406oc.co.uk

I was at the lights to day when someone decided to go into the back of me...thanks to the tank that is the 406 the damage doesn't look too bad...I hope!

It didn't look too bad at the time, but I have now opened my boot and it won't close again! It looks as though the bumper has been bent in slightly just where the boot catch/lock is. I hope this hasn't damaged the main frame?!!

By the looks of it I can hopefully just replace the bumper...and maybe the bootlid, does this sound like it would solve the problem? or bash it back into place so I can shut the boot and fill in the bumper cracks....cheap I know but I'm only a poor student

I want to avoid claiming on the insurance at all costs! As this would just prove more expensive in the long run.

If you have been rear-ended it is not your fault (unless you had no lights at night or were doing something naughty)

The other persons insurance will pay the whole lot (unless they are uninsured). One downside to insurance is they may want to write the vehicle off, in which case buy it back for salvage value.

The thing to watch for is whiplash injuries - they can be expensive in compo!

I had some one go in the rear of me, my car was written off, all went through there insurance didn't even have to pay an excess or anything. I do have to declare the accident (as none fault) for insurance but it doesn't effect the premium.

sounds like they have bent the back panel if the boo will not shut correctly. Could be borderline written of, if it is just buy it back hammer out the back pannel and sort bumper out and bang it back the road. You may even make a small profit!

why don't I just hammer out the back and keep it? Whats the point of going through the insurance and buying it back that will cost me money

I'm happy to fix it myself I have a few friends that will help me get it looking new again so thats not the issue, but if the fellow who went into me wants to claim on his insurance won't he need me to be involved? or can I just bumble on with what I'm doing?
Because to be honest I really like my car, I really NEED it on the road at the moment, and my damage will be unoticable once I can get the boot to close! His car however, well thats another story!

I don't really want to start looking for another car if the insurance does pay out as a write off...I could end up with a D9 that keeps breaking! my D8 has been running perfectly for ages and it will continue to...once the boot shuts

Rant over!

Eh, f*ck him, claim on his insurance, if it gets written off you get the value of the car in cash, you buy it back for a nominal fee and then fix it yourself. You are then in the money, put in a claim for whiplash, goto hospital to help with your whiplash claim and get about £2k in compensation.

If the fault is not yours go through insurance.

I had a rear end shunt in my estate, tailgate needed a slam to shut it afterwards. I drove it round till they got the new tailgate in then had a rental whilst it was in the shop.

I did have to pay my excess to the garage, but was reimbursed in full within a couple of weeks.

Before that I had a fool drive into the side of me when I had a Corsa. That went to court and I won.

On both of those I declare(d) them when insuring my car, but they are non-fault so do not affect my insurance at all.

If they do "write off" the car, the salvage value will be low and so you will have cash in hand to fix it. Best thing actually if they do declare the vehicle a write off as there will be no excess to pay. If it is a Cat C write off you will need to have the vehicle inspected, which is around £50, with Cat D it can go straight back on the road.

Couple of links here and here that may help a bit.

And as to write off categories this may help.

And finally the DVLA page.

Had my old 405 written off & the ins paid me £500 plus let me keep the vehicle & no stamp on the V5-only paid £650 for it 4 years before too-still passes an MOT & goes well.

(loves boy racers that go inside on roundabouts then bounce off kerbs)

Ok had a look at the inside of the car today and its alot worse than it looks from the outside.

I had to slightly deflate the spare wheel to get it out it's well the bumper is hardly damaged just two small cracks but the metalwork behind it is crumpled in a few places, where the bootlid latches on has been bent in so far the two parts of the catches wont mate.
Anyone have any experience of this? I have taken pictures ready to fight my corner as the damage is almost unoticable from the outside.

Would this have damaged the main frame and/or possible made it a right off?

I'm quite sure the insurance will consider it a write off as its 10years old now and not worth all that much so the cost of repair is probably not worth it

WIth the insurance money for the car and the whiplash you must have suffered you could get a replacement.

With the car, you could do worse that have the wheel alignment checked. Should give some idea if there is distortion.

the suspension stuff is quite a way from the rear of the car (other side of the spare wheel) it should be ok. Generally insureance only care about panel and visable damage.

My brother got rear ended in this old a4. he had a removable tow bar on it, so his car was twisted a little bit as force went into the tow bar frame with only a little damage to the bumper. Insurance refused to do more than a new bumper, even thou car was twisted and vibrated at 70 mph, tryes weared unevenly. Also completely knacked his lower back but he got some money for that.

i'd guess it needs new back panel and bumper, possibly boot lid and may be boot floor. If it just needs rear panel and bumper its borderline written off, more that that then its probably write off.

Yes from looking at it I would say it needed a new back panel, bumper, boot lid and boot floor, however I will get my local bodyshop to have a quick look at it to see what they think before I contact the insurance company.

I was in a three car pile up the day after I bought my 406.

I bought it at lunch time on a Friday, drove back to work and stayed in until 7pm slaving away at my desk. I drove home, collapsed in bed, got up at 6am and went back to the office on Saturday. Knocked off at 5:45pm and drove home again. In so far as I was working past 5:30 on a Friday and did a full day on a Saturday, it's clear that I was so busy with work that I didn't get a chance to organise insurance for the car. On my way home on the Saturday night I pulled up at a roundabout with 5 entry points and two lanes going around. Came to a full stop because its a notorious area for boy racers to hoon about in. BANG. A BMW 3 series veers off course, drives through a Give Way sign, over a traffic island/garden bed and into the car alongside me, which in turn smashes into my driver's side front and rear doors. The driver had had a diabetic seizure but was taken to hospital unconscious, so we thought she may have been drunk, which would have voided her insurance and as I had none of my own yet, I would have had to have taken her to court to recoup my losses. Luckily it was a medical condition, she was ok (now that she was newly aware of being diabetic) and the insurance was valid. I drove it to a smash repairer, handed them the key, gave them the BMW driver's details and called a cab. Three weeks later my 406 was fixed.

Insurance is only a hassle for the person at fault. So long as they aren't insured with Dodgy Brothers Corp. it should be smooth sailing. If not, go to a cheap suburban solicitor and ask them to draw up a bog-basic letter of demand threatening legal action if the costs aren't reimbursed to you immediately. This usually speeds things along, both with the at-fault driver and the insurance company.

Don't be fooled by the other driver's claim that insurance is too much hassle. If he says this he probably isn't insured or can't afford the excess. If this is the case he probably can't afford to fix it himself or buy-out the value of the car either. You'll need a more expensive solicitor.

Story so far...

Reported it to my insurance who said it would be no problem the full cost of repair should be recovered from the other persons insurance...as soon as he admits liability.

Insuance organised a local repair shop to do the repair for me, so took it down eariler today for an estimate, the gentleman confirmed my fears in that it is a write off, the cost of repair comes too close to the value of the car.

I guess this leaves me two options:
1. take the money (when insurance pays out) out run.
2. use the money to buy the car back from insurers then use the money to pay for the repair.

I'm still waiting for the other guy to admit liability yet to avoid any claims from my insurance, how long should I reasonably wait for this?

Buying the car back would depend how well it could be fixed or how much you care. You really need to see if it's straight before you consider this. When something similar happened to me I was paid the value of the car and I got to keep it. One bodged repair (blocks of wood, a crowbar and a scissor jack) and it went for another 2 years before I scrapped it.

How long to wait is probably a question for your insurers, although you should be forwarding the cost of a hire car while yours is undrivable (hint hint).

Hi mate, when I was turned into by an oncoming car (non fault) it took about 2 months for the cash for the car (write off) to come through, but I was given a hire car (brand new astra 1.9cdti ) it did however, for my injuries, take until october (crash was 11th may) to recieve £2000, however my injuries weren't too bad, one day of a sore neck and bruised ribs from the seatbelt holding me. I would reccomend getting yourself to a doctor's if you havn't already, the insurance companies normally pick up all the costs of this and soliciter's etc.

Good luck mate, hope you get it sorted in less time than I did

Dave