Apparently it's a write-off!

Life's too short ginny. After all, it's only a car and I don't think I have lost out, and currently I have more important things on my mind.

The lies hurt, though.

My you are certainly far more patient than me. These "friends" have really tested you. I would have to really talk all this through with them. However I am glad you feel able to put this all away.

Probably not such a stroke of good luck anyway, phoenix - fully comp is often cheaper than third party only these days. How can she look you in the eye ever again?

Glad it's sorted and you're not going to be too much out of pocket!

Well, 'tis done! phoned J & B just now and said we would accept the NFU's offer, providing they will definitely arrange transfer of the registration to a certificate. (I also asked them to take the stereo out, don't see why that should get scrapped or whatever)

J is still presenting it as an enormous stroke of luck though, which I find a bit erm "unfortunate"

However, Mr P feels that if the car does need new shocks, springs etc, then it probably would cost around £400 to get it through it's MOT.

So, chapter closed and all (hopefully) well.

Thank you Moved I'm feeling more confident that all will work out, fingers crossed!

phoenix like you I have no desire to own a personalised number plate and so don't know much about it. Have you looked into how you transfer it to a new owner? It looks to me as if at the moment your ex-friends own it so you will need to get it transferred to you before you can realise its value. I just think you need to look into this carefully before the car is declared a write off, no idea how the retention thing works but I wouldn't trust these people an inch. Good luck and I hope it all works out in the end.

Good morning all, and many thanks for all the good wishes.

sunseeker I am 100% confident that they will pass on the money they get from the insurers, I know they haven't exactly behaved well through all this saga, but they def. wouldn't go that far!

On the subject of the number plate, it was on the car when we bought it, the owner had previously transferred it from another vehicle but didn't want to bother this time around as she was moving abroad somewhere. I have never had any desire to have a personalised plate, there would always be something I would rather spend the money on! When I last had it valued (the registration) it was between £750 and £1,000 I doubt if we would actually get that much for it, but we will see!

I have only just come to this discussion (have now read the "doing someone a favour" thread). I think you need to be careful in dealing with these people as they may decide as the car is in their name to keep the insurance money for themselves.

They have treated you very badly after your kindness. Perhaps you could start telling a few "hard luck" stories of your own. I appreciate you are concerned for them, especially the wife's health, but you also have to consider your own position. Can you afford to lose the car and the insurance money?

Phoenix I hope this situation doesn't escalate ........ did you get them to sign the car back over to your ownership?

Any forthcoming cheque will be in his/her name.

phoenix I know how hurtful it is when friends lie, it shows such a lack of moral fibre.
Chin up ((hugs))

Thanks all.

Sel the reg doesn't mean anything to me, so no desire to put on any car! However, I may now look properly into selling it, as I believe it is easier to sell on a certificate than on a car.

Trying to keep my optimists head on, i.e. every cloud has a silver lining....

(Exit stage left, whistling "Always look on the bright side of life.....

phoenix financially that doesn't sound like a bad deal and it would settle the matter. Perhaps you could find a similar car and put your reg on it and pretend. An awful thing for your friends to do though and to take so long - appalling. I'm sure it will be hard for you to get over that part of it. on a bad day.

Thank you all for the responses. Galen I think tbh the car was probably worth around £1,200 ish, so in that regard it's not a bad option, but it's the other aspects that are pissing me off making me less than happy.

Yes, I will miss the car, I really rather liked it, yes, I will probably be perhaps better off if I take the write off money, but it's the lies and lack of apology that hurt.

With friends like this who needs enemies ? I suggest you distance yourself from these people.

You could also point out that THEY are very lucky that they insured it fully comp. because returning it to its previous value (as borrowed) is THEIR responsibility.

Introduce them to the friend you lent £1.500 to, then they can lend one another cars and cash. They deserve one another.

How much do you think the car might have been worth when you lent it?
This is NOT the same as it was insured for?

Glad you seem to be getting to the end of the nightmare, phoenix but I wonder why they let it drag on when it could all have been sorted out when the damage first happened?

Thank goodness they had fully comp insurance. Now you can move on from it all.

I would write them off as "friends", more like fiends!

Well, J phoned a short while ago. Apparently I'm very lucky that they insured it fully comp.

The insurance company are offering £1,400, plus arranging to put the reg. number on a retention certificate and pay all associated costs. Also it would seem that when they took it to Mr X in the village, he said it needed new springs, shock absorbers etc etc so of course it would cost a fair bit to get it through the MOT (which is due).

Mr P feels that we should go down the route of telling J & B to accept the offer, and I think he could be right. Mr P had a quick look on the "We buy any car.com" website and their valuation (just based on vehicle model, age & mileage) was a lot lower. (Although I would never advise anyone to sell a car that way, they undervalue by a considerable amount)

I think I probably will phone her tomorrow and tell her to go ahead with the write-off, but I feel a bit miffed that there has never been even a hint of an apology. In fact, it is now being put across as a lucky stroke of fortune! Several mentions of "that figure is not to be sneezed at, think what you could do with it, also think how much it will cost you to get through MOT etc"

The worst bit is the lies, but I cannot confront that issue because I'm not sure, oh heck, let's go for bullet point options!

1) B lied to J about what happened. If I tell J what B told us the other night, then they might fall out.
2) J knew what really happened and she decided to lie about it to us.
3) The above, but she doesn't know that B has since come clean

To quote a cliché "lessons have been learned" and I doubt very much if I will ever lend a car again.

(Actually, I think I might have "mug" tattooed somewhere, as when I got my divorce settlement, I lent a friend £1,500 and never got a penny back. Any one available to do a spot of debt collection in the Stafford area?)

Phoenix - what a horrible mess this is for you. If your car is a write off, I imagine you may find it hard to replace it with the value they give you. Can you check the best 2nd hand value for your car, and make sure your pals give you at least that. So sorry to hear this latest update

I was just going to suggest the same, Bez. You should be able to get the money and the car (strike a deal) then you can get the necessary replacement bits from a local breaker's yard who sell vehicle parts.

Is it possible that they would 'sell' the car back to you and deduct that amount from the money they pay you? I had a car some years ago that the insurance did that for and I had a man do the repairs. The money I had from the Ins Co almost covered the bill - and the man did a great job on fixing the door panel!

Oh Phoenix What a flipping mess this all is. I really feel for you. You don't need all this hassle along with job hunting etc. (((hugs)))

Well yes, but it is Phoenix's car so they should hand over the dosh surely. Or am i missing something?

Thanks to all. I have spoken to my Ds, who is very clued up about these things, and yes Sel there are different categories.

When B phoned I said that I wanted to think about the options before getting back to him.

I think I will start by asking what the insurers are offering, and also which specific part are they saying is no longer available. I could then do a bit of a search to see if I can source the part. The car also has a fairly valuable registration number. Apparently the NFU have already said that it could be put on a retention certificate, so that I would be able to sell that separately. (Any Katherines or Kathleens out there?)

Then of course there is the fact that J originally had got a quote from some local firm who seemed to think they could fix it.

Sorry, a bit rambly and unstructured, NOT a good day, after spending over an hour doing JSA application on line, then getting a text from them to say that they are proposing joint income based JSA, and need Mr P to attend too. They have more chance of plaiting snot.