Crash Services ref Write Off

[Woodcutter]

Anyone used Crash Services and ended up having their vehicle written off?

We're in the swings of it at the moment, their assessor tells me the car is beyond economical repair, but he still needs to go to Axa for their agreement and to try and conclude a value on the car, cost of repairs etc.

Apparently Axa will take the salvage value off the total value and give us the remaining amount, then Crash will pay the salvage value.

Crash are also telling me to SORN the car now, even before Axa have agreed any figures, is this standard procedure?

Total head melt!

 

[Coog]

Didn't use Crash but I was given a cheque for the car minus salvage and was then told that I could do whatever I wanted with the car. Was a bit of a pain in the hole to be honest because I was landed with the motor and no idea what to do with it. It seems to be fairly common.

Edit: I wouldn't worry about SORNing it just yet tbh.

 

[Lyons]

SORNing it makes sense I suppose, as you'll get the tax refunded sooner but not sure why thats in their interest?

When the wifes car was written off, I did transfer the number off it ASAP after the accident, and before it was confirmed as a write off.

 

[Woodcutter]

Didn't use Crash but I was given a cheque for the car minus salvage and was then told that I could do whatever I wanted with the car. Was a bit of a pain in the hole to be honest because I was landed with the motor and no idea what to do with it. It seems to be fairly common.

Edit: I wouldn't worry about SORNing it just yet tbh.

Yeah I'm not really sure why I should be SORN'ing it just now when we haven't even had 100% confirmation that Axa (other party's insurer) has agreed to the write off and the replacement value. I think I'll wait a few days.

SORNing it makes sense I suppose, as you'll get the tax refunded sooner but not sure why thats in their interest?

When the wifes car was written off, I did transfer the number off it ASAP after the accident, and before it was confirmed as a write off.

Not sure why it's in their interest, it's not like they'll be able to drive it anywhere in the state it's in!

I already have the reg off it and on to retention, new plates made up for it, just waiting for the new V5 to arrive which the online application advised will be 3-5 days.

 

[Lyons]

I wouldn't have bothered with new plates!

I assume you've been on Autotrader gathering up links to similar expense examples to provide them with to up the payout figure?

Not sure what the particular situation is, but you should be able to relax with Crash, they're very good.

 

[Coog]

Oh yes new plates and keep the invoice for the 3rd party to pay for. Get them to pay for the plate transfer too.

 

[Woodcutter]

I wouldn't have bothered with new plates!

I assume you've been on Autotrader gathering up links to similar expense examples to provide them with to up the payout figure?

Not sure what the particular situation is, but you should be able to relax with Crash, they're very good.

Yeah, have various comparables, but the Crash Assessor actually came back with a higher figure than I had, so fingers crossed he's not far away!

 

[pizza85]

Would they just be telling you to SORN it now before the new month, just so you get an extra months tax back in the event of a refund? Probably nothing in it for them but depending on the vehicle could be a few quid in it for you.

 

[Woodcutter]

Would they just be telling you to SORN it now before the new month, just so you get an extra months tax back in the event of a refund? Probably nothing in it for them but depending on the vehicle could be a few quid in it for you.

I'm not sure mate. I probably can't SORN right now anyway as I'm waiting for the new V5 with the newly assigned reg. So it will wait until then.

 

[bigpupcooper]

Yeah, have various comparables, but the Crash Assessor actually came back with a higher figure than I had, so fingers crossed he's not far away!

Same here, used Crash services two months ago and was pleasantly surprised at the value of my old jeep. It was Cat D'd , i bought it back, and two months on, she's about to get back on the road for £250, instead of the £3200 in the report

SORN - nah, i waited for a month until I had the cheque in my hand. Then SORN'd it and informed my own insurance company that the car was classed as total loss. They cancelled the insurance.

 

[Chris Mac]

I hope the David Cameron haircut hasn't been injured in said accident

#prayforthequiff

 

[Woodcutter]

Unbelievably we are in a similar position again after a disqualified driver hit my Dad head on a couple of weeks ago.

I've been advised that repair cost needs to be at least 70% of the car value to have it written off, is that the norm?

Car is worth £20-22k I reckon, current repair value is £10-12k.

Crash have lent him an X6 which he's had for almost 3 weeks now, but apparently the cost of that has no bearing on costs towards repair.

Obviously we don't want the car back, but it looks like we have no choice but to let it be fixed.

Total ball ache.

 

[bigpupcooper]

@Woodcutter Thats wild sir. Crash really are a "hire car company at high daily rates", bit like DFS being a finance company that sell sofas. That my understanding anyhow when I used them last time and read the numerous reviews and details on them.

 

[Pumesta]

Obviously we don't want the car back, but it looks like we have no choice but to let it be fixed.

Let it be fixed then trade it in, you are unlikely to be any worse off financially trading the car as apposed to having it written off. Also you will have something to drive while car hunting. If the car is written off the hire car will go back straight away

 

[Woodcutter]

Let it be fixed then trade it in, you are unlikely to be any worse off financially trading the car as apposed to having it written off. Also you will have something to drive while car hunting. If the car is written off the hire car will go back straight away

He has gap insurance, so if it's written off he won't be any worse off, in fact he'd be better off!

 

[Eager]

Bit of a ball ache, know someone that set into the car with a sledge after a single car accident so it was def wrote off for this reason, lol. Can you pick the repair garage to ensure a good repair ?

 

[Woodcutter]

Yeah we sent it to a garage who we have used numerous times, so we know if it's fixed it'll be as good as new and all genuine parts used.

 

[stevieturbo]

Crash their X6...slap it up them.

 

[andy9eleven]

Imagine the bill the insurance company must be getting for your dad to run around in an X6!

I used Crash before and they still repaired a car that I reckon had a repair cost well up around 70% of its value. By the time courtesy car rental costs were added it would have been better to write off. But I think Crash wanted the rental car costs for themselves.

Hope your Dad is ok btw.

 

[Woodcutter]

Thanks, @Andy888

Yeah he's fine thankfully, but the wee scrote that hit him just ran away from the scene, didn't even make sure the 73 year old man he just hit head on was OK! The wee rat is now where he belongs though, behind bars, so that's the only positive to come from this.

I am a little concerned that Crash are more interested in fixing the car and renting the X6 than doing what we would like, but I could be wrong and this is actually all normal. Just seems mad that a £20k car can have £12k spent on it to repair it. Surely the salvage price would still be more than £8k for the damaged car? Someone could probably repair the car much cheaper than £12k if they cut a few corners.

 

[salster]

crash are ambulance chasers and they and similar companies are putting our insurances up. i used them once when a small lorry rolled down a hill into the back of my parked car. a few days later i got a call from solicitors acting on behalf of crash and they were quite pissed off when they found out nobody was injured and they couldn't pursue an injury claim. a friend had a taxi from them for 6 weeks at a rental cost of over £200 per day.

 

[MarkJ2293]

I run NI Accident Management. We provide the same services as the likes of Crash and some other accident management companies but we also have our own body shop. We work closely with Boyd Rice Solicitors. Any questions just give me a shout

 

[NeilMcG]

Welcome to the Forum @MarkJ2293, great to have you on board. Speaking from experience, clients of mine use NI Accident Management regularly and are delighted with the service.

 

[Cookies]

My brother-in-law was in a similar situation last year. Bizarrely, but not surprisingly, when assessing the repair costs as a percentage of the value of the car, they'll use an over 'top book' value, but if they decide to write the car off, you'll get below 'bottom book' value.

 

[rupertfinch]

Puzzled as to why more people don’t have guaranteed hire cars on their policies? Surely this would avoid accident management companies, whose sole motive is profit at the expense of everyone else’s premiums?
Personally I have only experienced one write-off which was dealt with efficiently by wife’s insurers so perhaps blinkered by a positive experience.