Help save a Z - reckon this is a write off? Help appreciated

[Jameszy]

A few weeks back someone drove into my beloved Z4 coupe which was parked at the time. The damage was to the rear 3/4 - they clipped the rear wheel which has clearly bent some suspension components out of shape (see pic). The car was shunted forward as a result, with their car taking most of the impact.

Their insurer, More Than, have accepted full fault here. They have sent Hoopers, a crash assessor, to where the car is being stored. Hoopers have performed an assessment. As part of this, they didn’t get the car lifted up or wheel taken off, but reckon it would cost £7,000 to fix. This seems unlikely to me (given the suspension components are shared with the E46 and widely available). I would have thought more like £2-3k depending on what needs replacing. I shared the photo with Chartwells, a crash repair shop in Derby who are recommended here, and they thought around £4k.

I’m obviously not trying to get an exact £ assessment online, instead would be great to know any advice here on what to do. Ideally I’d like to get the vehicle properly assessed (I.e. up on a ramp to actually see what needs to be replaced).

Should I be arranging for a local body shop (e.g Chartwells) to view it? Has anyone had experience here in what’s best to do? Am concerned the Hoopers report is a finger in the air guess given they haven’t examined which components are broken.

Obviously car can’t be moved - it’s currently in Derby, I live in London.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Can’t stand the thought of it being written off when it’s in otherwise excellent condition (just had suspension and brake overhaul), I’d planned on keeping it for the next 5+ years.

 

[Rockhopper]

The insurance company won’t price up used components, it’ll all be brand new stuff from BMW so yes, you could certainly fix it up for far less. See if you can buy it back and get your local garage to fix it but be aware that it’ll always be recorded and therefore worth rather less than one that’s not been crashed.

 

[Jameszy]

Agreed - that said, the components are relatively inexpensive. I’d be happy to buy it back if it could be fixed I.e. frame not bent.

I guess my question is more on next steps. Since a proper examination hasn’t been performed, any suggestions/experience of how to do this with insurance companies?

 

[Zedebee]

You should wait to see what the insurers want to do. If they elect to repair it, get it repaired, all new components etc. If they decide to write it off, then you can make a value judgement on whether to buy it off them and repair it yourself. Either way the insurance categorisation will reduce the value of you car by 30%, which you’ll never get back. That’s the real bummer.

 

[Jameszy]

Thanks Zeebee.

A few questions. Any idea how much the salvage value would be, or how this is usually assessed?

First I think makes sense to get a proper quote done on the damage. Will need a recovery to a local crash shop (it’s current at a recovery yard).

Will obviously wait to hear from their insurer, but I like to have options at hand rather than being on the back foot

 

[enuff_zed]

I would get it assessed for the straightness only, ensuring no structural weakening has occurred.
If you buy it back you will be able to pick up body panels from the forum or ebay.
Trim, arch liners etc, again the likes of bigwinn can provide.
You will always have a categorised car, so it will only be worth it's true value to you, including the satisfaction of saving it.
However, some people find it hard to live with the niggle in their mind that it has been damaged.
If you intend to do it up and keep it for a long time, worth considering the costs.
However, you very rarely see coupes being broken for spares, so if you can't live with a categorised car then look at how much the insurance will give you if it's written off; then ask how much to buy it back. Then consider that if you have the time, space and aptitude you could easily realise another £1-2k by selling parts off (dependant on spec).

I suppose at the end of the day it comes down to head v heart v calculator.

 

[mmm-five]

Mine didn't look much worse than that, and in total was £13k of repairs...after we realised the shunt had also pushed the half-shaft into the diff and damaged that too.

 

[Rockhopper]

Even if it needs going on a jig that’s perfectly doable and a very common process. I have heard it said though that lots of insurance companies won’t sell you the salvage these days, they send it straight to Copart or similar. I’ve never done it myself though.
Another option is don’t involve the insurance company, fix it up, it’s not recorded so still worth book value. That extra value might be worth the cost of the repair?

 

[Jameszy]

Mine didn't look much worse than that, and in total was £13k of repairs...after we realised the shunt had also pushed the half-shaft into the diff and damaged that too.

DSCF1053.jpg

IMG_0880.jpg

Blimey - out of interest, did your wheels rotate freely post accident?

 

[Jameszy]

Even if it needs going on a jig that’s perfectly doable and a very common process. I have heard it said though that lots of insurance companies won’t sell you the salvage these days, they send it straight to Copart or similar. I’ve never done it myself though.
Another option is don’t involve the insurance company, fix it up, it’s not recorded so still worth book value. That extra value might be worth the cost of the repair?

Let's see what the insurance company say. I'll be pushing for an actual evaluation - would be depressing to think of it written off without so much as it being put on a lift.

 

[buzyg]

I recently had my ///MR written off, with what looked like similar levels of damage, but to the front of the car. I could have had it fixed and come out with a few bob and a cat marked car. But I know the car would never have been the same, to me, after that. So I banked the insurance pay out for now and just added this years tax to the pot too. Just need to stay out of the garage until I find a replacement.

 

[mmm-five]

Mine didn't look much worse than that, and in total was £13k of repairs...after we realised the shunt had also pushed the half-shaft into the diff and damaged that too.

DSCF1053.jpg

IMG_0880.jpg

Blimey - out of interest, did your wheels rotate freely post accident?

That wheel rotated freely, with a hell of a wobble/clunk though

 

[Jameszy]

Okay - I guess I will have to accept there's a good possibility it will be written off. Hoopers (the accident damage "specialists") suggested a figure of around £7500. I think that's a little low - I'd be looking for closer to £9k given it was in spotless condition, and had just had a full suspension and brake refresh (including hoses). Also had all the usual stuff like eccentric shaft sensor, valvetronic service, all gaskets replaced, water pump, ABS motor etc sorted, and had 0 advisories for the last 4 years on MOT. Point being I had work done to it each year with the view to keeping it well over 150,000 miles (it is currently on 110,000). A lot of what is on the market isn't in such as good nick.

Anyway lets see what happens. Hopefully the damage isn't extensive.

 

[Rockhopper]

They won’t consider the fact it has all those new parts, they’ll just consider it as a road worthy example of that particular model and year. It’s value is what a similar vehicle might be sold for (unless you had an agreed value policy).

 

[Mr Tidy]

That's a real shame OP.

Somehow I can't see the insurer having your car repaired but you ought to be able to do a deal with them to keep it if you can find somewhere who will repair it. But as others have said having an insurance "Cat" marker will hit its future value hard.

Just hope that one way or another you can get an outcome that works for you.

 

[Jameszy]

They won’t consider the fact it has all those new parts, they’ll just consider it as a road worthy example of that particular model and year. It’s value is what a similar vehicle might be sold for (unless you had an agreed value policy).

Yeah - not sure that they will say. I don't have a policy with them - am dealing with the third party's insurer, More Than, not my own. Therefore it's more about them ensuring to make good of the loss of the and bring me back to the same position as I was prior to such loss.

 

[Deepseaskateboard]

If someone else has hit your parked car, can you not demand they have it fixed?

Shouldn't matter about the ‘value’ of the car. You didn’t ask for It to be hit, so in my mind their insurer should pay to put it right, even if it does cost £13k.

Can you get legal advice on this?
Coupe is a beautiful car, get it repaired. Don’t pay for it.

 

[Jameszy]

If someone else has hit your parked car, can you not demand they have it fixed?

Shouldn't matter about the ‘value’ of the car. You didn’t ask for It to be hit, so in my mind their insurer should pay to put it right, even if it does cost £13k.

Can you get legal advice on this?
Coupe is a beautiful car, get it repaired. Don’t pay for it.

It's an interesting one. I have 0 experience here, hence putting the post up for advice. I think the third party insurer's argument would be that they could provide a financial value of what they deemed the car to be worth prior to the accident. Not an easy task - find me another Montego blue manual with the Champagne leather? I think only a few hundred were made for the UK market in that spec - it's not like it was a black BMW 320d in which case finding recent sales is pretty easy.

 

[Deepseaskateboard]

Yeah, their valuation is theoretical.

I would demand they fix the car, it’s not like you have a contract with the third party insurer.

Tell them to take it away, provide a courtesy car and deliver it back to you repaired.

I once had a damaged car which someone drove in to, and they paid far more than the car was worth… so I was happy to get rid of it at that point.

I am no expert here, but I would push back, be awkward and seek legal advice on this one.

I hope it all works out for you!

I very briefly owned a montego blue coupe, but it had a cracked engine block! :/ that was a bit of a fiasco!!

 

[Jameszy]

Thanks for the advice/support deepseaskateboard. Will update you with what the insurer says, have got a call back with Chartwell also to see if they can have a decent look at it and take a view. If it needs to go then that's sad, but if it can be fixed with bolt on bolt off parts then that's what I'll be doing.

In the meantime, More Than have provided me with a courtesy car which I've had for the past week. It's a 2.3 tonne Audi A6 hybrid. It is horrid, I hate it, and want my Z back!!