Driving up the A1 near Wetherby last Friday night on my way to see Newcastle beat Chelsea on Saturday and......I THINK I must have hit a shallow puddle. Skidded one way, then another, then round and round and then into the central armco, ending up facing wrong way in fast lane.

Thankfully only doing 75mph and I am amazed that I walked away with no injuries and no-one else involved.

Now I have to wait and see if the car is a write-off. Only 4 months old as well with 11k miles. All one side badly impacted and the front and back trashed as well. I think that the only three panels that would not require replacement are the drivers side doors and rear wing.

Anyone else had experience of write-off rules with Direct Line? I know the policy states 60% value which would be 12k but what really happens?

Will it help them write it off if I tell them that I want my own engineer to approve the repair and it will have to be 100% perfect and as new?