Thoughts on pranged cars

[Lumps of cheese]

Well, the wife crashed the car a couple of weeks ago.Thank god she was ok and the other girl was ok but my car took a bit of a pounding.
They are going to repair it, damage is around the front end.K bar was bent which means the motor has to come out, support panel is bent, both front gaurds are cactus, sprung bonnet so it'll be replaced, suspension is being sussed as we speak.What i'd like to know is peoples thoughts on keeping cars after repairs.Some of my mates, well most actually have told me to flick it when i get it back.They seem to think that the car won't ever be the same again.What do people think?

[Cobez]

I'd strip it down bare and sell off the parts. You would most likely get a little bit more cash that way.

[Scooter79]

Mate, it depends on the quailty and workmanship of the repairer. My opinion is if the car isn't at least as good as it was before the accident then you have the right to take it back to the repairer over and over again until it is done properly. Any good smash repairer should have at least a 10 year guarantee on paint and lifetime guarantee on structural repairs. If they can't get the repairs done right then you go back to your insurance company and bitch and scream for them to find another repairer. By that time you still have no luck you complain to an insurance ombudsman or something like that.

My car got smashed pretty bad but I loved it so much I wanted it repaired. Insurance gave me the option or repair or write off.... After I got the car back there were a few problems they missed like electrical, wrong size fuel tank and pump, broken engine mounts the failed to see and even putting a new wheel weight on the outside of the rim I didn't like, but after taking it back 3 times all is good again.

Before



After


It's been 15 months since the acco and there have been no faults come about as a result of the accident or repairs. If something isn't right when you get the car back don't be like other people and come onto an internet forum and kick and scream about how they've been done wrong. That won't get anyone anywhere. Take it back to the repairers and tell them you want it fixed properly.

One other thing, ask for an itemised list of things that were carried out during the repair and make sure they didn't miss anything.

[evil_monkey]

id never have a car thats been in a prang my wife was recently rear ended by a drunk driver and i was sure glad they wrote it off

[Lumps of cheese]

Yeah i'm not sure, i like the car and wasn't planning an upgrade for another couple of years.Ahh well, i'll see how she comes back.

[Troy711]

check my sig link... have a look at the damage to my car, and it is still on he road. if i can be bothered (in the next few days) ill scan the list of parts then went into it.

[NORTI]

id never have a car thats been in a prang my wife was recently rear ended by a drunk driver and i was sure glad they wrote it off

Do you always buy new cars?

[Garth]

not to long ago (7 yrs ago) mum brought herself a brand spanking new vx calais. she drove it out the driveway and down the road. put her nose to far out and it was literaly torn apart at the front. mum was fine.

the insurance company took it and off they went, did their bit.

to this day, that car has no issues int he front. no issues in teh back, it was repaired wonderfully, you wouldnt even know it was hit at the front.

they traded it in for a vy senator a little while back now.

but i guess it depends on the quality of repairer, some are good, some are crap, if done right, and time is taken, and not rushed i would imaginl ike anything the result would be better.

the only way i wouldnt buy a dammaged car is if someone died in it, more supersition than anything that one is.

[R0d]

Do you always buy new cars?

exactly.... most second hand cars have had work done, i know mines a older car but the whole fronts been done before, the right quaterpannel and the rear bumper, but to the average person they wouldnt have a clue its been worked on

[minux]

The issue i have is how will it handle in another accident? What damage has been done that isn't seen?
For me personally, i would get rid of it.

[R0d]

The issue i have is how will it handle in another accident? What damage has been done that isn't seen?
For me personally, i would get rid of it.

thats what crash assessors < the insurance guys> are for if they see that the structural integrity is affected they call it a statutory writeoff. Ofcourse you get some guys who get two statutory cars cut them inhalf and weld it all back together.

[Lumps of cheese]

The issue i have is how will it handle in another accident? What damage has been done that isn't seen?
For me personally, i would get rid of it.

Yes that is a concern for me as it is my wifes car mainly that she carts the kids around in.The repairer that has it is top notch, they have done work for me before with work vehicles and the quality of their work is excellent so i'm not concerned with that so much.I'm 50-50 at the moment, i want to go back to a ls1/ls2 so mabye a good time to do that

[LeojVS]

the only way i wouldnt buy a dammaged car is if someone died in it, more supersition than anything that one is.

well you wont like my future car, if I can afford/find it. A 60's Pontiac or Buick Hearse Its a funny thing to want to have as a weekender, but my ex wife has always said im 'special'

[Reaper]

If it was repaired correctly there is *no* reason why you should have any trouble. Put simply it was built once and can be built again. Could you still open the doors? Did the roof buckle etc? Often the front guard will be pushed back which means the front doors won't open. If it were removed and the door did open and close properly then the passenger cell and car will be still straight and there shouldn't be much to worry about. If you have to slam doors (that you previously didn't have to) then something is not quite right and moving it on could be a good option.

Reaper

[ProphetVX]

Personally, if a car has been in a crash where there is a chance of chassis twist or damage. Then I'd get rid of it as soon as it has been repaired. Panel beating isn't an exact science, you can only fix what you can see, if you're involved in a large crash there are plenty of things that could be missed by the repairer and come back to bite you in the backside further down the track. Chances are there is nothing that will give you any grief, but the risk is still there. A risk not worth taking IMO.

[cxcxcxvcvcvc]

The issue i have is how will it handle in another accident? What damage has been done that isn't seen?
For me personally, i would get rid of it.

that would be my main concern aswell, in all honesty when i bought my vs calais i had the option to by a series2 supercharged vs calais for the same price, but i found out it was a repairable write off and after some thought, it wasnt worth it for my family,s safety (and my peace of mind) to be drive around in a repaired wreck! but as an un suspecting buyer i would of had no idea had i not done my home work.

[evil_monkey]

i saw an episode of top gear not long ago they crash tested 2 identicle late model cars.

one car the person would have died the other was hardly damaged at all.

turns out the the bad car should never had been repaired in the first place and the part of the chassis meant to protect you was already damaged so it offered no protection at all even though it all looked straight before the accident