[julianev]

Ah OK, thanks - fingers crossed.

[Picasso]

If they let you private message me and I will give you contact details for some one I know who is breaking a couple of alphards and I trust them to supply you good 2nd hand parts 

[Rojie]

1 hour ago, julianev said:

Hi all,

 

This afternoon some idiot in a Mercedes C180 ploughed into the back of my pristine, super reliable 2003 Alphard (only 60K miles). The tailgate and read bumper aren't in a good way but it was still driveable to get back home. Once I got home I initiated the claim against the Merc driver via my insurer, and they are sending a garage to collect the vehicle on Monday. Given the fact it's an older import, I am concerned they might just write off my vehicle rather than try to source a replacement gate and bumper and do the full repair. It is a wonderful car that took me ages to find, so I really want to avoid that scenario if at all possible (that said, I realise it may be unavoidable if the chassis has crumpled). If anyone has been through a similar thing and has any advice to share that would be massively helpful. Thanks a lot.

cheers

 

Julian

 

Does the tailgate open, shut and lock as it should ? Do check it thoroughly.

Or is it just dented ?

 

Someone hit one of my cars, not the Alphie, and their insurer tried to write mine off.

I said NO, very loudly ! It was quite old, but It had 11 months MOT.

 

I received a reasonable cheque, but decided a big ding in the passenger door was OK.

It still opened and closed and locked properly.

I ran it for another 4 years, Cat S. AND my insurance did not increase !

 

Indeed, last year I received another cheque, as, I was informed, the amount paid was unfairly low !

Amazing, but true.

 

So you can fight a write off decision, just make sure the vehicle will be safe however it is repaired.

[julianev]

Quote

Does the tailgate open, shut and lock as it should ? Do check it thoroughly.

Or is it just dented ?

 

Nope the tailgate no longer opens ☹️

[Rojie]

4 minutes ago, julianev said:

 

Nope the tailgate no longer opens ☹️

 

Hello Julian,

 

What a shame !

 

If the tailgate opening is not distorted, once you get the tailgate open,  I think you may be able to get it fixed if you can find a tailgate with Picasso's help.

 

Check you exhaust system for 'straightness' as that looks like it has taken a hit too.

 

I would hope the rear valance is quite and easy fix.

[julianev]

OK thanks for all the info @Rojie - much appreciated.

[david]

Took my 2003 Alphard in for repairs yesterday. It needed new front bumper and wing. First place I went to for quotes gave the sharp intake of breath and the "Gonna have problems sourcing spares Sir, they'll probably write it off". Second place, Premier Motors, a Ford dealership said "That's no problem Sir. We're dealing with Alphards all the time. We just order up the spares from Japan and they're here in a couple of weeks. Quicker than some UK suppliers" The bill was about £3,500 (about £4,500 with the courtesy car)and is being paid for by third party's insurers. No quibbles.

[Jenny Smedley]

How annoying! This is one of my fears - every time I leave mine in a carpark or someone drives carelessly near me. I really, really don't ever want to lose my Alphie! I really hope you get it fixed! Just a thought - there is a garage near us that specialises in converting Alphards (Andy's Imports, Dereham, Norfolk) and he I assume must take the tailgates off. If he does he might have parts. Andy's Imports (andysimports.co.uk)

[Michael Brown]

15 hours ago, julianev said:

Hi all,

 

This afternoon some idiot in a Mercedes C180 ploughed into the back of my pristine, super reliable 2003 Alphard (only 60K miles). The tailgate and read bumper aren't in a good way but it was still driveable to get back home. Once I got home I initiated the claim against the Merc driver via my insurer, and they are sending a garage to collect the vehicle on Monday. Given the fact it's an older import, I am concerned they might just write off my vehicle rather than try to source a replacement gate and bumper and do the full repair. It is a wonderful car that took me ages to find, so I really want to avoid that scenario if at all possible (that said, I realise it may be unavoidable if the chassis has crumpled). If anyone has been through a similar thing and has any advice to share that would be massively helpful. Thanks a lot.

cheers

 

Julian

Hard luck, I do hope you can get it repaired as I fear the Alfie will be written off. I had the missfortune to have an accident in 2 of my Estimas and the insurance company each time wrote them off a they could not source the parts. I did get paid off what they were worth by my insurance company. I then bought an Alphard in August 2022. The insurance is a crippler as I had made 3 claims in 5 years and the insurance last March was £4,200. with Aviva. I could not get it cheaper. I sincerely hope the renewal will be a lot lot less. Then last year the Inverter packed up and a new one was imported from Japan, for an eye watering £5,200. inc VAT & delivery, to ft it and set it up another £350. So one way or another I have had an expensive year with Alfie.

[julianev]

Thanks all for the input. So I had the insurer of the Merc phone me today acknowledging their client's full liabilty and offering to settle the claim directly with me rather than via my insurer. Apparently that would mean I would no longer need to declare it as a no-fault claim in future, which otherwise might impact my premiums (which seems a bit nuts as it wasn't my fault...). I have seen some advice on moneysavingexpert recommending this approach, but my concern is that they are going to be acting in the interests of their client rather than me and mainly trying to save as much money as possible on the claim. Has anyone any experience of this before? I'm a bit unclear what the pros and cons are...

[Rojie]

6 hours ago, Jenny Smedley said:

How annoying! This is one of my fears - every time I leave mine in a carpark or someone drives carelessly near me. I really, really don't ever want to lose my Alphie! I really hope you get it fixed! Just a thought - there is a garage near us that specialises in converting Alphards (Andy's Imports, Dereham, Norfolk) and he I assume must take the tailgates off. If he does he might have parts. Andy's Imports (andysimports.co.uk)

 

My 2006 was converted without removing the tailgate, so it is not necessary.

But it was well supported with wooden 'pit props'.

[Jenny Smedley]

9 minutes ago, Rojie said:

 

My 2006 was converted without removing the tailgate, so it is not necessary.

But it was well supported with wooden 'pit props'.

Ah I see. 

[Rojie]

45 minutes ago, julianev said:

Thanks all for the input. So I had the insurer of the Merc phone me today acknowledging their client's full liability and offering to settle the claim directly with me rather than via my insurer. Apparently that would mean I would no longer need to declare it as a no-fault claim in future, which otherwise might impact my premiums (which seems a bit nuts as it wasn't my fault...). I have seen some advice on moneysavingexpert recommending this approach, but my concern is that they are going to be acting in the interests of their client rather than me and mainly trying to save as much money as possible on the claim. Has anyone any experience of this before? I'm a bit unclear what the pros and cons are...

 

Interesting !

 

Part of the fee we all pay to our Insurers (as well as the  excess charges) is to deal with these situations on our behalf.

They can call upon damage and repair 'experts'. We, generally cannot.

 

However, it may be a fallacy to believe your Insurer will act in your best interests.

In the Insurance business many companies have subsidiaries that are, largely, not publicised as being part of their (own) Group.

I could give examples of this, but won't ! So they are, effectively, negotiating with themselves !

I believe some/many Insurers act jointly to minimise the costs to both of them, especially if they both belong to the same corporate group.

 

My Advice ?

 

Do not agree to anything, even in principle, until the Insurer makes a firm written offer of compensation.

 

Then ask yourself, "Do you have the skills to negotiate the value, and then budget and project manage the repair ?

Will the compensation cover all the costs (including all of your time) ?

 

Whatever you do, I sincerely hope you make the ideal decision.

 

 

 

 

 

[starider]

Hi, Looking at the picture of the rear and tailgate,it rather looks as though the bottom edge of the tailgate has been pushed inside the rear frame structure. It looks like judicial use of a lever could pop the tailgate back over the frame to allow the tailgate to be opened and the tailgate and frame could then be inspected.This should give a better idea of cost especially if another tailgate and straightening of the frame is all that is needed? Good luck with the costing.

My Alphard has a hefty tow bar behind the rear valance, so there is a chance if I should be rear ended, the damage may not be too severe.

[John Harrison]

On 10/4/2023 at 5:19 PM, Rojie said:

 

Hi Jenny,

 

What was it last year ?

 

I seem to recall about 290, so in these times of high(er) inflation, 325 sounds about right !!

 

[John Harrison]

Hi. Try 'ALL JAPANESE MOTORS' in Stockport. They are on he internet.

I think if you can get it there, they should br able to repair it for you.

I haven't dealt with them for a long while, buy I'm sure Kara (the owner) would be able to help?

She used to carry spares for cars she sold, but if not, she might be able to help find the parts.

Hope this is a help?

 

John Harrison, Wirral.

[Geralt]

On 1/11/2024 at 4:42 PM, julianev said:

Thanks all for the input. So I had the insurer of the Merc phone me today acknowledging their client's full liabilty and offering to settle the claim directly with me rather than via my insurer. Apparently that would mean I would no longer need to declare it as a no-fault claim in future, which otherwise might impact my premiums (which seems a bit nuts as it wasn't my fault...). I have seen some advice on moneysavingexpert recommending this approach, but my concern is that they are going to be acting in the interests of their client rather than me and mainly trying to save as much money as possible on the claim. Has anyone any experience of this before? I'm a bit unclear what the pros and cons are...

Are you an AA member? As far as I know they can handle the process for you at no extra charge. Just an idea.

[julianev]

Absolutely gutted. The engineer's report has come back and it has been classified as a Category S: apparently it's £7.5K of damage. They are offering me £4K as replacement value ☹️ - I'm getting a second valuation.

[Rojie]

18 minutes ago, julianev said:

Absolutely gutted. The engineer's report has come back and it has been classified as a Category S: apparently it's £7.5K of damage. They are offering me £4K as replacement value ☹️ - I'm getting a second valuation.

 

I think you are absolutely right to get a second opinion.

 

That tail gate and rear cross member are key.

I'll send you a PM.

[Geralt]

I  sympathise.

 

I don't get it though. OK it's 7.5K worth of damage but if your insurance company is successful in recouping the costs from the other driver, I wouldn't have thought that it matters how much it is. Is it too late to take up the offer of direct settlement with the oher driver now you know how much to ask for?

 

One thing I've learned though is perhaps I/we should get an "agreed value" policy next time it's up for renewal.

[julianev]

2 minutes ago, Geralt said:

I  sympathise.

 

I don't get it though. OK it's 7.5K worth of damage but if your insurance company is successful in recouping the costs from the other driver, I wouldn't have thought that it matters how much it is. Is it too late to take up the offer of direct settlement with the oher driver now you know how much to ask for?

 

Thanks. I did go down the direct settlement route in the end, on the advice of a family member who works in insurance. As I understand it no insurer will pay out for repairs which cost more than the value of the car, as it will be cheaper just to payout the money to buy a replacement. Obviously that depends on a fair valuation for the replacement however, and also doesn't factor how much effort it might be to find a like-for-like replacement in the same condition, mileage etc

[Geralt]

Looks like the cost of replacement would be around 7k.

 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309111807599?sort=relevance&advertising-location=at_cars&fuel-type=Petrol&make=Toyota&maximum-mileage=90000&model=Alphard&year-from=2002&year-to=2003&fromsra

 

4k is taking the p*ss.

[julianev]

An update. So after the low initial valuation I wrote a complaint threatening to escalate to the FOS as per https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/complaints-can-help/insurance/motor-insurance/vehicle-valuations-write-offs, and the second valuation subsequently came in at just under £7K - which both the insurer and I have accepted. They did offer me the option to buy back the vehicle, which I would have done for a Cat N but not a Cat S which is what it got classed as - the rear subframe was twisted, so I can only guess the driver who went into me was on her phone or similar and didn't brake at all to inflict that much damage.

 

Some learnings from the experience: my guess is that the insurer was keen for me to pursue a third party claim as perhaps they get away with low-balling a certain number of valuations direct to the public which they would not be able to do if negotiating with another insurance company. There was also a questionmark raised about whether the FOS would have jurisdiction given they had not sold me a financial service/insurance. Thankfully it didn't come to that, but if it had then my plan would have been to reraise the claim with my own insurer if need be.

 

I'm now on the look-out for another Alphard, and also maybe considering a Delica D5. Thanks to all for all the suggestions and advice on this thread.