Rear-ended on Friday afternoon, the result being…

Picked up for ‘appraisal’ this morning. The driver the garage sent seemed to think it would be a write-off…

Hoping not as it took me long enough to find this one!

The crash was that bad that it broke the link to your image 😉 and without pics….

Oops…

How are your door gaps?

Door gaps were fine. Impact had pushed into the spare wheel well, may have damaged the amplifier located underneath. Auto tailgate and parking sensors also toast.

How are your door gaps?

About average for a Defender at the back 🙁

Even gaps around the wheel arches?
Would have thought it’s a fixer.

The wheel arches didn’t seemed to have moved to my untrained eye. Despite the (incredible) price of parts I can’t see that the repairs would amount to more than the ‘value’ of the car, but I don’t know what figures / ratios they operate from.

Id be saying new tailgate, bumper, back panel and impact beam. Repair boot floor possibly.
As above it depends if the actual body of the car has been bent or damaged. No dents on the roof or closed up door gaps? No air bags or anything gone off?
I wouldn’t say its a write off going off that picture

ebay prices £11,500-£14,000 so should be economically repairable provided there is not major chassis damage.

Even if it is bent they soon pull it straight on a jig.

Fingers crossed then. It’s low mileage and highly specced, so I imagine I’d face a battle getting what I think it’s worth. There were only 3 petrol autos on autotrader when I last looked and they’re all double the mileage so replacing it wouldn’t be easy.

Make sure you know where it’s gone for assessment.

iirc (and if I’m wrong hopefully someone will correct me on this) the car is still yours until you accept payout, so if they write it off as cat d/cat c then you refuse this, retrieve car, take a lesser payout and get it repaired yourself.

Bear in mind that you then have a car that’s worth less to sell on/trade in.

The garage/assessment centre may try to write it off as it coudl be an easy repair and a quick buck for them…

If they do fix it make sure they paint the boot area matt. First thing I look for is a glossy spare wheel area when I buy a car. Dead giveaway of a rear end shunt.

Thanks for the advice.

It’s gone to Directline’s approved centre, UK Assistance. They gave it a thorough going over when they picked it up and I made sure they noted that the rest of the car is in good nick.

I assume (hope) I’ll get chance to drive it before I ‘accept’ it?

Just for a heads up:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?s=00a37e27e862cd7228f0a0719b724df0&t=329733&page=3#topofpage

Although you probably only hear about the bad experiences…

Can I be first to mention T-cut?

My wife’s (then) 3 month old Mazda 3 was rear-ended with similar (perhaps slightly less) damage and it came within a few hundred £££s of being a write-off.

Just back up a second…. deep breath.

Right someone hit you and you are claiming off their insurance. Yeap?
Its your car, they have damaged it and have a duty to return you/your car to the position/condition it was in.

They might tell you the car is beyond economical repair, but that’s not your problem. They can fix it. They might tell you its worth £X, but its not your problem. They can find you a car the same.

They will bugger you about, but its worth reminding them about the same spec of car you are hiring while they bugger about.

My guess is right off. It’s easier to send you a cheque and sell it on for repair than deal with possible issues when the repair is started and they find something damaged.
Maybe I’m wrong but I wouldn’t want it back, I’ve seen enough nasty repairs and hidden bodges to save time/money it will rattle and creak because half the clips and trims are broke or missing and the paint won’t match perfect.

I can’t see that the repairs would amount to more than the ‘value’ of the car, but I don’t know what figures / ratios they operate from.

It all depends . . . 1/2 to 2/3rds of retail is a good rule of thumb, but at this time of year they might want the work, so the estimate could be a bit less than in the depths of winter after a cold snap.

Either way I reckon that’ll be close to ‘beyond economic repair’.

Marko

Speshpaul – Member

Just back up a second…. deep breath.

Right someone hit you and you are claiming off their insurance. Yeap?
Its your car, they have damaged it and have a duty to return you/your car to the position/condition it was in.

They might tell you the car is beyond economical repair, but that’s not your problem. They can fix it. They might tell you its worth £X, but its not your problem. They can find you a car the same.

I assumed from the OP’s OP that it was his insurers repairing, and they would be therefore be the ones who took the decision whether or not to repair (caveated by saying that it is always open to the OP to dispute his insurer’s valuation etc)

If it’s TP insurers then you’re absolutely right. You’re also spot on legally, though the OP does have a duty to mitigate his losses.

It’s my insurers who are handling the repair. They’ll be seeking full settlement from the TP’s insurers as it’s ‘no fault’ on my part. This is probably why they’ve sent me a new E Class as a hire car whilst the work is being carried out.

It all depends . . . 1/2 to 2/3rds of retail is a good rule of thumb, but at this time of year they might want the work

In our case it was a fixed figure of (IIRC) 60% of the value of the car. As the car was so new I wanted a brand new replacement and if the repairs had cost just a few hundred more it would have gone over the 60% figure but they wouldn’t budge. The repair shop said that other insurers work on different figures, some as low as 50% of the value of the vehicle.

Forget what the driver says wait for the appraisers report. I’ve seen many a car on the forecourt that has had a new boot floor and rear end so will be repairable.
The damage looks bad due to the crumpled plastics but if the chassis hasn’t been twisted then you are looking at new tailgate, boot floor pan, cross member and plastic bumper. I would put at £3,500-4,000 at bumped up insurance repair cost so not uneconomical.

A nice whiplash and mental trauma claim will cover any shortfall! 😀

Pretty much everyone I’ve spoken to has reminded me to make a claim. Even the paramedic alluded to it.

Anyone ever done it?

Only if you are suffering from whiplash. Otherwise it’s fraud, you maybe comfortable doing that I don’t know.

Anyone ever done it?

Yes – me. Genuine claim though!

A lady ran into the back of me at around 35-40mph. I was stationary letting a lorry through a bridge and she didn’t see I had stopped.

Just had the call from the garage.

They’re going to repair it. It needs a new bumper, tailgate, rear panel, boot floor, interior trim plus other bits and bobs. Mechanic said I was lucky that impact was very central as it’s helped to localise the damage. No damage to the frame (or whatever he called it).

Anticipating that I’ll have it back by the 17th.

By which time you may find yourself enjoying the e-class a little too much! 😉

E-Class? Wasn’t there a thing about these fancy courtesy cars costing a million quid, and insurers disputing their costs?

bongohoohaa – Member

E-Class? Wasn’t there a thing about these fancy courtesy cars costing a million quid, and insurers disputing their costs?

That’s credit hire, which is a different kettle of fish altogether.

It’s an E220 Bluetec. So whilst it’s a nice place to sit and not a bad looking car, it’s not the most exciting to drive. Even in Sport it’s not particularly inspiring and seems more concerned with showing me graphs of my fuel consumption.

A nice whiplash and mental trauma claim will cover any shortfall!

We had a crash in Jan 2010. Woman in an MPV just plain didnt see us and failed to give way and hit us driver side at 25-30 mph, still with her foot on the gas. My right shoulder/arm/hand took a hell of a whack, hand went blue at the scene. It’s still sore now and still unable to hold a pen properly.

OH was pretty much unscathed (bit sore from seatbelt) but is now a very nervous passenger. Insurance pretty much forced her to accept a payout of nearly £2k within a couple of months, she said she was sore for a few days but it cleared up quickly. They still insisted. She is a vet so I think they were worried about it affecting her work.

They told me my payout would be a little bit more but not a lot and have been pretty useless all round. Had a bit of token physio from them and then some from the NHS. Some shocking incorrect diagnosis from one doctor which resulted in them giving me joint injections and then realised I didn’t need it. Shoulder and hand pain every day and has put me in a state of constant grumpiness/depression as I can’t sleep right and have to deal with it as the pain killers were trashing my stomach. Only thing making it better is I took matters into my own hand recently and joined a gym and have been doing sensible exercises with sensible weights and it seems to be working.

On a cheerier note – must be pleased they are fixing it. A decent place will get it back to how it was and will probably be much better than trying to find another and ending up with a turkey. Just make sure you go over it very carefully and dont’ accept any sub standard work. Also make sure they do a decent paintwork warranty (5 years) on the repair.

Thanks andyl.

I’ve been stiff and sore in my neck since Friday, but it’s not been severe and standard ibuprofen have sorted it. Saw the GP the same afternoon on advice from the paramedic, but I’ve not felt the need for the stronger painkillers he prescribed. Cycled to work this morning and it was pretty much fine.

I don’t think it’d be described as whiplash and, other than the shock, some pain and the inconvenience, there are no other issues. I’ll be honest, the chance of what sounds like easy money is tempting, though I’m not sure I’d have a claim anyway.

And yes, chuffed it’ll be coming back.