'Total Loss' Clio 197 F1

[Connor O'Brien]

Hello Guys,

Haven't posted much on this forum and here I start with possibly the most depressing thing I could have post.

The story is, about two weeks ago now I had an incident in the car where I was overtaking a red Nissan Quashquai in the outside lane in cruise control at 70mph as you do and this woman thought it well to just indicate and turn right into me. I was in disbelief as to how she never seen me as I'd held the lane for a good 50-60 metres before the collision and anyway we both stopped and exchanged details, photo's etc, she was in shock and admitted guilt as I'd of expected.

As a result of the crash, I received front bumper damage, wheel arch scrape and finally a little bit of her paintwork on my wheel, which the wheel was my only concern as driving the car afterwards it felt fine but I couldn't get that out my head even though it was a very light collision.

Since the collision I was booked to get all 4 tyres changed (AD08s) which I went ahead of and part of that I had my wheels balanced so If anything the car now feels better than it did before the crash

The point is, after all my blabbering on, which, I'm sure you're all bored of. The car is apparently now considered a 'total loss', so now thanks to that it will be getting impounded. I'd love to take the car on after the insurance pay out for the value of the car, but that will make the insurance too expensive for me.

So the car:

Very well looked after under my ownership, I bought it overs considering how much work needed doing to it, I've went over £2500 on it, with works like:

* New gearbox
* New clutch
* All belts
* Thermostat
* Map Sensor
* Exhaust Flexi
* UCH Replacement
* Full Service

And more

Attached images of the car.

The point is this car will be going to an admiral impound and I want this car to have a good home.

The REG is: BN57FKG

So please any prospective buyers keep your eye out and look after this car like it deserves to be and if you want to know anything more about it I can send you everything that you will need.

Let me press, that I really can't believe the car has been deemed total loss as the damage is super light.

connor968696@gmail.com

Thanks and Regards

Connor

 

[xs2man]

Can you not fight that? It's not being claimed off your insurance, so you have the right to ask for it to be fixed rather than written off, as far as I'm aware.

Failing that, would you not be given the opportunity to "buy it back" from the insurance company either?

 

[Connor O'Brien]

Can you not fight that? It's not being claimed off your insurance, so you have the right to ask for it to be fixed rather than written off, as far as I'm aware.

Failing that, would you not be given the opportunity to "buy it back" from the insurance company either?

I’ve tried fighting that, they’ve deemed it unsafe to drive as part of the fact of it being total loss and reported it as such to the DVLA. I will double check tomorrow mind. Yes I would be given the opportunity to buy it back, but once they categorised it x and increased my premiums I wouldn’t like to think about the cost of insurance afterward and then still having to go ahead with repairs privately with no cover and no promise of the third party paying it back privately.

 

[xs2man]

Your premiums will go up for the fact that you have a claim on your record. Not because the car has previously been written off. Insurance companies generally don't ask if a car has previously been written off, so rarely does such a marker against it affect the policy price either.

I have heard of the rare occasion where an insurance company hasn't paid out for a car that has previously been written off, as it had been paid out before. But that shouldn't affect you if you are the third party, or if you just take out TPFT insurance. Also, that could just be an urban myth.

As for cost of repairs, you said yourself it's minor. Looks like little more than wing and bumper, and from the pic, doesn't look like it would need much more than a quick paint. Maybe a few hundred quid to a bodyshop. The advantage is you will have been paid out for the car already, bought it back for much less than it's worth, fixed it relatively cheap, and you already know the history, and obviously genuinely like the car.

Seems a no brainer to me, if you genuinely like the car. And the damage is indeed that light.

 

[GazMav]

As above, Car D (the old category) didn't make a difference to my insurance.
Just buy it from insurance.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[FatRS]

The cost to buy will be about 10% of the write off value. Buying back. Whether you repair it yourself or not, the car will be worth loads in parts. Especially if you’ve still got the Recaro seats. (£650-1000 depending on condition).

 

[suj]

The cost to buy will be about 10% of the write off value. Buying back. Whether you repair it yourself or not, the car will be worth loads in parts. Especially if you’ve still got the Recaro seats. (£650-1000 depending on condition).

Not true, if that was the case then my R27 was worth £15,000....
They wanted £1500 to buy it back, for a ruined rear boot floor when I got rear ended on the motorway, someone on here then bought it for a lot more than that from auction and got screwed over, as it was so much to fix the crumpled rear (why I didn't buy it back).

If it is cheap and not much damage, definitely buy it back.

 

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

Hi.
If you did have any issues with future insurance for a previously written off vehicle then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.

 

[Antti O]

Hello
I dont understand this.
If other car hits you and it was her fault, why they are taking your car?
In Finland, we can choose how you want to do it. You can always take money from insurance company and fix your car yourself.

 

[suj]

Hello
I dont understand this.
If other car hits you and it was her fault, why they are taking your car?
In Finland, we can choose how you want to do it. You can always take money from insurance company and fix your car yourself.

In UK if the damage exceeds a certain percentage value of the car, they will rather pay out and take the car.

For example a car worth £2000 market value gets hit, damage costs £1400 to fix (plus courtesy car) they will write off the car, pay you out market value (well they try and lowball and give you even less....).
The company will then sell the car at auction to get some money back. Or they offer you the ability to buy the car back. (Way this works is, if there going to pay out £2000, they will just deduct how much they want for the category write off car, then give you the car plus the difference).

Some of colleagues are from mainland Europe and one just had his Porsche written off for a similar reason above in the UK, he explained the way you did for how it works on Portugal, he was annoyed they wouldn't fix his car and wanted so much to buy it back.

 

[Antti O]

Okay, that makes sense.
In Finland Clio197 is much expensive.
There is currently 2 cars available for sale.
8900euros + 9300euros.
9300euros=8100£.
So insurance would not total car with little damage.

 

[Andyyox]

Fight It. The 'engineers' report should say why they think it's too dangerous to be put back on the road but you can get a second report.

If youre claiming off her insurance which you should be then you have rights and can make decisions. If gone through your own it's trickier

 

[Connor O'Brien]

To clarify and give an update

Forgive my innocence when I first posted this, I wasn't sure exactly how it all worked if I'm honest.

But it all worked out fine in the end, Car was in the garage for 3 weeks and recieved new: bumper, bumper bar, LF wing mirror, full clean and they even polished my headlights.

All at no cost to me but only to admiral.

The car is up for sale in my head, just not yet officially lol.

 

[xs2man]

To clarify and give an update

Forgive my innocence when I first posted this, I wasn't sure exactly how it all worked if I'm honest.

But it all worked out fine in the end, Car was in the garage for 3 weeks and recieved new: bumper, bumper bar, LF wing mirror, full clean and they even polished my headlights.

All at no cost to me but only to admiral.

The car is up for sale in my head, just not yet officially lol.

That doesn't sound like the worst outcome at all.

 

[Connor O'Brien]

That doesn't sound like the worst outcome at all.

Yeah, well it certainly wasn't regarded as a total loss in the end, had to go through hours of pissing about over the phone with the insurer to get it sorted properly but it was worth it in the end, definitely furthered my hate for insurance companies despite me coming out of it alright. Hope you get sorted with yours and don't have to much more pain like I've had, it's such a shame because they're an absolute riot when they're feeling good but so very sad face when they're otherwise.

 

[xs2man]

Yeah, well it certainly wasn't regarded as a total loss in the end, had to go through hours of pissing about over the phone with the insurer to get it sorted properly but it was worth it in the end, definitely furthered my hate for insurance companies despite me coming out of it alright. Hope you get sorted with yours and don't have to much more pain like I've had, it's such a shame because they're an absolute riot when they're feeling good but so very sad face when they're otherwise.

Yes, well mine is running fine now. Apart from the syncros and now the heater fan is only blowing on level 3. I should be able to fix that, but I've been away a lot recently, one of my other cars is waiting on a new window so is taking up the garage space, and it's pissing down, ha ha. Oh, and the headlights are rank. Be better off with birthday candles. So will need to get them changed. And the tyres are pants too (fecking Toyo's). But once all that's done, it does feel like it will be a fun little car, at least until the next £1k bill comes along, ha ha.

 

[Connor O'Brien]

Yes, well mine is running fine now. Apart from the syncros and now the heater fan is only blowing on level 3. I should be able to fix that, but I've been away a lot recently, one of my other cars is waiting on a new window so is taking up the garage space, and it's pissing down, ha ha. Oh, and the headlights are rank. Be better off with birthday candles. So will need to get them changed. And the tyres are pants too (fecking Toyo's). But once all that's done, it does feel like it will be a fun little car, at least until the next £1k bill comes along, ha ha.

Yeah syncro's went on mine too, sucks doesn't it seems like everything that goes wrong with them happened to me in the space of 8 months haha. what Toyo's are they? Honestly best thing I ever done to that car was put AD08r's on it, replaced all 4 with them and what a difference, though its not a great time of year for them now I massively recommend them in the turn of year when the weather eases up. Based on what you've said and what works you've done I'd hope and imagine that you should be alright for at least a good few 1000 miles before anything hahah best of luck though!

 

[xs2man]

Yeah syncro's went on mine too, sucks doesn't it seems like everything that goes wrong with them happened to me in the space of 8 months haha. what Toyo's are they? Honestly best thing I ever done to that car was put AD08r's on it, replaced all 4 with them and what a difference, though its not a great time of year for them now I massively recommend them in the turn of year when the weather eases up. Based on what you've said and what works you've done I'd hope and imagine that you should be alright for at least a good few 1000 miles before anything hahah best of luck though!

I dunno what Toyo's they are. But when I drove it back from the specialist, I found out exactly where the limits of them tyres were, ha ha.

I'm not going down the trackday tyre route. This car was bought as an airport / train station car (i.e. to take me to the airport or train station when I go to work). With the bonus of taking to the track when not at work. So I need to to be driveable in any weather condition, at any time of year. So will probably go for PS4's. I've had good luck with them in the past. And while I love the Goodyear Assymetric 5's on my other car, I think the PS4's just edge them on performance. Of course, if there is a great deal on ASY5's when I have the cash, I could go for them again, ha ha.

Anyway, best for you is to not sell it just now. After putting all the time and effort into getting it back, best keep it for a few months at least. Get next summer out of it and enjoy it. Otherwise you will look back on the car as a wasteful money pit, rather than a fun toy.

 

[Connor O'Brien]

I dunno what Toyo's they are. But when I drove it back from the specialist, I found out exactly where the limits of them tyres were, ha ha.

I'm not going down the trackday tyre route. This car was bought as an airport / train station car (i.e. to take me to the airport or train station when I go to work). With the bonus of taking to the track when not at work. So I need to to be driveable in any weather condition, at any time of year. So will probably go for PS4's. I've had good luck with them in the past. And while I love the Goodyear Assymetric 5's on my other car, I think the PS4's just edge them on performance. Of course, if there is a great deal on ASY5's when I have the cash, I could go for them again, ha ha.

Anyway, best for you is to not sell it just now. After putting all the time and effort into getting it back, best keep it for a few months at least. Get next summer out of it and enjoy it. Otherwise you will look back on the car as a wasteful money pit, rather than a fun toy.

Fair enough, they aren't an all out track tyre, I'm going to to be running them over winter but I'm on the coast so winters are cold but not certainly not bad, very rare we get snow so I can get away with it as long as I'm careful, but yeah most definitely an all out summer tyre is what I'd call them rather than an all year tyre. Yeah PS4's seem to get great reviews, I had GYAS 3's on the front before these and absolutely hated them.

I know, I'd like to hold on to it for at least a year at any rate, but I'm out of full time work now and only pick up the odd shift/shifts, so if anything else comes up its becoming hard and frustrating to have so much money tied up in something that continues to haemorrhage cash.