Retaining Salvage to break or sell on is it worth it?

[Cool4door64]

Ive recently been in a scrape which wasn't my fault and my car has been written off its literally a dent wing and door the car is perfectly fine other than this dent and scrape damage.

 

I have been offered to retain the salvage its still in use till I've made a decision I'm just wondering whether there is still a call for parts and if any one else has kept it is it worth the hassle of breaking or reselling?

 

my car is a 2007 vrs tdi manual corrida red its not done 150,000 miles yet and I looked after the beast!

[davidwhite]

Have you considered a diy repair to your own car, as long as it’s purely cosmetic and not structural damage ?

[MikeTheThinker]

23 minutes ago, Cool4door64 said:

a dent wing and door

 

Do you have any piccies?  That would help in terms of understanding he scope of the damage and thus any advice on what would work or not.

 

[Cool4door64]

59 minutes ago, StickyMicky said:

 

Do you have any piccies?  That would help in terms of understanding he scope of the damage and thus any advice on what would work or not.

 

 Yeah sure it’s a real simple repair I could probably do myself but I’m considering upgrading my car to a later Octavia vrs model

 

 

[MikeTheThinker]

OK, front wing replacement is fiddly but a reasonable job.  Gotchas include 'unsweating' the  glued-on top inner support (easy enough in principle but a bugger to get at), possible need to replace the internal support bracketry between inner and outer wing (about 50 plus painting costs and more buggerance), possible wheel arch liner replace (can split).  Nasties - should they be relevant - start should the impact have caused any damage/distortion to the inner wing or the A-pillar; unlikely from your piccie but should be checked.

Budget assuming no inner wing damage and doing the work yourself?  VRS front wing £100-150 delivered from a breaker (check condition!), add £100+ to get it resprayed if needed.

 

Door is fairly easy to swap subject to no A-pillar distortion (means hinges have to be realigned).  Bare door in good nicj again £100-150 plys paint costs if needed (allow about 150 on this).  Stripping your door and rebuilding the replacement is a PITA but doable.  Fun areas include sawpping over the locks and drilling out the rivets holding the inner door panel in place - best replaced with pop rivets or appropriate-sized screws on rebuild.  There's a recent thread on this forum about this bit.

 

Timewise (assuming you're reasonably knowledgeable and have the facilities) guesstimate 1 day to remove the offended panels and a further 2 days to transfer bits and reassemble.  A mate would be helpful for manhandling the door off and on, too.

 

You'll need somewhere to keep the car (probably offroad) whilst you source the bits and prepare the work.

 

As regards your other option - break and scrap - I'l allow at least 3 months between starting the strip and disposing of what's left, plus somewhere to store the removed items until sale and a plan to dispose of the 'corpse'.  Lockdown is making it hard to sell of the larger bits (the stuff carriers aren't too happy to shift) and geting the skeleton collected for scrap isn't very easy either at the moment.   Bits that should sell reasonably include common casualties such as door mirrors, then 'pretties' such as internal trim and seats plus front bumper and grilles.  Wheels may sell but they'll have to be either perfect or cheap and decent tyres do make a big difference.  I wouldn't rely on selling much from under the bonnet or the main body.  You might hit lucky but I'd have to say I don't think it's likely.

 

Does that help?

 

 

[J.R.]

Piece of p**s and its a solid colur as well!

 

I did an identical wing repair on my Yeti as a confinement project, it was convenient for me to remove the wing and repair & paint it flat in my workshop, last year I did a similar door repair (rear + wheelarch & cill) on my Octavia and that was silver metallic & blended in invisibly albeit beneath the waistline.

 

I read Sticky Mickys response whilst composing this, I would not replace the panels, it will be more labour and more costly than the repair, were yours metallic paint then it would swing the balance that way.

 

You could do an invisible repair to that for £30 (400ml base coat + 2K lacquer colour matched aerosols) if you already have the filler, stopper, primer and wet n dry paper, otherwise double that.

 

How much will it cost to buy the salvage compared to the payout?

Edited 7 May, 2020 by J.R.

[Cool4door64]

£250 to buy my car back and £2250 pay out. Im going to attempt to repair it myself the internal door bars are fine and the window goes up and down fully with no issues the internals of the wheel arch and everything else are also ok. I just need to check with the insurance company now what they will give me cover wise till I find a new vehicle or just keep this one.

[MikeTheThinker]

3 hours ago, Cool4door64 said:

£250 to buy my car back and £2250 pay out. Im going to attempt to repair it myself the internal door bars are fine and the window goes up and down fully with no issues the internals of the wheel arch and everything else are also ok. I just need to check with the insurance company now what they will give me cover wise till I find a new vehicle or just keep this one.

 

The payout is generous when compared to what trade are saying about the value at the moment.  The damage is "cosmetic" so you should be able to persuade your insurers to continue your cover, although some are picky or even bloody-minded about it.  If they specify a new MoT ask why; you may not win, in case you'll have to organise an MoT before using the car.  Tax should continue uninterrupted, assuming you haven't already SORN-ed the car.

 

For future reference your car will now be listed as "Cosmetic damage write-off" which will be visible to future vehicle histories and will reduce its value slightly on resale.

 

Just in case you haven't already done so it's worth a root around fleabay and breakers for a wing and a door - you may land lucky and find it cheaper and quicker than doing a bodywork repair.

 

[J.R.]

Thats a great result, given that you have looked after the car and its a known quantity (or is it entity?) to you then I would bite their hand off.

 

I had a similar thing shortly after buying my then 3 year old Octavia MK1, I ended up with a free car and some money in the bank as well (touch of whiplash), a snatch tow on the towball with it chained to an excavator and some boiling water on the bumper skin while pressure applied and it was as good as new as far as I was concerned, yes if you lifted the boot carpet there was some evidence but not worth disturbing the factory welds, seamsealing and paintwork to eradicate.

 

I even scored an extra £250 from the assessor for a new CD multi-changer because I knew what to do to make the head unit display "Engineer".

[Cool4door64]

That’s great thanks for all the advice much appreciated. Just wondering if anyone knows which insurers are best for cat N or previous Cat D vehicles? Just in case my insurer is odd one I went through Chris Knott they have been brilliant so far 

[J.R.]

Usually the existing insurer will be happy to retain your custom as its only cosmetic repairs.

 

Years ago with Direct Line I bought back a Sierre Estate that had a quite severe rear corner impact and I had to get an engineers report but once done they re-insured me at the same rate for the same cover.

[Cool4door64]

Yeah I need re-MOT it but I know what needs doing for the MOT. Insurer are fine with it it will just be less of a value which I can live with as I know the cars reet. Cheers everyone TC 

[labman1001]

I'm no expert on anything here so please stick with my thoughts ...

 

you've been offered £2,250 to walk away and scrap the car so surely the biggest question is if you buy it back at £250 plus upwards of £500 for repairs surely means the repaired car requires to sell for at least £1,500 to break even never mind make any profit from it ... I know the VRS can attract a bit of a premium but accident damaged will it attract between £1,500 & £1,700 depending on the repair cost to break even..unless you've room to strip and store everything and willing to wait goodness knows how long you're unlikely to make £2,000 from it

[J.R.]

I dont think the OP was looking to buy it back, repair it to sell for a profit but were he to do so and using your figures then selling it for £1500 would represent a profit of £750 and not a break even situation. Accept write off = +£2250 in bank, buy back, repair & sell = + £3000 in bank.

 

DIY repairs on that if you have the time, patience and skill need not be more than £50

 

Were I the OP and had owned & cherished the car a long time & know it to be a good un then its not about making a profit but the opportunity to save my vehicle from being scrapped, to carry on driving a loved car and not have to buy an unknown quantity, to repair it myself and be paid £1950 to do so.

 

Or my car repaired and £1950 extra in the bank or buy another probably newer unknown quantity and X thousand £ less in the bank.

Edited 12 May, 2020 by J.R.

[Cool4door64]

4 hours ago, labman1001 said:

I'm no expert on anything here so please stick with my thoughts ...

 

you've been offered £2,250 to walk away and scrap the car so surely the biggest question is if you buy it back at £250 plus upwards of £500 for repairs surely means the repaired car requires to sell for at least £1,500 to break even never mind make any profit from it ... I know the VRS can attract a bit of a premium but accident damaged will it attract between £1,500 & £1,700 depending on the repair cost to break even..unless you've room to strip and store everything and willing to wait goodness knows how long you're unlikely to make £2,000 from it

Hi thanks for the advice and agree there is a profit to be made but at present I’m going to keep it as it’s been one of my favourite cars over ever owned. I might eventually replace it but I’m already getting a lot of work done on it and have spent a lot on and sometimes it’s better the devil you know!

 

Thanks everyone you’ve all been helpful with my question!

 

cheers

paul 

[Cool4door64]

Just thought I would update on this so after all the good advice I got off all you guys on the forum which was brilliant and me starting repairs I got rear ended on Sunday!

 

That was the car rear ended not myself before anyone says 😆

 

So now its proper fooked and so am I. Gutted as its been one of the best cars Ive owned guess I will have to break whats left now after all FFS FML

[MikeTheThinker]

28 minutes ago, Cool4door64 said:

So now its proper fooked and so am I

 

Despite the current situation if you feel at all hurt from the bump do go to A&E to be checked.  Most injuries from a rear-end bump are muscle sprains (ie whiplash) but there can still be muscle tear and potentially spinal damage.

[mac11irl]

this... i was rear ended way back in 2008 at roundabout. my wife(then girlfriend) was with me.

we were both fine at the time, but roll forward a few yrs and her shoulder was giving awful hassle. an mri showed tendon torn off bone of left shoulder blade. 

genuinely i think it was from the smack the car got. it was teetering on write off, only there was no rear chassis damage.

it actually, we have realised since, has been fine the whole time shes had the Citigo, since 2014, only time it got bad was after she spent a while test driving a 208. and it was quite bad when she had her previous 207. so french gearboxes make it worse. . maybe others too, will find out when we get testing cars to replace lexi in a few months..

may go automatic.. .

 

obviously it was way past the time limit for any claim, but with hindsight shouldce gone for a once over, it may have been spotted at the time.

Edited 28 May, 2020 by mac11irl

[Cool4door64]

11 hours ago, StickyMicky said:

 

Despite the current situation if you feel at all hurt from the bump do go to A&E to be checked.  Most injuries from a rear-end bump are muscle sprains (ie whiplash) but there can still be muscle tear and potentially spinal damage.

I went to A&E and was basically felt up by the doctor who said your young and healthy you will be fine literally shoved me out the door with a leaflet in my hand 🖐 I’ve got a telephone appointment with physio so will go from there. Thanks for the advice will keep it all recorded and get it all official 

[MikeTheThinker]

I got rear-ended on the M6 by a 20-ton-truck two Christmases ago.  Talk about a code brown moment!  I had whiplash for a couple of weeks but I though it had all cleared up after that. My A&E visit said whiplash and to rest.

 

Move on 6 months or so and my Tai Chi instructor observed that I was favouring my left shoulder; I hadn't noticed TBH but as time has gone on I've developed a definite 'pain point' when trying to raise my left arm past a certain point.  I had hoped with careful exercise it would ease but not so.  The current situation has prevented much further being done but my GP is on notice once we're released from house arrest ...

 

I've discovered during this process that whilst timely A&E visits are important should you wish to claim for injury after an accident (I didn't) but also in convincing the medicos after the fact that there may be more to discover - and hence get proper treatment.

Edited 29 May, 2020 by StickyMicky
typos