Hey all,

My 02 MCS has been off the roads for a couple of months now. Back in late October I was rear-ended at an intersection by a distracted driver. The damage appeared to be nothing more than a mangled plastic rear bumper and a dent in the hatch door.

I went to the repair shop recommended by the other driver's insurance company and left my car there for assessment and repair. 4 weeks went by without any contact so I went there looking for answers. They informed me that the insurance company had "written off my car as it was too expensive to fix". They claimed that the "chassis was bent". I asked them where my car was and they said "it's been sent to the auction house for sale".

I told them they had no right to do so as I hadn't been consulted and I was still the legal owner. It tooks me several days to track down my car, and found it stripped out (radar detector and fuel).

I used the incident to extract a higher payout from the insurer, then bought the car back. I then took it to a different autobody shop, who concluded that the chassis was untouched. By now the regsitration had been cancelled and I'm faced with a lengthy and expensive process of putting the car back on the road. Here this requires a certification as though the vehicle was imported for the first time.


You reckon this was an attempt by the autobody shop to make a few bucks? I think they rushed it off to the auction house with the intention of buying it back and selling it.

 

I'm almost positive your getting screwed ....
what was stripped off the car ? We're they known expensive items .?. like drivers airbag ect..
I'm not 100% sure on this but my brother in law owns the largest dealership down here in Milwaukee so I do know a little . Im pretty sure you can't sell a vehicle at a public auction without a title and if your selling that vehicle at auction under your name that vehicle needs to be registered to the seller of it.
I would start by asking the repair shop what auction house it went to. Then contact them and find who listed it for sale and who it was sold to..
​​​​​​that should start giving some clues as to who all has dirty hands in this .
may I ask why it's so important you get it back on the road if insurance paid you, did the insurance company short change you ?

 

Different country, different laws. Sounds bad but without knowing the specifics of your insurance contract and any paperwork you might have signed, who knows?

 

A lawyer is in order. Meets the definition of theft, IMO.

 

This happened in New Zealand? Not sure of the laws down there but up here as Minidogger mentioned that sure sounds like theft.

 

Sounds like you need to get your lawyer, your documentation in order, and get ready for a fight.

I would personally remove all documentation of the accident from the internet as well. Any posted pictures, this post, etc.

Edit To Add: Good luck, didn't realize you were in New Zealand. In the states the shop would be in big trouble for sending the car to auction without a title. That is theft and other miscellaneous felonies.

 

I've got the car back but I'm on the hook for all the costs of re-registering it...likely cost more than the damage repairs...but because I received a payout for the car, it's the insurance company that got scammed technically...they paid out for a car that was only damaged slightly.

The real tragedy is that my resale value will be forever tainted by the stigma of having being written off. Luckily I don't intend on selling.

 

Take some photos of the damage and that way you can show any prospective purchaser what it was all about.