I will have my verniers with me

similar thing happened to me, except i had left enough space in front so didn't hit it

new bumper, inserts/brackets, badge, fixing of boot lip, new bar behind bumper - parts and labour - 940 quid

getting the car back next week - they gave me a 1.2 fabia - ok around town, no poke from engine though and crap brakes.

Apparently there's just under £4k's worth of damage, not expecting to see it again until mid to late Jan as Christmas will bugger up spare deliveries and workshop time :(

Is there a set formula for claiming for loss of second hand value as the two mentioned above are based upon two different base values - one is car value and the other is repair value. I obviously want to claim for the highest sum possible but if that goes against the norm then I don't want to contradict it.

Lost the rag with the solicitor today when she told me over the phone that a claim for loss of second hand value is usually only valid for 'prestige' cars

One ****ty letter has been sent to her company outlining the errors of her ways

Quite right too.

If your car is worth less as a result of having been in a significant accident then you are entitled to claim. Dealers will ask you if it's been repaired when assessing it for a trade-in , and most definitely will pay less if you say yes.

Do you have AA or RAC cover for an independent opinion about this?

I'm in the AA and also went to the Dealer and actually asked him too, quoting directly what he said to the Solicitor as an 'expert' and he said exactly what you and everyone else has said, it will Def be worth less than a similar model for sale.

What P'd me off the most is this was MY solicitor saying this not the guilty party's Solicitor contesting it - wtf :confused:

Maybe also contact your Insurance company to see what way they normally work it.

The car's gone back to the main Skoda dealer where I boought it from, so hopefully shouldn't be any problem in repairing it to manufacturers Spec. The insurance also said that they will warrant any repairs for 5 years, so actually better than Skoda:)

I take it that by this time you have had oppertunity to see behind the bumpers for yourself to see what structural damage there is?.

Bodyshops quality of work varies enormously. I would make sure that I knew where your car was going for repair so that you could pay the "odd visit" un-announced. Some of these bodyshops work to impossible schedules and the workers are on mega bonuses to turn work around asap. My previous car was a VW passat which sustained a mild front end bump but needed a new offside wing and front bumper, fortunatly no internal structural damage. I insisted that my car went to our local VW/Audi dealer who had a high tech bodyshop. On collection of the car all looked pristine but after a couple of weeks the drivers door started to "bloom". The reason was that I was "one of these folk who polishes their cars!!!" and they didn't take the time to de-wax the panel properly before they "blew in " the paint to match the new panel (Inky blue metallic).

If you have no choice but to go with a repair job you will know within a few months at the most whether your job OK, i.e. driving straight etc and whether the paintwork is satisfactory. If not keep rejecting it, your dealer should be behind you cause after all,, he may be looking to do a deal with you in 4 years time on a new car.

Hope your neck is on the mend.