hi
well today i got home from work and found that we had had a hail storm in the hinckley (Leics) area and the gto was on the drive with dents in the bonnet /roof /passenger door and both rear wings - so after the initial
upset i decided to ring the insurance company
1st - they will cover the damage - hooray
with a reasonable access and protected no claims i thought i was sorted
2nd - after the damage discussed - on the planner in the office at the insurance company this could be at risk to be a right off ?!
they will pick the car up and assess whether it is a right off and let me know
my concerns are ive spent alot on the car and i may just get the damage
repaired if im lucky but if they right it off im well out of pocket
i really wish i’d managed to get a guaranteed valuation now
at least i could get some of my money back
so i just thought i would share my miserable story with you and see if any tips come out of it
many thanks
terry
i personally dont think its bad damage but it is on most panels - roof 4-5 dents- bonnet many dents - rear wings 1 bad dent on each - passenger side door 1 nasty dent
i am going to get a quote from a body shop but it would be better if i could get the insurance company to do it all for £350 excess with protected bonus without the possibility of it being written off
im not that happy about them taking my car away before they make a decision
Looking at facebook it seems Shaun has had the same problem. His windscreen was smashed and the hailstones looked like they were bigger than golf balls. :shock: I know the storm was pretty bad in Loughborough. We had big hailstones and flooding, but nothing like that.
Agree with what Gavin says here , most insurance companies (or used to anyway ) had assesors that could visit vehicles without sending it anywhere for preliminary checks .
The sad situation is that your car, in mint condition, might be worth £4,000 to a discerning buyer. At auction, maybe £2,500. If the Insurance company take it and sell it at auction in its current condition they know they’d be lucky to get £800 for it.
Conversely, it was, 18 years ago, a very expensive car and parts for it are still very expensive. It’s virtually certain that replacing all the damaged panels + spraying + labour + VaT will be more than the car is worth.
If you claim you’ll probably also lose some of your NCD, which will hurt for a few years.
You haven’t had an accident that has to be reported to them (as far as I understand it) and you don’t have to claim. Your decision.
I would keep the car once it is removed they will maybe write it off and then move it to scotland where it is cheap to store, you will then have to pay for it to be returned
I would phone a dent remover they can do it cheaper as they knopw the dents out and dont need to repain, at JAE they where charging £30 a pannel when I had mine done
hi Guys
just a quick update on this
thanks for your replies
so i claimed on the insurance and received a payment for the car as a total loss Cat d so the good news it is still on the road -but what a hassle to keep the car
so i now have had to get a new MOT passed 1st time except for a number plate bulb - but just another £50 i didnt want to spend considering the MOT was in March anyway
plus my broker has decided now that i didnt notify them about a previous non fault accident and wants to charge me £35 even though insurance companies have all been told previously
i believe insurance is a con!!! :lol:
my advice to anyone who is spending good money on their beloved gto or gt3000 is get a guaranteed valuation because when the insurance deal with you your car is worth next to nothing for their settlement but its worth lots when you want to buy it back
regards
terry
I worry about this same valuation problem every time I drive the car. We can’t get a guaranteed value policy here unless it is considered a classic, which is a specific list of cars, and has to be 20 years old to be considered for the list in the first place so I have 1 more year to go. However, if I am able to get it insured as a classic at a guaranteed value, I will be restricted to 2000 miles a year. Basically I would have to take it off the road to protect it.
Insurance companies really stick it to you. I swear it is just legalized extortion.
