Accident damage advice

[abidchowdhury]

Hi there,

My first post on the forum and unfortunately not under great circumstances!
My beloved 1989 3.2 Carrera has been sat in my garage for a few weeks now with about 10k of damage following an accident. []

I bought the car a year ago at a bargain price. The assessors agree the market value is £13500-£14000. This is a fair bit higher than the agreed value. I am awaiting a final response.

There is unfortunately now a small bend/buckle in the chassis. Damage is to the front and mainly nearside wing. The doors also don't quite sit correctly. Is it worth looking into fixing the car or with such damage should this be avoided?

I am also slightly concerned should I fix the car, of further expense later in the form of an engine rebuild based on:
-Small oil leak (unsure of source), and the engine uses 1 litre/ 800(ish) miles.
-Lots of steam when checking the dipstick -although the engine loses no power.
(otherwise the engine runs beautifully with no smoke whatsoever)

Should a rebuild be on the cards this would obviously affect my decision.
The car was exactly what I wanted - late model in guards red, cream leather. FSH.

Any opinions or advice would be greatly appreciated...[]
Cheers!
Abid

 

[Kevin Welch]

Hi Abid

Sorry to hear about your pride and joy. If the insurers agree to repair the car then it should be completed to a standard that will ensure the car is safe and roadworthy. Any competent body shop will be able to achieve this by using chassis jigs etc to make sure everything lines up as it should (including chassis rails and door shuts etc.)
As for the engine, I can only assume that this wasn't damaged in the accident and therefore is a seperate issue from the body damage and so would have reared it's ugly head for you to deal with anyway. In my opinion a repaired vehicle with engine needing some work is a better proposition than what you have now.
Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[oliver]

Depends. What's the mileage?

 

[burrow01]

Hi - had a similar situation earlier this year, although without any apparent chassis damage. Have you actually had a realistic assessment made of the damage by an experienced assessor?
I tried several ways to work out how to get the car back onto the road, but without success, and in the end accepted the insurance offer after a lot of hard bargaining....
You have to remember that after the repair, the car will probably be recorded as a repaired write off - assuming this is what happens - who's insurance company is paying?

The damage to my car was, on the face of it, repairable, Front wing, rear wing , front suspension strut etc, but the list came to £12K, without testing the chassis. The estimate for 1 day on a chassis jig and puller was approx £1K on top

I would let it go....

Pete

 

[Alan_Armstrong]

I would also agree with Pete....take the money & run..

There will be a car out there for you that was meant to be!

Good Luck

 

[abidchowdhury]

Thanks for the replies and advice chaps.
Oliver - the car has 101k on the clock.

I think I know what the sensible option is......[]

Abid

 

[Greg Park]

Abid,
I'd take the money every time, any car which needs to go on a jig to have it's chassis straightened would always leave me feeling "was it repaired properly", plus if you ever come to sell it will generate the same thoughts from any potential buyer.

There are still plenty of good 3.2's around, seemly more so since I purchased by 3.2 earlier this year!

Good luck.

Greg

 

[juliany27]

Abid

I think that Gregs' advice is tops. Any vehicle with a chassis problem is always dificult to sell because an really good examination will reveal that it has been in a [fairly] serious accident and most purchasers will run away and find something not damaged.

Take the money and run...is my advice [for what it is worth as a non-techie].

 

[abidchowdhury]

Guys - the car is going tomorrow morning [].
Luckily no hassles from the insurance company who agreed on a healthy figure []

Thanks again for your advice. Already looking forward to my next porker....
Abid

 

[oliver]

Might be worth checking with the insurers what happens to the car next.

Even if it is being broken, it could be of interest to someone on here.

 

[burrow01]

I sold my car for more than the insurance estimate of it's scrap worth - went to a loca independent for spares

Pete

 

[Guest]

I would take the money and turn it into a track car.

My car was damaged and repaired and I had it put on the jig, suspension, engine and gearbox out and pulled straight. I fixed the fix, so to speak. Cost under 4k altho seller picked up a lot of that.

Depends what you want to do with the car really.