A car went into the back of mine whilst the wife was driving 2 weeks ago, it only damaged the rear bumper and snapped a bolt on the tow bar, folding it up, making it look far worse than it is.
Its a 1999 vw tdi which I paid £4k for about 5 years ago.
I don’t use it regularly as I use my van but we do need a 2nd vehicle as wife works part time.

The insurance company have said it’s a write off and offered £1100 but i would replace with 5 year old car so should I
A barter for a better price and write off
B. Barter for a better price and ask to buy vehicle back.
C. Ask for it to be repaired.

If I bought it back I would remove Towbar and put up with a dent and scratch on the colour coded bumper.

Thanks for any advice.

you sure the chassis’s not bent ?

I can’t be sure but the tow bar is in two parts which snapped the bolt taking all the impact.
It was on a upwards hill and the 3rd party said he wasn’t going over 10 mph

Written off simply means “beyond what the insurance co consider economic to repair” not that it’s actually beyond repair.

Unfortunately, a 12yr old car is well beyond economic repair given that even in good condition it’d be a few hundred quid at most if you sold it. £1100 actually sounds like quite a good deal from the ins co.

Maybe try and get a bit of a rise out of them – perhaps claim costs of a hire car necessary for the time you’ll be without a vehicle but realistically I’d just accept it. You’ll have trouble selling the car on or insuring it if it’s got “write off” against it on the insurance database.

I had the same when my old Ford got written off, the ins co actually gave me a very good deal on it. So good in fact that when my local garage heard how much I’d got for it they told me to take the payoff and run quick before the ins co found out they’d put one too many 0’s on the end of it!

Also if the car is written off you will/may lose any remaining premium.

They are currently selling from £750-£2000 I would have happily kept it for a few years but wouldn’t buy another for that value.

Most cars haven’t had a ‘chassis’ as such for twenty odd years, s’all monocoque, innit. If you like it and trust it I’d demand more, and buy it back, so long as your sure it’s mechanically sound. If all the doors shut right, it drives straight and true and pulls up straight, and no airbags or pretensioners have gone off, it probably is.

Too much of a disposable, need new and shiny ethos in motoring IMHO anyway.

Offer to take the money if they give you the car – most insurance companies would have to pay someone to collect it on a transporter, pay for storage, pay for it to go in a salvage auction etc. When my motorbike was written off last year, the assessor told me that it cost them £350ish to ‘dispose’ of a bike after its written off.
If they can just send you a cheque & thats the end of it, it saves them time & money.

Also if the car is written off you will/may lose any remaining premium.

Why?

falkirk-mark – Member
Also if the car is written off you will/may lose any remaining premium.

Why?
POSTED 18 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

I’m not sure what this means?

Would it have to be reregistered if it’s a total loss?

Unfortunately, a 12yr old car is well beyond economic repair given that even in good condition it’d be a few hundred quid at most if you sold it.

My 11 year old VW TDi is worth about £10k I reckon. They aren’t all the same.

Cars with a tow bar that get a good rear end shunt can sometimes be pretty fubared underneath where the tow bar connects to the car.So it might pay to have a good look at it before trying to get it off them…

Would it have to be reregistered if it’s a total loss?

It would show up on the HPI register as a catagory C or D total loss but if you intend to keep it thats not a problem.

I’ll try to get it into a mates garage tommorow up on the ramps to take a good look