Had an accident, Value woes...

[Brianmoooore]

The ONLY person on here with accurate advice is E30BeemerLad. Wait for him to appear.

As if by magic, I see he now has!

[E30_Jatt]

OK, so we have a "non disclosure" issue with your insurers.

I would call them up and ask them what they are intending to do about this problem. Reminding them that you are in a hire car/ courtesy car and the clock is ticking as far as daily hire charges.

Sometimes an insurer will just add up what the additional premium would have been if you had declared the alloys and just deduct that from the settlement they give you. Others will use it as an excuse to effectively void the policy. There is generally no consistency in their approach.

The breach here is pretty minor, so long as there is no evidence the wheels or tyres were in a dangerous state (bald tyres for example). Also, whatever your insurers pay out they will just go to the insurer of the fault party for reimbursement, so for your insurers to put their heads up their arse now and stiff you would be excessive. If the accident was your fault then I would expect your insurers to tell you to swivel as the wheel issue would give then a get out of jail card.

If you get no real help from your insurers, then you always have the fall back situation of getting on the phone to the insurers of the party at fault as they have no idea what mods are declared or not. All they will want to do is get you settled up ASAP because if that 1 series you are smoking about in is a hire car, those insurers will be getting the bill.

You need to get your game plan together with the repair estimate side of things as the estimates so far are write off territory without a shadow of doubt. Generally an insurer will start to look at writing a car off once the repair costs exceed 60% of the pre-accident value of the car.

I think your best plan still is to try and arrange a cash in-lieu settlement, so you get a cheque for repair costs less the VAT and they don't write the car off. You will lose the hire car/ courtesy car once the cash in-lieu cheque is in your hands.

thanks for the help beemerlad I definitely want to keep the car so I will push for a cash in lieu settlement as you suggest. I have been told that the third party have admitted fault, and the 1 series from what I can tell is a hire car, from a company called Drive Assist, I'm wondering now with this "issue" they won't lumber me with the cost of it, can they?

[E30BeemerLad]

If the insurers get a wiggle on, then there shouldn't be any comeback on you with the hire car.

Drive Assist are a credit hire company, so the bill for that car will be around £70 a day. On paper you are liable for the hire charges, but you get 51 weeks of grace and in that time Drive Assist will purse the fault party's insurer.

Only if it can be demonstrated that you have deliberately dragged the claim will there be any comeback on you, which is why it is important that you get your insurers to stop faffing around and make a decision.

Also, you need to make sure you get your house in order with the estimates as you won't get tea & sympathy from the other insurers when they get the hire bill if it looks like weeks have passed and you have done nothing on the seeking out of estimates.

You'll probably start getting some pressure from Drive Assist shortly as they are supposed to monitor the progress rather than just put a bum in a seat and make no effort to move the claim along.

[E30_Jatt]

beemerlad just had a thought as mentioned by pacerpete could I be penalised for the front alloys the way they are? Could/should I get them sorted somehow (get the back machined to clear calipers no need for spacers bringing them back in again??). what do you think?

Thanks again been a great help thus far.

[Geea]

Call Mr A Lowe at accident exchange... I spoke with him today and they are fixing my car plus dealing with the whole shabang no stress at all for me!!! I have the same car as you with same damage and circumstances as you!!

good luck mate

[Geea]

if you need any advice regards claims - poss write off or whatever pm meid be happy to help.

[E30BeemerLad]

If the tyre tread is within the wheel arch, the wheels/tyres are legal.

[Andyboy]

You will lose the hire car/ courtesy car once the cash in-lieu cheque is in your hands.

It's seven days after the cheque is sent. I'd also make sure you have a bodyshop lined up to do the job so that you get your E30 back, and fixed, just as it goes back.

The whole situation with hire cars etc stinks. What the industry should be doing is getting you into an Avis Corsa at £19.95 a day and settling the claim within 10 days.

[E30_Jatt]

I had a phone call today from the insurance company telling me that they "believe" the wheels are not road legal, I'm not quite sure how they could come to this decision, because as of yet no one from the insurance company has come out to see the car. when I said this to them they told me that they are referring to photos. I also asked them as to why they think they are not road legal and was told, that is what the engineer has noted and we wouldn't know exactly why.

They also mentioned to me, that they do not allow modifications on their policies. The insurance company is Zenith Insurance through Halifax car insurance, would this be true?

[fuzzy]

isnt it unusual for your insurer to be causing you problems in a no fault claim?
the reference to illegality would be to do with the wheel sticking out beyond the arch id expect.

[E30_Jatt]

isnt it unusual for your insurer to be causing you problems in a no fault claim?
the reference to illegality would be to do with the wheel sticking out beyond the arch id expect.

I did mention to them that why am I being penalised when this is a non fault claim. It's not like they are paying out, its the other party! the woman on the phone just replied saying that you did not declare them that's why. This is turning into a real pain in the backside.

[fuzzy]

what are they suggesting might be the outcome?

[capri_rob]

This thread is turning into an advert for why all mods should be declared

Its wrong that they are giving you aggro for a non-fault claim but you havent helped your case with undeclared non-standard wheels.

I'd be on the phone on Monday kicking up a stink - ask to speak to a manager and tell them you are documenting every conversation and if they don't stop p1$$ing you around you'll take it further.

[E30_Jatt]

what are they suggesting might be the outcome?

Well they said worst case it could come down to my claim being voided, but they will not know anything until they have heard from the underwriters and the engineer.

[Andyboy]

I'd be on the phone on Monday kicking up a stink - ask to speak to a manager and tell them you are documenting every conversation and if they don't stop p1$$ing you around you'll take it further.

They'll just laugh. They're a big company with very expensive solicitors who will wring the guy out in court.

Be prepared to let it drop, and pay for the repair yourself.

[Tom_Maverick]

By the looks of the pic the tread does stick out further than the wheelarch.. So you may be in trouble! Another reason why mods should not only be declared but read up on before fitting, lenso's of the right offset should not need spacers and even my borbets only needed 3mm to clear the calipers.. Sounds like yours were a bit excessive..
People need to remember that HID's, wheels, spacers, suspension, tints and other crap you stick on your car all have laws surrounding them..

[sweep]

Andyboy your so negative you can see the cars straight..

[E30_Jatt]

By the looks of the pic the tread does stick out further than the wheelarch.. So you may be in trouble! Another reason why mods should not only be declared but read up on before fitting, lenso's of the right offset should not need spacers and even my borbets only needed 3mm to clear the calipers.. Sounds like yours were a bit excessive..
People need to remember that HID's, wheels, spacers, suspension, tints and other crap you stick on your car all have laws surrounding them..

I did do some research before I fitted them and have fitted staggered lenso's with 7's up front..no problem, but I have 9's upfront. From what I had read on the net I thought they would clear the front calipers with 9.5mm spacers in situ, but they still rubbed So I had to go for 15mm spacers. I have posted in the styling/ICE thread for some help with finding out what offset is best for 9" rims upfront, but not much response yet.

[Tom_Maverick]

Et15.. I run nines upfront too...

[E30_Jatt]

Et15.. I run nines upfront too...

Tom is that without spacers? The lenso's are ET20 with a 15mm spacer making the final offset ET5?

Another thing the 9.5mm spacer I used first was a cheap non hubcentric one, could that have contributed towards why it may have rubbed as I have just read that with out the hub lip the bolts are not able to support wheels properly.

[E30BeemerLad]

I would encourage you to call Drive Assist and tell them what is going on here because the delays that are going on with the processing of this claim through your own insurers is potentially going to result in Drive Assist struggling to get all their charges back.

It would be wise at this juncture to just turn your claim over to the insurers of the party at fault. Drive Assist will know who these insurers are as that is where they will be sending their bill.

Zenith are a Gibraltar based crap insurer, along with the likes of Markerstudy, who frankly I would not give the time of day and actually told a broker to find me another insurer when they came back to me with a quote from Markerstudy. They are dreadful.

Get this claim into the hands of the other party's insurer, but I think you may end up with some grief on the hire car charges front as this claim is dragging and the other side will want the full story when they get smacked with the bill for the 1 series.

Other than cosmetic damage, I'm struggling to see why your own car is not roadworthy, which will become a cause for concern on the hire charges front if an engineer deems your own car roadworthy.

This claim is an example of the insurance industry at their worst.

[Speedtouch]

Could you not remove the front spacers or fit thinner ones, prior to the engineer's visit?

They look borderline on jutting out beyond the top lip of the front arch, so bring them in a touch to ensure they're road-worthy.

Alternatively, maybe your front arch could be rolled a touch?

[harry_p]

Et15.. I run nines upfront too...

Tom is that without spacers? The lenso's are ET20 with a 15mm spacer making the final offset ET5?

Another thing the 9.5mm spacer I used first was a cheap non hubcentric one, could that have contributed towards why it may have rubbed as I have just read that with out the hub lip the bolts are not able to support wheels properly.

The offset is how the wheel will sit in the arch, an et15 sounds about right for a 9in on the front, but brake clearance is a totally separate thing, and it sounds like the lensos don't have much. They must have a pretty flat back which gives them a lot of dish, but pushes them against the callipers.

Whether the spacers were hubcentric or not, it would make no difference at all to the rubbing. Other the clamping force the bolts create between wheel spacer and hub that keep the wheel in place, the wheels don't 'rest' on the bolts. If they did they'd be flexing all over the place and snap within a mile! The hub centre is only there to align the wheel while the bolts are tightened to make sure it's central and doesn't create wobbles.

[E30_Jatt]

Et15.. I run nines upfront too...

Tom is that without spacers? The lenso's are ET20 with a 15mm spacer making the final offset ET5?

Another thing the 9.5mm spacer I used first was a cheap non hubcentric one, could that have contributed towards why it may have rubbed as I have just read that with out the hub lip the bolts are not able to support wheels properly.

The offset is how the wheel will sit in the arch, an et15 sounds about right for a 9in on the front, but brake clearance is a totally separate thing, and it sounds like the lensos don't have much. They must have a pretty flat back which gives them a lot of dish, but pushes them against the callipers.

Whether the spacers were hubcentric or not, it would make no difference at all to the rubbing. Other the clamping force the bolts create between wheel spacer and hub that keep the wheel in place, the wheels don't 'rest' on the bolts. If they did they'd be flexing all over the place and snap within a mile! The hub centre is only there to align the wheel while the bolts are tightened to make sure it's central and doesn't create wobbles.

aahhh I see, I think you're right as they do have seem to have a flatter back. I think I will look into a combination of using a smaller spacer and a machined back to see if I can get them to come in a little more.

Thanks for the help

[E30_Jatt]

Hi guys, still waiting for the insurers to make up their mind about what they are going to do. The issue which I still have with them is that they are telling me that the front wheels are protruding too far out from the arches.

Here's some pics what do you think?

[Rav335uk]

For what i remember, it the tyre tread is inside the arch, it's not illegal.

[E30BeemerLad]

The wheels are legal as the tread pattern is within the arch. That's my understanding.

[redcar]

That looks like some poke, but judging by the second pic it looks like your tread is inside the arch, however, it's difficult to say for certain as the steering isn't central. Is the issue surrounding the claim due to the non standard wheels, or just that they believe the wheel is protruding too much from the arch, or is it just both of these factors?

Hope you sort this out as i can imagine it must be quite a lot of grief.

[E30_Jatt]

That looks like some poke, but judging by the second pic it looks like your tread is inside the arch, however, it's difficult to say for certain as the steering isn't central. Is the issue surrounding the claim due to the non standard wheels, or just that they believe the wheel is protruding too much from the arch, or is it just both of these factors?

Hope you sort this out as i can imagine it must be quite a lot of grief.

It's a bit of both things, first they were saying that they are non standard wheels and now they have latched on to this "issue" with how far out they think they are. So far all of this is being debated without them even having seen the car, apparently they are only judging from some presumably crappy pics that one of the BMW garages took when I took it there. I think I will forward these pics to them as well.

[Rav335uk]

I'm sure the insurance company has to settle within a given time frame, not sure how long that is.

[suchy]

Take a pic directly from above the wheel to show properly. Stand facing the front wing straight on with your legs apart and shoot directly above the edge of the front arch (imagine a plumb line hanging down from the centre of your camera lens and just touching the edge of the arch). The resulting pic should show your tread/arch properly

[E30_Jatt]

I'm sure the insurance company has to settle within a given time frame, not sure how long that is.

Oh really wasn't aware of that, its already been over a month. I sent the courtesy car back on Wednesday as well, just so I don't end up incurring charges because they are taking sooo long.

Take a pic directly from above the wheel to show properly. Stand facing the front wing straight on with your legs apart and shoot directly above the edge of the front arch (imagine a plumb line hanging down from the centre of your camera lens and just touching the edge of the arch). The resulting pic should show your tread/arch properly

I shall try that method tomorrow, and post the results here.

[Rav335uk]

Sure Lee will be able to answer how long they have to settle.

[Kedge]

Is this still your insurance that's putting this obsticle in the way? Makes no sense when it's a no fault claim and the claim is against the other persons insurance!?

[E30BeemerLad]

Against your own insurer, they can pish you about for as long as they like.

I would be making a complaint now and threatening with the ombudsman, this is pretty usual insurer behaviour. They are just incapable of finding their arses with both hands.