forfour.co.uk
Forum => General Smart Chat => Topic started by: bowei001 on March 25, 2017, 07:24:28 PM
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I was driving our '06 CDi Passion today when a white van driver came straight out of a side turning and into the side of me. The damage is as follows:
dent in o/s C post half way up door level; damage to rear o/s door; driver's door split & front part buckled; window will not wind down; damage to A post so that door will not shut & door mirror ripped off. I was under the impression that the C & A posts were part of the "safety cell". Can dents in these be repaired or has the integrity of the cell been compromised? Am I likely to be expecting a repair or a write-off? Any suggestions (preferably cheerful ones as I'm really P***** off) would be gratefully received.
Thanks,
Ian
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The safety cell or Tridion cell is from the engine bulkhead
all the way to the back of the car, and in any other car
the damage would have been far worse than what you
have explained so far...in fact I'd go so far to say that you
are lucky you were in a ForFour as it sounds as if the car
would have folded right the way in at the 'B' post if it were
nigh on any other car !
Based on the damage details you have given it is therefore with
regret that I would more or less guarantee that your insurers will
write the car off, as to repair the stated damage will cost at least
the current value of the car in terms of parts, let alone labour etc.
So, it is with a sad heart that I have to suggest to you that you
start looking on Autotrader etc for a CDi of comparable year and
spec as your car for the current 'going' rate/price and accept no
less than that in settlement from your insurers. Stick to your guns
when they make you an offer of compensation as the first one will
usually be well below market value, and when you refuse they'll do
the usual of dragging their heels, hoping to wear you down over time
and that you'll just want it all to end/be resolved. Don't give in.
Obviously if there are any injuries etc to be taken into account, then
be sure you get the best in respect of those issues, as well as loss
of earnings, inconvenience, out of pocket expenses if you have to
use other means of transport etc etc etc.
Keep us posted on things, and we'll give you our support, ok.
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Thanks CrazyG. I half expected that to be the case. It's a real pity as the car is quite highly specced and I have never seen one with cutline wheels and "climate control" rather than air con. I'll have to see what the insurance company does, I'm going through a no-fault claim and have an independent witness who says that the van came straight out of a side turning and into me. Perhaps it was lucky that the driver was Bulgarian and didn't speak english otherwise he might have understood some of my comments!
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'Cutline' wheels ! New one on me.....any pics at all ?
The factory fit original alloys when fitted were a
choice of 15" Strokeline, with the option of 16"Moveline.
The later Coolstyle models usually came equipped with
15" Cruiseline's. one must not forget that there was indeed
another cost option...the expensive 17" Grandlines or...
Monoblock VI's.
And re your 'climate control'....you mean it has the very late
Colt type round knobs on the the dash controls rather than the
more usual 'blade' type. Just an excercise by Smart in cutting
part costs as they do exactly the same job as the earlier type
controls...but these do look better to be honest ?
But, anyway...back to your poor car....
See how it goes with the insurance...but it would be interesting
to also find out what they would sell it back to you for. Why ?
Assuming you would have somewhere to put it and strip it for
parts...(1) for spares for your next one...or...(2) for parts
for other owners in need of bits.
Yes iI/we are aware that it may take time to 'shift' the bits, there
can and is money to be made out of doing this. As an example,
if the engine is good then it could be worth around £350...
gearbox around £300...interior for around £100+...bonnet for £40
doors for £55...tailgate for £70 etc etc.
Those are all 'conservative' prices based on similar items on ebay.
But as I said...it does depend on having somewhere to strip it
and store them...but worth it to others and even yourself as it
would be a shame to see good parts going to scrap.
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The wheels were called cutline on the spec sheet that came with the car but it's possible that it was an error. I've never seen them on another 44 so I've atteched a photo. It might well be worth buying it back as it has rear blind, tonneau cover, 5 seats, aux gauges, radio 6 with aux lead & socket,info centre with steering wheel controls and foglights, all of which, I expect, were optional extras at purchase.
(http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac96/bowei001/P3263906.jpg) (http://s889.photobucket.com/user/bowei001/media/P3263906.jpg.html)
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gutted.....
thats the 3rd one this month
given my brab had a small amount of rear end damage and its v close to a write off i don't think you will be in luck :(
those wheels are colt wheels - probably end of forfour special
JJ
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Thanks for the wheel identification Problemchild. I'm waiting for the garage to collect the car to assess it but I'm not too hopeful. As I'm going through a "no fault" claim and have an independant witness, I might be in a reasonable position. The drivers boss said he had 20 drivers and gets a claim nearly every week (that's scary). Perhaps his drivers are used to LHD vans and forget that they have 6 odd feet of van on their left side when they pull out into traffic?
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I have those same wheels ! They came on the late plate manual
CDi I bought...but I've now swapped them over to my 05 plate AMT
readying it for sale... and yes, they are Colt wheels.
(I'm 'moving' all the goodies I had on the AMT onto the manual)
If that 'boss' is geting so many claims, then he should be choosing
or selecting better drivers...not just cheap rate foreigners as they're
costing him more than having better paid good drivers.
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can we have pictures of the damage to yours?
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Here we go:
(http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac96/bowei001/P3253905.jpg) (http://s889.photobucket.com/user/bowei001/media/P3253905.jpg.html)
(http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac96/bowei001/P3253904.jpg) (http://s889.photobucket.com/user/bowei001/media/P3253904.jpg.html)
(http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac96/bowei001/P3253903.jpg) (http://s889.photobucket.com/user/bowei001/media/P3253903.jpg.html)
(http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac96/bowei001/P3253902.jpg) (http://s889.photobucket.com/user/bowei001/media/P3253902.jpg.html)
(http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac96/bowei001/P3253901.jpg) (http://s889.photobucket.com/user/bowei001/media/P3253901.jpg.html)
(http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac96/bowei001/P3253899.jpg) (http://s889.photobucket.com/user/bowei001/media/P3253899.jpg.html)
I spoke to the assessor today and the news does not look good. He reckons £2500 of damage that he can see and there may be more lurking. Car is valued at £1900 max so I think the writing is on the wall. I'm waiting to hear from the insurance company, I bet their first offer is a lot less than £1900!
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G'day bowei,
I am so sorry for you,as shown on the foto, it really looks like a lot of damage, i hope it turns out ok for you.
Greetings,
Eddie.
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well if you can live with the trid being a bit mangled, idd replace the wing mirror and slow time keep an eye out for black panels
JJ
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In my humble opinion, if the insurers didn't like the value you placed on
the car when you insured it, then they should have said so and agreed
a value, so in my books they have quite happily insured it for the value
you stated...and that's the value you want if they write it off.
But be that as it may......I'd stick to my guns for £1900
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Thanks for the kind comments & sympathy. The problem with the dent in the trid is that it has also twisted the door frame and hinges and so the door won't shut properly , the top window surround doesn't touch the body rubber and the window channel is twisted so that the window won't open more that about 4 inches. If I had more time I could probably source a new door but we are in the middle of planning our daughter's wedding in a few weeks time and we need a car for running around. I'll certainly hold out for the full value and see what I can do then. I really dislike some white van men!
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Are you dealing with your insurer or theirs? Sometimes pays to ask the other to step in or at least let the one currently dealing with it think you are going to...
Had a fortwo in here, owners assessor basically stood in front of me & said he wanted a cheaper quote or would write it off. 3rd party assessor was sent pictures, phoned us & asked where to send repair authorisation! They all work differently!
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We are dealing with our insurer and have put it through a "no fault" claim as we were hit by a hire van that pulled out of a side turning and into us. We have an independent witness to the event and the van driver works for a foreign company so we let our insurers deal with it. Today we heard that it is a total loss write-off and we are waiting to hear what offer the company makes. We will not be accepting their first offer.
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The deed is done! We accepted £2100 for the write off, Cat C. I didn't buy it back (asking price was around £250) as I don't have the time to try to repair it and even less to diamantle it. It is going to Copart UK, Acrey Fields, MK43 9EJ. They seem to be salvage auctioneers so there is the very slight possibility that it might get bought and repaired - it would be nice to think so.
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It's being shown as located at Copart's site in Colchester. No bids yet, so somebody could grab a bargain...
https://www.copart.co.uk/lot/25807627
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Hi JonS, thanks for the update. We were given the MK43 address by the assessors but Colchester is nearer to us. It was a really nice car and was well looked after (oil changes every 5-8000 miles, new discs, pads & droplinks). If anyone buys it to repair and lets us know, we can send them all the documentation/receipts we have. It would be nice to see it back on the road rather than being broken.
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The car was sold today at auction in Colchester. Did anyone here buy it?