my fabia vrs is looking a bit worse for wear after coming into contact with another car:eek:. the other driver has admitted liability (they pulled out in front of me) but it has left a lot of front nearside damage, warped bonnet etc. i'm fairly sure that a decent body repairer can make things look pretty again but my other concern is that the gearshift is stuck in gear. I'm guessing the gearbox is on the nearside of the engine bay and that something has siezed there. Has anyone had a similar damage profile? what was the outcome? what are the chances of serious chassis damage after a 25mph collision 'on the skew' rather than head on?

Sorry to hear this hope you are okay, Not to sure what to make of the damage any pic's??

yeah, i'm fine thanks, none of the airbags deployed so it wasn't too bad an impact. no photos as yet transferred to pc. my main concern is for the gearbox /chassis and whether a sticking gearstick is an ominous sign

dont worry about the gearbox prob something dislodged and jamming the shift linkage.

cars are made to crash head on, i bought my fabia cat c, however there was no chassic damage, i did have to replace the bottom arms, struts and both stubs, as they where bent, but it was simple and cheap enough to fix, parts are cheap from skoda them selves

its going into an accident repair place in the next couple of days. hopefully they will notice if anything is warped suspension/chassis wise. only way i'll be able to tell after getting the car back is if the tyres wear unevenly or if it handles strangely. i hope they set it up on some sort of laser-based alignment checker before giving it back cos don't think it should be my responsibility.anyone know if this is standard kit for an accident repairer?

Even if the repairer doesn't have the required kit, I personally would insist on a full geometry check/adjust. This is a specialist job and many bodyshops just aren't up to it.

A 'Geometry Technician' (I maded that up) will be able to tell if anything is bent. If anything is bent, then the repairer hasn't done their job.

All of this is chargeable to the insurance.

All of this is my own unqualified opinion!!

Good luck, I know how it feels when your motor gets mangled.

cars are made to crash head on, i bought my fabia cat c, however there was no chassic damage, i did have to replace the bottom arms, struts and both stubs, as they where bent, but it was simple and cheap enough to fix, parts are cheap from skoda them selves

If it was cat C it would have had extensive damage sufficient to require an additional test/inspection before it was let back on the road.

No chassis damage wouldn't get you a C it would get a D.