Crash

[Desireless]

1998 5 Door Corsa LS

I recently said that someone smashed into the back of me, now I'm just
looking for info/opinions.

I took the car to my mechanic today for a service and looking at the
inside damage at the back he said it would be classed as a write-off.

To say I'm stunned is an understatement, I can replace the metal
"bumper" inside the plastic bumper, replace the plastic part as well
and hammer here and there, few would notice and the look of the car is
returned to normal.

However - I clearly could not easily sell for a decent price in the
future. I can get in touch with the guy and go through his insurance
as he originally offered, but my mechanic talks of prices beyond 1000
- cutting some back plate out, gaining a certificate as proof of
something or other...

....else I just replace the bumper parts and knock what I can back into
shape.

Any thoughts, anyone? The car is in good condition, only problem today
was a leaking water pump that will be replaced shortly. Plus I'm told
that the back damage will not cause problems when it comes to MOT
time.

 

[Chris]

It's not for the garage to determine that the car is a write off - this is
for your insurance company.

Just get him to quote to repair the damage. The insurance company may send
out someone to look at the damage - and they will either pay for the repair
or offer you the book value.

Write off does not mean unroadworthy it only means it will cost more to
repair than the book price.

A friend of mine was in the same situation, the car was written off, he paid
the insurance compnay a small amount to retain ownership of the car - and
simply continued driving it - the damage was cosmetic but would have cost a
lot to repair.

If you do this then repair and pop it through an mot just to double check
all it OK

 

[Desireless]

Thanks for the info - that's the word I was looking for: "cosmetic" -
that's the only issue here, which doesn't really bother me, it's
hardly noticeable and will be even less so when a new bumper is
fitted. I think I'll take the route of getting a quote for repair, but
I'm doubting now that I'll follow through with major body work, but
will be getting an MOT soon. As I said, my mechanic (we actually have
two extremely experienced mechanics now, working in the same place)
confirmed that this accident won't affect the MOT in any way. It's a
nice car that I'm used to now, I have a hard time letting anything go
hehe.

 

[EtomD]

...else I just replace the bumper parts and knock what I can back intoDrastically snipped


I thought that when a car was written off that it was - just that - . The
car was unroadworthy and stopped being used - taxed or insured.

 

[adder1969]

...else I just replace the bumper parts and knock what I can back into
shape.

You can but why would you want to? Surely you'll want *something*
from the guy that hit you?

 

[Mike]

I thought that when a car was written off that it was - just that - . The

car was unroadworthy and stopped being used - taxed or insured.

Not really. think in terms of a technical write off and an actual write off.

Imagine an older car worth about £350-£400.

Wrapping it round a lamp post so the door handle is level with the handbrake
is an
actual write off. There's no way thats going to be fixed.

Now imagine the same care getting a minor sideswipe.

New wing, mirror, maybe door skin, trim, a bumper or two. Then you have to
get it sprayed to match.
then theres labour as well. A grand easy. Because insurance is about
restoring it to pre-accident condition.
But an insurance companies cheque book will end at the market value of the
vehicle. So you argue about the value,
accept a figure then if you think the rest of the car is worth it you put a
bid in on the car, which will quite often be accepted.
Then a shopping trip to the breakers for some parts, providing you dont mind
mis-matched panels, all in for about £75, you
fit them yourself and away you go. In fact maybe you dont even need to do
all of that. Minor dings and scrapes done necessarily
mean the car is rendered unroadworthy.

Mike

 

[ChrisM]

In message [email protected],

Not really. think in terms of a technical write off and an actual
write off.
Imagine an older car worth about £350-£400.

Wrapping it round a lamp post so the door handle is level with the
handbrake is an
actual write off. There's no way thats going to be fixed.

Now imagine the same care getting a minor sideswipe.

New wing, mirror, maybe door skin, trim, a bumper or two. Then you
have to get it sprayed to match.
then theres labour as well. A grand easy. Because insurance is about
restoring it to pre-accident condition.
But an insurance companies cheque book will end at the market value
of the vehicle. So you argue about the value,
accept a figure then if you think the rest of the car is worth it you
put a bid in on the car, which will quite often be accepted.
Then a shopping trip to the breakers for some parts, providing you
dont mind mis-matched panels, all in for about £75, you
fit them yourself and away you go. In fact maybe you dont even need
to do all of that. Minor dings and scrapes done necessarily
mean the car is rendered unroadworthy.

Mike

You have to PAY

 

[ChrisM]

In message [email protected],

Not really. think in terms of a technical write off and an actual
write off.
Imagine an older car worth about £350-£400.

Wrapping it round a lamp post so the door handle is level with the
handbrake is an
actual write off. There's no way thats going to be fixed.

Now imagine the same care getting a minor sideswipe.

New wing, mirror, maybe door skin, trim, a bumper or two. Then you
have to get it sprayed to match.
then theres labour as well. A grand easy. Because insurance is about
restoring it to pre-accident condition.
But an insurance companies cheque book will end at the market value
of the vehicle. So you argue about the value,
accept a figure then if you think the rest of the car is worth it you
put a bid in on the car, which will quite often be accepted.
Then a shopping trip to the breakers for some parts, providing you
dont mind mis-matched panels, all in for about £75, you
fit them yourself and away you go. In fact maybe you dont even need
to do all of that. Minor dings and scrapes done necessarily
mean the car is rendered unroadworthy.

Mike

So effectivly, you have to PAY the insurance company for NOT fixing your
car...? Or have I mis-understood what you said?

 

[Mike]

So effectivly, you have to PAY the insurance company for NOT fixing your
car...? Or have I mis-understood what you said?

I fear you may have misunderstood. Handled right it can be a nice little
pocket filler for you,
and all prefectly legit and above board.

Specific example.

About 20 years ago I used to have a little reliant kitten saloon. (its like
a 3 wheeled robin, but with
4 wheels instead of 3. A much overlooked and surprisingly versatile little
car)
Well a drunk driver side swiped it and ripped the side out of it. Chassis,
steering suspension all ok,
was perfectly driveable, but was written off by the (other persons )
insurance. (Because of the fibre glass body it was very labour intensive to
fix, hence high repair bill and so write off) .After some haggling, the
car was valued at £1200, which I accepted. At that point the car became the
property of the insurance company,
but while it was still in my possesion I made a counter offer of £100 for
the salvage rights, which was accepted by the insurance as that effectively
closed the book on the incident for them and they didnt have to arrange
collection of the car, storage, selling for salvage etc. That left me with a
bent car and £1100 to fix it. Although it was driveable it wasnt legal to
drive because of jagged edges etc. But I knew someone who dabbled a lot in
reliants and they had broken a kitten estate for the chassis.engine/running
gear, and still had the bodyshell (an estate, but they all sat on the same
chassis) with some very minor front corner damage.. I bought it for £150,
and over a weekend me and a pal unbolted my old body, and fitted the new. I
slipped him £50 for his efforts, and spent another £50 repairing and
glassing up the damaged corner.

Result-a better, repaired car, and £850 in my pocket. Of course, I had to do
a heck of a lot of pissing about, but it was worth it to me in the end.
Perhaps to someone else they either couldnt be bothered or lacked the
necessary skills. Either way it was a solution that worked for me.

Hope this helps some

Mike