Thread: Advice needed - they want to write off my Defender

As the innocent party you are legally entitled to have your property returned to the correct condition it was in.

Whose insurance is looking to write it off? Yours or theirs?
Seek legal advice, start with your insurer if you haven’t already.

Just spoke with the assessor.

He says that the car's salvage value is only $35k despite market value being much higher. Turns out my agreed value had dropped over the years to put it just above that. I don't know how I've missed that, but my bad. Despite that, I still don't understand how a repair cost of $25k makes something worth $35k (to them) a write off. Can anyone here shed light on this?

The panelbeater's quote came in at about $26k,

That would have to be the most expensive paint job in history.

Why not get a quote from a vehicle painter . I would have thought about 12K would be a fair quote to completely strip and repaint a vehicle .

Unless there is additional damage to the vehicle that you have not noted.
Is the vehicle going to be a statutory write off or a repairable write off.

A repairable write-off is a vehicle that’s been assessed as a total loss but doesn’t meet the criteria for a statutory write-off.
The VIN is recorded as a repairable write-off in a written-off vehicle register and the vehicle may be re-registered after it:

• is repaired
• passes a Queensland safety certificate inspection
• passes a written-off vehicle inspection

In any case I think you can refuse a write off and insist on repair.
In NSW if a vehicle is written off and has been owned by the owner for 28days prior to the accident it can be re registered
Regards PhilipA

That's a ridiculous quote for a respray. The paint shop is scamming the insurance company.

Suggest you get another paint shop to quote as a non-insurance job.
If its significantly better, then buy it as a repairable write-off.

Thank you both.

It's my insurance Co. that's seeking to write this off. I've just sent an e-mail to their claims dept asking if they'd taken into consideration the fact that the cause of the damage and the party responsible is known, and therefore they should be able to seek full reimbursement of their costs. Let's see what they say.

Philip,

It's not the paint damage and subsequent respray that's seen the cost climb so high. It's what the two goons did with their Scotchbrite pads that ensured this was no easy fix. Every piece of glass, every bit of anodized aluminium trim, my spotties, you name it. FULL strip and replacement of almost everything that can't be painted...

I'll wait to see what the insurer comes back with in response to my query above, and the assessor tells me he's going to speak with his state manager to "see what can be done", after I told him I was not at all interested in letting this vehicle go. Failing a decent resolution here then I guess I'll be needing legal advice.

2020 gets better and better.

Where in Qld do you live?

I know a very good panel shop in Brisbane that specialises in Defender panel work.

If you don't want to put up your location here,PM me.

I know it's a bit late and doesn't help you any now, but paint overspray can more often than not be taken care of with a clay bar (like plasticine, that panel beaters use) which you can buy from Repco, Autobarn etc.

Was first introduced to it around 20 years ago when a paint shop's overspray at Executive airport in Sacramento went all over the company's Turbo Commander, including the plexiglass windscreen (made from unobtainium apparently). My mate went out and bought some from Pep Boys and then demonstrated it to the boss, who had been freaking out a tad! Aircraft paintjobs are not cheap and windscreens are horrendously expensive on aircraft that haven't been manufactured for a couple of decades! They went over the whole aircraft with the clay bar(s) and the aircraft cleaned up pretty well.

The panel beaters you used sound like complete idiots to do that sort of damage though, leaving you in a horrible position. Good luck with getting it sorted.

Cheers cripesamighty, I'll keep the clay bar in mind for future reference. I have one in the garage for the non-Defender car. Never bothered taking it to my pride and joy, funnily enough.

Originally Posted by cripesamighty

The panel beaters you used sound like complete idiots to do that sort of damage. Good luck with it.

I should clarify for you and anyone else seeing this: the overspray was housepaint from the neighbour's place, sprayed by two numpties on a windy day when they should have packed up and gone home. My car was under our carport, so exposed at the sides. When the two blokes realised what they'd done they ran over and tried to remove the evidence by scrubbing at my car with Scotchbrite pads dunked in buckets of sugar soap, as my wife screamed at them to stop. Heaven knows what they were thinking.