Car accident/repair

[Adrian]

"ARWadsworth" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Not quite. There's rather more to "a car" than a couple of easily removable panels.

'erself still owns her first car. It's been rebuilt onto a galvo chassis. The rear end of the body and windscreen surround panel have been replaced. All four wings have been replaced. The floors and sills were replaced years ago. It's on it's third or fourth roof. The seats are in need of retrimming. It's been fully resprayed. All five wheels have been replaced with new.

The suspension, engine and box are all still original, as are all four doors and the bonnet. The original (and unresprayed) bootlid's sometimes used, sometimes a different one.

Is it the same car as the 18mo low-mileage, one-owner car her father bought her in 1984? I'll let you discuss that with her...

We won't even go near one of the long-term projects - which was rebuilt many, many years ago around a chassis/engine/box/suspension from a different model of car, and which is currently having the entire steel frame replaced with new, and which will likely end up with a mix of the (presumed) original panels, some from another car plus some new.

Then there's another one of the fleet, which was heavily rebuild a few years ago. The identify seems to be a couple of years newer than the actual vehicle, but it's difficult to be sure. The engine's the higher power version from a different model, and the shell was certainly made from almost entirely new parts, as well as a new chassis being modified to suit.

Then there's one we sold a couple of years ago - new chassis to a quite different design to suit the heavily re-engineered and modified drivetrain and suspension. Larger capacity engine from a different model. Bodyshell changed for a better one. DVLA inspected that, and were quite happy to let it retain the original VIN & reg - although that's academic, since it's been exported.

It only becomes naughty if you tell fibs in order to try to make money by passing something off as something else.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Several cars ago, someone ran into the back of me at a zebra crossing. I get out, and first thing I see is the front of his car, completely demolished. As I walk back and the rear of my car (Ford Fiesta) comes into view, I'm at a complete loss to see any damage at all. After a lot of peering, I can see a slight scuff mark on the surface of the plastic bumper. What had happened is that the bumper had simply sprung back into place, and was hiding the crumpled boot floor.

Anyway, I was writing down his details in my diary, and he took it from me, wrote that he was entirely to blame, signed it, and gave it back. I didn't have any problems with that claim. His was a hire car. This was in London, and he'd got lost and was looking for direction signs, rather than what was happening in front of him.

[Andrew Gabriel]

If it is written off, you can often buy it back from the insurance company for almost nothing (saves them having to dispose of it), and then get it fixed yourself. One slight fly in the ointment is that you can't tax/insure/MoT it once written off, until it's been inspected by VOSA and they deem it roadworthy again (a sort of much more detailed MoT test). A colleague went through this about a year ago.

[ARWadsworth]

Does that apply to a structual write off or a financial write off?

A bottle of paint stripper poured over a £1000 car will make it an insurance write off but it will still pass an MOT test.

Adam

[Steve Walker]

I just grabbed the following:

Category A Insurance Write Off - the vehicle must scrapped and no parts or components can be sold other than for scrap. Amounts vary but the scrap value rarely covers the cost of recovery and delivery to a scrap yard.

Category B Insurance Write Off - the vehicle must not be used again but non- structural and roadworthy parts and components may be recovered for use in other vehicles. Care must be taken to ensure that they are not critical components with important safety functions.

Category C Insurance Write Off - the vehicle is repairable but the parts and labour would exceed the value of the car. This is a tricky situation as there are plenty of amateur and professional mechanics who could use second hand parts to repair these vehicles at much lower prices than the list costs for parts and labour.

Category D Insurance Write Off - the vehicle is economically repairable but other factors are involved that cause the insurer to declare the vehicle a write off. Perhaps the replacement car hire is too costly or it will take too long for a specialist part to be delivered.

Category X Insurance Write Off - the vehicle is easily repairable and may even be still roadworthy.

Unrecorded Insurance Write Off - the vehicle damage was not reported to the insurer or the driver was uninsured. The most common example is drivers who only have third party insurance but have had an accident that was their fault (usually not involving anyone else).

SteveW

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Assuming it is only cosmetic damage you can include in the settlement that nothing is recorded.

I'm going through just this with my '97 BMW which I've owned from 2 years old and has only done 80,000 miles, and is near mint. Apart from a big dent in a rear door, caused when unattended. The repairers say it has to be replaced and the costs of doing this are near the 'book' value of the car. My insurance company sent an assessor round and I chatted to him about just this. As I can get a perfect secondhand door for about 50 quid, as opposed to the many hundreds for a new one. He said in cases like this they will offer a cash settlement for the damage which doesn't involve the car being recorded as an insurance 'write off'. However, they've agreed to repair the car with a new door.

[Grumps]

That's good news. My estimate is in progress. The gut feeling was that it would be about £2k, which is about 70% of the car's value. It's going to be close, and pretty much all depends on whether the dent in the front door is pullable, or if it needs a new one. Let's just see how this wonderful legal assistance works.

[ARWadsworth]

That is interesting. A neighbour has just had his car damaged by a bus. It only needs two new doors and the car will be fine. However the insurance co have said it is not a viable repair. I have sourced two doors from the scrapyard in the same colour for £100 and consider it a viable repair.

Adam

[Dave Plowman (News)]

For some reason an insurance company won't allow their repairers to fit secondhand parts - even something not safety critical like a door. In my case a new bare door is 600 quid whereas a complete 'perfect' secondhand one costs 60-100. And then there's the labour costs in transferring door locks etc to the bare shell. The normal way if you wish to keep the car is to get a settlement in cash from the insurance company then pay to have it repaired with secondhand parts.

[Grumps]

New front wing and door. The repairs have been authorised. £2100 + hire car for 12 days (Easter weekend). It must've been a close call. The car can only be worth a little more than that.

[ARWadsworth]

Thats a good result for you.

But 12 days to repair a wing and a door!

Good results for my neighbour as well. The buses insurance co have paid out book value for the car and allowed him to keep the car.

As for the other two cars the bus hit ,those are going to be repaired as they were new cars.

Adam

[Dave Plowman (News)]

They've had mine since Monday and 'hope' it will be ready on Friday. Just the one door - although they'll have to blend in the paint either side.

[Grumps]

Well it's really only 8 days but I have the hire car for 12 as it's over the Easter w/e. I'm sure I could change a wing and a door in less time. But there are a few previous scuffs to the rear wheel arch that'll have to be mended, and the rear door has to be fixed (scratched) before the whole left side is sprayed (hopefully to match the rest of the car). And hopefully they'll have to wash and polish it too. That's no easy job considering the state it's gotten into!

That's an ideal conclusion, or maybe not. He'll still need to get it fixed and won't have a hire car provided during this process.

Sounds like the bus driver had a good time.

[ARWadsworth]

I expect a full valet and polish. That is the norm at the VW garage my brother worked at.

Two doors from the scrap yard in the same colour for £100. 20 minutes to swap the doors over (1) and he can then swap the trim and the door lock in his own time. They have come complete with the glass and window lifters on an exchange basis.

He did. And one of the cars he hit was a hire car as the car that should have been parked there was in for repair after a bus hit it.

(1) Now that I have opened my mouth watch a hinge pin break when we swap them!

Adam

[ARWadsworth]

You do know that "they" do not usually order the parts until the car is in the garage. So they probably only started work on it Tuesday afternoon.

Adam

[John Rumm]

Had that happen a few years back when a milk float hit SWMBOs car while it was parked. Was actually quite handy in a way since she was about to flog it anyway!

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Oh indeed. But not worried since the SD1 is going great. ;-)

[Dave]

Dave, can you please post a photo of an SD1? Around that time, I had a Rover 3500 about then. I can't remember if the SD 1 superseded, or not

Dave

[Dave Plowman (News)]

[Adrian]

Dave gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

The other alternative that a "Rover 3500" could have been would be a P6