Smashing down doors near Perpignan (1 Viewer)

[Barclaybasher]

Oh Geoff that's awful news. Can't you get a second opinion before the insurance write it off?

@EthnGeoff
I had a similar thing happen 3 year ago (low valuation on a works Ford Transit)

Loss adjuster tried a low offer. I pointed out that it had been recently serviced and MOT'd and after I checked prices on Autotrader and Ebay told him to find me another van, same spec and condition for the price he offered.

In that one conversation his offer increased 25%

We eventually replaced the van with a slightly newer one at a bit less than the insurance settlement.

I'd certainly say the same to Brownhills - "Find me a similar van for the valuation you gave!"

Best of luck

 

[Abacist]

Surely it is the french drivers insurance that ultimately has to pay for your losses and there is no way that you should lose out in these circumstances. Reject the valuation given by Brownhills and insist on you being found a replacement compatible in terms of condition and mileage!

 

[Vanman]

You really should haggle over the price, it happens all the time with motorbikes and they nearly always increase the offer if it's poor.

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[maison]

Terrifying experience for you.

I agree with posts above. Insist on second opinion on value. This alone may lead to an increase.

Have you checked comparable prices on the Internet, dealers websites, Autotrader, MMM etc?

Is the French Insurance Company paying? Do you have any legal insurance with your own Policy?

It seems such a shame to have to give up motorhoming when you are not at fault.

 

[scotzsue]

Another vote for 'I have searched and a comparable vehicle would cost £x If yyou can find one same condition, mileage age and accessories for your quote please supply it' Got enought to do that, am talking about a car though but would do the same if it was the van, never accept first offer.

 

[Teuchter]

Sadly we've just been informed today that our beloved motorhome is being written off. Eth and myself have enjoyed 7 wonderful years of retirement travelling in our mh, but it seems that an idiot driver combined with a rediculously low valuation of our van by Brownhills, Newark, have combined to put an end to our travels. Shame really because Brownhills themselves had a van which we may have considered as a replacement. But if this is the way they treat their customers then it's goodbye from me.
Geoff.

That happened to me with my last caravan - the loss adjuster valued it at £3000 so I asked how much they would pay me if I kept the van (the damage was mainly cosmetic)

I got £2200 and kept the van, "fixed it up" myself for about £100 and a year later got £3500 in PX for a 2nd hand MoHo

Result

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[Barclaybasher]

That happened to me with my last caravan - the loss adjuster valued it at £3000 so I asked how much they would pay me if I kept the van (the damage was mainly cosmetic)I got £2200 and kept the van, "fixed it up" myself for about £100 and a year later got £3500 in PX for a 2nd hand MoHo
Result

OK with a caravan but a MH would be a Cat D or Cat C........ and worth less

I would probably do it but photograph all the damage before repairing... still 'Recorded' though

 

[Robert Clark]

Surely the insurance company have to offer you enough to replace the van with a similar one from a reputable dealer?
You don't have to accept their first offer.
Maybe you need to do some research online and send them examples of similar vans?

Best of luck.

 

[gus-lopez]

@EthnGeoff


I'd certainly say the same to Brownhills - "Find me a similar van for the valuation you gave!"

Best of luck

Surely it is the french drivers insurance that ultimately has to pay for your losses and there is no way that you should lose out in these circumstances. Reject the valuation given by Brownhills and insist on you being found a replacement compatible in terms of condition and mileage!

Another vote for 'I have searched and a comparable vehicle would cost £x If yyou can find one same condition, mileage age and accessories for your quote please supply it' Got enought to do that, am talking about a car though but would do the same if it was the van, never accept first offer.

That's all you have to do . Reject the offer & state " Find me another van etc;etc;" as the others have said . They are required to put you back in the position you were in immediately before the accident.
also point out that the French blokes company is paying.

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[Teuchter]

OK with a caravan but a MH would be a Cat D or Cat C........ and worth less

I would probably do it but photograph all the damage before repairing... still 'Recorded' though

Agreed Bb however the op said they loved their MoHo and from what they say a new rad & fusebox and some bodywork repair hopefully would see it legally back on the road with trhe prospect of many more years of use.

When the insurance assessor made his estimate for the cost of repairs probably the most expensive item was the bodywork & respray (mostly cosmetic) both of which can be sourced much, much cheaper by the op than the insurance estimated cost which is always "top whack"

Some years ago I had an elderly Mk1 Granada estate (ideal for towing my caravan) and a car ran into the front of it when I was stationary damaging the radiator grill, o/s headlight and bonnet - an insurance write off!!. That time I also "bought" the car as part of the settlement.

For less than £100 from a scrap yard I got a bonnet, grill and headlight unit, fitted them myself (easy job) and kept the car for another 3 years passing MOTs no problem, then PXed it for another more modern Granada

I guess it all depends on what the op wants

 

[Barclaybasher]

Agreed Bb however the op said they loved their MoHo and from what they say a new rad & fusebox and some bodywork repair hopefully would see it legally back on the road with trhe prospect of many more years of use.

Totally agree !

 

[John & Joan]

I had a Bedford CF Autosleeper go up in flames while parked outside the house. They came back with a very low offer so I found similar vans advertised in MH magazines and rejected their offer enclosing the other adds. They upped the settlement.

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[Barclaybasher]

@EthnGeoff

Have I missed something?

Has the van been recovered to the UK?

Is/was the van driveable, any repairs already done?

 

[Vanman]

As has been said by others, with old bikes they can be financially 'un-repairable' purely because of plastics damage to fairings etc. It doesn't mean you can't fix them up with kits and resprays or 2nd hand parts. Even if a vehicle is cat C/D it can often be restored at re-categorised easy enough enough if the will and financial need is there.

Sometimes you can say to the assessor, ok I'll take your accessment IF I get to keep the broken vehicle as well. Not so great if it's in France, but if Brownhills saw it to access it then it suggests not.

 

[Scout]

Really soory for you trouble and im glad your not hurt, I would reject there insureances offer,

Im wondering if Brownhills is making an offer to buy it from the insurance company, for them to fix it and sell on (at a big profite) later, or am I just reading tooo much into it.

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[Xabia]

Insurance companies will usually write off a vehicle when the repair costs are in excess of 60% of the value of the vehicle. So the way to proceed now is to look for adverts for vehicles of similar specification, mileage etc. Your policy is one of indemnity, that is the insurer's must place you in the same position as you were before the accident, either by finding a replacement vehicle, repairing it or paying the value at the time of the loss.

I certainly wouldn't rely upon a value put upon it by Brownhills who would have little interest in the matter, can you contact other dealers for the marque in question who may be able to give a more accurate valuation particularly if there is a chance of you buying a replacement vehicle from them - hint, hint..

By the way, having been involved in the past in recovering the cost of damage to U.K. Haulage vehicles damaged in France I always found the French insurance companies to be very upfront about the liability of their insured and quite quick at reimbursing the cost.

 

[Jean-luc]

The front bumper/panel of my Rapido A class was damaged a few years ago, bad scrape on the front offside corner, a replacement was priced at about €1500.
The insurance assessor wanted it repaired and painted, I said paint on ABS was not acceptable, he insisted on repair, I said OK but I reserve the right to reject the repair, he said OK a new bumper so.

Assessors realty try to minimise the cost to the insurer, it is the insurer who pay for their service after all, so the assessor is definitely not on your side.
As has been said demand a like for like replacement or a right-off settlement representing the cost of buying a similar MH.

 

[mustaphapint]

Never accept the first offer if you consider it too low. I was knocked of my bike in Ireland a couple of years ago. A lady driver just turned right into my path. My bike was still ride-able and I continued with my week in Eire. On my return to the UK I presented it to the insurance approved repairers who eventually declared the frame was bent and was an uneconomical repair. The estimate for rebuilding, repainting and replacement of damaged parts was £7,500 and they offered me £6,500 for the bike. I argued, re-iterated the accident was not my fault and the other party were paying for it so why should I lose the bike I'd had from new through no fault of my own. We revised the estimate between us. I agreed to only a partial respray and accepted that some parts which were barely damaged and had already suffered wear and tear need not be replaced. Once we got the estimate below £6,500 the insurance agreed to fund the repairs and I still have my 16 year old bike (now with a new frame).

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[sueandjohn]

You can get advice from a loss adjuster yourself. I was advised to do that several years ago when the insurance co gave me a stupid quote. Good luck

 

[sedge]

Harrumph to bike main dealers.

We had a bike accident and the Honda dealer we had it recovered to, reckoned the frame was bent. We took expert independent advice, quote 'I've seen Blackbirds somersault 3 times when someone's come a purler on a track day - and the frame's not been bent despite not having any plastic bits etc left! Falling over on tarmac at low speed it can't possibly be bent!' (The road was wet and the tarmac was new, nothing had hit us)

So it was brought home and stringed the old fashioned way. A Certain Person (he wasn't called John Smith, or Pete whole leg was still in plaster from where it fell on him LOL) rode it at high speed down a certain road with no hands and it travelled in a straight line. Bit of new plastic and exhaust pipe, sorted.

And as a retired insurance worker - NEVER accept the first estimate!

 

[wigster]

Estimate is all it is , go for the real value , the accident wasn't your fault , your not a victim, kick off proper i reckon . You need to be in the same position van wise as the second before your accident i say dont get fobbed off .

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[EthnGeoff]

We all love a happy ending.
Turned out that the value Brownhills gave the insurance was a book price for a standard production vehicle, not considering we sat down with the salesman and gave the specs we wanted, including upgrades to engine, gearbox, chassis, trim and many extras. We argued this and provided evidence of all upgrades (we always keep receipts) and received an offer which we were happy with.
Whilst we were at Brownhills stripping bits & pieces off our old vehicle we spotted one for sale which we liked. Did the deal yesterday and just arrived home with her today. Appropriately we're calling her .......Dora.

 

[pyro]

Thank goodness this has a happy ending for you.

A dreadful saga for you, and I'm glad you didn't get injured. Brownhills were negligent in giving their low valuation, and all that matters is that you are satisfied with the outcome

Happier days ahead

 

[scousebird]

We all love a happy ending

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[Anthea M]

Thanks for keeping us in the loop !
Congratulations and so glad you have a new van. Happy and safe travels in Dora the explorer!!

 

[Abacist]

Well done for getting a better deal that you could live with!

 

[Zepp]

Thanx for the update glad you got it sorted love a happy ending

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[Floydster]

Nice to hear that you're sorted.

 

[maison]

It's always good to see the OP relaying the final outcome. Not everyone reports back.

Glad to see a good outcome for the OP too!

 

[Gromett]

Thanks for the Update. It is always great to hear the resolution to these stories especially when it is good news like this.

Happy Travels.

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