amb67
Senior Member
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2007
- Messages
- 664
- Reaction score
- 2
- Location
- The Garden of England
- Your Mercedes
- Mercedes-Benz C220 Coupe AMG, E320 CDI (S211), Aprilia RSVR
Yesterday someone crashed in to the back of my wife’s S211 whilst she was waiting to exit a junction in our village. The other driver gave contact details and my wife took the registration number..... she's smart when she wants to be.
They admitted liability on the spot and offered to pay for the repairs without going through their insurance, which initially I thought was very honourable of them. Unfortunately this morning I have looked at the damage and it's quite extensive, to the point that the tailgate aperture is no longer the correct shape and the tailgate will not close. The lights are damaged and the car appears to be leaning slightly to one side, could the rear airmatic shocks have been damaged?
My wife called them this morning to advise that the car may be written off and they immediately became quite aggressive, I took over the phone call and attempted to complete the call and take their insurance details, they continually talked over me and clearly wasn't prepared to listen to my comments nor willing to supply me their insurance policy details.
I was a panel beater for many years before moving across to become a technician in HM Forces so do know a little about these things. The other driver referred to the damage as a scratch and a dent, little do they know that I estimate the repair costs to be well over £3K as the floor of the boot and the roof panel have also sustained damage.
Anyhow, during the call I asked them was they prepared to pay for a hire car so my wife can take our disabled daughter around whilst the car was in for repair, they commented "That's not my problem, you'll have to sort that out" at this point I terminated the call and reported him to my insurer for not supplying me his insurance details.
All in all not quite the relaxing weekend I had planned, just waiting for the recovery truck to take the car away for safe storage as the boot will not close.
My questions are and I need your input as I've never claimed before:
I'll probably have more questions as it sinks in but for now I would appreciate your wisdom and experience so that I don't get ripped off.
Many thanks
They admitted liability on the spot and offered to pay for the repairs without going through their insurance, which initially I thought was very honourable of them. Unfortunately this morning I have looked at the damage and it's quite extensive, to the point that the tailgate aperture is no longer the correct shape and the tailgate will not close. The lights are damaged and the car appears to be leaning slightly to one side, could the rear airmatic shocks have been damaged?
My wife called them this morning to advise that the car may be written off and they immediately became quite aggressive, I took over the phone call and attempted to complete the call and take their insurance details, they continually talked over me and clearly wasn't prepared to listen to my comments nor willing to supply me their insurance policy details.
I was a panel beater for many years before moving across to become a technician in HM Forces so do know a little about these things. The other driver referred to the damage as a scratch and a dent, little do they know that I estimate the repair costs to be well over £3K as the floor of the boot and the roof panel have also sustained damage.
Anyhow, during the call I asked them was they prepared to pay for a hire car so my wife can take our disabled daughter around whilst the car was in for repair, they commented "That's not my problem, you'll have to sort that out" at this point I terminated the call and reported him to my insurer for not supplying me his insurance details.
All in all not quite the relaxing weekend I had planned, just waiting for the recovery truck to take the car away for safe storage as the boot will not close.
My questions are and I need your input as I've never claimed before:
- I have just fitted a new battery, 4 new tyres and two front springs at a cost of just shy of £1000.00. Can I claim this off his insurance or expect recompense?
- If they do write the car off what payment do I get, is it a value as it is now or is it to buy a replacement vehicle of similar or better standard?
I'll probably have more questions as it sinks in but for now I would appreciate your wisdom and experience so that I don't get ripped off.
Many thanks
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