Help! Do I need to leave my spare wheel in a vehicle due to be collected by Copart?

[wrendubs]

Hello

 

First post here, hello

 

I was in a crash 2 weeks ago. My beloved Skoda fabia greenline estate (which I have been told is a total loss) is being collected tomorrow by Copart

 

In the meantime, because everything is going so slowly and I need a new vehicle for my business, I have found myself a replacement vehicle (Roomster). My Fabia had a full sized spare wheel (which I have used a few times over the years) and the new roomster does not, but it does have space for one

 

What I'd like to do: keep the spare wheel and kit, put it straight into my new roomster

 

Problem: Copart have asked me to leave the spare wheel in the vehicle

 

What should I do? Will they just base the settlement figure on this? In which case if they deduct the cost of the spare wheel and kit, it'll just save me the job of sourcing my own. Or will they reduce it by a stupid amount and am I better off being honest, then sourcing my own wheel?

 

How would they even know if there was a wheel in the fabia before the crash? 

 

Thanks in advance!

[Warrior193]

Hello, welcome to the forum. No, whip it out before they collect it. So many vehicles are supplied without them nowadays anyway.

Unlikely that Copart would know if your vehicle originally came with a spare. 

[wrendubs]

22 minutes ago, Warrior193 said:

Hello, welcome to the forum. No, whip it out before they collect it. So many vehicles are supplied without them nowadays anyway.

Unlikely that Copart would know if your vehicle originally came with a spare. 

 

Thank you for your fast reply. They did specifically request that it was left in there, but my feeling is....how do they know I had one

 

I think it was probably factory standard when I got the Fabia? It was a 2012, maybe they'd go by that. I'm already worried I'm going to get a rubbish settlement offer. But it would be sooo convenient to keep the wheel

[landroverbodger]

what size spare do you need? i have a wheel with a 205/55r16 never been on a car. it was to fit a octavia if its any help to you and i am in norwich.   

[kodiaqsportline]

If it were me then I'd remove it. There's no legal obligation to carry a temporary spare or repair gunge here in the UK. If the tyre is missing, it won't make any difference to the settlement figure.

 

Just had a look a the prices on Autotrader. Obviously depends on mileage but the likelyhood is the car will be broken up for spares anyway.

 

Seems a bit odd that they're taking the car away without already giving you a settlement figure? Until they payout then It's YOUR car not the insurer's to do with what they please.

Edited 25 September, 2023 by kodiaqsportline

[wrendubs]

20 hours ago, kodiaqsportline said:

If it were me then I'd remove it. There's no legal obligation to carry a temporary spare or repair gunge here in the UK. If the tyre is missing, it won't make any difference to the settlement figure.

 

Just had a look a the prices on Autotrader. Obviously depends on mileage but the likelyhood is the car will be broken up for spares anyway.

 

Seems a bit odd that they're taking the car away without already giving you a settlement figure? Until they payout then It's YOUR car not the insurer's to do with what they please.

 

They said they need to collect it in order to assess the vehicle and then value it for a settlement figure

[wrendubs]

On 25/09/2023 at 06:36, landroverbodger said:

what size spare do you need? i have a wheel with a 205/55r16 never been on a car. it was to fit a octavia if its any help to you and i am in norwich.   

 

Thank you, to be honest I'm not sure, I'm struggling to find out the spec of the wheel needed for a roomster and I'm not car savvy beyond the basics

 

In the end I kept my fabia spare wheel in the garage and it's been taken for assessment and valuation without it, in another thread I asked if this would fit in my fabia and it seems it'll be okay are a temporary spare, but maybe it's not exactly the same. So I think I'm okay, I guess I'll see if it fits in the gap when my roomster arrives!

[kodiaqsportline]

10 hours ago, wrendubs said:

 

They said they need to collect it in order to assess the vehicle and then value it for a settlement figure

 

It' maybe me mis-understanding this but I'm confused.  You've posted the insurance & legal issues section.  If your car has been written off then the insurer will pay out it's market value BEFORE the accident occured. I can't understand why they're taking the car away to give you a price when you say it's all ready been written off ?   🤪

[StevesTruck]

If you let them play that game they've got you against the wall to start with. I'd be adopting the "it's not going anywhere til it's been paid for" stance. They can send an assessor out. 

[wrendubs]

11 hours ago, kodiaqsportline said:

 

It' maybe me mis-understanding this but I'm confused.  You've posted the insurance & legal issues section.  If your car has been written off then the insurer will pay out it's market value BEFORE the accident occured. I can't understand why they're taking the car away to give you a price when you say it's all ready been written off ?   🤪

 

I don't know, there's no instruction manual for car insurance claims and having never been through one before I've gone by what my insurance company have told me. I'm frustrated with it all, don't know what should be happening, don't feel like I'm getting justice for what's happened and I seem to be the one running around chasing everything up despite it not being my fault meanwhile the guilty party carries on with life.... ☹️

[J.R.]

1 hour ago, StevesTruck said:

If you let them play that game they've got you against the wall to start with. I'd be adopting the "it's not going anywhere til it's been paid for" stance. They can send an assessor out. 

 

Spot on, the OP is willingly going down the path towards being effed over, the same path that Graham Butcher took, the value of a spare wheel which the car may never have had (big hint!) pales into insignificance compared to how much the OP is dropping his trousers for.

 

The one thing to remember is the vehicle remains your property until the insurance payout has been agreed and paid.

[wrendubs]

1 minute ago, J.R. said:

 

Spot on, the OP is willingly going down the path towards being effed over, the same path that Graham Butcher took, the value of a spare wheel which the car may never have had (big hint!) pales into insignificance compared to how much the OP is dropping his trousers for.

 

The one thing to remember is the vehicle remains your property until the insurance payout has been agreed and paid.

 

I can assure you I'm not willing to be screwed over, I just didn't realise I was

 

The written off vehicle has already been collected last week before any replies to say otherwise

 

Can't go back in time, but I did remove the spare wheel 🙂

[J.R.]

20 minutes ago, wrendubs said:

don't feel like I'm getting justice for what's happened and I seem to be the one running around chasing everything up despite it not being my fault meanwhile the guilty party carries on with life.... ☹️

 

You believe that the third party deserves a death sentence?

 

His insurers will be playing exactly the same game with him and you both will see your renewal premiums double.

[wrendubs]

Just now, J.R. said:

 

You believe that the third party deserves a death sentence?

 

His insurers will be playing exactly the same game with him and you both will see your renewal premiums double.

 

Haha no of course not! Their car was hardly damaged and I'm the one spending my life on the phone trying to figure out what's going on 

 

I just want it all to be over and to get back what my car was worth so I'm not out of pocket

[Warrior193]

Whatever you do, don't accept their 1st settlement offer if you consider it too low given the vehicles condition and mileage immediately before the incident. Unfortunately, you may have to spend more time providing comparative prices for similar vehicle.   

[wrendubs]

1 minute ago, Warrior193 said:

Whatever you do, don't accept their 1st settlement offer if you consider it too low given the vehicles condition and mileage immediately before the incident. Unfortunately, you may have to spend more time providing comparative prices for similar vehicle.   

 

Thanks for the tip. I'll look up similar vehicles in the same condition/spec to use to argue with them!

[J.R.]

Unfortunately they now hold all the cards including your car which they are treating as their own, it's probably already been auctioned off.

[kodiaqsportline]

Hold on a minute people....

 

WRENDUB - are you quite sure you're providing us with the correct information because I'm struggling to understand any of this. Are you 100% sure the car has already been written off? Are you sure the insurer hasn't already settled the claim?   Just looking at your other thread re: having provided your insurer with the wrong information...  There's a light bulb going off in my head thinking along the lines of the insurer may be giving you sweet Fanny Adams for your car hence it's market value post accident rather than pre. 

 

A few folk have mentioned assessors coming out...   WHY?  If the car has already been written off the the OP will receive it's market value. You don't require an inspector to know it's market value if it's being written off. Give me the date of registration, the model, the mileage and I'll tell you what it's market value is. Put the car's details into somewhere like WeBuyAnyCar etc,  take the lowest price and you won't be a million miles away from it's market value.

 

Remember, we're not talking about a high end BMW where if an 'i' isn't dotted or a 'T' isn't crossed it could affect the price by many thousands of pounds,  it's a 2014 Fabia which in the grand scheme of the insurance industry, is worth **** all.  The cost of sending out an assessor alone would eat in to that market value payout.  

 

If they did want to make money, it'll be charging the 3rd party insurer for hire cars and injuries and other admin work but as for the car itself is concerned? It's not worth arguing about.

 

There's defo something strange about this. No insurer would take a car to a salvage auction to assess it's worth before making an offer to their client - there has to be something the OP hasn't understood correctly.

 

Edited 27 September, 2023 by kodiaqsportline

[J.R.]

2 hours ago, kodiaqsportline said:

WRENDUB - are you quite sure you're providing us with the correct information

 

2 hours ago, kodiaqsportline said:

There's defo something strange about this. No insurer would take a car to a salvage auction to assess it's worth before making an offer to their client - there has to be something the OP hasn't understood correctly.

 

My money is on the former, I had not realised that the two threads were from the same contributor.

[wrendubs]

2 hours ago, kodiaqsportline said:

Hold on a minute people....

 

WRENDUB - are you quite sure you're providing us with the correct information because I'm struggling to understand any of this. Are you 100% sure the car has already been written off? Are you sure the insurer hasn't already settled the claim?   Just looking at your other thread re: having provided your insurer with the wrong information...  There's a light bulb going off in my head thinking along the lines of the insurer may be giving you sweet Fanny Adams for your car hence it's market value post accident rather than pre. 

 

A few folk have mentioned assessors coming out...   WHY?  If the car has already been written off the the OP will receive it's market value. You don't require an inspector to know it's market value if it's being written off. Give me the date of registration, the model, the mileage and I'll tell you what it's market value is. Put the car's details into somewhere like WeBuyAnyCar etc,  take the lowest price and you won't be a million miles away from it's market value.

 

Remember, we're not talking about a high end BMW where if an 'i' isn't dotted or a 'T' isn't crossed it could affect the price by many thousands of pounds,  it's a 2014 Fabia which in the grand scheme of the insurance industry, is worth **** all.  The cost of sending out an assessor alone would eat in to that market value payout.  

 

If they did want to make money, it'll be charging the 3rd party insurer for hire cars and injuries and other admin work but as for the car itself is concerned? It's not worth arguing about.

 

There's defo something strange about this. No insurer would take a car to a salvage auction to assess it's worth before making an offer to their client - there has to be something the OP hasn't understood correctly.

 

 

Absolutely, I have no reason to lie in an anonymous forum

 

I submitted photos of my car after the accident and was informed it was a total loss, and that they would need to arrange for Copart to collect the vehicle then wait 5 days for a settlement offer. When I called the insurer to ask for a settlement offer they said they could not give me one until the vehicle had been collected as they needed to confirm it was written off

 

My insurers have not been easy to deal with, and the entire process has left me extremely confused, as since I've come to this forum I'm given the impression that my car should never have been taken away, but there was no reason for me to think that my insurers were not doing something routine

 

The incorrect job is a different issue entirely which has only come to light when I was sent a form to fill in about finding out who is at fault

[wrendubs]

So is this not a normal way for a claim to be handled? 

 

I reported the crash

They asked for photos

I sent photos

They said it was a total loss

I asked for a settlement offer

They told me they need to collect the vehicle first and wait 5 days

It's now been 5 days (although 2 days were weekend)

I'll probably ring them tomorrow for an update and wait about another 3 hours for them to answer the phone

 

I have no point of reference to compare this to, I've never been in a crash before and never had to claim on any insurance

[StevesTruck]

My suggestion would be have a browse on copart's auction for a cars like yours and see what the PAV is listed as,

[StevesTruck]

3 hours ago, J.R. said:

 

 

My money is on the former, I had not realised that the two threads were from the same contributor.

 

A lot of them do take them to copart, generally if it's clearly going to be an economic write off, rather than go to the lengths of sending the assessor out all over the place, when they can just walk down a row of cars in the yard, or use coparts own assessor.