We sure will, and whatever the outcome, there is no way you can have any certainty from that photo as to wether they will write it off or not, which is my point, not whether it will be written off or not.

If you do, please post the extent of the repairs needed that you can have any certainty over and the dealer price

Insurance assesors sure as hell dont go off a couple of ropey photos to make a decision so i'm not sure what expertise you may have on top of them.

Having immediate family who work as insurance assesors may give you a background to my reasoning and your supreme ability to assess a write off from a photo

Agreed you cant be sure from Photos so lets wait & see & no I have no supreme ability, just a hunch

I base my thoughts on having bought 4 totalled cars to repair, done the auctions & have a friend who specialises in this work. Its really a lottery & often how the assesor feels as to what cost goes down, no offence to who you know. On from that its how the Insurance co view it. Recently they have been leaning towards totalling some really lightly damaged stuff, I think its just to get things cleared up quickly. I dont think the accident repair management companies taking an age to repair cars helps, I sometimes think they make their profit on the loaner rental so the longer the better

I would add that it is perfectly repairable & done properly will be as good as new or maybe even better. We had a Mk 3 Escort (if you can remember those) rear ended at about a year old & it drove far better after it was straightened than when new.

Ok 98%

Lets see what happens

The central rear of the car is pushed in approx 8inches , i rescued gear from the boot by dropping rear seat and the parcel shelf was pushed forward over the rear headrests and the boot carpet had a good 6 inch fold in it. Looking down at the damage the metal panel of the hatch has gone in past the boot floor position. There is a crease on the rear nearside column at the angle of the quarterlite, a small crease approx 2/3rds along the length off the door on the roof edge, the rear nearside panel is rippled. The offside rear panel appears warped, the fuel flap would not close and the gap at the back of both wheel arches and door frames was smaller than at the front of the arches and doors.

And to add insult to injury the courtesy car is a 1.6 petrol Mazda 3 Takara, it really feels cheap tinny and under powered and sounds crap.

But heyho "**** happens" life goes on etc, i am okay the other driver is okay, i still have transport fro work and life goes on.

Edited 9 September, 201015 yr by BillyT1903

We sure will, and whatever the outcome, there is no way you can have any certainty from that photo as to wether they will write it off or not, which is my point, not whether it will be written off or not.

Based on others posts in the past with similar damage to their Octavia, including a few that have suffered a similar fate after only a few days from the dealership, I'd say it is a write off. They all were.

The rear NS pillar has signs of crumpling, and the gap around the rear door is no longer uniform (look at the lower part of the door). There isnt any similar signs, from the pics, on the OS so to me this indicates a twisted chassis.

Most repairers wont jig cars anymore, and even if they did would you really want it jigged on a brand new car? The last person IIRC to have theirs jigged took around 8 weeks IIRC and had no end of problems afterwards with wheel alignment and not being able to drive in a straight line. In the end the insurer agreed, after several £k's of work, the car was unsafe and should have been written off.

I wouldnt and would insist if jigging is required the other party pays for a new car.

I'm sure a search on jigging or jigged will throw up the pics and poster's experiences.

Based on others posts in the past with similar damage to their Octavia, including a few that have suffered a similar fate after only a few days from the dealership, I'd say it is a write off. They all were.

The rear NS pillar has signs of crumpling, and the gap around the rear door is no longer uniform (look at the lower part of the door). There isnt any similar signs, from the pics, on the OS so to me this indicates a twisted chassis.

Most repairers wont jig cars anymore, and even if they did would you really want it jigged on a brand new car? The last person IIRC to have theirs jigged took around 8 weeks IIRC and had no end of problems afterwards with wheel alignment and not being able to drive in a straight line. In the end the insurer agreed, after several £k's of work, the car was unsafe and should have been written off.

I wouldnt and would insist if jigging is required the other party pays for a new car.

I'm sure a search on jigging or jigged will throw up the pics and poster's experiences.

Sorry mate, its a photo, you can only guess, educated or not. Not sure what the constant arguing about this is, if it was so easily done from photos why do insurance companies bother with assessors when they could hire folk on internet forums who know it all without even measuring it or seeing it to asses it via a few photos

As for refusing Jigging, you cant, you HAVE to give them chance to repair it first if they deem it to be repairable after an engineers report. You can ask for a new car but they dont have to give it you, however you can reject it after giving them the chance to do it if its not satisfactory as in the case you've said above.

My father had a similar incident when a westfield of all things hit the door of his 4 week old merc e class estate at a combined closing speed of over 65 mph, completely twisting the roof and taking the door pillar clean out . He certainly didnt want it back after the initial inspection of the damage

The insurers insisted it was repairable and merc backed it up with an engineers report and dealer quote and £19k of work and 7 weeks later it arrived like new with no further problems

Edited 8 September, 201015 yr by VRsMatt32

The central rear of the car is pushed in approx 8inches , i rescues gesr from the boot by dropping rear seat and the parcel shelf was pushed forward over the rear headrests and the boot carpet had a good 6 inch fold in it. Looking down at the damage the metal panel of the hatch has gone in past the boot floor position. There is a crease on the rear nearside column at the angle of the quarterlite, a small crease approx 2/3rds along the length off the door on the roof edge, the rear nearside panel is rippled. The offside rear panel appears warped, the fuel flap would not close and the gap at the back of both wheel arches and door frames was smaller than at the front of the arches and doors.

And to add insult to injury the courtesy car is a 1.6 petrol Mazda 3 Takara, it really feels cheap tinny and under powered and sounds crap.

But heyho "**** happens" life goes on etc, i am okay the other driver is okay, i still have transport fro work and life goes on.

Sounds a potential reshell & as the wreck is worth a few bob probably terminal

Re the Mazda, you are if you feel so inclined insist on a similar vehicle to yours, especially as it wasnt your fault

You need to give some thought to what happens if its totalled as the potential wait for a replacement will be some time. Its normal when a cars totalled once paid out for you to loose the repairers loaner (Im assuming they supplied it) With a totalled new car if you are making every effort to get a replacement surely you are entitled to a long term loaner ?? I dare say someone on here has been in a similar situation & can advise. You may need to consult someone re a third party claim later.

As you rightly say no ones hurt & thats all that really matters.

If you have any neck or back ache get it noted now, from experience soft tissue injury is very hard to proove or disproove hence all the blood lawyers running round making a killing. I tapped someone (bumber & headlight brokenon mine, paint off theirs), they claimed & I understand the insurance co were going to offer a few grand to get rid of them. It really sucks, their bonnet flew up at 80 on the motorway & they slammed the brakes on, Im still amazed the impact was so small.

Edited 9 September, 201015 yr by Stuart_J

Based on others posts in the past with similar damage to their Octavia, including a few that have suffered a similar fate after only a few days from the dealership, I'd say it is a write off. They all were.

The rear NS pillar has signs of crumpling, and the gap around the rear door is no longer uniform (look at the lower part of the door). There isnt any similar signs, from the pics, on the OS so to me this indicates a twisted chassis.

Most repairers wont jig cars anymore, and even if they did would you really want it jigged on a brand new car? The last person IIRC to have theirs jigged took around 8 weeks IIRC and had no end of problems afterwards with wheel alignment and not being able to drive in a straight line. In the end the insurer agreed, after several £k's of work, the car was unsafe and should have been written off.

I wouldnt and would insist if jigging is required the other party pays for a new car.

I'm sure a search on jigging or jigged will throw up the pics and poster's experiences.

Many repairers no longer have jigs, hence the reason they shy away from it, its also very skilled & time consuming & sadly less & less people can do it. My friend regularly Jigs cars for other garages.

As for insisting it cant be done thats not possible, its an approved way of repairing cars & IMO should be done more often, its the only real way of checking a cars straight.

Sorry mate, its a photo, you can only guess, educated or not. Not sure what the constant arguing about this is, if it was so easily done from photos why do insurance companies bother with assessors when they could hire folk on internet forums who know it all without even measuring it or seeing it to asses it via a few photos

As for refusing Jigging, you cant, you HAVE to give them chance to repair it first if they deem it to be repairable after an engineers report. You can ask for a new car but they dont have to give it you, however you can reject it after giving them the chance to do it if its not satisfactory as in the case you've said above.

My father had a similar incident when a westfield of all things hit the door of his 4 week old merc e class estate at a combined closing speed of over 65 mph, completely twisting the roof and taking the door pillar clean out . He certainly didnt want it back after the initial inspection of the damage

The insurers insisted it was repairable and merc backed it up with an engineers report and dealer quote and £19k of work and 7 weeks later it arrived like new with no further problems

The merc must have had a high value to have had £19k of work authorised. I doubt the insurer would cough up enough for the work.

As for arguing, there is only one person I can see arguing where people have posted their opinion on which way the insurer will go regarding writing off or repairing this vehicle. As I posted, my comments are based on a number of members posting almost identical damage or fairly new cars (certainly within the first year). A search for jigged or jigging may yield them for you to compare the damage pics.

As for insisting on a new car, almost all policies allow for a new replacement in the first year for non fault claims. As such, given the likely cost for repairs, hire of a like-for-like vehicle (again entitled to have given not your fault and 3rd parties paying) and other costs associated with the claim, I doubt you'd be far off a new car.

But like you all we can do is wait for the OP to get an answer from their insurer.

The merc must have had a high value to have had £19k of work authorised. I doubt the insurer would cough up enough for the work.

But like you all we can do is wait for the OP to get an answer from their insurer.

Tend to agree

Its all percentages & decided by the money men at the insurance co, time will tell on this

The merc must have had a high value to have had £19k of work authorised. I doubt the insurer would cough up enough for the work.

4 week old merc e class estate? They start at about £25K surely? The insurer coughed up because it was cheaper than buying a replacement....

Edited 10 September, 201015 yr by juan27

Be very careful if they write it off.

With current delivery times a new one is highly unlikely to be delivered until after the vat free offer has ended and vat has gone up by 2.5%.The cost of a replacement might be a lot more than you paid for that car.

The accident was not your fault and you are entitled to have it repaired to pre accident condition, or a replacement car of the same standard as the one that was damaged. If they choose not to repair it that is effectively a new car.

I suspect they will want to write it off and then repair it when they discover the difficulties in getting a replacement.

Well they are repairing it. I have told the insurance company that i want it inspecting by skoda on completion prior to my collecting it/their delivering it. That is a FULL inspection at the dealers including laser alignment check etc etc.

Well they are repairing it. I have told the insurance company that i want it inspecting by skoda on completion prior to my collecting it/their delivering it. That is a FULL inspection at the dealers including laser alignment check etc etc.

Your right to be cautious but done properly there will be no problems. You have made it obvious you are a pedantic client so they will be on their guard. If you havent spoken to the bodyshop direct a polite call just to say how fussy you are wont go amiss, no runs, no overspray, no rattles etc etc & the full inspection it will be getting just in case the Insurance co havent advised them.

As I said done properly it will be as good or even better than new.

Your right to be cautious but done properly there will be no problems. You have made it obvious you are a pedantic client so they will be on their guard. If you havent spoken to the bodyshop direct a polite call just to say how fussy you are wont go amiss, no runs, no overspray, no rattles etc etc & the full inspection it will be getting just in case the Insurance co havent advised them.

As I said done properly it will be as good or even better than new.

Good advice Stuart and i have already been in touch with the bodyshop/repairers and they definitely know that i expect an absolutely perfect job and will NOT accept anything else. I have been very polite with them but ensured that they understand what i expect. I will also be calling in at thier premises whilst the work is being carried out to have the occasional peek at my motor. Not feeling quite so P**sed off now, have reach the acceptance stage LOL. As long as the car looks and drives as new i will be happy again.

Have they given you an idea of what is needed and the cost?

And have they given you a like-for-like loan car, or palmed you off with a fiesta or similar? Remember you are entitled to a car of similar size as it's not your fault

Glad you got sorted so quickly

How long is the actual repair estimated to take?

And to add insult to injury the courtesy car is a 1.6 petrol Mazda 3 Takara, it really feels cheap tinny and under powered and sounds crap.

You don't have to accept this car. There are specialist companies out there who will provide a like-for-like (or better) replacement whilst your car is off the road. I've used "helphire" in the past. Where its a clear non-fault accident (as in this case) then you should be able to arrange this at the cost of the other insurer.

Also helps to keep them focussed on getting you sorted out as fast as possible as the hire of something nice won't be cheap and every day extra they take to resolve this costs them more.. no downside to you really.

You don't have to accept this car. There are specialist companies out there who will provide a like-for-like (or better) replacement whilst your car is off the road. I've used "helphire" in the past. Where its a clear non-fault accident (as in this case) then you should be able to arrange this at the cost of the other insurer.

Also helps to keep them focussed on getting you sorted out as fast as possible as the hire of something nice won't be cheap and every day extra they take to resolve this costs them more.. no downside to you really.

Surely it has 4 wheels and an engine so will get you from A to B perfectly well. Who do you think pays for the extra cost of having a more expensive hire car? It will be us by having to pay higher insurance premiums. If you need a bigger car due to family or work reasons (space to transport stuff) then fair enough but just because it is not as 'good' as your car to my mind is not enough reason!!! Again the more the claim then the more we end up paying in premiums.

Glad you got sorted so quickly

How long is the actual repair estimated to take?

According to their site, they estimate completion by 30/9/10 i reckon it will be at least another week.

Edited 10 September, 201015 yr by BillyT1903

According to their site, they estimate completion by 30/9/10 i reckon it will be at least another week.

Thats not so bad if it is close to that date.

As long as it is "NEW" when fixed then all's well.

I know one would prefer it never happened but hey. Nobody was injured thank God

Best of luck mate

Thats not so bad if it is close to that date.

As long as it is "NEW" when fixed then all's well.

I know one would prefer it never happened but hey. Nobody was injured thank God

Best of luck mate

Yes you are completely correct, at the end of the day it is just a car wether brand new or 10 years old. But this accident has devalued the car for future resale potentially put my Skoda warranties at risk. Caused injury (although slight) to myself and has caused myself and my employers a lot of inconvenience due to the whiplash injury which is making it difficult to carry out my job completely.

I personally have not mentioned trying to get a Like for Like courtesy car, i only said that the one they gave me is inferior to the vehicle it is replacing.

Yes you are completely correct, at the end of the day it is just a car wether brand new or 10 years old. But this accident has devalued the car for future resale potentially put my Skoda warranties at risk. Caused injury (although slight) to myself and has caused myself and my employers a lot of inconvenience due to the whiplash injury which is making it difficult to carry out my job completely.

I personally have not mentioned trying to get a Like for Like courtesy car, i only said that the one they gave me is inferior to the vehicle it is replacing.

The car they gave you could also be very uncomfortable due to your injury

That same injury could possibly cover the loss of value to your car

Surely it has 4 wheels and an engine so will get you from A to B perfectly well. Who do you think pays for the extra cost of having a more expensive hire car? It will be us by having to pay higher insurance premiums. If you need a bigger car due to family or work reasons (space to transport stuff) then fair enough but just because it is not as 'good' as your car to my mind is not enough reason!!! Again the more the claim then the more we end up paying in premiums.

I understand your point about increased premiums and about how a car is just a car - but I don't see this your way. The OP has been deprived of the pleasure of using his own brand new car, through somebody else's carelessness.. If he wanted to drive round in a Mazda he would've bought a Mazda.

Why should the OP put up with an inferior car through no fault of his own?

I understand your point about increased premiums and about how a car is just a car - but I don't see this your way. The OP has been deprived of the pleasure of using his own brand new car, through somebody else's carelessness.. If he wanted to drive round in a Mazda he would've bought a Mazda.

Why should the OP put up with an inferior car through no fault of his own?

You're just the sort of chap that when you go out with friends for a meal, you drink the most wine and order the biggest, juiciest steak on the menu just because everyone is helping you pick up the tab.

I wholly agree with PSM. Its not like he's been given a SMART car. Yes the car is not as good but its only for a month and having your new car pranged is far worse than having to drive the Mazda. I once ended up driving a 3 cylinder polo for 3 weeks (did about 1500 miles ) waiting for a car repair, it didn't kill me.

You're just the sort of chap that when you go out with friends for a meal, you drink the most wine and order the biggest, juiciest steak on the menu just because everyone is helping you pick up the tab.

I wholly agree with PSM. Its not like he's been given a SMART car. Yes the car is not as good but its only for a month and having your new car pranged is far worse than having to drive the Mazda. I once ended up driving a 3 cylinder polo for 3 weeks (did about 1500 miles ) waiting for a car repair, it didn't kill me.

Hey Daiking just realised you drive a Mazda 3 1.6, hope i have not upset you by saying it is inferior to an Octy VRS, but TBH as you said i did look at Mazda's (not the 1.6) and decided on the Octy as I think it is a better car. The Mazda is a perfectly reasonable car for what it is and it will suffice for the period required and considering i am having some difficulty driving because turning my head/neck is painful i will not get a great deal of use out of it, but it is there when i need it.

Hey Daiking just realised you drive a Mazda 3 1.6, hope i have not upset you by saying it is inferior to an Octy VRS, but TBH as you said i did look at Mazda's (not the 1.6) and decided on the Octy as I think it is a better car. The Mazda is a perfectly reasonable car for what it is and it will suffice for the period required and considering i am having some difficulty driving because turning my head/neck is painful i will not get a great deal of use out of it, but it is there when i need it.

Its no skin off my nose mate, the Octy VRS is a far better car than a 1.6 Mz3, I'm above willy-waving.

Mine will be several shades lower spec than even what you've got at the moment.

Edited 10 September, 201015 yr by 'daiking'