Car written off - what are my options?

[Guest]

Well in the last 20 hours i have had my car written off (unconfirmed) by another driver. The damage looks like the drivers rear quater panle has disintegrated, the boot lid needs replacing, the rear bumper needs replacing, passanger skirting needs to be re-painted, the 2 passanger mags need replacing, the front passanger wheel has got a little positve camber and the chasis is slightly bent.

The car is insured but being an import and a unique one at that it might cost to much to get it fixed. So im thinking my options are.

1. Cars a complete wright off and i need to get a new one:
a. Buy the car back and swap out the parts that i want, which means that im going to have less to buy the new car with and what are my chances of getting one similar and in a decent time frame
b. Buy a different car.

2. Car can be fixed but the chasis damage means the car will never be the same:
a. same choices as number 1

3. Chasis damage isnt as bad as i feared and it can be fixed, however the cost to ship the parts over, outweighs the cost of buying a new car:
a. Buy the car off the insurance and get it fixed with the money left over, and use aftermarket parts from NZ or if there are any in
Australia

These are the options im guessing i have. If there is anyone who has delt with this type of thing before i would love to hear what you did. And anyone who has an opinion im all ears.

 

[bradc]

Option 1, then A sounds like the best and most realistic option to me considering the damage. You will be able to sell quite a few of the other parts, just make sure you don't have to pay much for it

 

[Guest]

Definately buy the car back ... then sell the front as a front cut ...
Surely someone will buy that. keep the stuff you want ... then sell it afterwards. You should work out better off if u can find another car around the same price u got yours for. Remember you only have to pay for the importers service fee and the car initially (if u import again).

 

[SiliconAngel]

Not that its entirely legal, but wouldn't it be great if you could just import a shell and swap the chassis plates over? Save a whole lot of money and and months of compliance

 

[Guest]

If the car is fully insured, most insurance companies will just repair it, sure it might be 6-8K of damage but its still cheaper for them then replacing the car our right. Got to keep those shareholders happy!

 

[Guest]

If the car is fully insured, most insurance companies will just repair it, sure it might be 6-8K of damage but its still cheaper for them then replacing the car our right. Got to keep those shareholders happy!

But with being such a rare car in Australia im guessing alot of parts are going to have to come from japan, so the shipping is going to send the price skyrocketing. Not to mention that i wouldnt underestimate the damage to the rear end of the car (its a pitty i dont have any pictures of it) Not to mention the bent chasis, is the car ever the same after something like that (and i wouldnt be suppriesed if it wasnt twisted as well as bent).

Dont foget to add suspension and break damage. It was just lucky that it wasnt in gear, otherwise they would have had to replace front, rear and center diff.

My VK commadore was in a accident once, it was only the rear end and lot of it was cosmetic and it racked up over $3000 worth of damage and the avalability of parts was alot better.

 

[Guest]

if its a write off, and not going to cost a small fortune to buy back, i'd say buy it back.

i did it with my R33, and whilst it took a little while, i got all the parts i wanted off of it, and made some money off it too.

have you got any pictures of the damage? here is a couple of pics of mine when it was written off.

 

[Guest]

have you got any pictures of the damage? here is a couple of pics of mine when it was written off.

No pictures yet should have some after the public holiday from one of the guys at work.

Comparing the pictures of your R33 to the Galant, it looks like yours came out on top (damage wise, ie not as much damage). Am i wrong in preparing for the worst? Or should i be crossing my fingers and hoping they will fix it? Was there any chasis damage to the Skyline Or was it all cosmetic?

 

[leebutts]

here is a couple of pics of mine when it was written off.

Your dog looks so sad in that second pic! (and rightly so!)

 

[Dr_Josh001]

Your dog looks so sad in that second pic! (and rightly so!)

Hehe... It almost looks like it's saying "I didn't do it"

 

[Guest]

I am not saying that the cars not bad enough, just what most insurance companies are like, I had a B double run up the rear of my cars a few years back and the repair figure was 10K car was only worth a little more then this and they choose to repair it due the extra expense in writing it off.

Personally the car will never be the same after it is repaired if they choose not to write the car off, if they give you the choice I would take the money and run as there will be problems in the long run.

 

[snickells]

If I were you Brocky, First off I'd be having a full tantrum on the ground, arms and legs flailing with all the screaming etc...

Then I'd clean myself off and have a chat with the insurance people and find out exactly what they are thinking the probable outcome will be.

Do you have a policy with the choice of buying the car back after a claim?? Thats an important factor here. If you do, and you can, then see just how much they will want for it. If it works out to be under, say, 3k then your laughing. Once you strip the bits you want to keep (recaro's etc) and then sell the rest you should have at least broken even.

Then it's up to you if you want to try hunting for another one man... Don't let this total pain in the arse get you to down though, especially to the point where you don't want to get another Galant. They are beautiful cars! And just because you lost one, doesn't mean you'll lose the next one.

If all else fails, go back to kicking and screaming. It always works for me

 

[BuzzPuppy]

Like daughter like father eh Steve?

I'm hoping you can buy back the car and grab another one as a basis for new shennanigans unless you know it's really hard to find, then keep and repair it I guess.

 

[bradc]

I would argue that your insurance shouldn't need to do anything.

It is the other guys fault, he should be paying for everything, and thinking about it some more, you bloody well shouldn't need to buy your car back. Keep the car locked up somewhere, and demand for the entire purchase price of the car back from him or from his insurance company, including every expense you've had

 

[Guest]

It is the other guys fault, he should be paying for everything, and thinking about it some more, you bloody well shouldn't need to buy your car back. Keep the car locked up somewhere, and demand for the entire purchase price of the car back from him or from his insurance company, including every expense you've had

I hear what your saying, i feel like ive been completely screwed and nothing has even happened yet. But im pretty sure i know whats going to happen, im either going to get the car back but the damge to the chasis means the car is never the same again OR i dont get the car back and im without a ride for the rest of eternity trying to find another one exactly the same.

Over the weekend i had a look for VR-4's and i found there are 11 Galants, 3 of which are Manuals in Queensland, 1 of them is a facelift with the right amount of km's on it, but its not black, it doesnt have the mmcs and its missing the recaros and momo steering wheel.

Has anyone had any dealing with a bent chasis before and if you got it back how was it after?

 

[Guest]

No pictures yet should have some after the public holiday from one of the guys at work.

Comparing the pictures of your R33 to the Galant, it looks like yours came out on top (damage wise, ie not as much damage). Am i wrong in preparing for the worst? Or should i be crossing my fingers and hoping they will fix it? Was there any chasis damage to the Skyline Or was it all cosmetic?

yeah there was chassis damage, i couldnt open the centre console because the passenger seat was leaning on it.


unfortunately insurance doesnt work like that brad.
regardless of who was at fault, if the insurance company choose to write the car off, due to the amount of damage, or the cost of repairs, that is their choice.

what happens to the car after that is up to them, because by accepting your insurance policy, you accept that if it is written off, you get the value it was insured for, and they keep the car.

when mine was written off, the insurance company said "we can give you $13,000 and take the wreck, or a wrecker offered us $4,000 for it, so you can keep it, and we will give you $9,000"

i lost out big time on my 33, and i wasnt at fault... but unfortunately the insurance companies have the final say in what your car is worth, and what happens with it.

 

[SiliconAngel]

unfortunately insurance doesnt work like that brad.
regardless of who was at fault, if the insurance company choose to write the car off, due to the amount of damage, or the cost of repairs, that is their choice.

what happens to the car after that is up to them, because by accepting your insurance policy, you accept that if it is written off, you get the value it was insured for, and they keep the car.

Which beggars the question of whether or not insurance is really worth it... If you didn't have insurance your options would be a lot more flexible. Sure there'd be more time and effort involved from your end and you might well need a good lawyer, but if you're in the right and what you're asking for is reasonable the other insurance company shouldn't quibble, or they deserve the extra expense of your lawyer.

Then of course you have the problem of trying to get money out of someone if they're broke and have no insurance, but very few people don't have at least vehicular third party, and those that don't have ANY insurance can always pay you $100 a week for the rest of their lives

Sorry for the slightly off-topic post - it just frustrates me how happily insurers will take your money from you, and how difficult they make it when you actually have to make a claim

 

[bradc]

I'm not disagreeing with that Mitch, what I'm saying is that it isn't Brocky that should be making the claim. It should be the other guy because he was at fault, and ultimately it is just a matter of coming to an agreement between them and Brocky to decide what is going to happen.

 

[Guest]

brocky's car was damaged, he has to make an insurance claim.. no one else should be doing it.

he doesnt have to claim on HIS insurance, but if he wants his car fixed/money, he will have to make an insurance claim.

it's as if someone stole your tv from your house, you wouldnt expect the thief to ring up insurance and tell them, would you?


also, there is no way in hell of me not having insurance.
i'd rather loose a couple of grand on the final value, then have to sort out everything myself, at my own expense, with the potential of getting nothing... $100 a week sure isnt going to buy you a new car for a few years.

the reason i lost out on insurance is i bought my R33 when they werent as common, and i spent a decent amount on mods.
mods never hold value, which i knew, but R33's also became common, dropping the market value.

 

[Guest]

Im going to have to agree with Mitchy on this one. Your nuts if you dont have insurance. It can be argued that if you put the money from insurance away somewhere else, the cost of the damage more offten than not come under the amount you pay for insurance. However when youve only had the car for 6 weeks and have to find another 20k somewhere it pays to have insurance, same goes if you have a heart attack while driving and side swipe 4 cars along the motorway, youve bitten off more than most people can chew.

Because i played no part in the accident, i claim through my insurance however it doesnt go against my no claims status as i was able to provide them with the other drivers name and registration details. So basicly his insurance is going to be paying for the damage.

But we are getting a slight off topic.