Can anyone help a very sad man!!

Hello everyone, i am a new member and could really do with some advice if anyone could help with my problem.  I have a lovely mk 1 golf which i bought from a guy who had spent thousands making it near perfect. I paid ?3000 for this which i considered a bargain for the condition of the vehicle was excellent.  I recently was hit from behind and it has smashed the rear end fairly badly. I know it can be repaired i have had a few quotes, but the insurance company are just pure evil.  They refuse to accept my vehicle is worth ?3000 and have offered me a disgusting figure of ?800 as they consider it a total loss.  They are purely going on the age of the vehicle and the mileage rather than the condition and real value.  It is upsetting to see that you can own a classic (in there own right) and have it treated like a piece of scrap metal, even though the guy who previously owned her used to take her to shows. The car was featured as car of the month in performance vw magazine, in the classifieds which is where i purchased it from, she was in fabulous condition.  I am now having to fight the insurance company for the extra money to repair my once lovely mk 1, the repair costs amount to approx ?1200 and they have offered me ?800 which is disgracful.  I'm sorry to rant on, on my first post but i am at my wits end and was wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem before.  Who maybe could offer any suggestions on what i can do. I would appreciate any help whatsoever, as i desperately want my car back on the road where she belongs.
Thank you in advance, Marsh.

It's really tough if you do not have an agreed value insurance.  One of the guys on here had a real problem with their insurance company over this sort of problem.  Can't remember who it was now - hopefully they will see this and give you some feedback.

btw if you need a rear panel I do them.

Hi and welcome to the club.. sorry to hear about your mk1 and that your insurance company is being like that! might be worth changing to classic insurance with an agreed value (check the insurance area as there's a few good places)

do you have any pictures of the damage?

is the rear quarter's damaged or axle twisted? if it's just a case of the rear panel and pulling a quarter out you should be able to get it done cheaper than that, Crazyquiff on here has new ones available which could help in the cost of repair!

sounds like is was (and I'm sure will be again) a very nice example!

Hope this helps

Ok! He beat me to it

Always difficult this, without the agreed valuation you are only entitled to the 'book' value for a car. With the Mk1 being a 20+ year old hatchback, ?800 is all you get.

You might want to try writing to the magazines that featured the car, asking them if they would write you a formal letter describing how good the car was (they obviously only feature stunning cars) and use that as proof of condition prior to the accident.

It will be a tough one though, shame to hear of this. Best of luck.

Cheers,

Drew.

Unlucky, but a reminder that any decent Mk1 should be on an agreed value policy.

I would suggest you gather all your receipts for the restoration and collect adverts for cars in a similar condition showing the true worth or your car. Also try and get some price guides from classic car magazines. You will have to fight it and may not get a satisfactory amount, but something is better than nothing.

Let us know how you get on and if we can help badger your insurance co for you.

Cheers
Rajan

Hello everyone,
I am overwhelmed by the response and help given.  Thank you all for your advice, my car was insured with adrian flux specialist cars.  Who really have not been very helpful at all. I know i should have gone through classic car insurers now and definitely will in the future.  I dont have any pictures of the damage as yet, but i could take some to show you all what has happened.  I am unfortunately not very good with cars mechanically i just love mk 1's, so i am not sure of the real extent of damage whether the axle is twisted or not.  To my untrained eye it looks like the rear panel could be pulled out though, and its good to hear that crazyquiff has new ones for sale.  I imagine i will be contacting you soon if i need one. I have a friend of my girlfriends dad coming to view the damage tonight as he does repairs and bodywork, so hopefully i will be a little wiser tomorrow.
I did present a strong case of the real value of my car by sending in receipts amounting to nearly ?4000 for all the work that the previous owner did.  Aswell as the magazine classifieds with my car in them(as car of the month), plus really good photographs of my car polished up for a show.  Also as someone already mentioned other examples of mk 1's for sale at the same price at the same high standard as mine was. They disregarded all that evidence so quickly it was frightening!!!  So now i am sending all the same information off to a solicitor for them to see if i have a case for a bigger settlement figure, fingers crossed!!!
I may write to the magazine aswell, as someone suggested that may help.
How do i go about putting a photo of my car with a post as i would love to show you all what she looked like before the accident, and i should show you the damage one aswell :cry:  As i am a real novice at putting photgraphs on these things!
Again thank you all for such a warm welcome and all the helpful advice, i shall keep you posted on how i get on.
Cheers, Marsh

Marsh,

best of luck.

To post pictures have alook at these posts:

http://www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=607&highlight=photobucket

http://www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1562&highlight=photobucket

Cheers

Rich

I am gutted for you mate…

It's a shame - Adrian Flux do Classic policies, so you would have thought they would be more understanding. Then again, when you pay for a classic policy, It is my understanding that you pay the broker for the value up to it's "Book" amount, the difference up to the agreed value is actually covered by someone else…

Good luck with the solicitor approach though…
AL.

Hi everyone,
Thanks for the links on how to post pictures crazyquiff, i will do so soon.  Just been looking at your car Al on your webpage shes a real beauty.  Especially like the original welsh/german flag headlining.
Given me some good ideas on how to improve mine in the future.

Well i had a guy come and view the damage last night and he assures me  he can do a top job, replacing the back panel and respraying the rear end all for a fair amount of money.  So i am alot happier today to know that she will be back on the road in no time, i will make sure i get classic car insurance in future.

Thanks for everyones help
Marsh

marsh said

  Just been looking at your car Al on your webpage shes a real beauty

Cheers - Glad you like it!

I think many of the people on here would probably avoid insurance claims and fix any damage themseleves. It's just not worth the hassle and costs incurred (Excess and hike in Premium due to claim etc…).
The benefit of having an agreed value policy would really show it's value should your pride and joy get totally destroyed or knicked…Touch wood, this will never happen to any of us!

Good news to hear the Mk1 can be rescued marsh. Lets have some pics up of your experience.

Keep us posted,

Cheers Karl

Hi everyone,
Just thought i'd show you all a picture of my car before the accident.
Hopefully she will look even better after shes repaired. I will show you the before and after photos when shes back on the road.

Thanks for the all the support,

Marsh 8)
 

Going to start an argument here I know, but…

Le Castellettes… best Mk1 wheel or what? :wink:

Cheers,

Drew.

Glad to hear it can be repaired!   :cheer:

looks stunning in the picture.

Le Castellettes… best Mk1 wheel or what?

I'd rather fit 3 spokes!

drew said

Going to start an argument here I know, but…

Le Castellettes… best Mk1 wheel or what? :wink:

Cheers,

Drew.

i love them castanets   Best standard mk1 wheel without a doubt 8) Are they forged and anodised?

I think it might have been Matt (moderator with a black Campaign) who had loads of problems after his accident. Not seen him post for a while now though. I think he sorted his insurance company out in the end.