Car accident - been hit from behind :(

[biglunn]

Wife came in from work on friday with the car smashed in from behind. Most importantly, she is fine, but the car is not so good - superficially, the car doesnt look too bad, with the intact but pushed in, and the tailgate a bit mangled, but upon opening the boot Ive realised the boot floor is crumpled. Car drives OK apart from the rattling exhaust, and perhaps the car feels a little `nervous` over bumps - probably in my mind!

I contacted my insurance company, who were excellent - they booked the car into the garage, and got in touch with the car rental company, so that when the car does go in, I have a decent replacement car. The thing is - the 3rd party`s insurance contacted me stating the driver has admitted full liability, and wish to deal with it much like my insurance company offered - do I accept their offer or stick with my insurance? Ironically, my insurance company (More Than) is part of the same group as the 3rd partys insurance (Royal Sun Alliance)

Also, my car is a bit old now - Clio 172 (2002) with almost 90,000miles - do you reckon it might be written off?

 

[pip.]

Wife came in from work on friday with the car smashed in from behind. Most importantly, she is fine, but the car is not so good - superficially, the car doesnt look too bad, with the intact but pushed in, and the tailgate a bit mangled, but upon opening the boot Ive realised the boot floor is crumpled. Car drives OK apart from the rattling exhaust, and perhaps the car feels a little `nervous` over bumps - probably in my mind!

I contacted my insurance company, who were excellent - they booked the car into the garage, and got in touch with the car rental company, so that when the car does go in, I have a decent replacement car. The thing is - the 3rd party`s insurance contacted me stating the driver has admitted full liability, and wish to deal with it much like my insurance company offered - do I accept their offer or stick with my insurance? Ironically, my insurance company (More Than) is part of the same group as the 3rd partys insurance (Royal Sun Alliance)

Also, my car is a bit old now - Clio 172 (2002) with almost 90,000miles - do you reckon it might be written off?

It's hard to tell without photos if you want an opinion.
No matter what, the car will go through the same procedure of being assessed for the cost of the repair and probably written off , but without photos, it's a guessing game.

 

[biglunn]

Doesnt look too bad in the pics, but the tailgate is really difficult to close, and the floor is slightly warped all the way to the top.

Hoping it is a writeoff.

 

[Gally]

New tailgate/bumper probably repair the boot floor after a pull and a new exhaust.

I very much doubt they will write you car off mate. As much as you might think it's old it'll be booking up at the 4k mark so you should be fine depending if you want the car repaired.

Stick with your insurance company my friend. Whole lot easier if anything goes wrong.

 

[Fletcher]

That looks better then i thought it would TBH.

 

[jesus]

Could you not just get away with replacing the tailgate and somehow sorting the floor?

 

[B16DOE]

i reckon it will get written off

 

[m4rkie23]

was in a similar situation last week (seems to be quite common atm). was stationary and hit from behind.

here are some pics: http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=435923
so similar damage.

Mine has £2400 of damage (according to directline) and it is being repaired. The guy from the body repair specialists said that it would more than likely be a write off as most cars in this siuation are. but he said might. when the inspector came he knew what he was doing, checked everything that could be affected (much more than i thought he would actually) and said that the cost of repairs did not total 65% of the value of the car, and is therefore repairable.

i would take what is said on here with a pinch of salt. If you look at your car being worth around £4500-£5000 you will need to be looking at atleast £2700 of repairs, which that doesnt look like. depending on whether the exhaust is damaged and aslong as the quarter panels are fine, then it will be repaired.

the parts for mine (which will be the same as what you need by the looks) came to just shy of £1600 (iirc) and the labour was £800 give or take £50.

but again, this is just my situation and opinion

 

[pip.]

Looks like a new tailgate, rear panel and boot floor repair which will write it off I would say. :dapprove:
I personally would try to do a deal with the other party and fix it myself, but that's me.
It depends on how you feel about the car.

If you do give it to the insurance , don't forget your CS sticker.

Off topic a little, why is it that some cars get the screwdrivers in the tool kit and some don't? I never got any.

 

[Leeshez]

That is worse than my crash. Should be fixable.

 

[Gally]

i reckon it will get written off

Looks like a new tailgate, rear panel and boot floor repair which will write it off I would say. :dapprove:
.

Is there any fact behind these comments?

Ph2 172 on 65k miles is booking at £4250 And the fact of the matter is insurance companies can repair up to £4250 if they want to.

This 65% doesn't hold much ground if they want it repaired.

 

[m4rkie23]

what would you know

 

[Gally]

what would you know

Flol I read it somewhere!

 

[iain187]

Could you not just get away with replacing the tailgate and somehow sorting the floor?

no point in 'getting away' with anything if the other person has admitted liability. That is your all expenses paid ticket

 

[Gally]

Exactly Iain.

 

[Riley!]

get the a mallet out and crease a rear quarter if you want it to be a write off. Could go either way with that sort of damage. What did you value it at when you took out the policy?

 

[m4rkie23]

lol you cant do that!!

 

[Riley!]

do what? it happened in the accident

 

[m4rkie23]

lol!

 

[Gally]

Easily done! And that's from an assessor.

 

[biglunn]

Even though its driveable, Ive insisted that Im not comfortable with it at the mo - they are sorting out a hire car from me today.

Although I love my car, after this I dont really want it back. Its annoying that if impact was just a teeny weeny bit harder, it would probably be a writeoff. Sonds like a plan Riley, but I think if I went round the car with a mallet it would be too obvious (and illegal)

Once the assesor has worked out how much it costs for repairs, I may well bargain with the 3rd party insurers and take that repair money and keep the car for breaking.

 

[m4rkie23]

i thought that mate. then looked at the photoshoot pics and was glad that it was being repaired

 

[fUbAr]

Even though its driveable, Ive insisted that Im not comfortable with it at the mo - they are sorting out a hire car from me today.

Although I love my car, after this I dont really want it back. Its annoying that if impact was just a teeny weeny bit harder, it would probably be a writeoff. Sonds like a plan Riley, but I think if I went round the car with a mallet it would be too obvious (and illegal)

Once the assesor has worked out how much it costs for repairs, I may well bargain with the 3rd party insurers and take that repair money and keep the car for breaking.

just out of interest, why wouldnt you want it back?

potentially it will come back in much better condition than before the crash...

Mine had a whole new front end put on including lights and rads, over £3000 worth of repairs and its minter than mint now... not a single stone chip and not categorised by the insurance.

 

[m4rkie23]

thats the way i see it. i am going to get a brand new:

boot
bumper
boot well
badges
respray
+ he said he will respray the front bumper and bonnet.

all in all, a few weeks of sh1t, a completely and utterly gutting feeling for a day or so, but a good result (hopefully)

 

[biglunn]

I feel better about all of this - my bumper/hatch had a few scratches on it, and now it should look like new!

Dropping the car off at Autotech tomorrow, and picking up a Seat Altea (whatever that is)

 

[mugglesquop]

picking up a Seat Altea (whatever that is)

IIRC

 

[fUbAr]

I feel better about all of this - my bumper/hatch had a few scratches on it, and now it should look like new!

Dropping the car off at Autotech tomorrow, and picking up a Seat Altea (whatever that is)

thats the spirit!

Make sure they do a good job, don't be afraid to complain if you're not 100% happy and the car WILL come out looking better than it ever was!

Mine went back to the bodyshop 3 times before I handed over the insurance excess. A crash isn't the end of the world as long as the car's fixed well :approve:

 

[m4rkie23]

^^ what he said. dont accept if it aint up to your standard. and you cant go wrong

good luck!

 

[biglunn]

A quick update - just got in touch with the garage, and it seems the car is very much touch & go so far as it being a writeoff. Current estimate is £2800 for repairs, and they are awaiting a descision from the insurance company whether to start stripping the car to check for more damage.

The thing is - considering the car has done over 85000 miles, Id be quite happy to take £3500 for it. Is it possible to negotiate with the insurance company?

 

[pip.]

£2800! Where the fcuk have they got that from.
Mine was £1600 and similar but no hatch replacement.

 

[biglunn]

Looks like the car MAY be written off - depending on the actual priceup of the parts and labour.

My car is a 2002 52 plate 172, and despite being in excellent condition, is on 87000 miles. How much do you think it would be worth if the car is OK? If they do write it off and offer me some money, Id like to know what is acceptable.

 

[Gally]

Mate your car is worth £4636 retail and £3453 trade according to glass' evaluator guide.

I point out this is the guide that insurance companies must use. An insurance engineer cannot say that there is cheaper on autotrader ect...

If your car was in good condition before then then you can fight to get the top whack which would be £4500 minus your excess.

The problem is no one knows this and they go looking on pistonheads.

Thanks to the guide I managed to get Danny_172 £3500 for his ph1.

 

[biglunn]

Blimey! Id be really happy to get anything over £3500! No excess as the 3rd party was at fault.

 

[Gally]

I know you would but it won't be easy! You need to stick to your guns.

Mention glass' evaluator and finacial ombusman that should get you somewhere.

They have to give you money to go into a garage and buy the exact same car.

Pistonheads ect... does not count. Be adament

 

[ilovewilly]

Off topic about opinions on whether it will be written off - im no expert.

But, the values you are being given for your car.. They are way over what I thought 17s went for these days? Are the cups worth so much less?

 

[Gally]

Off topic about opinions on whether it will be written off - im no expert.

But, the values you are being given for your car.. They are way over what I thought 17s went for these days? Are the cups worth so much less?

This is the thing you're going by people selling private. Pistonheads ect...
Insurance companies can't use that as there source, unless glass' guide doesn't have the car values.

I bet you couldn't pick up a 172 in a garage for less than 3500.

How many miles has your cup done? What year and does it have cc then i'll give you a value.

 

[ilovewilly]

This is the thing you're going by people selling private. Pistonheads ect...
Insurance companies can't use that as there source, unless glass' guide doesn't have the car values.

I bet you couldn't pick up a 172 in a garage for less than 3500.

How many miles has your cup done? What year and does it have cc then i'll give you a value.

Its a december 2002 52 plate, on 70k

Thanks

 

[Gally]

If your car was written off you should be looking at 4500-4650 depending on condition and service history maybe.

Trade price is 3500 so you could pick on up easily for that price online.

 

[ilovewilly]

If your car was written off you should be looking at 4500-4650 depending on condition and service history maybe.

Trade price is 3500 so you could pick on up easily for that price online.

Excellent. Thanks very much for looking that up.

Might even be worth a trade