m6 junction 3 crash

[StuC]

I realise though seeing her how lucky I was and what a good job she did in protecting me.

We are pleased about that bit too.  s:-D :-D s:-D

[t4mys]

Ok, so tiff's officially been written off.
Salvage people may or may not be going to collect her tomorrow (seems to be some confusion at the garage)

[cptspaulding]

 s:cry: :cry: s:cry:  

Very sad. Any chance, or desire to buy it back & repair as a cat C?

[cabbydave]

You can insist they repair the car to 100% of the value of the car. You could also pay a little extra towards the repairs. Who are you insured with? as different companies work different ways Aviva is the best I've come across and I've worked for a few different companies in my time.

[t4mys]

I am attempting to get a real valuation out of the insurance at the moment, they are a market value policy, yet seem to not be paying attention to what's on the market... or their value... it's with supervisors now.

I am also attempting to get a proper engineers report to say what needs fixing/ breakdown of cost. So far I have had a 1 page document stating its a car. Useful.

I don't think I can get her repaired. I will make an assessment based on the engineers report, but I think it may be a bit too much. I think I may be starting out all over again.

[t4mys]

So just a quick update. Still arguing with insurance

I have a market value policy with Admiral. They have offered me glass's guide price for it. Which is less than the TF's on the market now, by quite a bit. I have pointed out the one's on Autotrader and that to replace her I would need that value, but they are saying that glass's guide references the last sale prices for them therefore the market value. I was told on Saturday by them there are rare times when glass's could be wrong, but then the supervisor said to me this morning that is what they go on and that's the highest offer. She has now referred it to their quality department who are going to call me. She pushed that the ombudsman recommended the use of glass's guide and they don't go on advertised price just selling prices as per the guide .

I am now at the final point I guess. I am not sure where I can go from here.

[cptspaulding]

A lawyer familiar with car insurance?

Often with lawyers, all you need is a first letter & the opposition sh!t themselves at the thought you're going to get litigious.

Not sure of any companies but worth a google search in your area? Might be worth £60 for a letter

[Treboeth]

Stick to your guns, I am sure someone will be along with solid advice to get you the best outcome.

Hope your feeling good  s:D s:D

[GSB]

I had a similar issue just over a year ago with direct line. My Mazda 6 MPS was written off by a wayward Bulgarian lorry driver, who pushed me sideways along the North Circular for a bit...

The galling thing was that they valued to glasses guide, which didn't reflect the rarity of the car (one of less than a thousand) and came up way short of the real replacement value. Months later, I finally got paid, but only managed to get another £200 out of them. This despite me showing them my actual car (by now salvaged and repaired) on eBay for more than they were offering me...   s:evil: :evil: s:evil:  

Needless to say, I don't use direct line anymore, and never will...

The new car, an MX5 (yeah, yeah...) is covered by gap insurance, but its a disgrace that the insurance industry is allowed to operate like this.

[t4mys]

When I first contested it, they came back with a higher offer... £20 higher!

I am really going to shop around for insurance when I get a replacement.

[tomaky]

Did you end up accepting the offer? if i was in your position with the TF and getting a below acceptable price id be going in guns blazing until i got what i want.

[t4mys]

No I have contested it again. It is now with their quality department, who they insist "work closely with the ombudsman".
I am insisting market value should be dependant on what's on the market today, and they are all much higher than glass's guide.

[GSB]

Did you end up accepting the offer? if i was in your position with the TF and getting a below acceptable price id be going in guns blazing until i got what i want.

Been there. In my experience, you need a lot of patience, and a lot of money (to challenge using solicitor and to buy a new car whilst you're waiting) to have a chance, and even then you don't really have a leg to stand on. They've got the system utterly sewn up in their favour. They will weigh up the costs of defending your challenge (which they will win, but at a cost to them which will be £X) vs the cost of simply paying what you are asking £Y.

If £Y is less than £X, then they might pay the extra. But it's only a might, and it takes ages...

[carolineasb]

Perhaps you should make a complaint based on the fact that they stated "market value insurance" when the very definition of market value is the value of vehicles for sale on the open market (and therefor the prices that other people are likely to pay) and not as they are now stating Glass's Guide Value insurance and you may want to allude to the fact that they are misrepresenting their insurance policy.  You may well want to see if you can argue it along these lines, nothing ventured nothing gained.  In any event, state that you will be making a complaint to the Ombudsman IN WRITING to their appropriate Departments because I don't think anyone does anything these days on telephone calls  s:( s:( .

We will also never use Direct Line.  My hubby was hit when turning right at a junction by a Direct Line insured Driver who had decided to overtake him!!  Our Insurance Company said that because DL were disputing hubby was indicating, we would have to go knock for knock or go to Court!  Well, having worked in the Court Service for many years at that point, the choice was easy!  Needless to say, Hubby won!  Hassle for us though and money wasted by DL as I made sure I got Expenses from them too! DL obviously thought we would just back down and I wonder how many people do back down when faced with the choice.

[simers]

I don't understand this Glass value guide.. Never heard of it before..
On another note when my mrs was burnt out last year the insurance company only offered us 2k.. We went looking on car zone and a few other sites over here at the value of 01 mrs's/mr2's and found they were going for 4&5k... We eventually settled on 3 due to the high mileage that was on it... We were happy with that... Lost a fortune on it but such is life...
As regards your car I'd be fighting tooth and nail due to rarity etc of the model with low mileage etc... Best of luck with it all... Hope you have a good outcome in the end...  s:) s:)

[jinxedkitten]

when my mrs was burnt out last year the insurance company only offered us 2k..

Surely your missus is worth more than that!  s;) s;)

[nathanMR2]

Glass's guide is commonly used across the insurance world, certainly in the UK. If the policy stipulates market value I believe you have a good argument over getting an increase in value should vehicles of the same make, model, year, similar mileage and condition are selling for more. I'd at least expect them to attempt to meet you half way.

If they refuse you will need a final valuation in writing from the insurance company before you can take this further. You can in the mean time accept payment as an interim and start looking for another vehicle. This will not prejudice your position. If you are confident enough you can make the suggestion that you will obtain your own 'independent' engineers report confirming the correct market value and they should cover the costs should it be deemed a better value by an independent. You can always pose the question.

Not that I'm backing up the mean old insurance companies but each person who ever has the unfortunate misfortune to have to make a claim will have good and bad tails, possible more bad. Unfortunately insurance these days doesn't just boil down to who's right and who's wrong when liability is concerned, especially when you are looking at any kind of personal injury. Rightly or wrongly a lot boils down to economics of settling cases. Running a case to court is avoided in most cases due to cost and the cost of losing. A lot is dependent on the day, the judge and without independent witness evidence is merely a case of he says, she says. People lie. Insurance companies often have their own panel of solicitors who work for them and are targeted on the cases they win. If they think it could go either way they are unlikely to run it. The cost implications for all are just too big.

It's not fair but the market is competitive so wherever they can reduce costs they will. That sometimes means you get hit in the pocket by them not running cases to court but had the run every disputed case insurance premiums would be undoubtably even higher than they are now.  

I'd also be careful when trying to avoid particular insurance companies. A lot will deal with claims the same and a lot will be owned by the same company. Direct Line for instance owns a massive part of the market including Churchill, Privilege and many others.

[t4mys]

I've had some progress this morning.
I had a call from the insurance and they want to send an assessor out to my car. They recognise the rarity of it and said that of the 3 guides they commonly use, glass's is the only one that listed the TF300. They also acknowledge that it is quite difficult to find them for sale now and as such want to see the spec differences in the TF's etc.
They have said if I have anything that can back up my case as to what could increase the value of the car to scan it and send it. So the certificate will be one thing.
They also said they would possibly phone toyota dealerships to work out the differences between a TF300 and a standard MR2. I'm not sure the dealers now would all be such enthusiasts about the MR2 and know all the differences or what to look for.  They have said I can be there when the assessor goes to my car. They have also said despite the garage quoting to repair, they have said they don't think it would be safe to do so. I have again asked for a full report of the damage.
They have said this process can take around a week.

In the meantime they have sent me a cheque for part value of their current offer, which I can cash without prejudice.
It may be still uncertain but it does feel a bit like progress.

Thank you all for your help

[StuC]

Here is the LINKY to the offical press release from Toyota for the TF300.

[carolineasb]

Good to hear that they seem to be listening at last!!

Our insurance company even lists my blue TF300 as a "Red" as they don't have the TF on their system but they have added notes, and presumably recorded telephone conversations with me telling that they had it wrong, to back up that it is a TF!  I've heard others having the same problem!

[tomaky]

Certainly progress! Best of luck!

[Bernie]

TF £6.500 !

 m http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p m

[t4mys]

I have finally had a breakdown of what needs replacing. Not with costs or anything, just a list of bits.

Parts / Panels Requiring Renewal
FRONT BUMPER COVER
R.F WING
BOOTLID
L.BOOTLID HINGE
R.BOOTLID HINGE
R.UPP RADIATOR BRKT
RIGHT HEADLAMP ASSY
R.F W.HOUSE FRT CVR
WASHER CONTAINER
R.F FOG LAMP
GRILLE BADGE
FRT BUMPER REINF
R.LOWER CONTROL ARM
R.STEERING KNUCKLE
R.F CPL SPRING STRUT
R.F WHEEL HUB
R.R ABS SENSOR
REAR COVER BUMPER
REAR BUMPER SUPPORT
BADGE TOYOTA
REAR MODEL BADGE
L.BUMPER GRILLE
R.BUMPER GRILLE
Parts / Panels Requiring Repair
REPAIR R/F WHEELHOUSE CPL
REPAIR R/F SIDE MEMBER

Associated Work Required
PULLING FRONT PANELS
CHECK AND ROAD TEST
Parts / Panels Requiring Painting
BOOTLID NEW PART PAINTING
R/F WING NEW PART PAINTING
R/UPP RADIATOR BRKT SURFACE PAINT
FRONT BUMPER NEW PART PAINT K1R
REAR BUMPER NEW PART PAINT K1R
RIGHT DOOR REPAIR PAINTING <50%
L/F WING SURFACE PAINT
R/F WHEELHOUSE CPL SURFACE PAINT
R/F SIDE MEMBER SURFACE PAINT
Additional Items
E.P.A. CHARGE
E.P.A. CHARGE


That given, the garage still say it's not safe to repair

[Anonymous]

So far that is repairable, the cost is high due to new parts, but if fitted with secondhand panels then can be done for alot cheaper. However i would want the chassis measure to make sure its still straight as it sound like its had a good clought on the front.

[StuC]

From the description of pulling the front panels, it would suggest that this is closer to a CAT C not the CAT D that they have said. I am no expert on this though.