Not At Fault Accident

[fretwekk]

hey everyone. my skyline was involved in an accident today, but luckily nobody was hurt. i was rear ended and pushed into the car in front. damage is pretty significant, rear end is obviously fked, the side panel is warped, front bumper damaged, headlight is smashed. bonnet damaged so i can't open it to see what's wrong inside, but i think intercooler piping may be damaged where the bumper was pushed back, and the engine makes a loud clackety noise when it's running. car is still drivable though, and i was able to get it home after the accident.

i'm not at fault and will be chasing up the other driver's insurance company for claim. assuming that it's a write-off, how will the value of my car be determined for payout? who decides if it's a write off? i've only got third party and haven't ever had to go through this before. i've been told i should get some smash repair claims and send off a letter of demand to the other driver?

Edited June 6, 2010 by fretwekk

[nIsMo86]

The other guys insurance company will send out an assessor to inspect and value the repair costs of the vehicle. He will decide whether its a financial/statutory write-off or not. He will also be the one who determines the market value of your car if they do pay you out.

Yes you should get some repair quotes from smash repairers. Do you know which insurance company the other driver is with? Sometimes its better to go through an approved repairer with the other guys insurance.

Also instead of writing a letter of demand, call the other drivers insurance company directly and let them know you are wanting to claim on his insurance etc. I did that when i had someone reverse into me and it worked well. The other guys insurer in my case was NRMA and they were very helpful...surprisingly.

Hope that helps.

[MBS206]

Call your insurance company, give them all the details of the accident and the other guy, claim on your insurance, make them chase payment out of his insurance. This gets your car repaired to your insurances standard, and you don't get fubared around by his insurance company.

Don't bother claiming on his insurance, too time consuming, they'll fark you around. Use yours, and they'll get all the other payments from the other insurance company.

[fretwekk]

I've only got third party property through just car, and when i spoke to them they said they'd send me a letter of demand template. didn't ask for other car details at all. from that, i don't think they're going to help any further in regard to chasing up the other insurer.

yeah it will suck having to deal with the other insurer (the guy has nrma comprehensive).

just wondering what happens if they decide to write it off but I don't agree with the payout figure? Do i have any recourse at all or do I just have to accept what the assessor decides?

[evil_weevil]

having third party property damage cover only sucks in this case.

Nothing really just cars can do.

the other company will use guides like redbook, glasses guide etc to see what your car "could" be worth.

however expect a low payout....

edit - payout - pretty much have to take it. you can argue the point if you have proof on what you spent, or maybe even approach VIP car inspections and tell them the car, mods, year, km's etc and for a cost they can do a valuation. unsure if its too late though...and again, maybe not even worth all the effort

[fretwekk]

i have an 89 r32, which isn't even listed in redbook. under 1989 they only have the r31 listed? anyway, hopefully they don't screw me over too hard, and i get a fair payout for it.

thanks for the info guys, will try to update the thread with progress. waiting for the police to get back with an incident number and i'll start to chase up the insurance once i get that.

[Liz]

my advice is to negotiate negotiate negotiate.. wait for htem to make an offer, then put receipts infront of them for work (if you have it) and just hold out! I also got an independant assessor to look at the car too! He gave me another valuation taking into account all the work I'd put into it and replacement cost.

i negotiated my silvia pay out (i wasn't ensured) with the other insurer to be much more than the original offer.

and then i bought the wreck back for 1k

good luck!

[evil_weevil]

glasses guide have them on the book

Dont know what NRMA use for their guide pricing though for market values

[pbk1776]

just neg it

[Big Unit]

I have been in a similar situation. Had a 1990 BMW 535is. Was rear ended and pushed into another car. Luckily the person that hit me was insured. As soon as i got home from the accident i got a quote from just car (his Insurer) for the market value of the car which was $12400. So if they tried to screw me with a pay out i could say "well you were prepared to cover my car for $12400, why are you trying to give me $xxxx".

So i went and got an assessment from a smash repairer. They said the cost of the repair was more than what it's worth. They sent out the assesor who confirmed this (bent chassis rail). They ended up giving me $11300 as they let me keep the car so they subtracted the scarp value $1100. I then sold the wreck on ebay for $2800. I only paid $6500 for the car. The car was quite rare and i do miss it but i was compensated for it.

So hopefully you will be able to use this situation to your advantage and come out on top.

Edited June 6, 2010 by Big Unit

[Liz]

omg I want to stab me, I accidentally wrote "ensured" lol

[fretwekk]

reassuring story big unit. just did an online quote with nrma and i'm happy with the agreed value they give to my car. and lol at how much they want for comprehensive on it. so here's hoping the process goes smoothly! not sure if i can be bothered wrecking the scrap, but i'll consider it if i could line up a buyer.

still early days sure, but any details on how long the process will be before I can expect a cheque or repair?

[MBS206]

reassuring story big unit. just did an online quote with nrma and i'm happy with the agreed value they give to my car. and lol at how much they want for comprehensive on it. so here's hoping the process goes smoothly! not sure if i can be bothered wrecking the scrap, but i'll consider it if i could line up a buyer.

still early days sure, but any details on how long the process will be before I can expect a cheque or repair?

If it's an RB25 I'll come steal the motor out of it for cheap...

[fib]

I had a recent accident where I was rear ended that wrote off my SAAB (luckily).

The guy was a green P plater dodgy gave me all his details but never called his insurance.

I took it to a reputable smash repairer, they mailed him a letter of demand and threatened legal action as my car was sitting in the workshop.

Everything worked out after that

[fretwekk]

If it's an RB25 I'll come steal the motor out of it for cheap...

sorry rb20det

the at fault guy is going to have to go through insurance to get his car fixed, his airbags went off, and was towed away from the scene. i'm not too worried about him doing a dodgy.

[Kinks]

3rd party property will often cover you for some small amount (eg $2500 or $5000) if you are not at fault and the at fault driver is uninsured. worth remembering, it doesn't fully compensate you for a total loss but it's better than nothing. check your policy to see what it offers, though.

[GTR-N1]

I had a recent accident where I was rear ended that wrote off my SAAB (luckily). >

Fixed LOL

[nIsMo86]

Lol Terry...SAAB = FAIL in swedish.

I also previously dealt with NRMA for a not-at-fault accident and they were very good about it. Ended up fixing my car at NRMA approved repairer of my choice and car ended up better than it was before.

[mattymagoo22]

When I was on my P's I was run up the back in MCdonalds Drive-thru. The bloke wouldn't pay, letters of demand etc. I ended up claiming on my Third party property insurance they fixed my car then chased him up for the excess that I would pay for a claim. Have you tried that? It was a long time ago, I'm sure thats how I did it though.

Cheers and good luck.

[silver gts-t]

Some advice since i was in the same position as you.

Take your time and keep negotiating with their insurance company, have reasonable figure in mind and keep persisting with them.

NRMA will make you an offer and send you a cheque, if your not happy with it do not bank the cheque thinking they will pay you more on top.

My 32 was a write off and I wanted to keep the car. They Offered me $4.5k with another $5k if I gave them the car.

Long story short 6 weeks later + alot of argueing i got $9.5k and kept the car.

Goodluck

Just to add you dont have to wait for his insurance to contact you, you can call them up yourself and start the claim.

Edited June 7, 2010 by silver gts-t