More battle damage and a nasty scare

[Gaz85]

So last tuesday (12/08/2014) an old fella decided to drive into the side of my car after exchanging names and vehicle info i got onto my insurance company (tesco) to get thing's moving well after giving them the reg number of his car and the company he said he was with they couldn't find him on the insurance database at that point i crapped it because i don't have protected ncd yet, anyway i got in touch with the guy and he then gave me the right details it turned out that he was with admiral but funny thing was when i gave them the reg of his car they said that it wasn't the right one for the car even though i told them that i had taken a picture of his number plate whilst taking pictures of the damage to both my car and his anyway my car was deemed a total loss and only valued at £700 if they took the car which after the money i have spent on it wasn't an option so they then said if i keep the car they could only give me £560 which i ended up taking so now i'm trying to decide what to do. here are the pictures from the damage.......->

[bashbarnard]

Keep.it then buy a good shell swap the bits. Or keep it and break therefore you can.keep nice bits and flog the rest

[Piggy]

Take decent parts...then buy 306 in better colour and condition. £560 buy you a lot. I think thats a fair amount they given there!

[Danny2009]

Personally I'd take wheel off and knock dent out best I could from the inside and carry on driving it

[Grant]

Never, ever, ever accept the first, or second offer they give you on an insurance payout.

Either way, as said you could reshell it, or just put up with it. Depends how much work you have put into it and how attached you are to the car.

[jack_o]

It would be wise to get the tracking checked, if the wheel isn't obviously out by eye already.

[Connor]

Tracking is pointless, as there is no adjustment there, just check for any movement

[jack_o]

It would be good to know if it's a few degrees out, can't adjust it but can always replace the rear axle if really bad.

[1616six]

Diamond cut swallows ftw!

[powerandtorque]

Tracking is pointless, as there is no adjustment there, just check for any movement

Poor advice IMO.

You can quite easily bend a stub axle with a sideways impact on the rear wheel which will throw the rear wheel alignment well out but there not be any play or movement in it.

Depending how far out it is the car might just not feel "right" or it might be complete liability, plus you're likely to have brake issues on that wheel too as the caliper and disk won't be running true to one another. It can be out far enough to noticeably impact driving and yet not look out by eye, particularly when the surrounding bodywork is bent.

You might not be able to adjust it as such, but if you take it in for a tracking/alignment check and the alignment values are all over the shop then you know that it needs a replacement stub axle (or complete arm)

[Toms306]

Putting 7 full stops at the end of the post doesn't make up for the lack of punctuation in the rest of it, man that was hard to read!


Personally I think that's a good price from the insurance, wouldn't expect anywhere near that for my HDi! I wouldn't try and bodge it, cars don't seem to drive the same after a shunt, and if that corner was to get hit again (sods law I know) it wouldn't take the impact so well.

[Niall]

Considering you were not at fault, the insurance has to repair the car for you regardless of if it costs more than their value of the car providing it's not unsafe to go back on the road. They won't tell you this though because it saves them money.
Should of argued the case but oh well. Too late now.

Best thing if I was you would be to reshell it.

[Eeyore]

break it for parts and scrap the rest. Get a new one. Its ballache but thats the best way to save money and make money.

[Dangti6]

Is it a Cat C or D?

[Gaz85]

Thanks for your input guys i have taken it all into consideration and decided to keep the car for now. i'm going to do what i can to repair the damage i'm also thinking about buying another set of pug alloys bigger than what i have atm though. i'm on the look out for the two rear doors for it to.
The car is driving fine no wobbles or noises but the impact was at low speed so didn't expect damage to the wheel bearing or axle handbrake is holding fine braking is as sharp as it usually is so to me it all seems to be in order thankfully.
Tom306 i'm sorry that you're upset with my lack of grammar and i will say that i am aware that my grammar is absolutely sh*t and has been for a very long time on the upside though i know i can come to you from now on to help me improve my grammar skills cheers buddy lol (sorry tom only having a laugh with you)
I totally know what you're saying though tom even though the car is only cosmetically damaged the car really doesn't feel the same which sucks.

Thanks for the advice grant,niall i will know for future reference this was my first accident and obviously the first time dealing with insurance so i guess i was an easy target for them to fob me off to be honest i'm just glad it's all over and dealt with.

So the plan at this moment in time is to keep the car until just before my insurance policy is up for renewal then get shot of it and buy a 306 estate.

dan this is the funny part admiral said the car was a total loss and so they offered me the £560 they then said that the car would have to be categorised, anyway they asked me for pictures of the damage so they could assess what category to put my car in. well after sending them the pictures and waiting on the phone for 10 mins they came back and said that they aren't going to categorise the car so i was free to do what i wanted with it.

[Niall]

In which case mate, you have had a good outcome there. If it had of been cat C'd which would be quite likely as its rear arch damage (bastard to replace the panel), it would have to be VIC checked before it can go back on the road

[Gaz85]

In which case mate, you have had a good outcome there. If it had of been cat C'd which would be quite likely as its rear arch damage (bastard to replace the panel), it would have to be VIC checked before it can go back on the road

Yea man i was lucky as hell there but way i look at it is at least it wasn't a case of needing to be cut out of the car or anything you know.

www niall can you remove the restrictions off my account please man?

[Niall]

Done

[Gaz85]

Done

Thank you kind sir

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Done

How long does it take for the restrictions to come off niall ? tried logging out and back in again.