Black ice crash (update)

Cornwall1888 said:
Too be honest I don't NEED a car, but I do 12 hour shift so without one I end up doing 15 hour days as public transport increases my journey time a lot.

I can get picked up and dropped off by the night shift but not long term.

With 3 years no claims and no accidents my insurance with a few extras was £450 this year.

I just done a go compare with 0 no claims and an accident repair costing £3000 (total guess) on my recent policy it rose to £800. Over 5 years I'd imagine that would cost me £1300. As the accident is further in the past and my no claims (hopefully) rise I won't take the £350 hit every year.

I was planning on downgrading the car soon anyway so I wouldn't necessarily be paying £800 for the next 5 years, I'll be getting a car in a lower insurance group within the next 18 months.

I'm guessing approaching an accident repair place myself the costs would be ridiculous, I'll get the same bill as the insurers would, right?

I still don't know the full extent of the damage it may just not be the exterior and even if I'm patient and get it done the 'cheap' it'll be significantly more than the excess.
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But you will pay significantly more than your excess going through the insurance-it's the excess plus vastly inflated premiums for 5 years.
I'd get it fixed myself, find a paint shop & supply used parts, your no claims will stay unaffected & your car won't be written off.
Rob
 
A body shop repair for an insurance company has to be done to their standard - as new with a rust proof guarantee for a set number of years. Hence they have to use new parts and panels and the working rate has already been agreed with the insurance company.

For example my last car needed four new wings. Using the main dealer the cost of repair to insurance standard was an eye-watering £14K Yes that's right £14K :thumbsdown: At an independent body shop just under 3K - because they would repair not replace; and had the wings bolted on and off like the Zed then I would have changed them myself. Had the paint needed redoing the cost would have been around £800.

If you go the self route your car or yourself will never have had an accident. You are going to have to declare a fault accident for the next five years via the insurance route - unless you can convince them that the tree rushed you when you weren't looking.
 
Are there independent paint shops who use there connections to buy used parts kind of like garages will source supply used engine parts for cheaper repairs?

Obviously I'd have to pay for the privilege of them finding the parts but it would save me a lot of time and hassle.

How long would an independent paint shop take to fix it, not long if they had the parts I assume?

If the repair was less than £1000 and didn't take weeks and weeks I may consider it.

It's a 2004 e85 in good condition inspection 2 just done with 47,000 miles reckon it's worth about £6000-£6500 what is a realistic write off payout?
 
Why don't you get on eBay? Probably get your panels ordered tonight, they haven't got to be mint as being sprayed.
I think you're being optimistic thinking £6.5k for an 04 zed to be honest & I think the insurance valuation would be a lot lower than that. :oops:
Rob
 
There is a front ring on eBay in titanic silver for 140 needs a little pdr. Silver bumper should be easy to find so lights and suspension, which should by easy enough to find/sort.

How does it drive?
 
That'll be a write off without any shadow of a doubt...and they'll likely screw you on an offer on the value, probably as low as £3k. If it were me, I'd buy a banger and get the car repaired over the next couple of months.

I'd think very carefully before calling your insurance company for that.

Shame, nice looking car. :(
 
Smartbear said:
Why don't you get on eBay? Probably get your panels ordered tonight, they haven't got to be mint as being sprayed.
I think you're being optimistic thinking £6.5k for an 04 zed to be honest & I think the insurance valuation would be a lot lower than that. :oops:
Rob
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There are only 3 3.0 manual e85's with less than 60,000 miles on autotrader private sellers on for just under £6000

I'm definitely leaning towards going the insurance root so much less hassle, it'll likely cost more in the long run but spread over 5 years it's not so bad.

I may lose the zed which is unfortunately but I was changing to a diesel soon anyway so the cost of running that will be cheaper

The time, money and effort involved in getting a quote, figuring out all the parts I need, finding them, buying them, finding a repair shop, transporting car, having them fitted, resprayed, being without a car for weeks.... not worth it
 
Cornwall1888 said:
There are only 3 3.0 manual e85's with less than 60,000 miles on autotrader private sellers on for just under £6000

I'm definitely leaning towards going the insurance root so much less hassle, it'll likely cost more in the long run but spread over 5 years it's not so bad.

I may lose the zed which is unfortunately but I was changing to a diesel soon anyway so the cost of running that will be cheaper

The time, money and effort involved in getting a quote, figuring out all the parts I need, finding them, buying them, finding a repair shop, transporting car, having them fitted, resprayed, being without a car for weeks.... not worth it
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Sorry to hear of your predicament OP.

I can see the appeal of the insurance route, but having worked in that industry for many years I would try to avoid it however much aggravation it may cost.

Whatever you do, I hope it works out OK. :thumbsup:
 
Angelus666 said:
That'll be a write off without any shadow of a doubt...and they'll likely screw you on an offer on the value, probably as low as £3k. If it were me, I'd buy a banger and get the car repaired over the next couple of months.

I'd think very carefully before calling your insurance company for that.

Shame, nice looking car. :(
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How do they justify £3000?

In theory you're supposed to be able purchase a very similar car with the write off pay out, I know they take off the excess and low ball you but £3000 seems very harsh
 
Think carefully and check your insurance policy.

You're talking about an insurance supplied hire car, but this is a "fault" accident, and unless you took out an enhanced level of cover you may not be entitled to hire car in these circumstances.

I turn down this extra level of cover because I have 2 cars, so I always have one to fall back on.

Regardless of the above, if you go direct to a body shop they may well be able to provide you a courtesy car for a small or no charge, and if you can supply the panels it would make it a fair bit cheaper.

As I said, think before you jump in with both feet.
 
If you go through the insurance, and providing they say it will stand the repair, and not write it off, straightaway, your £6k valuation becomes a £4k car after the repair. If they do write it off, and I'd be inclined to think they would, as a headlight is £800, £300 for a wing and prob £600 for a bumper, making a min of £1,700 in parts alone, they will not let you keep the car, as they will want to maximise the salvage. If you'd been hit by a third party, you would have the option to buy the salvage for circa 15%.

You could repair that for £500 with used parts, and it's a common colour so chances are you wouldn't need paint. Member has a good few body panels for sale here;http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=93534

Mike
 
Cornwall1888 said:
[post]1382775[/post] How do they justify £3000?In theory you're supposed to be able purchase a very similar car with the write off pay out, I know they take off the excess and low ball you but £3000 seems very harsh
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I could write a book on the demise of the motor insurance industry in the UK (my first job was with Cornhill Insurance in 1977) but it would probably bore most people to death!

Put simply in the present dumbed-down state of that industry, they don't justify their valuation - they leave it to you to try to justify something realistic (then generally ignore what you told them)!

Hence I would try to avoid claiming if at all possible!
 
At first glance that's a £2,500-£3,000 body shop repair under insurance
Wing £300+
Bumper cover £600
Headlight £400 halogen £1000 xenon
Washer cover
Front crash member?
Labour and paint £500+
Garage storage, etc.

Cars probably worth £4k so equates to a write off

It's a DIY repair or take the insurance cash and buy a replacement car, but in effect pay it all back over the next 5 years in lost NCB and increased premiums. Really no win
Personally I'd do as some have suggested and buy a cheap runabout, swap that onto your insurance and repair the car at leisure with parts you can source
 
And with a swap you don't have to lie to the insurance company about not having had any accidents or losses during the year.
 
As most have said, don't go to the insurance, this is doable on a DIY basis. front bumper on Gumtree £50-£70 wing ebay £80, headlight ebay £160. That's all the big ticket items for £300, friendly repair shop, you back in your Z, happy days :)
But it sounds like you don't/can't want to do this route, so it's your call. Good luck :thumbsup:
 
Gutted for you! But as has been said you have to repair it yourself or cut your losses. Would be sad to see another z go to waste! :cry:
 
paddy wright said:
Gutted for you! But as has been said you have to repair it yourself or cut your losses. Would be sad to see another z go to waste! :cry:
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If it's definitely a goner it really doesn't take much to write off a car, at least you guys cars will become rarer.

If it is a write off I may buy and run a cheap car for a while or if the offer is decent I may get a clio 200 always fancied one just never planned on it being this early.

Love the z4 but I'd never buy the same car twice been there done that.
 
Unlucky fella, if you go the convenience route it will cost you more financially in the long term but it keeps things simple. If the rest of the car is good I'd get it fixed up by a good independent. Sourcing and buying parts can be fun, you'll meet some nice and interesting folks (and probably a few knob heads as well).
 
ouch, that looks bad :(
Looks like the bonnet is still OK tho. A second hand fender and bumper on ebay aren't too expensive. The headlight might be a little more expensive.

Best of luck with the repairs
 
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