Frequently asked questions

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What should I do if I'm involved in a traffic accident?

When you have an accident, we advise you to stop and always take pictures (e.g. with your phone) of the situation at the scene of the accident (the road, the junction, the damaged cars, the areas where the cars collided) without pulling your car away from the scene. Then agree with the other person involved on the circumstances of the accident.

Once the scene has been photographed and the circumstances and fault have been agreed, the cars can be pulled off the carriageway (if this can be done and if the cars are obstructing traffic).

If you and the other person involved in the accident do not agree on the circumstances of the accident, you must call the police to the scene. This is why it is very important not to pull your car away from the scene until you have clarified the circumstances of the accident.

A car accident is an unpleasant and worrying incident. Every driver wants to have the damaged vehicle repaired to a high standard as soon as possible so that it can be back on the road. Unfortunately, sometimes drivers are very disappointed with the work done. What should I look out for so that I don’t need repairs again soon after the repair?

Insurance companies are businesses, so their main interest is to maximise their profits. This means that an insurer will always try to offer garages with lower labour rates in order to be able to offer lower premiums to its customers and thus remain competitive in the market.

Insurers and repairers have close links and cooperate with each other. They agree on repair rates, the nature of the repairs (e.g. to replace damaged parts or to repair them) and the purchase price of the parts to be replaced.

Meanwhile, repairers compete with each other. Konkurencinę kovą laimi galintys pasiūlyti patrauklesnę remonto kainą. However, we all know that we cannot expect high quality for a very low price.

Ideally, all repair services should be provided in one place

When choosing a repair company, the first thing to do is to check whether it has the right equipment and will be able to carry out all the repairs in one place. For example, some garages do not have a paint booth or do not carry out car body geometry restoration work. In this case, if your car needs to be painted or the bodywork deformed by an accident needs to be repaired, the garage may turn to private craftsmen or other repair companies that do this work.

The more different technicians that repair your car, the more problems you may have if the repairs are poorly done. Each person may then try to pass the buck on to someone else in the repair process and it can be difficult to find the culprit responsible for the fault.

You should also always make sure that the repair company you choose has qualified craftsmen with the right skills before choosing one.

Parts from third countries are cheaper, but are they safe?

Lithuanians are frugal people. The same applies to car repairs. If you can save money by buying a cheap part made in a third country, you will buy it instead of paying more for a new original spare part.

The truth is that every car part has a specific function. For example, a bumper, which may not seem important to many, can save your life or at least reduce your injuries in a collision. Non-certified third-party parts are often far inferior to the original spare parts supplied by the manufacturers in terms of strength, flexibility and resistance. This can sometimes result in a car repaired as cheaply as possible after an accident being less safe and in a worse condition than before the accident.

Paradoxically, it is perfectly legal in Lithuania to sell non-certified third-party parts, and the responsibility for the safety of these parts lies with the consumer, i.e. the car owner. Lithuanian technical inspection centres do not check whether car components are original or third-party parts when carrying out technical inspections and granting the right to drive. Admittedly, it is sometimes impossible to do so when carrying out a visual inspection of a car.

Therefore, when repairing your car, you should always think about what parts will be used for the repair and assess whether it is worth the risk to your safety and the safety of other road users.

Capture the condition of your car before repairs

Car repair companies must offer a six-month warranty on work carried out and a one-year warranty on new parts replaced.

However, the driver should always be aware of the condition of the car he or she is handing in and the condition of the car he or she is taking back after the repair. Sometimes, there are various disputes and claims where the customer unjustifiably blames the garage after not noticing some damage unrelated to the accident before the repair, or, conversely, the car is damaged during the repair or while waiting for the repair, and the garage is unwilling to accept the blame.

To avoid such situations, some repairers take photographs of the vehicle from all sides at the time of acceptance of the repair and note visible defects on the acceptance certificate. The customer is advised to take part in this process responsibly or to carry it out himself to avoid possible disputes and losses.

Every time a car is repaired or involved in an accident, its trade value decreases. Unfortunately, not everyone is aware that there is a certain category of vehicles that, if their trade value drops, can be claimed for damages, often amounting to quite a large sum. In addition, car owners are advised to turn to independent valuers rather than insurers to calculate the loss of marketable value.

Relevant for new car owners

Although there are many accidents in the country that result in cars being handed over to repairers, not all owners are aware that they can receive compensation not only for the insured accident but also for the loss of the vehicle’s trade value. This compensation is little known in Lithuania but has existed for a long time in Europe. The lack of knowledge about compensation is also due to the country’s relatively old car fleet, as according to the current Road Vehicle Valuation Manual of the Republic of Lithuania, the loss of the vehicle’s marketable value can only be calculated for cars of category M1 or N1 up to 5 years old. Consequently, it is only appropriate to know the trade-in value for those who drive new cars.

In this case, the driver of a car less than 5 years old who is involved in an accident may be able to obtain additional compensation for the damage to the vehicle, as a wrecked car loses the trade-in value of an identical vehicle on the market without any accident record.

Compensation – significant

It is worth claiming compensation, as the sums involved can be quite substantial, often running into thousands of euros. The amount a car owner can receive depends on the damage to the vehicle. The loss of resale value is calculated by taking into account the nature of the damage to the vehicle, the complexity of the repairs, the number of parts to be replaced and painted, and using a special calculator.

This is the basis for calculating the parts to be repaired and painted. If parts of the car have been replaced rather than repaired, they will be valued as paintable parts. Higher compensation is paid for repairs of parts.

It is important to know that the compensation is calculated on the car’s nominal value, i.e. the valuer has to determine the market value of exactly the same car with the same mileage, condition, etc., and then calculate 1% for the first part replaced and 0.3% for each other. This means that if three parts are painted, the total reimbursement is 1.6% of the market value of the car. If the market value of a car that is several years old is €20,000 or €30,000, the owner of the car will indeed benefit significantly from the additional compensation for the loss of the vehicle’s market value.

It is true that if, for example, the same area is damaged several times more severely, the loss of marketable value may or may not be increased, a question that can only be answered by a qualified vehicle valuer.

The insurer does not offer the service

The loss of the marketable value of the car must be compensated for by the civil liability insurer of the perpetrator, at the request of the car owner, or by the perpetrators of the accident, but practice shows that not all insurance representatives offer this service to car owners, and they do not always calculate the damage in an impartial manner. It is therefore advisable to use independent vehicle appraisers to calculate the loss in market value, who use certain methods to calculate the nominal market value of the car, rather than using statistical methods, as is often the case with appraisals undertaken by insurance companies.

When repairing a vehicle damaged in an accident and replacing its parts with new original ones, the insurance company applies a deduction for wear and tear. However, there are some nuances here. What should drivers know about wear and tear and its deduction in the event of a loss?

Until we have experienced such situations ourselves, we rarely think about how we should behave and what repair services we are entitled to in the event of an accident. If you have compulsory third party liability insurance, if your car is damaged after an accident, the parts damaged in the accident must also be replaced during the repair. However, if you have Casco insurance, there may be different versions of the insurance contract, i.e. with or without a deduction for the depreciation of the car’s parts, so you should study the contract carefully before signing it and choose the right one.

Sometimes disputes arise

When calculating the cost of car repairs, the estimate includes the preparation and repair work to be carried out, the materials and the parts to be replaced. Depreciation of car parts is calculated by subtracting the depreciation rate from the cost of new original parts. Both used and new original parts may be used in the repair, but a very important aspect is that used parts cannot be more expensive than new original parts, less depreciation.

Experts advise you to be vigilant here, as used parts for certain classes of popular cars can sometimes cost more at second-hand dealers (on the secondary market) than new original parts at the car manufacturer’s official dealership. In such cases, the car owner suffers a loss because the insurer is not legally obliged to cover the cost of buying a second-hand part that is more expensive than a new original part after deducting depreciation. The garage then requires the vehicle owner to cover the excess cost of the part at his own expense. This sometimes leads to conflicts and drivers refusing repairs at the garage.

Calculated in accordance with the regulatory procedure

Neither the insurer nor the garage depreciates car parts. Parts depreciation is calculated according to strictly regulated rules to avoid various cases of fraud.

Until September last year, Lithuania had in force the Instruction on the Valuation of Road Vehicles, adopted by the Ministries of Transport and Communications and Finance in 2000. In this instruction, cars were divided into classes, grouped according to engine size and age, and the depreciation rate of the parts was determined on the basis of these data.

However, as of September 2020, this instruction is no longer valid and the depreciation of car parts is calculated in accordance with the description of the procedure for the application of road vehicles. This introduces another important variable: the mileage of the vehicle.

IT solutions are now used to calculate the depreciation of parts. On the website lvrdata.lt, drivers can find a spreadsheet where depreciation can be calculated quickly and easily by entering the date of first registration of the car, the mileage and the date on which the depreciation was determined. The calculator works according to an algorithm developed by the Lithuanian Chamber of Valuers, a professional association of independent vehicle valuers, taking into account the average of the fleet in operation throughout Lithuania. It is true that this service is chargeable, as it requires funds to maintain and administer it.

 

The author is very unstable. She is constantly changing, evolving, growing. However, the value of the vehicle market is not only determined by the changing market and prevailing trends, but also by other things. The valuation of vehicles takes into account the general characteristics of the vehicle, such as make, model, year of manufacture, as well as mileage, equipment, gross weight, etc. These are the most important factors to ensure that the valuation of vehicles is carried out correctly.

Although many people may find the vehicle valuation process confusing and complicated, we can assure you that it is not only quick, but also has no hassles. At the time of the appointment, you will not only have to present the vehicle for the experts to inspect and assess it, but also the documents required for the process. In some cases, customers are unable to deliver the vehicle to the agreed location. Don’t worry, in this case our specialists will come to the location you specify and inspect the vehicle. Once they have assessed your vehicle, the valuers will provide you with a vehicle valuation report. It will not only state what the value of the vehicle is, but will also give the reasoning behind it.

Cars are painted in a uniform layer during production. The thickness of the layer changes only if the car has been crashed and then repaired. In this case, the paint layer can be either thicker or thinner. When measuring the thickness of the paint on the car’s bodywork, our experts will assess how thick the paint layer is and then decide whether or not it has been dented.

The body of a car is an expensive and important part of the vehicle, and its condition has a particularly strong impact on the value of the car. Therefore, when buying a used car, it is essential to know whether the car has been used before. A dented car may be less safe and the airbags may no longer work. Buying a used car is also risky because it can damage the body geometry and make the car harder to drive. Even an honest seller will not necessarily be able to give you an honest answer as to whether the car has been dented before, as the car may have been dented before he bought it. An expert examination of the thickness of the paint on the car’s bodywork will give you an idea of the true condition of the car and help you negotiate the purchase.

The import of used vehicles from third countries is still very relevant. However, importing is not as simple as many people imagine. In order to import a vehicle from another country, certain established customs procedures must be followed. This may require that the vehicle is properly assessed and that all the necessary information is submitted to customs. Knowledge of the law is essential for the customs procedure. This is why we suggest that you do not take the risk of going it alone. Customs valuation of used vehicles is useful for both natural persons seeking to import a single vehicle and legal persons importing vehicles for sale. The company’s valuers have the technical knowledge and experience to carry out a qualified valuation of damaged imported used vehicles for customs clearance purposes.

Customs valuation of second-hand vehicles is carried out in the same way as for other goods. The same principles and methods are used.

A property valuation may be needed when:

  • preparing financial statements;
  • the property is subject to taxation;
  • it is necessary to determine losses incurred;
  • the property is subject to a mortgage;
  • taking out a loan to acquire the property;
  • a loan is taken out to complete construction;
  • the asset is insured;
  • the sale or other disposal of the asset.

In order to accurately determine the value of real estate, it is important not only to use analytical thinking, but also to have an understanding of the current market situation. It is therefore recommended that only experienced professionals who are able to value the property impartially and accurately should be used for the valuation of real estate. Our many years of experience enable us to produce property valuation reports of any size and complexity, reflecting the real value of the property at the time.

There are many factors that affect the value of real estate, but the following are the most important:

  • The condition of the property has a major impact on the overall value of the property. The main reason for this is further investment. The better the condition of the property, the less investment will be required after the property is purchased, and therefore the higher the value of the property.
  • The location of the property depends not only on the accessibility to the rest of the city, but also on the restrictions. Location therefore also has a significant impact on the overall value of the property.
  • Other individual features of the property, such as when the building was built, its use, size, etc., also have a significant impact.
  • Don’t forget that the market, which is constantly changing, also has a significant influence. The value of a property can be influenced not only by the economic situation at the time, but also by other nuances such as salary changes, unemployment rates, credit conditions. The laws of the country at the time, such as tax rates or benefits, also have an impact. Even the demand and supply of real estate at the time has an impact on the value of real estate.

The value of real estate is not stable and is constantly changing. So if you are not satisfied with the findings of a real estate report, you can always wait a little longer and then apply again.

The valuation process for movable property can be divided into three steps:

  • The first stage is for the professional to get to know the client and their needs. The interview can be carried out both in a meeting and remotely. The aim of the interview is not only to analyse what the client wants, but also to obtain all the necessary documents.
  • In the next stage, the assessor gets to know the property and the documents provided. The property is not only inspected but also photographed. Once the inspection is complete, the valuer will carry out a market analysis and calculations.
  • After these steps, the valuer can prepare a valuation report for the movable property. This is an official document which not only describes the property but also provides arguments to support the value stated.

The valuation of movable property is a quick and straightforward process when carried out by an experienced professional. So if you want to avoid any complications, your task is to choose a licensed professional with not only theoretical but also practical knowledge.

Like any other procedure, a retrospective valuation starts with a consultation, during which the valuer has the opportunity to get to know the client, his/her needs and to obtain the necessary documents. This is followed by data analysis. Once the documents have been analysed, the appraiser can inspect the property. If the property has been destroyed or altered, the assessor may refer to photographs or previous recorded data. After these processes, a valuation report is drawn up and handed over to the client.

The process of a retrospective valuation is very similar to a normal asset valuation procedure. The difference is that a retrospective valuation is carried out when it is necessary to determine the market value of an asset in the past. The main difficulty of the valuation is to gather all the information about the past condition of the asset. For this process, it is very important to choose an independent valuer who is impartial and objective.

The assessment of maritime and/or inland waterway transport consists of three steps:

  • In the first phase, the assessor learns about the client’s needs and provides information on the documentation required. Once the assessor has received the necessary documents and knows the client’s requirements, he/she can continue the process and start the assessment.
  • The second stage is the analysis of the data and the valuation of the property. The sooner you provide the appraiser with the necessary documents, the sooner he can start analysing them. Once the information has been analysed and the property has been inspected, the assessor can then start to prepare a report, which not only presents the conclusions of the assessment, but also the reasoning behind it.
  • The final stage is the delivery of the maritime and/or inland waterway valuation report to the client or an authorised person.

At any point in the process, the client can contact the valuer and ask questions. The valuer’s job is not only to carry out the valuation process and deliver the report to the client, but also to make sure that the client has no further questions regarding this stage. Questions may arise not only during the process, but also after reviewing the report. Our experts are happy to advise clients after the report has been received.

An assessment of maritime and/or inland waterway transport may be needed when:

  • preparing financial statements;
  • the assets are taxed;
  • the determination of incurred losses;
  • assets are mortgaged;
  • assets are insured;
  • assets are sold or otherwise disposed of.

If you want the maritime and/or inland waterway valuation process to run smoothly, make sure you choose a licensed valuer who not only has theoretical knowledge but also practical experience.

Evaluation of this technique may be necessary when:

  • preparing financial statements;
  • taxing assets;
  • it is necessary to determine losses incurred;
  • the asset is mortgaged;
  • the asset is insured;
  • assets are sold or otherwise disposed of.

The valuation of agricultural, forestry and industrial machinery can be a complex and difficult process for those who are less experienced professionals. This is why it is important that you choose specialists in your field who can not only answer your questions but also ensure that the valuation is professional and impartial. Our team includes licensed appraisers with a wealth of practical experience and qualified transport engineers. Contact us and we will ensure that the process runs smoothly and your expectations are met.