Elan is insurance hire car category P1

[Bug4029]

Hi,

Third party damaged the bumper on my Elan and are providing a hire car while it's being fixed. I must admit I'm miffed at what their offering, apparently an Elan is P1 which means Audi A3, Focus ST, Golf, Mazda MX5, A Class Merc etc... All mundane junk to me (sorry if you have one, but they sure are not Lotus grade). Lotus, Land Rover, and anything remotely interesting I hold is a much higher grade.

If anybody has any experience in getting a Lotus for a Lotus or at least something interesting, Please let me know. Thanks.

[theelanman]

I think you'll be lucky.......
the Elan is a cheap car these days.....the cars they are lending you probably have a price double of the worth of your car.......
if you have a car worth £30k then yes complain.......if you have a car worth £10k then what they are giving you is comparable in performance but worth a lot more than your elan.....



if you want a Lotus for a Lotus then it'll be a specialist and they'll probably charge you double.....

[Bug4029]

It seems to be based on size of engine, size of car, and lastly performance. Obviously they run new/ nearly new fleets.... but if I can get it a bit of interest and soul that would stop me crying every time I sit in it. God knows how they rate an MX5 to an Elan, perhaps I'm too sensitive, but having driven an ex-girlfriend's for a long weekend trip, I'd rather escape the slow blandness again. I just found out an Elise is 3 categories higher, so even that's not on the cards!

[theelanman]

you'll just have to put up with it......
or walk.......

they wont give you something exciting coz its not in your band......
theyre not going to rewrite the bandings just because of a complaint that you wanted a better car than you were offered.....

if its only a bumper it'll only be a working week surely........

when I got hit and had the Saab Aero repaired........I got a 1.0 Nissan frikkin Micra........
to go from 210bhp to about 50hp........at least youre getting something on par power wise

[dapinky]

About 20 years ago I was in a similar position (but not with a Lotus).

At the time I was driving a Cavalier CDX (about 4 years old), and it went off to a repairer who provided me with a Renault Clio.....

....not a bad car if you only want to run round town, but as my son was under a year old he was still in a pram. The pram only fitted in the boot with the back seats folded down, so then there was nowhere for him to sit in his car seat.

As we had booked a trip to Yorkshire, I complained to my insurance company, and was told that I was only entitled to a courtesy car, and that it didn't need to be like-for-like.

I was pi$$ed off, and as the accident wasn't my fault (car was parked and hit by a third party), I contacted him and said that I would be hiring a suitable vehicle for our 4-day trip and billing him directly. He contacted his own insurance company to see if they could help, and within 2 hours a 2-week old Ford Mondeo was delivered to my house.

His insurance company paid directly to the Hire Company, and I kept it until my own car was returned.

If the accident (liability) has been apportioned to (or admitted by) a third party, then you could try to find someone who will hire you a similar vehicle and bill him directly, but to be honest, the chance of finding someone who will do a short-term hire is small, and it is probably unresonable to expect any more than they have offered already.

I succeded as I needed a car with the internal space to fit the family in, but they will probably stick to the fact that they are prepared to loan you an MX5 which is probably the closest you can hope for.

[theelanman]

I succeded as I needed a car with the internal space to fit the family in, but they will probably stick to the fact that they are prepared to loan you an MX5 which is probably the closest you can hope for.

you cant have a Veyron coz youve crash yer Trabant

[Rambo]

Can't see what the problem is They've offered you a reasonable choice to keep you on the go. As Gareth says, don't expect " a Veyron coz you've crashed yer Trabant "

[Artaban]

Now I'd be thinking the worse the car they loan me the more I'll appreciate the Elan when I get it back. Nothing worse than finding something bland and mundane is actually quite good. So go for the Trabant if they have one, they are great fun. Drove one around Krakow in Poland a few years ago and it broke down more than a Lotus; if thats possible.
Andy

[tb10]

Years ago I had an Espace as I had children aged 9, 7 and new born twins and with my (then) wife there were six of us so when the Espace went in for work they gave us a .
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Clio

Personally if i was in the OP's issue i'd just take whatever they gave me as I suspect I would not have wet knee syndrome especially on a day like today!

regards

John

[Rambo]

I'd be happy with any of those cars to keep me on the move. Even the pretend Élan

[Nickydee]

A word of caution. In my experience the cost of the hire car will be considered to part of the cost of repair,. So once this factored this could lead to insurance co deciding the car is uneconomic to repair and written off. The Golf GTi i had swas being charged out at £145 per day!!! so doesn't take long to rack up a big bill.

[epipete]

I'd be happy with any of those cars to keep me on the move. Even the pretend Élan

I'm surprised that there is any choice or banding at all. I've never considered that an element of my premium was for a 'grand' car should I suffer a misfortune! I'd expect that the specification was to ensure your continued mobility throughout the period of the repair in which case a Trebant would fulfil this obligation.

I'm sorry, and I perhaps shouldn't post a reply, but I find it hard to muster a smidgeon of sympathy.

[Nickydee]

Pete

This all part of the great claim management scam, where companies contact you when involved in a no fault accident and offer courtesy car upgrades, pass your details to PI solicitors etc all of which inflates your claim paid out by the other persons insurance company. I have had a couple of situations where very decent people have informed their insurance company that where at blame immediately after an accident to avoid me further inconvenience stress enc which his led to me receiving numerous unsolicited cars from these vultures.

As you rightly say if the accident is your fault than assuming we have paid the extra to get a courtesy car and you happy to use the insurers approved repairer you will get something basic from company who repairs your car.

[epipete]

Thanks, for that. I kinda see all insurance as a necessary evil, the fundemental principle of us all throwing money in a pot to protect the unfortunate few amongst us who need it has been sadly abused in my opinion. My 23.5yr Endowment (which is a similiar vehicle) is destined to pay out a grand more than the total of all the payments made, the Administration costs on all these things are horrendous.

[morciii]

a mate of mines had an accident in his Astra VXR, and was given a 0.9L FIat 500 as his courtesy car