For general info, if your car is recovered where it is likely you will make an insurance claim, have it brought home if you have space because as soon as it goes to the insurer's authorised repairer, you will not likley see it again.
These 'authorised repairers' want older vehicles off the road and the insurance assessors/loss adjusters that work under the same roofs, just write them off so the repairer gets to keep the car. If repairs are straight forward they can make a killing repairing it afterwards at their own cheap rate and then put your perfectly good car back on the road or alternatively sell it through an auction or as salvage for some other toe rag to make money out of your pride and joy. The insurers then give you a crap pay out which would only buys you a clapped out banger and then they jack up your premium so you can no longer afford to run a car.
I had a car attempted stolen, fortunately the TGBs didn't get away with it so I had it brought home. It wasn't badly damaged apart from bent door and broken steering lock and localised wiring cut as they tried to hot wire it - a diesel. The recovery chap didn't start it as he said it would melt the wiring.
I wanted a motor engineer to assess it on my drive but R&SA said absolutely no, as it had to go to their authorised repairer. They said I wouldn't get a hire car unless I did so. I have another car anyway and did't want a hire car. I stuck my heels in and told them I wanted it inspected at my house as if it went to their authorised repairer then they would write it off. But they still refused to provide a home assessement so we ended at stale mate. Then the insurers agreed to return the car to me at no cost what ever the decision, which I thought was a mini victory considering.
A gorilla with knuckles dragging on the floor then collected it. His eyes lit up when he saw it. He started it up, causing the electrics to melt, walked around the car for about 10 mins noting every miniscule mark he could find then drove it onto a low loader. I asked was it kind of risky to drive it, as opposed to, winching it on? Suffice to say he must have done the same thing the other end despite me telling him to disconnect the battery. He probably took it for a few laps around the compound.
2 hours 40 minutes later Roger Giles Bodywork(Cambs) called me to tell me the car was a write off as the electrics were very badly melted. Well they weren't burned before it entered into your care....I had taken pics of the damage the thieves did prior to their collection so if the wiring had since deteriorated it was down to Roger Giles Cowboys.
I had an horrific arguement with them - a bunch of cowboys and R&SA as well. They had written it off as unrepairable but I had a good local garage estimate it wouldn't cost more then £460 including parts (secondhand) to repair where Roger Giles said it would cost at least £1,800 in labour alone.
So the moral of the story is if you are sad and love your car and you have space at home, have it taken there, as it is still your property despite being damaged.
Although the car was brought back at no charge they initally wanted £130 to bing it back!
R&SA were only offering £700 as a pay out, again big arguement as this was too low. By now I had written several nasty letters to R&SA demanding an explanation as to why their authorised repairers were clearly so incompetent to drive a car with bare electrics casued by an attempted hot wire job thus causing more damage to my car. They all wanted to pass the buck. I told them that any shortfall in the payout against true market value, I would claim from them as it was their repairer's incompetence in looking after the car that had caused me more loss and then a clear conflict of interest in assessing the car's condition impartially whilst potentially benefitting if it was written off as they get to keep it. It is one big racket rip off. As was not going to let this happen, no way.
In the end the pay out I negotiated was £1,250. I got to keep the car, had it repaired locally and now continue to enjoy driving it.
Must make it clear there was no structural damage or panel damage at all to the car. If there had been then I would have accepted that it was dead. Ok the door frame was a bit bent but that was straightened in 2 minutes.
The police never caught the thieves despite having CCTV recording in the car park.
