pugwash said:
Just had a call from the insurance company- after an incident on a country lane they have notifed me today that the vehicle is unecomonical to repair
......hoping to buy the salvage back .....
Anyway now need to have a conversation about value with the insurance company
We have agreed that the base value of the vehicle was approx 3.5k, but its the mods that are proving difficult.
Very sorry to hear your unfortunate news. You say the 80 has been declared uneconomical to repair and written off, do you know what class of write off it is? As Cat C or D vehicles can be repaired and returned to the road.
I do hope you manage to buy the salvage back, some insurance companies can be a bit touchy about this, and their default response is no. This is partly due to most vehicle owners not having a clue about their cars these days, you may need to persuade them that you are an enthusiast owner, and that you know the vehicle can be repaired properly and returned to the road.
One of the reasons the insurance companies write off cars so easily is due to the high cost of repairing them. They tend to had to pay a load of money for the genuine parts to repair the vehicle, as you want your vehicle repaired to a high standard, plus the labour cost adds massively. So it's easy to write off a car, that can easily be repaired for a fraction of the cost using second hand genuine parts, and your own time.
You'll need to be firm and fast with the insurance company in getting them to agree that you can retain the salvage, as by the sounds of it the 80 is with them, and this puts you on the back foot as you don't have control of the vehicle. From the insurance companys point of view your car is a cost to them, i.e. they are incurring storage charges daily, so if they think that they're paying you out, they may sell the vehicle on to a salvage yard to stop the mounting charges. Or another trick is that someone might have spied the vehicle and have designs of their own for it, and hidden/put it to one side for themselves. So if I was you I'd agree the retention of the salvage, and get the 80 back in your possession ASAP (as long as you have somewhere to store it), as they'll be keen to stop the storage charges.
I'm not sure what spec and condition your 80 was pre accident, but 3.5k doesn't buy a diesel 80 in decent condition these days, I personally would had been pushing for more. To an insurance company our cars are just old, but as we know they are sought after vehicles, and this keeps their value up. Ecoman recently sold his 80 in the classifieds on the forum, so it might be worth seeing if yours was similar, and having a word with him as to what it sold for, as evidence of recent vehicle sales are just what you need to argue your side and get a fair price for you 80.
If the 80 was insured as a modified vehicle, it'll be interesting to see the insurance companys approach to valuing them. Receipts and current market costs to replace them are good, do you have pics of the 80 with its mods/pre accident condition? These always help when trying to get your point across to a loss adjuster that hasn't even seen your car.
Would it be possible to get a guide price/valuation/replacment cost for you 80 in its pre accident spec/conditon? As the insurance payout is supposed to enable you to go out and buy a replacement same spec vehicle. An independent valuation might go a long way to helping you get the true value. You could try Julian at Overland Cruisers, Footloose 4x4, Frog Island, West Coast 4x4, as they all build/prep 80's.
I do hope you manage to retain the 80 as you have said it has sentimental value to you both (mention that to the insurance company too), with some secondhand parts and a good bodyshop it could be good as new.
When this is all over, it would be great if you could let us know which insurance company/under writer you were with, and how they dealt with the claim. As we all pay our premiums but you never know how good the service is till the unfortunate happens and you end up claiming.
Good luck, and let us know if we can be of any further assistance.