I would question why they charge you a salvage fee? They could give the car way to a scrap dealer don't need to sell it... Tell them you will pay to have the vehicle scrapped to save them the time Nd money if they give you the full offer, or request a written reason why they charge you salvage.

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I'm only guessing here, but from what little info you have given in the opening post, regards to your actual trim model of Focus.

I'm guessing its a

Ford Focus (1998-05) 5Dr Hatchback 1.6i Ghia (2001/51) with 103k on the clock

If that is indeed the case I reckon the retail value [the pound notes you would need to replace that car] on the open retail market would be £1,649.

You only pay your excess if your at fault, and I would have thought salvage costs are part of the overall cost of the claim, so not billed seperately, but not 100% on that. If not at fault the other drivers insurance pays all those costs.

I came to that valuation using this website http://www.wisebuyers.co.uk/index.jsp?guide=prices&page=used_cars&no=3&make=Ford&model=Focus+%281998-05%29&vip=3429&yearplate=2001%2F51&mileage=103&x=39&y=9

I use this website to value future purchases and trade in values. I'm not interested in screen price, the only price that matters to me is the lump of money needed to do the swap.

Reason being, I've negotiated purchases in the past, only for the sales manager [ if the sales manager has not been asked for his input by the salesperson, you ain't asking for enough off] on agreement with me on the amount of money he wants off me to do the deal. Then asks if I mind that the screen price and the PX price be written down to lower values on the actual invoice. I assume thats so the profit and loss account stacks up to be more advantageious to the dealer than the tax man, all legal I'm sure [ that happened on my last purchase]

And I also used that website to value the replacement value of my last write off, and it was exactly the figure the insurance adjuster offered me. I had just spent £400, ten days prior to the car being witten off [other driver at fault] to have a new clutch and front disc and pads fitted, so I tried to push him for that figure on top, but did not expect to get it, nor did I. The value is that which you would expect to pay for a given age and mileage, and model, just my bad luck I'de just sunk £400 into it.

Hi Catch

Thanks for your reply. I found that website and used it to calculate a retail price for my car and it came back with a figure £1465.

5 days ago i contacted my insurance co. to refuse the original offer of £930. I then went and found on Auto Trader similar vehicles to mine as evidence that my car is worth more. These vehicles also were priced at around £1400 mark.

So now i am awaiting their replies.

Cheers

Simon

So even though it appears my car is insured for "X" amount, in the event of a total loss this is infact a scam and I would have to thrash it out with the insurance company?? actually never claimed so no idea how this works lol but if true why does the insurance company ask "what value you want to insure the car for?" In which case with my fully comp, if I get rear ended for instance and the car needs £1500 worth of repairs, but the insurer only values the car at £1000, would I be right in thinking they would rather write the car off and try and bung you say.. £800 ??

Hope that makes sense :)

It's my understanding that when they ask "What's the value of your car" and you say "It's worth £1,000" (or whatever it's worth), that that actually has more to do with assessing your risk than what you would get in the event of a claim. Cheap cars carry a higher risk, because they are cheap - people don't care about cheap cars (usually). They drive them how they like, and if they end up rear-ending a top-end Mercedes, they don't care, because the car only cost them £200. However, the driver of the Mercedes is much less likely to be involved in an accident, because he knows his car is worth a lot of money, so is very careful about hitting other cars.

We actually had an interesting discussion about this on another forum where I'm a member. One fellow said (and I agreed with him), that he would repair his car and sue the other party for the full cost, rather than accepting that his car is a write off because of it's low value.

Also, surely an insurance co. cannot decrease their original offer, it is my right to try and get as much as possible for my car.

Yes, absolutely right, and you should try and get as much as you can, but I doubt there's any stipulation saying that they can't decrease their offer. I know in terms of consumer rights when it comes to retail, the contract is made at the till, when money is exchanged, and not at the shelf, where the price is displayed. So in that regard - until you shake hands and agree on a price, they can offer you whatever they like, higher or lower. You can accept it or decline it.

Hi all

Got home from holiday today and found a letter saying that the offer of £930 has been revoked because 'liability is firmly disputed'.

It goes on to say that i should claim on my insurance to get a pay out and they will 'claim back the excess on my behalf'

This will count as a claim until the money is reclaimed from the third party's ins. co.

It also says that by not claiming on my insurance 'it is unlikely to get a payout from the third party's insurers in the near future'.

So at the moment i lose all round. If i dont claim on my ins. i get nowt and if i do i get a higher premium for the next few years and probably lose my excess too.

Why the hell should i claim on my inurance when it was not my fault? and also why the hell do we all pay for insurance if this is the crap we have to deal with?

What would you advise next?

All help appreciated again.

!Removed! fuming

Cheers

Simon

Might be a good idea to try webuyanycar,do the form as though u never had an accident and see what they say.i paid 2100 for my focus with 113k and 2 owners.when I was doing insurance quotes and I selected value my vehicle they valued it at 3850 which I thought was a bit high but still.webuyanycar offered me 2550,I got a good deal anyway and it had been resprayed on the drivers side

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Go on a online website ( compare the market ) and they'll give you a valuation on the 1st page,sadly insurance companies are quick to take your payment but will do owt not to give you true market worth, Gap insurance is another con !!

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I had to claim on my insurance, and firmly rejected the idea of paying out the excess. After many hours of arguments with them, I told them that if the industry assumed a driver from behind is at fault, I am not paying out. They waived the excess as they were comfortable that they would win, and sure enough they did. As such, my NCB was reinstated (never went anyway) and I never ended up a penny out of pocket on the repair itself.