[holywoodj]

Hey folks... well I'm one of the gang now.. had my first crash from behind on Thursday night when a Citroen Xsara Picasso (52) flew into the back of me at about 30. I was idle just indicating to turn into a road. SHE (yes it was a woman insured by DIAMOND!) obviously thought it was a good idea not to watch the road. She had two other noticable dents too so she's obviously reckless.

Anyway I was up at the place getting an assesment - have heard nothing back yet but he pointed out the bumper obviously though the reg plate light still works. A small dent to the left of the plate and some pretty heavy dents in the boot... He was uncertain. I've never claimed before and I would be devastated to lose my car. So what do you reckon the outcome will be - if a write off how much do you reckon Diamond will pay out. Here's the specs...

Vauxhall Corsa 1.7D LS 5 Door Hatch
1998R
89500 on the clock.

So not a great amount of damage on the outside.

The following pics are of the boot - bassically to the left and right of the spare wheel bay.

Thats left

And the worse off right.

Rest of the bodywork is tip top other than the ruined bumper.
No idea what the boot job would take...anyway what are your thoughts?

 

[xnatty19x]

Surely you only need to get a new back bumper it doesnt look to bad:shocked:

 

[drummer99]

Surely you only need to get a new back bumper it doesnt look to bad:shocked:

thats what i thought when i first saw. but i think the main worry for him will be the state of the metal in the boot floor. cause i dnt think that will be too easy to put right.

 

[Coleman]

how much did you put the value of your car as when you bought your insurance?

 

[holywoodj]

£1500! That's how much I got it for...

 

[Tactical]

Deffo not a write off - new rear bumper and get the boot seen to. If she's to blame then she'll be paying for it all :thumbs_up:

 

[Hoggy]

they might write it off, as it will probably cost more to put right than the car costs.

 

[kevincorsa]

write off i think my mate had a corsa b on a s-reg with 62k fsh.
and a ford focus hit the rear and it bent the inside just like yours have done and they write it off. you could then buy the car back of them and get it fixed and then i think they remot it vosa or somethink. im not 100%.

or you just could ask the woman to pay garage costs???

its upto you if you think it worth it.

you should take the car to a bodyshop place and get them to look at it for you. most places do it for free.

 

[Kitson]

If your going though the insurance then i would think they will just write it off mate, sorry to say though. From there point of view its going to cost alot to have put right and would be cheaper to write off.

 

[holywoodj]

Ok... aint looking good then eh... so what are my options - if they write it off, is my car taken away by men in black suits... am I allowed to rip my CD player etc out of it? I don't want a new car!

 

[Tactical]

EH?!

If the car is worth £1500 then how can it be a write off? A bumper from the scrappy is only a few quid :shocked:

 

[dragon2309]

of course, anything inside of it is yours, i'd say anythign non-standard is rightfully yours... and anyway, if you take it out before the surveryors come round then how are they to know it was ever there.... if you catch my drift

im fairly sure you can buy the car back at cost, but it'll be a Cat D (i think) write-off, or something like that, if people find out it makes it quite hard to sell on, not sure if it affects your premiums or not though

 

[Kitson]

The floor pan in the boot is bent up Tactical, as far as im aware this usually means the insurance company will be more likely to write the car off.
If you buy the car back then you will have a hard job trying to sell it on tbh, but if you buy it back cheap then just run the car into the ground and it wont really matter. Chances are this will be the best option for you :thumbs_up:

 

[kevincorsa]

i think the bodyshop place only use new parts. they is spraying and that they will probley do aswell on the new bumper. this helps them to bump the price up .
ide buy the car back of the insurance company and go from there tbh.
and yes take your things out of the car.

 

[Hoggy]

the insurance company doesn't exactly cost up things as 'from the scrappy' though do they....

 

[Kitson]

Yeah insurance companies probs go to Vaux for new parts and they cost a small fortune lol...

 

[Hoggy]

saw the quote for the clio my dad hit the other day... over £700 just to sort out rear bumper, boot and one rear light....

 

[taurus]

Pretty sure the insurance will write it off. It doesn't look bad - but as others have said, they have to work on the cost of new parts and all the labour to fit. If it was just the boot and bumper - no problem - it's the distortion of the floor in the boot that will do it.

Can't really tell from the photos whether the distortion has altered the geometry of the bodyshell - can you open and close the tailgate, and the rear doors?

If the geometry has gone then it's definitely a write off - and I suspect you will find the rear suspension geometry is out as well. You could have it pulled straight - but it might not be cost effective.

If the bodyshell geometry is ok - then you could buy it back and repair it yourself. But check carefully.

The rear bumper on the Corsa takes a hell of lot of impact before it distorts. There's a steel brace behind the plastic bumper - that's obviously gone - which tends to pull the outer edges of the car inwards - hence the creases in the floorpan. The bumper doesn't look too bad - it's what that steel brace looks like that matters. That will tell you how much energy was thumped into the bodyshell.

 

[Joshsl]

also the insurance wont give you what you valued the car at when you put the value you will give you the value of the car at current time

if i remember correctly

 

[holywoodj]

Well with todays financial climate I could end up with £20 and a bus home! There's no damage to the shell or chassis as far as I can see. If they could just shove a bumper on it, my uncle ownes Dent Central so maybe he could sort it out. Boot lid still opens fine, shuts a bit squidgy but no hassle really...

How much you think I'll get for it anyway... bearing in mind its a diesel!