mysubaru5

That's wot most folks say, they really don't like it when there's a drawn-out argument goin on - tym is ££££££ :0) I may as well hang out to here wot the FO say!!

Policy says Subaru Legacy 2L turbo The brokers knew I wanted to cover it for 10K tho, cos it is a rare car - they had plenty of info offered to know what I meant. When they repeated the 10K detail when workin out the premiums, I assumed they used the info given! My argument against the broker Swinton is they shd av warned me the likely book price issue in event of any claim, as maj. of us ordinary folk don't know the in's and out's of it - why I got a broker to guide me in the 1st place! F Ombudsmn said that question shd never be asked "what do you value your vehicle at" without offerin simple guidance on wot wd actually happen in a claim, They're chasin that angle, which I think is the best angle to go at. It's a mis-sell of ins which the FO will sort out hopefully sooooon!!! mysubaru5

The bloke from the brokers asked me "what is your car worth", so I said "it's been covered for 4K with you for 5 yrs. It's just had 4.5K spent on 4 new doors and 2 front wings and total re-spray, plus Subaru UK, Birmingham recently told me how rare my vehicle is, so I wish to put a value on it of 10K; he then said it was a market value policy, and then went on to quote etc and the policy was agreed. I now know that was not an 'agreed price' policy, which I thought it was. I still argue that you have to find same model on the market to even start to compare (which is wot Sian from assessors lot said 7 days ago!!!), but his egit manager then downloaded it all back to sq 1 :0( I'm not acceptin a penny from the thieves, my prized scooby stays in bodyshop locked away, havin a well-earned rest :0) I'm hopin your BinL may help Jonny, and I've been given the name of a bloke who was an ins assessor a few yrs bak, who myt have some ideas how to skip the smallprint stuff??? I'll keep you posted :0) Ere's a pic of my scooby, with egit's vehicle just pulled away from the smash - they tried to drive away, as they hadn't seen me standin the other side of my scooby. I ran round and thudded on their back window, then got the camera out. It was 1845hrs & dark, so damage doesn't show but whole wing needed as it hit centre point nr petrol cap and pipe; I won't av it knocked out in any case, as it's an original wing 20yrs old & wudn't take it. mysubaru5

Cheers for the bak-up, it helpS when things are so crap!! Basically, all the companies involved in this sorry mess are trying to shaft me: Swinton (broker) now rekon they 'made a mistake' when they put £10,000 on the policy - yeah ryt, they made a mistake twice then, as that valuation was on the 2013 and 2014 policies! F Ombudsman won't believe em hopefully - I sent them pages of telephone calls back/forth Covea (insurance Co) have said it's Swinton's responsibility, as there 'seems to have been an administrative error, so F Ombudsman has gone to Swinton to go in great detail into how they sold me the policy in the first place, using wot guidelines etc etc. Quindell - contracted in by Swinton when it's a no-fault claim to sort courtesy car and assessor out - that's a joke :0( TechReport, assessor Co, who've messed about terribly - 1 offer of £295, then 3 days later reduced it to £190 cos they'd just seen a bit of rust on the opposite back wheel arch!!!!! Then got a call 24.4.14 from a new lad Sian at TechReport to say they were re-looking at it, and accepted it was a rare car, as they'd eventually spoken with Adrian at Subaru UK, Birmingham, who confirmed it was a 'very rare car indeed'. He'd searched for days and eventually found one similar Legacy at £2,200, but said the spec was nowhere near as good as mine, so he was escalatin it all to his manager to get a final decision on how to put a fair market price on my scooby. Two days ago, the manager rang me to say he'd taken the offer back to £190, as "it's an old Legacy with high mileage, and he cudn't justify anything higher". It was a long conversation, I gave im a hard time, but he still wouldn't budge. I asked how his Co cd take notice of Subaru UK one day, then totally dismiss it a week later - he wudn't comment :0) The only pic I have is attached - my scooby was taken away next day, so I didn't get chance to take daylyt pics, but I didn't think it mattered, as I expected a straight4wd claim, being completely no-fault. I had a neighbour shoppin, and she'd just got into my scooby parked in an invalid bay when the egit in the next bay did a 20 point turn (so's not to reverse out) then hit my driver-side wing, knockin petrol pipe to boot, as the driver prob wasn't able to reverse - aged abt 75??? At least I'm lucky there's CCTV footage of it which they're keepin thankfully, and will help if I go to small-claims court etc etc?? Can't see how to attach a photo ????? mysubaru5

Good to hear from u Jonny, My broker (Swinton) sent claim to Quindell, middle agent dealin with 'no-fault' clms, sortin courtesy car out and assessor from TechReport. this idiot ringin yest is from TechReport, Broker deals on behalf of my insurance co Covea - they're all recokin they depend on final assessor opinion, which is crap :0( I'd realli apprec solid advice on this nytmare :0( Cheers, mysubaru5

Well folks, a sad new turn to my scooby insurance saga; bloke who is Manager at TechReport (assessor company) rang to say in his view my car is still only worth £190; he does says 'loads of Subaru Legacy saloons were made' and he puts no value on it being an 'unusual vehicle'. He is boss to the young lad (Sian), who rang me 24.4.14 to be so positive, talkin about 'at least £2,200 for a car in not as good a nick as yours" etc etc. His view has been totally ditched, and his boss has taken over the case; If I'd av seen im face2face, I'd av thumped him. The bar-steward was so arrogant and patronising, it wasn't a good phone call, he kept on sayin "rarity doesn't come into it". I sed "forget rarity, no-fault claim shd never end like this. I gave im a bad tym tho, made im struggle with any reasonin, but his decision is 'final'. Well it won't be, cos I won't accept any of the trash they thro at me! Jonny, is your BinLaw available for a chat about this unbeleeevably sorry saga - wot wd any of you do?? I've written to the broker, leaving em in NO doubt about my anger at all that's happened - disgusting, nothing less than that!!!! Worried sik, mysubaru5 Mysubaru5

I know you'll ALL luv to hear about the amazin progress today :0) I wrote to those concerned as promised, but still got nasty letters from Quindell insisting they were coming for the hire car, as I'd turned down their assessor's valuation of £190 (done by TechReport!). I got a call from another assessor from TR today, saying they'd been speakin to one of the top men at Subaru UK, Birmingham (where I asked them to go 6 weeks ago!!!). They confirmed my scooby is very rare indeed, so now the new assessor bloke is saying my market value policy will allow them to offer me market value far higher than previously offered. Sian from PR is really keen to top this challenge, as it's a complaint like he's never dealt with before. He's trolled 100's of internet searches to find a scooby anything like mine. The nearest he's got is a two year younger version, but with a twin turbo, of which there were many more made. The price for that one was £2,200, and Sian said it's "no-where near as good as your Legacy". I couldn't believe wot he was sayin, and said it was utter relief that someone at last was actually listenin to my many complaints. He's moving it up to his manager, as he can't find a model like it in any 'book price' paperwork, and he says this is a unique situation. I said the 'uniqueness of the situation matched the uniqueness of my scooby, to which he laughed. He also rang Swinton and Q to say "back off this customer, as there's been far too much stress caused to an innocent claimant". He was angry I'd had yet another nasty call from Q, and a Rec Del letter yest saying there would be legal proceedings taken if I didn't hand the courtesy car back. He told S&Q to put everything on hold, as all the delays re valuation were of no fault of mine, just the opposite. I am now goin to keep the car until a proper 'market price' valuation has been agreed. I told him I'd joined this Club, and had been given loads of great tips on wot to do next. I told him I'd been to Prodrive (thanks Scooby Pete); Prodrive responded same day to say they were sure it's a rare car, but couldn't give any spec, as they had only handled the same model used in McCrea's rallies. However, they recommend I approach International Motors Ltd, who have thousands of spec details on such cars, so hopefully they might help prove the actual rarity. Sian is impressed with my determination to win through, and at long last it looks as though sense is about to prevail to save my classic car??? I asked Sian wot wd be the best thing to do re insurance once this mess is sorted; he recomended Adrian Flux (nice one Gambit) and I can't wait to get to them for sensible and professional insurance cover once my car is fixed. So it seems to be goin in the same direction as your claim Jonny b, now approachin a decent offer, enuff to get my prized scooby properly repaired. I'll keep you all posted - cheers galore, mysubaru5

Right, all this excellent advice has given me a grand plan! Your consensus is, no fault, no pay - simple :0) I'm gonna write a letter as follows to Swinton (broker), Covea (insurer) and Quinell (in betweeners):- I remind you that the accident was of no fault of my own. I require the damage done to my vehicle repaired and in the interim period I require a vehicle for my own use (as covered in my insurance policy). Yours ............................. I will go to Prodrive tho, as I need to get proper advice as to how rare my scooby is, and once I get her back on the road, she'll be covered with a proper classic insurance Co as a classic car!!!! I could maybe's do with talkin with your BinL Jonny - I'll pay for his time if he cd help sort the legalities of the insurance 'small print' out, which is wot they're usin to hammer me just now!!!! Cheers everyone for helpin me keep a tight hold of a classic Colin McC scoooby :0) If he were still around, I'd be havin a chat!!!

Nope, but now you've raised that query, I certainly WILL !!!!!!! Cheers for that - mysubaru5

Brilliant advice from you all, and it's given me a lot to seriously take into account. The assessor said it's a Class C write-off (as things stand). I rang the broker on 11.3.14 (morning after accident) to ask "what is my car valued at" before I actually said I'd claim. A bloke from their office confirmed it was 10K, I then formally said I wanted to make a claim. They passed it directly to Quindell, who sort out no-fault claims, and sort courtesy car and assessor out. It's the assessor Q have taken on who first said it's worth £290. A week later he rang me to say he'd been to have another look and saw some rust on the opposite rear wing, so he was reducing the value to £190. I asked him what he was comparing my car with - he said he'd been to Glass for book-price, but I said there wouldn't be another model to compare with, so that can't be right!!!!! He said he'd never take into a/c the rarity of a car, but Quindell said they will if I can get enough proof of rarity, and make the assessor re-think. They said another way round the C car not being withdrawn is to enter into an 'interim agreement' which allows time to gather information. I asked wot the downside would be (as I'm sure there will be one) and he said I'd have chance to get another assessor involved, the two assessors would then discuss and try to come to an arrangement. I asked Q yesterday for their 'interim agreement' stuff in writing and email it to me; all they've sent is an accident form to fill in, no sign of any interim agreement details for me to read through. I don't trust them any more than the brokers, and I've told them so. The bloke who has the car (a/w bodywork job) says he knows it's a one-off car, and he reckons I've a good case, but that isn't enough to impress the assessor or Q!

The 10K was agreed over the phone with the broker's rep, after I'd said there was £4,500 bodyworks done two months before, on top of 4k valuation which already stood on my policy. I then told the rep how Subaru Birmingham had told me it was one of 4 very rare versions of this model coming into the UK. They then agreed the 10K, and it's been on my policy for two years. I've been paying premiums to match that. The brokers are now saying "we made an error in putting 10K onto the policy doc" - so either way I say it's their responsibility :0)

Ta very much for all your input. The problem is I haven't got any cash to fix it, which is why I made sure I insured it for enuff dosh to cover most eventualities :0( A no-fault claimant should never end up in this tight corner??????? This is my fifth Scooby, with by far the best engine of any of the first 4 - she's not gettin scrapped, that's for sure, but need to fight my corner with as many big bullets as poss! Cheers, mysubaru5

Hi to all Subaru Owners Club members, I'm really needing help to prevent my prized Subaru Legacy saloon from being scrapped, following an insurance claim! Another driver hit my car when it was parked, and I was walking back to it. I've put in a claim (obviously, as I'm an innocent claimant!) but the insurance situation has become an absolute nightmare. I'll describe my prized model: Legacy Series 1, 2L turbo saloon - M reg Single turbo with water intercooler Subaru HO Birmingham confirmed 5 yrs ago that I had a very rare model, and were surprised there were any left. They believed it was one of four models brought into the UK in around 1990. I had new doors and front wings fitted 2 yrs ago, to keep it in good condition. I have a Vanguard model of my vehicle, and the write-up says: "Subaru did not officially sell the Series 1 turbocharged Legacy in the UK. However, a small number were imported by Subaru UK to be used as press demonstrators, rally cars or rally support vehicles and the car modelled K284TFD was one of these. Although built in 1989, it was registered in Dudley after August 1992, having sat unused in Prodrive's rally preparation workshop, and then sold off as the Impreza became Subaru's front line rally car. Sister car K282TFD was McRae's '92 RAC Rally car, whilst another, K288TFD was a press demonstrator that was re-shelled after being crashed by a journalist." Does anyone know any other details about my model - I'd be very grateful for any help, as an insurance assessor has valued it at a book-price valuation £190 and states it has to be written-off, as the bodywork garage has quoted £3,500 to replace rear driver-side wing, which was crippled in the incident. I went to an insurance broker with the aim of obtaining specialist cover. They said it wasn't old enough to qualify for Classic Car ins, so I asked them to accept my valuation of £10,000, taking into account the £4,500 I'd just spent on bodywork, and taking into account the rarity of the model. My brokers have now stated that they 'made a mistake' when they had £10,000 confirmed on my policy in Feb 2013 and Feb 2014 (incident happened on 10th March 2014). I've involved the Financial Ombudsman, but it's taking ages to go through that loop, and in the meantime I've been asked to hand back my courtesy car, as I'm refusing to accept write-off value!!!!! This means I won't be able to even drive to work (living in Wensleydale with no bus or train services to Harrogate for office hours)! They say I need to be able to confidently prove how rare this model is before they will change any book-price valuation. I'm sure you will be aware that this is a nightmare I cannot wake up from, and ask for any help from any angle please :0( Cheers from 'mysubaru5' Subaru 1.pdf