In a pickle

[oska]

I thought i would post in here rather than make 6 new threads

A week ago some ###wit walked over my car causing damage to boot roof and bonnet, although the damage is minimal it's spread over 3 panels. I got a quote and it came in at 5K and i'm fairly sure the insurance will want to write the car off, but that's something i really don't want as i've spent alot of time and money getting the interior just right for me + the car drives like it's brand new even at 200K

Today i found a shop who could do the same work for around 3K but after a lengthy discussion i offered to provide a second hand boot and a new after market bonnet and in the deal i get a complete repray.

here's my dilemma, do i try and convince the insurance co to go with the second option? can i buy back the car if it's written off? or do i just cancel my claim and pay for it, i'm fairly sure if i offered him 2.5K cash + $140 for the bonnet and maybe $50 for a boot he would accept it

so for 2.7K i would get a pretty nice car or lose my rating 1 higher insurance premium and only $550 for excess

can anyone comment on those after market bonnets re fitment

thoughts comment ideas would be great

cheers

David

[bogan_vk]

if youve got your old interior quickly swap it over and remove anything you like replace those parts with stock parts then claim thats what id do.

[oska]

the roof trim including pillars is now black velour,door trims and seats are now leather and re colouerd so the look like new with 8 way electrics, new head unit GPS,DVD DTV all blue LED's although it's only a vx exec it came fully optioned i'm the second owner the first owner had it serviced by holden and never missed one i have the log books

what do i do......

[FstStig]

fack mate you are in a pickle...someone help this poor carnt out!

Great! School holidays aren't even here and we are already getting the idiots! Either provide some useful info or shut up!

If I was you had the spare 2.7k spare i would just do it. Worth it in the long run because you don't really want to be paying higher insurance every year. I think you can buy your write offs back, as someone on here had their really nice VT got written off and he bought it back.

[ClairBear]

fack mate you are in a pickle...someone help this poor carnt out!

You might want to read the site rules. Avoiding the swear filter as you have is not on.

[brokenikon]

IN my opinion, your best course of action is first have a chat to the insurance company and discuss this with them, that way you can stop speculating on whether it's gonna hurt more to do the repairs yourself or claim for it and lose the rating. Once you've got the information you need, like costs, long term and so on, you can then make an informed decision that suits you.
Personally, after just having the quick read into how much you've done to the interior, I imagine you have a few other plans for the car too, so would be a shame to let it go unrepaired any longer than necessary.

[acarmody]

If it was me I would get the insurance to pay out the $5k quote in cash. And than take it to ol' mate who is doing the cheaper cashie.

[NonStick Squid]

over here you can buy your car back for 25% of the write of value last i checked

[2DIE]

Get pay out, buy it back, get it fixed, some spare cash left over.

[DerekP]

Has your insurer notified you that they have deemed it a total loss, or are you just assuming they will?

Get pay out, buy it back, get it fixed, some spare cash left over.

Agreed - but make sure you negotiate the buy back price. You could also cancel the claim and repair it yourself but a lot of insurers don't like you doing that because they can't guarantee the repairs and it could become a conflict in the future should another claim arise. As previously mentioned, talk to them they are usually pretty approachable.

DP

[oska]

thanks for the replies

car is being assessed monday morning lets hope the assessor is reasonable

cheers

David

[oska]

the assessor updated all the new stuff added to the car "because you wont otherwise be covered' when asked "you're not going to write it off" answer "no way"

i can get it fixed at any panel shop of my choice