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Not using insurance following a road traffic accident - advice please...

It was a posh car - a 2016 mercedes benz - so surely he would have insurance?

Although he is from Mitcham - a comedian would tell you that he wouldn't have insurance!
 
Guineveretoo said:
It was definitely careless driving on his part. I got the friend who was in my passenger seat to write down what happened and sign it, and I did the same on the day. I took photos of my car on the day, and a photo of him. I even reported it on the police website thing.

But it was 10 days ago. Is that a problem?
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I don't think the delay should be a problem. You can explain that he wanted to pay directly which was the reason you hadn't reported it thus far.

I think you only have to report accidents to the police if someone is injured.

As to your comment about your car not being worth much and that it might be written off by the insurance. That might be something to think about.

If he pays directly you will get your car back, if you go through the insurance they may write it off economically and then new options become available for example you might buy it back from them for a small sum and put it back on the road. Or the amount they may be willing to pay you for it (if they write it off) may not be enough for you to get something decent to replace it.

I don't know the answer to this, but this was my experience below:

I was rear ended and it was definitely the other parties fault. I went the insurance route. The insurance assessor found quite a bit of damage around the rear bumper but said the car was still driveable, they said my car was an economic write off (not worth repairing) my insurers paid me about £1,000 for the car and then let me buy it back for something paltry like £40 .. I then got a cosmetic repair done (for £70) and re mot'd the car (a condition of my insurance). End result was that I still have the same car and am up cash wise as a result.

eta that scenario might not apply for you because the repair has already been quoted at £6-700
 
Guineveretoo said:
I was just realising that he has only ever responded to my texts by phoning me, and has not left messages. he says his phone is not working properly so he can get texts but not send them.

That sounds well dodgy!
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Tell him to give you one thousand pounds in cash by noon on Monday or you’ll do the insurance thing.

Fuck ‘im. If he wants to avoid the premiums it’s up to him to play nice.

Be sharp, be clear, be certain.

Then sell your car to webuyanycar.com and get a new one.
 
Guineveretoo said:
It was between £600 and £700 to fit a new (secondhand) door and paint it. The car is worth next to nothing, so an insurance claim would probably write it off.
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oh bugger.

and most insurance companies won't do a loan car after they decide it's a write off not a repair (which in turn is one reason they choose to write off not repair)

my old puddymobile had an attempted theft (a few years before the actual theft which did cause it to be written off) where my insurers wanted to write it off for a slightly bent door and broken window in the door. i withdrew the claim and my tame garage fixed it (albeit not to 'as new' condition, but then a few dents and scrapes adds character) for 40 quid...

it is possible to buy back a car after it's been written off and get it repaired, but it's a lot of hassle and i'd not recommend it.

Guineveretoo said:
Will I lose my no claims bonus?
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in theory you shouldn't if you're not at fault, but the buggers will still probably put your premiums up a bit. may depend on the exact terms of your policy and whether you pay a bit extra to insure the no claims bonus

Guineveretoo said:
I didn't get his address. Although the police website said I could get it if I applied for it or something.
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that sounds even more dodgy - he's legally obliged to give you name and address following an accident.
 
weltweit said:
I don't think the delay should be a problem. You can explain that he wanted to pay directly which was the reason you hadn't reported it thus far.

I think you only have to report accidents to the police if someone is injured.

As to your comment about your car not being worth much and that it might be written off by the insurance. That might be something to think about.

If he pays directly you will get your car back, if you go through the insurance they may write it off economically and then new options become available for example you might buy it back from them for a small sum and put it back on the road. Or the amount they may be willing to pay you for it (if they write it off) may not be enough for you to get something decent to replace it.

I don't know the answer to this, but this was my experience below:

I was rear ended and it was definitely the other parties fault. I went the insurance route. The insurance assessor found quite a bit of damage around the rear bumper but said the car was still driveable, they said my car was an economic write off (not worth repairing) my insurers paid me about £1,000 for the car and then let me buy it back for something paltry like £40 .. I then got a cosmetic repair done (for £70) and re mot'd the car (a condition of my insurance). End result was that I still have the same car and am up cash wise as a result.

eta that scenario might not apply for you because the repair has already been quoted at £6-700
Click to expand...
The garage round the corner from me, who have worked on this heap of metal I call a car a few times over the years, said they could do it for less than that, but it wouldn't look good, and may not last long. They suggested going the insurance route and buying the car back from being written off as well. Because I happen to know that the car has got a new battery and new headlights and basically runs pretty well for an ancient heap of scrap metal.

I am leaning very heavily towards that right now.

Although I won't be claiming anything for whiplash.
 
Puddy_Tat said:
oh bugger.

and most insurance companies won't do a loan car after they decide it's a write off not a repair (which in turn is one reason they choose to write off not repair)

my old puddymobile had an attempted theft (a few years before the actual theft which did cause it to be written off) where my insurers wanted to write it off for a slightly bent door and broken window in the door. i withdrew the claim and my tame garage fixed it (albeit not to 'as new' condition, but then a few dents and scrapes adds character) for 40 quid...

it is possible to buy back a car after it's been written off and get it repaired, but it's a lot of hassle and i'd not recommend it.



in theory you shouldn't if you're not at fault, but the buggers will still probably put your premiums up a bit. may depend on the exact terms of your policy and whether you pay a bit extra to insure the no claims bonus



that sounds even more dodgy - he's legally obliged to give you name and address following an accident.
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He gave me name and phone number. I didn't give him my name and address either, so I am not on strong ground on that one.
 
When my car was written off on the M25 a few years ago, they insurance company left me to dispose of it. I sold it to a scrap merchant for a pittance. Something I have regretted ever since.
 
Have you looked up whether the other car was taxed, MOT'd and insured yet? PM the reg if you like.

A claim won't affect your NCD if your insurer recoups the money from theirs. However it will slightly increase your premium for three years.

It's not much hassle to get your car back on the road as salvage nowadays after being written off, especially if it's in your possession at present.
 
mauvais said:
Have you looked up whether the other car was taxed, MOT'd and insured yet? PM the reg if you like.

A claim won't affect your NCD if your insurer recoups the money from theirs. However it will slightly increase your premium for three years.

It's not much hassle to get your car back on the road as salvage nowadays after being written off, especially if it's in your possession at present.
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Yes - that is how I found out it was a mercedes benz! I know very little about cars and didn't recognise the symbol. It is taxed and MOTed and was last sold in November 2018. It must, therefore, have insurance.
 
Guineveretoo said:
Yes - that is how I found out it was a mercedes benz! I know very little about cars and didn't recognise the symbol. It is taxed and MOTed and was last sold in November 2018. It must, therefore, have insurance.
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Nah. Go on AskMID and find out. Even that only tells you if the car was insured, not the driver. IMO with someone who behaves like this, there's a fair chance they've something to hide, not that you'll necessarily find out.

two sheds said:
You'd hope the police would have checked so hopefully he is insured if they're not prosecuting?
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Haha. No.

I mean, it depends what area and how busy. But unless they attended and did checks on the people involved, no way would police round here be so proactive as to check insurance on a third party traffic accident report.
 
weltweit said:
they said my car was an economic write off (not worth repairing) my insurers paid me about £1,000 for the car and then let me buy it back for something paltry like £40 .. I then got a cosmetic repair done (for £70) and re mot'd the car (a condition of my insurance). End result was that I still have the same car and am up cash wise as a result.
Click to expand...

when that might have been an option for me,

yes, it would have needed re-MOT-ing

but before that it would have needed something else to prove it really was the car i said it was (i guess it's a possible dodge to buy a pile of bits from a scrapyard, and try to launder a stolen car on the identity of a write-off)

and they said that future insurance would be difficult and they would only insure it third party

have the rules about this sort of thing changed?
 
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