[AuRavelling79]

So. On my way to work this morning. Teenaged lad pulls across my path.
Bang!

No one hurt.

Radiator punctured, Aircon pipes gone, as is the front grill and a headlight. Bonnet buckled. One front wing creased a bit.

Hey ho.

Fully comp with A plan. Being treated as not my fault, a good witness on scene and Police in attendance.

Only half a mile from home so cut away grille etc, nursed it back and emptied it on my drive.

Got a hire van - tank, pumps and battery from old van strapped into cargo points. It has a full bulkhead too. All working and ready to go. Will restrict myself to 400L.

Will tidy it up over the weekend.

Onward and upward!

[Always shining]

Good man for getting yourself up and running again 👍
I did the same when my transit was out of action. Benefits of simplicity with the system are the ease with which you can pull everything out and whack it in another van.

[EandM]

That's annoying.

At least you're ok - result.

Yes, that's why I always keep a spare Ranger handy.

Hope it gets sorted painlessly and quickly.

[AuRavelling79]

Good man for getting yourself up and running again 👍
I did the same when my transit was out of action. Benefits of simplicity with the system are the ease with which you can pull everything out and whack it in another van.

I got everything out and then my son in law took me to get the hire van and helped me move the tank, pump board and battery across. All working.

[Slacky]

Good job Malc!

[KS Cleaning]

Not great but a big positive that it hasn’t led to any down time👍🏻

[Rob.Hall]

Well done.
Glad nobody was injured.

[W.booler]

I’m toying with the idea of putting a 350 litre trailer system together, and a tow bar with electrics on the family car. Accidents do happen, and so do breakdowns! It would all pay for its self over time, and I have the space to store the trailer. I’m insured with A plan, and my policy provides me with a fully equipped window cleaning van if I’m in a no fault accident…

[AuRavelling79]

I’m toying with the idea of putting a 350 litre trailer system together, and a tow bar with electrics on the family car. Accidents do happen, and so do breakdowns! It would all pay for its self over time, and I have the space to store the trailer. I’m insured with A plan, and my policy provides me with a fully equipped window cleaning van if I’m in a no fault accident…

That would have been my second option. I have a trailer and my wife's car has a towbar.

In summer it would be fine as no freezing issues. However I would have to have bought a 250L tank as it only had a 400kg payload.

[simon w]

I've got everything insured with AS so a replacement fully equipped vehicle would be supplied in this situation, can't be doing down time.

Well done for getting sorted Gold, hope claim handling goes well

[AuRavelling79]

I've got everything insured with AS so a replacement fully equipped vehicle would be supplied in this situation, can't be doing down time.

Well done for getting sorted Gold, hope claim handling goes well

I did think of that option. Dan the man has it but it took a few days for the van to become available. As I'm DiY it was about a two half days work for me to do.

[dazmond]

So. On my way to work this morning. Teenaged lad pulls across my path.
Bang!

No one hurt.

Radiator punctured, Aircon pipes gone, as is the front grill and a headlight. Bonnet buckled. One front wing creased a bit.

Hey ho.

Fully comp with A plan. Being treated as not my fault, a good witness on scene and Police in attendance.

Only half a mile from home so cut away grille etc, nursed it back and emptied it on my drive.

Got a hire van - tank, pumps and battery from old van strapped into cargo points. It has a full bulkhead too. All working and ready to go. Will restrict myself to 400L.

Will tidy it up over the weekend.

Onward and upward!

Well done for living in the solution Malc and getting yourself up and running again in a short time.hopefully your van can be fixed or is it a write off?

I would use my backpack and 4 barrels in my car if that happened to me(ive had to do this once before).not ideal but it would keep me going for a few weeks if need be.

[AuRavelling79]

So. On my way to work this morning. Teenaged lad pulls across my path.
Bang!

No one hurt.

Radiator punctured, Aircon pipes gone, as is the front grill and a headlight. Bonnet buckled. One front wing creased a bit.

Hey ho.

Fully comp with A plan. Being treated as not my fault, a good witness on scene and Police in attendance.

Only half a mile from home so cut away grille etc, nursed it back and emptied it on my drive.

Got a hire van - tank, pumps and battery from old van strapped into cargo points. It has a full bulkhead too. All working and ready to go. Will restrict myself to 400L.

Will tidy it up over the weekend.

Onward and upward!

Well done for living in the solution Malc and getting yourself up and running again in a short time.hopefully your van can be fixed or is it a write off?

I would use my backpack and 4 barrels in my car if that happened to me(ive had to do this once before).not ideal but it would keep me going for a few weeks if need be.

At the moment it is assumed it is not a write off. Similar vans go for a ridiculously high 9 or 10K in Autotrader. However it hasn't been collected for assessment yet and I know the radiator and aircon have failed since the crash so it might depend on whether that is pipework, condenser etc. or even geometry. At the moment I would guess 90% not a write off.

And I would like the van back if possible.

[Perfect Windows]

At the moment it is assumed it is not a write off. Similar vans go for a ridiculously high 9 or 10K in Autotrader. However it hasn't been collected for assessment yet and I know the radiator and aircon have failed since the crash so it might depend on whether that is pipework, condenser etc. or even geometry. At the moment I would guess 90% not a write off.

And I would like the van back if possible.

I'm pretty much certain that you can always get the van back. Have a look at some of the specialist forums as they'll tell you how to do it.

One of our guys was told his van was being written off and all he did was keep telling them that it was his van so they didn't have the power to do anything to it. At one point they tried to get him to collect what gear was his in the van as it was going to be scrapped but he told them to get stuffed - it wasn't their van to scrap. Eventually they gave up.

You have rights in this but don't expect the insurers to tell you. They'll act like it's all a done deal.

Now, prepare for a barrage of advice (probably telling you I'm wrong) but, as ever, remember we're window cleaners not insurance experts.

Tort law is on your side: "Tort law allows individuals who have had a wrong committed against them to claim damages against the person who has committed the wrong. It encompasses a vast amount of different types of legal issues.

Tort a civil law that aims to return individuals back in the position they were in before the wrong was committed against them to ensure they do not suffer any unnecessary loss." Taking a hit when an insurer decides to write off your vehicle is far from ensuring you do not suffer any unnecessary loss.

Don't let your insurers steamroll you. Remember that their motivation is to settle this business as cheaply as possible for them.  They may be your insurers but they are not on your side in any way, shape or form. Prepare yourself by reading up on the subject. Treat your insurer as the enemy, not helpful friends. Their and your interests in this matter are opposed.

Vin

[Splash & dash]

At the moment it is assumed it is not a write off. Similar vans go for a ridiculously high 9 or 10K in Autotrader. However it hasn't been collected for assessment yet and I know the radiator and aircon have failed since the crash so it might depend on whether that is pipework, condenser etc. or even geometry. At the moment I would guess 90% not a write off.

And I would like the van back if possible.

I'm pretty much certain that you can always get the van back. Have a look at some of the specialist forums as they'll tell you how to do it.

One of our guys was told his van was being written off and all he did was keep telling them that it was his van so they didn't have the power to do anything to it. At one point they tried to get him to collect what gear was his in the van as it was going to be scrapped but he told them to get stuffed - it wasn't their van to scrap. Eventually they gave up.

You have rights in this but don't expect the insurers to tell you. They'll act like it's all a done deal.

Now, prepare for a barrage of advice (probably telling you I'm wrong) but, as ever, remember we're window cleaners not insurance experts.

Tort law is on your side: "Tort law allows individuals who have had a wrong committed against them to claim damages against the person who has committed the wrong. It encompasses a vast amount of different types of legal issues.

Tort a civil law that aims to return individuals back in the position they were in before the wrong was committed against them to ensure they do not suffer any unnecessary loss." Taking a hit when an insurer decides to write off your vehicle is far from ensuring you do not suffer any unnecessary loss.

Don't let your insurers steamroll you. Remember that their motivation is to settle this business as cheaply as possible for them.  They may be your insurers but they are not on your side in any way, shape or form. Prepare yourself by reading up on the subject. Treat your insurer as the enemy, not helpful friends. Their and your interests in this matter are opposed.

Vin

Insurance companies work on the cost to repair the vehicle if it’s deemed to be beyond economic repair then they right it off ,it’s cheaper for them to do this and either pay  out or supply  another  vehicle , not saying it’s right but that’s how it works in a nut shell .

[AuRavelling79]

Anyone had discussions with insurers about value of vehicle against write off value when the amounts are close?

Ever asked for a breakdown of the cost to repair?

How about extras on the vehicle? I have a reversing camera, a relay charger and a towbar as extras.

And condition/mileage etc.

[High-Tower]

Anyone had discussions with insurers about value of vehicle against write off value when the amounts are close?

Ever asked for a breakdown of the cost to repair?

How about extras on the vehicle? I have a reversing camera, a relay charger and a towbar as extras.

And condition/mileage etc.

I had a van written off and was prepared to battle them over the value of it, in the end they offered me a very fair pay-out then I bought it back for about £600 and continued using it. I was quids in, in the end!

Keep track of similar examples up for sale with evidence, they have a little room to manoeuvre but don't expect miracles.

[AuRavelling79]

Anyone had discussions with insurers about value of vehicle against write off value when the amounts are close?

Ever asked for a breakdown of the cost to repair?

How about extras on the vehicle? I have a reversing camera, a relay charger and a towbar as extras.

And condition/mileage etc.

I had a van written off and was prepared to battle them over the value of it, in the end they offered me a very fair pay-out then I bought it back for about £600 and continued using it. I was quids in, in the end!

Keep track of similar examples up for sale with evidence, they have a little room to manoeuvre but don't expect miracles.

Thanks for this.

How did you get the needed repairs done? Was it damaged beyond bodywork?

[Bungle]

So. On my way to work this morning. Teenaged lad pulls across my path.
Bang!

No one hurt.

Radiator punctured, Aircon pipes gone, as is the front grill and a headlight. Bonnet buckled. One front wing creased a bit.

Hey ho.

Fully comp with A plan. Being treated as not my fault, a good witness on scene and Police in attendance.

Only half a mile from home so cut away grille etc, nursed it back and emptied it on my drive.

Got a hire van - tank, pumps and battery from old van strapped into cargo points. It has a full bulkhead too. All working and ready to go. Will restrict myself to 400L.

Will tidy it up over the weekend.

Onward and upward!

I would use my backpack and 4 barrels in my car if that happened to me(ive had to do this once before).not ideal but it would keep me going for a few weeks if need be.

Four barrels will earn you a ton max. Bugger that. I'd go to the holiday home for a week or fall back on my many thousands of pounds I have in the bank that's saved for a rainy day. Or live on beans for a week 

[wightsurf]

Unless you claim against the other driver for your increased renewable premiums , your insurance will go up on renewal. You need to check this with your insurance company and ask them  specifically ( will my insurance increase because of this accident) they will fob you off with what you been told so far.