Economic write off and offer of £250 is not enough to get me back on the road

My car was legally parked outside my home when a council recycling truck hit it and damaged it, knocking it onto the pavement. The incident was witnessed by my neighbour who notified me. The driver left a car on the windscreen. I have 3rd party fire and theft only and contacted my insurers. When I contacted the council they put me in touch with their claims department and so I corresponded with them directly and did not pursue the claim through my insurers. My car was seen at a garage of their recommendation and was deemed beyond economic repair - the damage is to the body and a mirror but the car is drivable. It is an old car, they have offered me £250 which 'Crawfords corporate claims solutions' say is the book value. This will leave me with no car and not enough money in compensation to buy a new one, of course there is also the time wasted. I am a doctor and the car can be essential for on call. I thought they were obliged to restore me to the same situation as before the 'accident' so can I insist they repair the car? What are my rights here?

Unfortunately may older vehicles are written off because the cost of repairing them may be far greater than their value. Whilst a valuation from an independent engineer could be obtained, this may have little effect on the outcome. If you were not offered any courtesy vehicle whilst yours was off the road, you may be entitled to claim loss of use which would increase the value of the claim possibly to an extent where you could afford to have the vehicle repaired to make it roadworthy.

Sadly, however, you cannot insist that the Council actually pay for the repairs.

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