You haven't had to give the Audi back yet have you?

Nope, the Audi is still outside the house peeing the neighbours off

let the insurance do the job you pay them for.... speaking as someone whos just had their 07 vrs walloped (albeit not as bad as that) i know its heartbreaking , but it could have been a lot worse, as above, every cloud...

glad to hear swmbo is getting better.

Cheers pal

Just hope you've had fun "comforting" her after her ordeal

Will be interesting to see which way this one gets called, but I know I'd not be happy with a repair after it bent like that.

Glad to hear about the other parties insurance and hopefully you'll feel better and have a good Chirstmas

I wouldn't expect hearing any proper updates until mid Jan 2008 to be honest at this point.

It'll be like trying to find a Nintendo Wii or DS with it being xmas. Minor car park scrapes etc and people claiming. so major claims will be placed on a back burner to get sorted in the new year probably.

You haven't had to give the Audi back yet have you?

I've just got my Fabia back, but it was a minor repair. When my A3 was badly bent at the back it took about 4-5 weeks. That was this time of year too.

Hope you had a good Christmas and New Year guys and girls

Any updates or are you planning on keeping the Audi

Big update.........................

After several phone calls to different people I have finally got somewhere:

The other party's insurance company sent an engineer down to inspect the car and they have authorised the repairs on it. I didn't get close to the 66% write off threshold.

I spoke to the body shop to get some details of the repairs.

New bumper, trim, rear light, parking sensors etcetera but I spoke to the owner of the bodyshop to express my concerns about the C-pillar creases.

He said they will pull the chassis back into alignment and it will be just as strong as it was when it left the factory.

Apparently the creases (see pic in OP) are NOT the result of the chassis being whacked out of kilter and in fact the monoquoc is under that panel.

My argument is this: How can the chassis NOT have been compromised despite the presence of these creases?

How can the chassis ever be as strong as it was before if it's been bent/creased? (ever creased a coke can and tried to make it straight again??? much weaker than before)

I would like the good people of Brisky to shed some light on this and reassure/scare me as appropriate.

I don't want to contradict a professional body shop but SWMBO will be driving it and I won't allow it if the safety cell isn't 100%

Hmm - Probably not the resolution you were hoping for.

Perhaps you could commision a second opinion but I fear you may be wasting your time - Many people (Normally the ones that don't own them) don't share your concerns with regard to such repairs.

I would make both your insurance company and the repairer that you have very exacting standards and will accept nothing less than exactly as it was before the incident. Anything less and you'll reject the repair.

I am already on to our insurance company and I have asked them to send an engineer down to look at the car because up until now we only have the opinion of the other party.

Yes I know they are independent engineers but even so, a second opinion can't hurt.

My local Skoda dealership (where I bought the car) have already said they will help out with devaluation estimates IF we have the car back. I'm going to speak to them again tomorrow.

I spoke to the owner of the body shop and he assures me I would never know it had been repaired (I'll bloody hold him to that), if it's not 100% it will be rejected in a flash.

The car was 4 bloody months old and immaculate when it got whacked, I am seriously pi$$ed off right now.

a few ripply dents in the roof may have been enough to write it off

i would not be happy to have the car back after the damage to the chassis/rear quarter that has occured to the Octy, i'm sure they will find more damage after it is all stripped , then have to send a supplimentary estimate to the insurers for the extra repairs

The write off threshold figure they quoted me was 66% of it's original value.

Roughly £13,200, it would take a lot of damage to reach over 13k.

Big update.........................

After several phone calls to different people I have finally got somewhere:

The other party's insurance company sent an engineer down to inspect the car and they have authorised the repairs on it. I didn't get close to the 66% write off threshold.

I spoke to the body shop to get some details of the repairs.

New bumper, trim, rear light, parking sensors etcetera but I spoke to the owner of the bodyshop to express my concerns about the C-pillar creases.

He said they will pull the chassis back into alignment and it will be just as strong as it was when it left the factory.

Apparently the creases (see pic in OP) are NOT the result of the chassis being whacked out of kilter and in fact the monoquoc is under that panel.

My argument is this: How can the chassis NOT have been compromised despite the presence of these creases?

How can the chassis ever be as strong as it was before if it's been bent/creased? (ever creased a coke can and tried to make it straight again??? much weaker than before)

I would like the good people of Brisky to shed some light on this and reassure/scare me as appropriate.

I don't want to contradict a professional body shop but SWMBO will be driving it and I won't allow it if the safety cell isn't 100%

Insist on a skoda body shop as that will bump the price up a bit and it is your right. They will also know exactly what needs replacing.

Also if metal has bent, once bent back into shape it is 100% impossible for it to be as strong as it was before it bent. That is basic physics. I asked a similar question of an mechanical engineer once about some sheet metal we were building a case out of and he said get new stuff as once creased it's scrap as it won't hold shape properly.

There is no way in hell I'd accept them pulling it back to shape without replacing all the panels.

Funnily enough the body shop is indeed Skoda approved.

I need to establish whether what I was told is true. I was told the outer skin of the car that has creased ISN'T part of the rigid safety cell and is merely an external panel that is there for visual purposes only. My argument is that outer panel (if that's what it is) must be attached to the chassis somehow and if it's creased that means the chassis has shrunk or shifted in that area of the car.

Funnily enough the body shop is indeed Skoda approved.

I need to establish whether what I was told is true. I was told the outer skin of the car that has creased ISN'T part of the rigid safety cell and is merely an external panel that is there for visual purposes only. My argument is that outer panel (if that's what it is) must be attached to the chassis somehow and if it's creased that means the chassis has shrunk or shifted in that area of the car.

If it is a crease then a weld which attaches it could have split. Either way I don't believe a word your body shop says about it being as strong.

If you bend metal you realign the molecules that were in a tight packed structure. That structure will be less tight packed, even if bent back into shape, so the structure is weaker. End of story.

Hence my 'coke can' analogy - put a crease in it and it will never be a strong as before no matter what you do.

I think the crease in the C pillars is about 2 or 3 inches below the joint of the rear quarter panel and the roof section, the actual safety cell must be under it but it changes nothing in my opinion :thumbdwn:

Hence my 'coke can' analogy - put a crease in it and it will never be a strong as before no matter what you do.

I think the crease in the C pillars is about 2 or 3 inches below the joint of the rear quarter panel and the roof section, the actual safety cell must be under it but it changes nothing in my opinion :thumbdwn:

Nope I totally agree with you.

Either a weld has torn or the safety cage been damaged. There is no way that it can be as strong as new.

As long as the repair is completed properly, the car will not be devalued in any way. The car will not be recorded on any register, so will still be HPI clear. The creases you see on the B pillar are most likely just minor, and only affect the external panels. The main structure of the car underneath will still be ok as its remarkably strong. If you ever watch Wrecks to Riches on discovery turbo, you will see cars in a simillar state dismantled and put back together again like new.

As long as the repair is completed properly, the car will not be devalued in any way. The car will not be recorded on any register, so will still be HPI clear. The creases you see on the B pillar are most likely just minor, and only affect the external panels. The main structure of the car underneath will still be ok as its remarkably strong. If you ever watch Wrecks to Riches on discovery turbo, you will see cars in a simillar state dismantled and put back together again like new.

I totally agree.

P.S. Im sorry it's not the out come you wanted.

I totally agree.

P.S. Im sorry it's not the out come you wanted.

But how surely something had to give for the cover panel to crease.

Sure you can replace the panel but I don't see that it's good as from the factory as it hasn't been dip galvanised/painted etc after welding etc.

I know you work in a body shop so obviously know what is what, but from a simple physics point of view bent metal loses some strength. Also surely the lost value comes from the fact if a buyer asks has it been in a accident you have to legally answer yes and as such they would reduce their offer or walk away.

Firstly, hope your wife is back to normal now. I would also try as hard as I can to get a new car instead of have the repaired one back.

I remember seeing a picture in the paper or a car magazine some time ago showing a repaired car after a heafty rear end shunt. It looked as good as new. Next to it was a close up x-ray of the C pillar and also one of a new C pillar. The hidden strengthening beams of the accident repaired one were in a different place, i.e. had not been repaired because they could not be repaired so were still slightly twisted.

The article was talking about the hidden risks of driving a car after a hefty rear end if you are unlucky enough to have another one, because the metal is not as strong as it once was.

Sorry as this is not good to read and I have struggled to find this article or any pictures relating to it online. Does anyone else remember seeing this?

As long as the repair is completed properly, the car will not be devalued in any way.

Yes it will.

When you trade a car in it's common place to be asked if the vehicle has had significant accident damage. If you say yes then they most definitely will offer you less.

Likewise if you are buying a car privately it's normal to ask if it's ever been in a crash. If you lie and say no , then the buyer finds out (for example by reading this thread) then you will have problems. If you say yes then they will either walk away or expect to pay less

Sorry if this has been said, but I'v eonly just found this thread, and could only be bothered to read the 1st three pages, and this one.

Hope SWMBO is better now.

Uninsured Drivers

IIRC all UK insurers put money into a slush fund (the uninsured drivers fund or similar) to pay claims in accidents caused by guess who. Hopefully this should pay out in this case, rather than troubling your own policy.

HTH.

If you lie and say no , then the buyer finds out (for example by reading this thread) then you will have problems. If you say yes then they will either walk away or expect to pay less

Not strictly... since there is no law that covers "goods as described" from private parties. However, there is the possibility of fraud I would assume?

It's just a small crease and I wouldn't worry too much as the car will flex when impacted.

What you want to know is when they put it on the jig what if anything has moved from original settings if they do need to jig the car to straighten it, I for one would be looking to get shot of it soonest.

I caused bigger creases in my Fabia reversing into the garage wall, I just had a very smart repair done.