I was recently driven into by someone and they caught the drivers side wing, bumper and wheel. Didn't look to major at the time, but I inspection by the repair centre has thrown up a new steering rack, track rod ends, wing, bumper and 2 new tyres as he shoved me across the road scuffing both tyres! Anyway, looks like their bill will be at least 2300 so probably going to see the car written off, which I'm gutted about. Anyway, I'm now in a situation where I don't know whether to repair or move on. I know car needs a new cambelt and service soon too, so I'm taking that cost into account. Any suggestions please?

Was this the one on Facebook a few days ago?

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Yes could have been. I'm on the octavia VRS owners page.

There's plenty of second hand parts available out there usually in the colour you want. I know a few people that have fitted second hand racks. You could repair it yourself for much less than what they're going to charge.

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Silver vRS.

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Speak to Jason Simons over PM he's more than helpful with things.

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Yes the silver VRS. Should I trust 2nd hand parts though? This is all new to me.

Loads of people use second hand parts I have full vRS brakes on my tdi that are second hand. You can also get a second opinion from Anthony Claypole on the facebook page he fitted all second hand subframe, rack and lower arms from a TT on his vRS.

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OK. Thanks. I'm looking at maybe going to a mk2 tfsi if I can get one at a price that's right for me.

Wouldn't have thought the tyres are necessary. Are you sure the steering rack is dead? Is it leaking/noisy or is there play in the steering?

 

You will find that a lot of cars for sale are due/overdue a cambelt change so don't be too hasty to buy another one based on that. I looked at quite a few priced around £2k before deciding to keep mine. Most of them were lower mileage than mine but overall in worse condition.

 

If you're lucky enough to find a decent replacement locally then by all means go for it, but if not then I'd be swinging towards getting yours repaired.

Ok no worries hope you get the outcome you want.

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I've no idea how bad the rack is. I'm trying to get the garage to tell me. I can tell you that the wheels don't point in the same direction anymore though!

As suggested it's definitely worth scouting out the parts first and weighing up the cost. I use used parts quite a lot, if they're in decent nick and genuine you'll still probably get more out of them than pattern parts. But yeah, I'd look at the cheapest possible fix and consider what car I could get for that money and weigh up whether I like my car enough to fix it up. I'd certainly be looking to give it a go.

That could just be a bent tie rod which just unscrews from the rack. I doubt the rack will be damaged.

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Garage is telling me it's the rack! How can I find out? I can get the car collected and taken somewhere else but it'll cost me £60!

Id get in touch with the insurance and ask them for another quote from an independent assessor to se what they say?

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If the car is still at the garage and you have space to store it then get it home...

 

Go and see the car yourself - look under the car for leaks from the rack, with the engine off feel for play through the steering wheel then with the engine running turn it lock to lock and listen for any untoward noises. If it passes those tests and you keep the car then I wouldn't bother replacing the rack - just the tie rods/rod ends obviously.

OK. Thanks. I can get the car back. So might try and take a look.

Latest update, I've spoken to the garage and the rack isn't leaking. However when he turned the wheels full lock to the right, the wheels are almost at a right angle to the car. Apparently this suggests that the rack is damaged at the mounting points. However he did admit that he could replace the tie rods and find that the rack has no play and fine. The car hasn't been fully checked over. He did say that as safety issue, he would need to price it as if it needed a new rack. I'm more confused than ever!

If the rack was damaged at the mounting points you would clearly be able to see it. If both wheels are almost at right angles (which I very much doubt) then maybe but you would feel that thought the column. If it just the right hand wheel I would say it's a tie rod end that's bent. We can only surmise though as unless you are in front of the car it's all guess work.

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He's probably pricing it in to cover his own arse - he wouldn't want to find out later that it needs a new rack and the only difference it makes to them is more profit in the job, the insurance will be paying or your car will get written off. Tyres seems a bit overkill unless the sidewall is actually damaged, but I wouldn't expect them to be.

 

A bent tie rod will be shorter than a straight one, on the driver's side this will mean the wheel will toe out, giving you less angle to the left and more to the right. You can't be certain just from that that the rack is damaged as well.

Thanks for all your replies. It really like sounds like he's being very cautious. Ultimately though he stated that even if he took the rack off the quote then the price for tie rods, front bumper, wing and indicator housing, and 2 tyres! Was £1950,so still a technical write off! Apparently if I want a second opinion then I have to pay to recover the car and move it to another garage.

If it was me I'd have it back and repair it myself, but that's my opinion it's entirely up to you. Most insurance companies these days look at using pattern parts or secondhand parts so doing it yourself is no different to the repairing it.

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A quick check on eBay ( not the cheapest for parts sometimes) and for bumper, indicator, wing and complete steering rack comes to £150 for the parts and if you look out on here you might even get them cheaper. Just an option for you?

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A quick check on eBay ( not the cheapest for parts sometimes) and for bumper, indicator, wing and complete steering rack comes to £150 for the parts and if you look out on here you might even get them cheaper. Just an option for you?

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Thanks for taking the time to do that. Its really appreciated. Ive spoke to a friend of mine who used to work at JKM and knows these cars inside out and his opinion is that as long as the chassis is straight, then get it back and repair it. So im going to arrange for the car to be delivered back and I will go from there I think.