Had smash in car

**delboy13** · 7 November, 2008, 13:06

i once was not watching and drove into the back of someone.my bumper was off and the bonnet would not shut as front of car had been pushed in.i went to a mechanic which does jobs for insaurance companies and he said he would write it off can not be saved.so i took car to a different garage who fixed it for a ?100 been driving it for 7 months and just has passed mot aswell.

so i think ask a few places

**DavC** · 7 November, 2008, 16:19

might be best to have it written off, and then buy it back for 100 quid, and get the repair done cheap. My old man did that once and worked out well for him.

if repair estimates come to 50-75% of what the car's worth then the insurance company will write it off anyway. so your going to have to find a very cheap company for them not to write it off

**lee85boro** · 7 November, 2008, 19:43

not good, hope u ok

**dctyper** · 7 November, 2008, 23:45

you can get it alot cheaper. they will work it out like this:

parts + vat
materials + vat
fitting labour time
paint labour time
prep labour time
each panel will have a time ie wing 1 hour for paint 1 hour for prep 1 hour for fitting=3 hours

depends what their labour rate is, say ?50+vat per hour?

then they add profit to this

hence the price

my mazda rx7 was quoted ?800 for a bump and i went to a local guy and got it for ?280, massive difference

the sill may be a problem but a good garage can sort it. Nationwide are poo!

as for the aircon, at the most a new compressor(the most expensive part)

**smoggie** · 8 November, 2008, 18:05

I had a new wing, new headlight and small repair to the bumper. the bumper and wing were fully resparayed. this was an insurance job on a 2002 focus and come to nearly ?800 at the jennings ford garage.It didnt come off my insurance so i as happy for it be done

**The Reaper** · 8 November, 2008, 21:14

I, personally, am a heavy recovery driver for a large recovery firm [famous for it's specialist work] contracted to the police.
I recover vehicles from motorways etc etc after horrendous smashes involving death and injuries.
A lot of the cars cannot ever be repaired but others although looking like total write offs are back on the road in weeks.
My wife had a crash in her Kia Sportage and was told the car was a total-----she loves her car so I hunted around and found a small backstreet garage 35 miles away in London. Mr Singh the owner insisted that the ?2700 repairs quoted by the insurance garage was laughable and he and his mechanic--"Moe" can't pronounce his name could repair it for under half the quote. I said yes--took the car in on the tuesday and left it. On thursday the following week, I got a call to pick up the car as it was ready.
I went to the garage fearing the worst--costwise, but there was the car perfectly restored, better than before the accident----cost=?991.48. I paid happily then drove to nearest MOT centre and put it through the test---it passed 100% and two years on it's still 100%.
So don't believe the quotes etc from the insurances---do a bit of legwork and find someone who will work for you at a price you can afford---these people are out there in every town, all you have to do is find them.
Regards.
The Reaper.

PS---I sincerely hope you weren't hurt in the crash---good luck.

**Bucky** · 9 November, 2008, 15:10

Yeah, like someone said earlier. Write it off, then buy it back, Get it fixed on the cheap, and sell it.

Thats what i done, ended up getting about ?2500 for a car that was only worth ?1600

**cgscott** · 9 November, 2008, 20:18

I wasnt hurt in the bump. Thanks for asking.

I have been quoted 500 from a backstreet garage for all the repairs except the air con. So i will let you know what happens.

I love the car it has full leather and full package so i don't want to lose it. Also its only don 64000 miles. So its in pretty good condition for its year (well it was).

**krazylegz** · 9 November, 2008, 20:39

hope you get it sorted out ok m8

and pleased you're ok

**mindwhip** · 11 November, 2008, 22:47

Someone smashed into the back of me a while back. Did a lot of damage to my car and it was a write off... Insurance payed out 900 quid... I only paid 300 for it about a year before so I was happy.

**cgscott** · 13 November, 2008, 10:49

Quick update guys. Phoned the insurance company and went mad told them i was gonna withdraw my claim. Got a phonecall from nationwide yesterday saying the car is stripped and the completion date is on the 21st of this month.

Looks like theyve been had and knew what i was talking about when i said the damage was nowhere near 1800 quid.

So it looks as if im getting my baby back next friday.

insurance companys are such a scam. But if you stand up to them then i think the sometimes put the tail betwwen theyre legs.

I know that if i wrote the car off it wouldve been back on the road in no time for someone else to enjoy as it is a cracking car.

So quick word of advice stick in and you will get a different resultm from them.

Thieving bas**rds.

**.: JaCkPoT :.** · 25 February, 2009, 02:16

Picked this thread up to ask hows the car doing now mate?

**dannynumnum** · 25 February, 2009, 02:22

try the smaller garages there trying to keep afloat

**gmb45** · 25 February, 2009, 05:04

Originally posted by cgscott

Got a ford focus 2.0 Ghia On a 2001 plate.

Smashed into a verge and lost the bumper. Damaged the wing and the sill underneath the drivers door. Have bashed the air con but all still working fine and no leaks in the radiator.

Have put the car into nationwide repairs and they quoted 1800 quid which i think is rediculous. They want to write the car off.

Can anyone veryfy this with me or anyone know someone who can do the same job for a lot less.

Will post photos tommorow when i get the car back from them as i have refused repairs.

?1800 fcuk me,there trying a rip off m8,my garage would charge no more than 800 for that job,and dont forget the big companies have a lot more overheads than the little garages so have to charge a lot more

Had smash in car

Had smash in car

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment