[AshisogiJizo]

Originally Posted by SantaEugence

Really sorry to read this.

As above, the cost is likely to be largely made up of the new wiring loom, labour, and then associated coding of any new parts. Whereas you could just splice a new connector on where they've cut it (I assume) this isn't an option for the insurer so they have to replace the entire thing which is huge.

On the plus side… given how much they're asking for repair, could you take the payout and then buy it back super cheap (since it's so expensive to repair) and then fix yourself?

I will ask about this. I have been offered a payout and told the car would go to the scrappage yard. Will the Insurer be looking to get money from whoever buys for scrap? They mentioned they did not think this could be repaired properly without a new wiring harness and proper kit from BMW.

[AshisogiJizo]

Originally Posted by Wibbles

easy to fix that with used parts from ebay - if you buy the car back I can help sort it out, no charge for the help.

Thanks. I will look into this but with no steering wheel and all the hassle of having to recover the car and transport it. I may just take the payout and walk...really sad.

[AshisogiJizo]

Originally Posted by Sennen

Exactly this..... the amount of guys that have worked for me over the years that have had their gear nicked and then go onto Ebay and buy someone elses nicked gear is crazy!!

Unfortunately it is a vicious circle and the 'Scrotes' know this..... most of the guys cannot afford to replace through legitimate sources hence the cycle continues

It was always nice to hear about the rare occasions these 'Scrotes' were caught in the act though

vicious circle

Those are exactly the words mentioned to me by my insurer. They also said the same thing. Someone may chose to fix the car with parts from ebay which have been nicked off someone else's car.

[Markos ZimZimma]

Originally Posted by AshisogiJizo

You are pretty much spot on. Any tips for negotiating with Insurance? They have offered me £19k - my excess which is their market value. I paid £20.5k in 2019 but prices have gone up not down since then. Will be almost impossible to replace for similar specs today with what i paid in 2019.

Go on Autotrader and look for comparable models and use that as ammo to go back to the insurers, and compare the spec of your car and the ones for sale and then suggest what you'd expect to pay if a car with your exact spec/miles/condition came up for sale. Ask them to find a car near-as-dammit identical to yours for £19k. My guess is your car is worth £2-3k more than what you paid for it as covid pushed the prices up and they've not come back down. Insurers start with a low offer hoping you'll accept it but know that there's a good chance that there will be some back and forth before settling on a figure.

[Watsey]

Originally Posted by Markos ZimZimma

Go on Autotrader and look for comparable models and use that as ammo to go back to the insurers, and compare the spec of your car and the ones for sale and then suggest what you'd expect to pay if a car with your exact spec/miles/condition came up for sale. Ask them to find a car near-as-dammit identical to yours for £19k. My guess is your car is worth £2-3k more than what you paid for it as covid pushed the prices up and they've not come back down. Insurers start with a low offer hoping you'll accept it but know that there's a good chance that there will be some back and forth before settling on a figure.

^ this, absolutely.

Unlike assurance policies (which tend to have a fixed payout) insurance policies are meant to put you back into the position you were in before the incident which led to the claim.

If examples of identical cars to yours (or as near as you can find) are currently available at, say, £23K then that's what you can argue that your insurer should pay out. Alternatively ask your insurer to find / purchase / supply 'your' replacement car with the same (or better) age / mileage / specifications / service history / etc.

[AshisogiJizo]

Markos ZimZimma Watsey

Many thanks to both of you. I told insurer to call me back on Tuesday so hopefully they expect that I will be doing some research. It sounded like they were hoping (but not pushy) about me accepting their offer but good to know that they expect some haggling.

[roundy]

Agree with all the above comments, my 5 series was written off recently and the insurance wanted to resolve it as quick as possible and sent me a £6k cheque for salvage when the car was easily worth £12k. They soon changed their tune when I went back with models on auto trader as evidence and said I don't accept the offer and you can find me a car with the same spec.

A week after I had one for £12k.

That will easily be sold on to someone who's happy to do the repairs.

[AshisogiJizo]

Originally Posted by roundy

Agree with all the above comments, my 5 series was written off recently and the insurance wanted to resolve it as quick as possible and sent me a £6k cheque for salvage when the car was easily worth £12k. They soon changed their tune when I went back with models on auto trader as evidence and said I don't accept the offer and you can find me a car with the same spec.

A week after I had one for £12k.

That will easily be sold on to someone who's happy to do the repairs.

Thanks. I did not realise that they had to do this. They told me that they checked for price of cars in my spec on Parkers and somewhere else and offered me the "average".

[roundy]

Parkers and Autotrader I believe is what they say they compare it against, but not eBay.

I didn't want to chance it at all so found 4 examples from memory, at the time some slightly older models were worth more at the time so don't stick with just your car year either. Mine was a 2011 ms port and found 2, 2010 models with higher mileage.

Hope that helps anyway.

[Wibbles]

Originally Posted by AshisogiJizo

Thanks. I will look into this but with no steering wheel and all the hassle of having to recover the car and transport it. I may just take the payout and walk...really sad.

You could get a steering wheel and bolt within a few days to drive the car.

[jenshb]

Are any other brands targeted for thefts like these, or is it just BMW?

[Zheez]

Originally Posted by AshisogiJizo

Thanks. I did not realise that they had to do this. They told me that they checked for price of cars in my spec on Parkers and somewhere else and offered me the "average".

Yeah never accept the first offer they give you. My car got rear ended a few months ago and was written off. They gave me a poor offer and I went back with a few links proving that what they offered me was crap. Part of the reason they say they give lower offers is because most of the time you can get money off the advertised price but I gave a bunch of examples and said that even in the unlikely event I could get 20% off asking price, I'd still be in a far worse position than I was originally.

I gave mostly Autotrader links but also a couple on Ebay and Facebook marketplace. They caved in quite easily and gave me an offer about 20% higher without even questioning it. I could probably have pushed for more but it was a fair offer and I just needed to get a replacement car quickly.

I am amazed that they're writing the car off for this though. I know that replacing it with legit BMW parts at a dealer would not be cheap, but surely even BMW wouldn't charge 10k for this? Everything there is repairable with new connectors spliced on and surely even BMW have repair kits here. The OABR cable just needs new terminals and a new connector on it and even if the HSD and fakra cables did need replacing, they wouldn't involve an insane amount of work. Crazy.

I'm sure you could get that sorted out for under £2k. A new steering wheel and airbag for around £500 and a matched Evo/ATM unit for £1300 or so coded to your car. Then you'd just need to find someone to sort the fakra and OABR wires out for you. Worth seeing if they'll let you buy it back for a really cheap price if you're otherwise happy with the car.

[EvilDrPorkChop]

When our car was written off there was a £5k difference between the price they initially offered and what we settled at. Don't take their first offer.

[Pond]

Originally Posted by Watsey

^ this, absolutely.

Unlike assurance policies (which tend to have a fixed payout) insurance policies are meant to put you back into the position you were in before the incident which led to the claim.

Assurance means something that will happen, insurance is something that may happen. The devil's in the detail!

PS Don't buy parts from eBay, you could be buying your old shit back, which will exacerbate the problem.

I have a stupid cousin who bought his own car stereo back 3 times!

[Watsey]

Originally Posted by Pond

Assurance means something that will happen, insurance is something that may happen. The devil's in the detail!

PS Don't buy parts from eBay, you could be buying your old shit back, which will exacerbate the problem.

I have a stupid cousin who bought his own car stereo back 3 times!

Quite aware of the differences in the definitions, but I wasn't providing a definition. My point related to the differences in the monetary aspects of the cover.

Assurance policies almost always provide a fixed payout (a baseline defined at the commencement of the policy) which may also be index linked or have a fixed periodic incremental adjustment.

Insurance policies may have an indicative level of cover but the reality is that the settlement may increase or decrease depending on multiple factors which affect the current value of the item insured. Insurance payouts can, therefore, often be negotiated. The person which started this thread did not seem to be aware of this.

PS : Sorry to hear that you're related to a stupid person.

[AshisogiJizo]

Originally Posted by jenshb

Are any other brands targeted for thefts like these, or is it just BMW?

I would also like to know this. Reluctant to replace like for like in case they come back

[_F30_UK_]

Looks like my insurance experience has been different to people on here. When my Range Rover Sport was written off, they made me an offer which was too low and I rejected it. I found 4/5 similar cars on Autotrader for around 20% higher and sent them the results. They refused to even look at them and said we don't use anything other than Parkers and Glasses Guide for our valuations. We can increase our offer by £150 but that's the highest we will offer, and if you are not happy with it then you can go to the Ombudsman

[NotGotABimmer23]

Originally Posted by idi

Looks like my insurance experience has been different to people on here. When my Range Rover Sport was written off, they made me an offer which was too low and I rejected it. I found 4/5 similar cars on Autotrader for around 20% higher and sent them the results. They refused to even look at them and said we don't use anything other than Parkers and Glasses Guide for our valuations. We can increase our offer by £150 but that's the highest we will offer, and if you are not happy with it then you can go to the Ombudsman

Did you go to the Ombudsman?

[_F30_UK_]

Originally Posted by kylemacca01

Did you go to the Ombudsman?

No I didn't bother. It was during peak covid, and I was told it could take months for them to even get to case and I needed payout from the insurance company so I could purchase a replacement car. So I just accepted the insurance companies offer at the end.

I did however buy the car back from the insurance company for a lot less, repaired it myself and sold it on. and that made up for the 20% loss I made.

[Armaan]

Originally Posted by idi

No I didn't bother. It was during peak covid, and I was told it could take months for them to even get to case and I needed payout from the insurance company so I could purchase a replacement car. So I just accepted the insurance companies offer at the end.

I did however buy the car back from the insurance company for a lot less, repaired it myself and sold it on. and that made up for the 20% loss I made.

That's a fairly strange experience. Most industries cave at the prospect of a consumer involving the ombudsman - it can lead to quite severe penalties and close monitoring.

My pennies worth - they bluffed you.

Armaan

[Somebloke]

Originally Posted by idi

Looks like my insurance experience has been different to people on here. When my Range Rover Sport was written off, they made me an offer which was too low and I rejected it. I found 4/5 similar cars on Autotrader for around 20% higher and sent them the results. They refused to even look at them and said we don't use anything other than Parkers and Glasses Guide for our valuations. We can increase our offer by £150 but that's the highest we will offer, and if you are not happy with it then you can go to the Ombudsman

Who was the insurer for future reference?

[Markos ZimZimma]

Originally Posted by idi

No I didn't bother. It was during peak covid, and I was told it could take months for them to even get to case and I needed payout from the insurance company so I could purchase a replacement car. So I just accepted the insurance companies offer at the end.

I did however buy the car back from the insurance company for a lot less, repaired it myself and sold it on. and that made up for the 20% loss I made.

My guess is that they took advantage of the covid situation and played tough with many people in your situation. I've always heard of people rejecting the first offer then settling on a higher offer.