Drunk Driver Rear ended me :0

[CiaranMckeown]

Basically, i was stopping at a red light and some drunk driver didnt brake and hit the back of my car at around 30 mph, was quite a shock to the system.

My car has been taken away by a local accident management company for examintion.

My question is this, the raer bumper, boot and lower valance are wrecked. When i was removing my things from the boot before the car was taken away i noticed the boot floor was not level and the spare wheel was pushing up on it from below. It has been pushed upwards from the force of the hit sqeezing the spare wheel well to an oval shape with rippling in the metal work (will post pics later)

Im just wondering before i get the report back next week by the examiner, can this actually be fixed? the boot, bumper and valance are just replaceable but can this spare wheel well be fixed to an acceptable state and how will this affect future sale of the car if not?

Pics to follow.

[dstev2000]

Sorry to hear that, I trust you aren't injured? Keep an eye out for a stiff neck and headaches over the next few days, the effects of whiplash can have an enormous delay.

A similar thing happened to my other half's Octavia vRS - hit from behind at about 20-30mph by a Ford Galaxy. Both C pillars had creases in them and I thought it was written off. The boot floor was in a terrible state.

They welded a new boot floor in and replaced the rear side struts that form the sides of the boot. As long as the rigid passenger cell isn't compromised they can replace quite a lot of the car.

If the accident repair centre is decent enough, you'll never know the difference.

Remember - If you are NOT 100% satisfied with any aspect of the repair - reject it immediately. Don't think you have to settle for anything less than perfect.

If the car is repaired it won't show up on any kind of HPI check as it won't have been written off. We had no subsequent problems with the vRS when we changed to a Yeti.

[Guest]

Try and get it repaired at an approved VW Skoda repair shop, any repairs by these have to be guaranteed as good as new. You do not have to use a repair shop stipulated by your insurance company.

As said whiplash trobles can occur several days later, if they do go to a doctor and inform insurance, and police it can then be classed as an injury accident.

[darren tt]

Try and get it repaired at an approved VW Skoda repair shop, any repairs by these have to be guaranteed as good as new. You do not have to use a repair shop stipulated by your insurance company.

As said whiplash trobles can occur several days later, if they do go to a doctor and inform insurance, and police it can then be classed as an injury accident.

If the car is less than a year old try and get it replaced for a new one, it does not matter who repairs the car, it will never be as good as the original pre accident car. And hammer the drunk driver.

[Supurbia]

Don't accept it back, it'll never be the same again.

[jonnb]

If the car is repaired it won't show up on any kind of HPI check as it won't have been written off. We had no subsequent problems with the vRS when we changed to a Yeti.

Once again, sorry to hear your news, I don't know where you are from, but here in rep. of ireland, when you are trading in your car, there is a section on the s.i.m.i order form, which asks " has the car ever been involved in an accident, and had body repairs", so a dealer might lower your future trade in value, despite how good the car has been repaired, and failure for a person to declare acident repair damage, could in the long run lead to a court case being taken against them.

If you can't get a new car, make sure that you get it repaired to your satisfaction, and also try to get a skoda dealer to tell you what difference there is between a repaired model, and one that has had no repairs, and ask for this amount to be paid to you, for future loss.

[dstev2000]

When our vRS was rear ended it was about 8 months old. I fought tooth and nail with the insurance company for about 6 weeks to try and get a replacement vehicle, they wouldn't back down and had it repaired.

If you try and push for a replacement vehicle, you'll have a fight on your hands.

The price we got for the repaired vRS was unaffected by the prior rear end shunt. It was repaired by a VAG/Porsche/Mercedes approved body shop and I think we were lucky in that respect.

[Slinksuperb]

Sorry to hear about your accident. I used to work at a senior level in motor insurance claims so if you want any specific questions answering then pm me.

As a rule of thumb, the engineer (assessor) appointed by your insurer is employed to calculate and agree repair costs with the repairer or to declare the car a write off (usually if the damage to the car is too severe or uneconomical to repair).

If the car is written off and is less than a year old, the insurance company can offer to replace it rather,than pay cash. This is, according to most policies, at their option and only if the policy provides for it in the terms and conditions.

If they opt to repair it, remember that you have the choice of who repairs it, not the insurer, although they will doubtless try and give you the impression that it's their authorised repairer or nothing. This isn't true, is not a sign of quality and has a financial motive as opposed to anything else.

If they do repair it, ensure your legal reps claim for diminution in value ie the loss of value compared to an undamaged car following the repairs.

Edited 11 February, 2011 by Slinksuperb

[CiaranMckeown]

Thanks for all the replys

My car is 2 years old now, it has 60,000 miles on the clock. i have taken pics of the damage i just cant find my data cable to upload the pics but i will come across it soon. to put it into perspective before the pics my spare wheel wont go in the cavity for it now due to the fact that it like an oval now.

Cosmetically it is actually not too bad, the bumper must be made of rubber, there is not even a crack in the paintwork, the number plate is all creased where it has folded in half but the bumper is fine. Thats why i was so suprised ti find the damage in the boot.

The drunken drivers car was an Audi A4, around 2002 model. It was totalled, the whole radiator at the from was caved into the pulleys and fan etc, it wouldnt even start. The bonnet looked like an acordian too.

The company handling everything is called Crash, they actually have been fantastic. the next day they gave me a courtesy car, contacted both my and the other parties insurance and they have admited liability already (srangely). They have made an appointment with my GP and are awaiting a medical examination with a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon for a proper check over.

Im just worried about what will happen to my car, will i be better off getting the car back repaired like as new as possible with equity loss for drop in value due to repairs or will it be better off with the car written off bearing in mind i was planning to buy a Chrysler 300c in may.

As well as the headache of all this going on, either my head had got heavier or my neck muscles are strained either way i feel like i am consciously holding my head up, i cant describe this feeling but its not enjoyable.

Again thankyou all for the help and advice of getting through this time.

[silver1011]

I was planning to buy a Chrysler 300c in May.

are you sure you didn't bang your head?

[dstev2000]

are you sure you didn't bang your head?

A 300C will be a bit of an eye opener if you are used to the build quality of a Superb II

[CiaranMckeown]

I agree, the build quality of the Superb II is fantastic, but im a private taxi driver and i have future work for weddings for a chrysler 300c. Its a credit crunch solver in my eyes because its more business and the rates for weddings are unbelievably high so im happy adding another revenue stream to my income.

Still as far as hacking in a superb, i cannot fault it, absolutley fantastic car almost purpose built for the job. but i can do both taxi & weddings in a 300c.

[mannyo]

Im just worried about what will happen to my car, will i be better off getting the car back repaired like as new as possible with equity loss for drop in value due to repairs or will it be better off with the car written off bearing in mind i was planning to buy a Chrysler 300c in may.

The choice as to if the car is a write off or not at the end of the day is not yours, should the insurance company choose to repair it then thats their decision. The value of the car will be completely unaffected by any repair carried out, because the car will not be recorded on any register as it was never written off.

The 300C will be a step down in build quality compared to the superb with lots of hard eggshell plastic which easily scratches and will devalue like a lead balloon falling from the sky.

It would have to be a very expensive repair (more than 10K to fix) judging by the current residuals on the superb for the car to be declared a writeoff. We have seen some very seriously damaged cars fixed on here, and they all look like new when done.

[CiaranMckeown]

I understood that the decision of a write off is not mine to make, but i was trying to guage which decision they make would be better for me either way. My brain is pickled right now. Are Bacardi mojitos considered an alternative medicine for whiplash injuries. Think i need a drink

& possibly a break away somewhere.

[skodanut]

Say the trapezius muscles in the back of your neck is stiff due to the accident and is causing you grief, but you might need to go to an independant doctor if asked by the insurance company...they wont argue with his/her diagnosis...then sit back and wait

[Supurbia]

I can help here having had a bad neck injury thx to another idiot who chanced it driving how after a night out, I got T-boned and spun, this has left me with a click in my neck which I don't expect to go away anytime soon, this was almost 4 yrs ago now btw.

Right, the way to go, you have 3 years to declare the accident and injury to the at fault parties insurance company, after that you don't have a claim, so what you do first is to ask your insurance company for personal injury assistance, they will have you seen to by a specialist who will determine if you are genuine or not by way of simple tests, he will also assess how much damage he thinks has been done.

Now the good news and a bit of bad news, the good is that you are now entitled to physio, and you should take it up as well as you just don't know the damage yet, but a good physio will just by feeling muscles, the bad is that in the league of things some bright spark has decided that someone who breaks a finger and makes a 100% recovery will do better than someone left with a neck that's not quite 100% anymore, breakages get far more compo than strain's.

If you have what I think you have it will take 3-4 yrs before you get paid out and the most will be 15k, I got just over half that amount, and as far as I'm concerned it has changed my life, I walk slightly different and my back fatigues very quickly when lifting anything to the extent that I feel almost crippled, during my journey I felt that MY solicitor was working for the insurance company more than me, and the specialist just wanted to close the book on it, so judge it on the solicitors enthusiam and don't just nod when the specialist speaks, if need be arrange your own MRI scan and specialist along with the ones arranged for you, but only if you feel they aren't doing you justice, you will get offered about £1500 to start with and then £2400, you can accept it or you can knock it back, but you should ask your solicitor what he thinks, as when they start offering the serious money i.e 6k plus, if you knock it back and have to go to court you risk losing, and this loss comes out of whatever you eventually get, so you must be sensible, so if you still have symptoms in 30 mths time and they've offered you 8k you must be careful what you do, if the judge awards less you lose, if he awards more you will be lucky but your solicitor will be able to advise best on that.

Just don't settle too early if you don't feel 100%, just be honest to the specialist and physio, they will know if you are making it up, that's what the tests are for to catch the fakes out, if you feel great in say 5 mths time you will probably get an offer of £2500 and you should take it if you feel you are fully recovered.

[Superbjoser]

Sorry to hear that. Most important is that you and any passengers are OK.

Reading your description of the accident, was it 100% right from the behind, no so called offset? In the offset case the car will almost certainly have a body alignment too. Depending of the circumstances that could be a good thing but that depends on the repair work shop. Most likely they will not get it as good as before, sorry to say. Once the metal is bent out of it's intended design it's weakened and therefore not as good as new.

Regarding the value of the car, it should have an impact on it. A crashed car is seldom better after the repair than before and that will probably reflect on the price of the car. Just my 2 p. anyway.

/Superbjoser

[mannyo]

Regarding the value of the car, it should have an impact on it. A crashed car is seldom better after the repair than before and that will probably reflect on the price of the car. Just my 2 p. anyway.

True, but a properly repaired car will not to the untrained eye look any different to a non repaired one and any HPI check or otherwise will not show any history. So its very unlikely that any dealer or private buyer will spot accident damage. Lets not forget that a lot of cars are damaged and repaired in transit before the owner even gets their hand on the supposed brand new car which may have had entire panels resprayed or bumpers replaced.

[Mike Wrightson]

I had an identical accident many years back, except the other driver wasn't drunk. Long story short was that I was rear-ended at about 30mph in a Mk 1 Octavia.

Boot floor was crumpled, spare wheel could only be removed after letting some air out of the tyre, tailgate was distorted and the suspension had clearly moved. The car could be driven home (a couple of miles luckily) but it was handling completely wrong. The Escort that hit me was limped half a mile to a pub car park.

My insurers (Direct Line) arranged for the repair and it was taken away on a truck. 2 weeks later it was back. The repair was brilliant! A new towing eye section had been welded in, the boot floor straightened out, suspension was all back in the right place, everything lined up and closed properly, the car drove exactly as it should.

I traded the car in a couple of months later, told the dealer about the accident and it made no difference to the deal, a professional repair was no problem to them, and I went for a Fabia vRS. So, if the repairer is good, it will be good as new. If they aren't it will be a nightmare.

[AnRuaRI]

The reason the bumper looked undamaged is that that's just a piece of flexible plastic which hides what's underneath.

If you ever take off the plastic moulding you'll find something that looks quite similar to an old VW beetles chrome bumper hidden underneath. this is a 100mm square metal tube, which follows the curve of the plastic moulding (or will have been replaced with a straight one if you've had a tow bar fitted)

This is attached to the chassis of the car by 6 or 7 bolts.

A tow bar replaces this bumper with one which has 300mm long extensions which pass into the chassis at the point where the original bumper simply screwed on. These extensions are fixed into place with heavy bolts at either end, allowing for a much stronger connection. for pulling pushing, or downward forces onto the chassis.

There's a legal requirement for the visible bumper to be "Resillient" - but you must remember that it's main purpose is to hide the structural bumper, and to offer some "Give" in the case of minor accidents or accidents involving pedestrians.

I'm not sure but I believe the front bumper does not have the structural bar behind it.

[CiaranMckeown]

As regards the bumper i was just shocked at how well the plastic has come off after the smash, it was obsiously deformed quite a bit and to see the way it is now its amazing. The paint was undamaged aswell. Quite amazing what modern cars will withstand.

[Superbjoser]

I'm not sure but I believe the front bumper does not have the structural bar behind it.

Hi!

Maybe I've got it all wrong, but I pretty sure they do. It' just further in, closer to the engine department and divided in to three separate replaceable spare parts: Impact absorber front bumper, Bumper rail front upper and bumper rail front lower. And while I'm writing: Are the front fenders out of plastic? Tapping with your fingers on the bonnet and then on the front fenders gives quite another feeling to it...

/Superbjoser

[PhilP1903]

My VRS was rear ended at 5 days old, was repaired by CarCrashClinics in Hartlepool, showed the dealer afterwards and they said they could not see /find any evidence of a repair, the insurance investigator came out to assess it for damage first time and a diminuation report 2nd time and he asked twice if i was sure it was the same car he inspected before because he could find no evidence of the previous damage. It cost £6k to repair and handles as well as it did before the pratt in a 4 x 4 rear ended me.

[CiaranMckeown]

Looking at these more closely i dont think the cars going to be a write off, but its gonna be an expensive bill for someone.

The indicators have started clicking faster inside the car for some reason. (confused)

Mabye something has messed the canbus system up?

I think it shows how well the car can actually cope after being hit from directly behind at around 35 mph. Inside it felt like i was hit by a train! My right shoulder is in agony and right hand side ribs are tender. The headaches and neck pains arent helping either, doctor tomorrow for sure.

[Supurbia]

You need physio, especially for the shoulder.