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[LRTR]

I had an accident in my S2 yesterday, my brakes failed going down hill so i had to drive it into a bank to stop it. Fortunately I'm ok and no one else was involved. There is a lot of damaged to the passenger side front including a bent chassis rail.

Before I phone the insurance company, does anyone have any advice? I'm hoping they will rebuild it but if they write it off I want to be able to keep it as most of the parts are salvagable. I have had it recovered home. It is fully comp and has an agreed value of 12k.

Thanks
Matt

[diffwhine]

Matt,
Sorry to hear that and glad you are OK and nobody injured.
It will probably come down to what you have valued your vehicle at and whether it is an agreed value or just relative market value.
If you think its rebuildable, then you should be able to purchase it off your insurance company for a nominal sum, but it will be recorded as a total loss being not cost effective to repair.
Either way, you have to notify your insurance company, but let them make the initial assessment, see what they propose to offer you and then perhaps come back here for a bit of general input on how best to proceed. Do not accept any insurance offer without getting advice and start getting values of equivalent vehicles - what would it cost you to replace like for like?
You need to be clear in your mind what your anticipated outcome is. Would you ultimately want to keep the vehicle? Would you want to rebuild it, or scrap it for spares?
If you play your cards well, you might come out of this quite well...
Keep us posted!

[diffwhine]

Unless the main chassis rail is significantly bent, most chassis damage is repairable. Front dumb irons and the whole front chassis including the steering relay cross member are replaceable. How extensive is the damage?

[w3526602]

Hi Matt,

Commiserations. It's always a nasty feeling, afterwards.

But to your question.....

If the insurers take your truck, because either of you insist, it will cost them £12,000 (presumably) and they will sell the wreck for £2,000 (see WANTED ads on Ebay). That would suggest, that they should consider giving you £10,000, and let you keep your truck. We should be so lucky!

There is also the matter of NCB. I suspect that normally a total/economic write-off will terminate your present policy, and cancel your NCD AND CANCEL YOUR PRESENT POLICY,  If you own any other cars, you should declare this accident at their next insurance renewal ... and get frowned at.  You Landy will be deemed an economic write off, recorded on the V5, and be considered "unclean" by potential purchasers. I suggest that there may be advantages in buying a scrapper, and rebuilding it with a new chassis, and a mixture of the "pickings" from your truck, and new parts.   I'm guessing £5,000, plus another £2,000, if you want a new bulkhead.

As my/our cars  and house are all insured with the same company, I tend to assume that all the various departments are aware of any claim made on any one of the policies. 

Your registration plates may have a value. Ask an expert how to save them on retention. The same may apply to the plates on the vehicle you rebuild. I'm out of touch with such things. If the insurers insist on scrapping your truck, remember to include the value, if any, of the registration. Somebody else had better advise on that.

602

Overtaken by Diffwhine, but I won't bother changing mine.

[nathanglasgow]

If most of the parts are savable and you have the space, skills and cash then buy a new chassis and swap the good bits over. Keeps it out of the hands of the insurers. Oh and we like pics

[Wittsend]

Sorry to hear of this.

1) The main and most important thing is that no one was hurt 

2) Next, you have recovered the vehicle back to your own property.
You have control over it - no storage fees etc.

3) And you have an agreed value policy.
I trust you have plenty of before pictures of the vehicle and you have pictures of the accident scene and damage done.
You will need pictures to support your valuation if the insurers get stroppy and try to mark it down.

4) Brake failure, do you know how or why - what went wrong


Good luck....

 

[williammac]

That must have been a gut-wrenchingly terrifying experience - very glad to hear you weren't hurt.
I too would be interested in what happened with the brakes - there might be a lesson here for us...

[LRTR]

I would like to rebuild it if possible, I spent a lot of time rebuilding it with a galvy chassis and bulkhead, rebuilt engine etc.

The passenger front wheel took most of the impact, it buckled the wheel, snapped the u bolts on that side and pushed the axle back slightly, snapping the front prop u/j in the process. The chassis rail is bent just behind the front wheel but before the bulkhead foot, The bulkhead has twisted slightly.

I don't know what caused the brake failure, they were working fine up until that point, the brake hose broke during the accident, so I can't tell at the moment if there was fluid loss that caused it or not and the bonnet is too mangled to open.

[Worf]

Glad everyone is ok.
Under no circumstances let the insurance company take your vehicle away. If they want to "assess" the damage  then they will have to come to you. That way, you remain in control of the situation.

[w3526602]

You will need pictures to support your valuation if the insurers get stroppy and try to mark it down.

Hi,

When Barbara's SAAB did a wheelie, in reverse gear, LV wrote to her saying that their refence books did not go back far enough ... their best valuation was £250 for a car several years younger ... and would she like to provide evidence that her car was worth more.

We provided a copy of a valuation page from a classic car magazine, copies of Ebay listings, and a letter from the one-man SAAB dealer, who serviced her car. LV sent a cheque, for the original claim, by return of post.

The assessor, stopped counting, when he reached £7.000 for body parts. The drivers door was still jambed against the front wing, and wouldn't close. All four corners, bonnet and boot lid, were damaged. Passenger door and roof panel were OK, though.

602

[Genem]

I rolled my 90 on ice, extensive panel damage.  The insurers had it recovered to a garage where it was about to be declared beyond repair and scrapped.... I had to insist loudly that the vehicle was MINE and did not belong to the Insurance company, I wanted it returned to ME, which eventually happened. There then followed some discussion about writing it off and buying back the salvage... the first clerk I spoke with was utterly bemused by the concept, had never come across the idea. In the end they paid out but knocked £1200 off the value. Given the vehicle was sitting on a nearly new Galv chassis I think I did OK on that ?

I then rebuilt the vehicle with professional assistance in terms of some panel beating of the rear tub and a re-spray, together with 2 new wings, 3 new doors and the bonnet and roof from an earlier vehicle. I contacted the Insurers about getting it back on the road - they required a new MOT.... The MOT tester was confused - "Its got a valid MOT".... but did it anyway, Insurers happy, vehicle back on the road, albeit with a "marker" saying it had been written off as uneconomic to repair. ..... That was 11 years ago.

So you are ahead of the game by having the vehicle on your property, make sure it stays there and any work on it is under your control. Haggle with the claims settlement people about the replacement value - for future reference its worth getting an "agreed value" on the the vehicle. Adrian Flux want £15 and photos...  Good luck !

Outcome, pic taken 5 years after the rebuild... 

   

[Craig T]

Ask a silly question but, do the insurance company need to know about it?

If I had an accident where no one else was involved, I would keep quiet, put the vehicle on SORN and set too repairing it myself?

Craig.

[diffwhine]

Good point if there is no intention to make a claim to cover the rebuild cost. Judging by the description above, it does sound like a somewhat costly repair without insurance support???

[Sunny Jim]

Firstly, is the new chassis stamped with the correct 'car number'?

I had a car written off that was nearly new, and got a 'new car replacement' (eventually, but that is not relevant here). The car was mine until I accepted a settlement on it and could have purchased the salvage if I wished (I declined). I spoke to the repairer when it was declared a write off, and he said it was 'repairable', but not economical. In reality, the car was repaired and put back on the road - its records shows it had an MOT after repair, and presumably an inspection (hence the number stamped in the chassis).

I have agreed value with Peter James and have made a declaration that I would want to buy back the salvage and repair the vehicle 'irrespective of cost' if practicable! I also have the highest valuation I can get away with, not to inflate it, but to increase to a maximum the damage that can be repaired without write off.

My car would have been repaired for me at four months old and less than 3000 miles had a new bodyshell been available, and the repairer said that they do actually carry out these repairs if possible! Sold as salvage, the repairs could have been carried out with second hand parts and presumably pulling the distortion out of the shell?

If a galvanised chassis is bent, it can still be straightened, although may compromise the galvanising; likewise, the bulkhead can be straightened as well.

I would insist on an inspection/damage assessment by someone who understands separate chassis vehicles and is aware of what parts are available!

Yes, you can repair it yourself, and then undergo an MOT and appropriate inspection (an identity check is required to ensure it isn't a 'ringer').

Sunny Jim

[TimV]

Richie Jones (South Wales Area rep) has been through just the same experience, his LR was put on its side. Bent bulkhead etc.

Suggest you contact him. I don't see him on the forum, but there was a brief write up in B2L.

I tried to persuade him to write a proper article for B2L.