Write off?

nanoro · 09-04-2006 10:18pm #1

Hi,

Earlier today some guy crashed into the back of me at traffic lights and smashed up the back of the car. Its a 99 Primera. Can you tell me whether you think its a write off?

Picture here....
http://www.themusichole.com/reserves/after.jpg

crosstownk · 09-04-2006 10:21pm

Nasty. Boot floor may be crumpled. Your best bet is to go to a body shop and get an estimate. You will have to do this anyway cos it's really up to your insurance company to decide if it's a write-off. It's certainly repairable - but at what cost.............

colm_mcm · 09-04-2006 10:23pm

99 Primera should be worth €2,500-€2750. damage sure to cost near to that to repair. take into account the scrap value (+-€500) and it doesn't seem economically viable

smokey2 · 09-04-2006 10:35pm

colm_mcm wrote:

99 Primera should be worth €2,500-€2750.

how you figure that??

if it was a 99 old model maybe but it's the new model 99!

got to be worth 4-5k anyway!

a mate of mine is ex ep mooneys panel beater nanoro so I'll ask him tomorrow or I could give you his number!

I've a 00 myself and he's told me he's put more rear ends in primeras than I've had hot dinners! and I like my dinners hot!

nanoro · 09-04-2006 10:39pm

smokey if you could ask your mate what he thinks that would be absolutely great! Thanks.

junkyard · 09-04-2006 10:49pm

It's an insurance write-off no doubt, thats not to say that you can't repair it. Judging by the age of the car that is.

TempestSabre · 10-04-2006 2:05am

colm_mcm wrote:

99 Primera should be worth €2,500-€2750. damage sure to cost near to that to repair. take into account the scrap value (+-€500) and it doesn't seem economically viable

I don't get those figures either...

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=search&CategoryID=1&MakeID=20&xMakeID=20&ColourID=&xColourID=&ModelID=181&xModelID=181&Doors=&BodyID=&Engine_Min=&Year_Min=1999&Engine_Max=&Year_Max=1999&Price_Min=&Price_Min_integer=Minimum+price+entered+was+not+an+integer.&CountyID=&xCountyID=&Price_Max=&Price_Max_integer=Maximum+price+entered+was+not+an+integer.&BusinessID=&xBusinessID=&IsPrivateSale=&FuelID=&SortBy=priceDesc&MaxRows=100&InsertPeriod=&ResultFormat=&submit=Find+%3E%3E

colm_mcm · 11-04-2006 8:10pm

Insurance companies don't work on Carzones asking prices. they go on the trade value of the car.

smokey2 · 11-04-2006 8:37pm

emailed my mate your pic!!

he's in the uk at the mo so will let me know what he thinks later!!

insurance is there to replace the car in the event of an accident is it not so unless they're going to get you one for the trade price of 2500-2750 as suggested by colm_mcm I wouldn't accept it!!

how are you gettin on with insurance and the other driver btw??

TempestSabre · 11-04-2006 9:45pm

colm_mcm wrote:

Insurance companies don't work on Carzones asking prices. they go on the trade value of the car.

Thats all well and good and its a good point to make. But if you can repair it for 2500 you still have a car you can sell privately for 3500-4000 or you can use for another 3-4 years. Or you can get 500-2500 for it from the insurance company.

One of our old cars was rear ended like this and the chassis bent. Insurance write off. Someone bought it from us, repaired and put it back on the road as a taxi. Did another 100k.

crosstownk · 11-04-2006 11:13pm

Personally I would leave it up the insurance company. Ultimately your NCB will not be affected as the other party is at fault.

colm_mcm · 12-04-2006 6:55pm

It really depends on how extensive the damage is

crosstownk · 12-04-2006 8:12pm

colm_mcm wrote:

It really depends on how extensive the damage is

I'm not quite sure what you mean here, Colm.

Whether or not it's write-off doesn't matter from an NCB point of view - or does it?

colm_mcm · 12-04-2006 9:12pm

sorry, what I meant was, the chances of them writing it off depends on how extensive the damage to the rear is. If it's anything involving, they'll just cut their losses

crosstownk · 12-04-2006 9:14pm

I see - makes sense now. I'd imagine it's a gonner.

colm_mcm · 12-04-2006 9:34pm

I was talking to a girl yesterday with a 1998 car, insured for €6,000, got crashed in the side, bout €2000 of damage, insurance company wrote it off, and offered her €2,800, they said thats all the car was worth anyway.
She's pushing for €3,500.

I suppose the lesson would be don't over insure your car, as they'll only give you what it's worth, not what you reckon it is.

crosstownk · 12-04-2006 9:42pm

colm_mcm wrote:

I suppose the lesson would be don't over insure your car, as they'll only give you what it's worth, not what you reckon it is.

This is so true - insurance companies only use trade values as you stated earlier and depending on year/model, if the repair cost is 40% of the value it is usually enough to total the car. Obviously this can vary somewhat from one insurance company to the other. Currently I'm involved with a 2003 Mondeo TDCI Executive which is valued at €20k and has €7.5k worth of damage and it looks like it's gonna be written off - which is good news from my point of view:D

EDIT : Sorry, I should have stated that the €20k is the retail figure which probably gives it a trade value of €17k-€17.5k

TempestSabre · 12-04-2006 9:52pm

Not surprising why our insurance is so high...

crosstownk · 12-04-2006 10:00pm

TempestSabre wrote:

Not surprising why our insurance is so high...

While the writing off of vehicles may contribute slightly to the cost of insurance, I think you'll find that the ridiculously high personal injury awards and sinful legal costs contribute to the insurance premium in a much bigger way.

TempestSabre · 12-04-2006 11:59pm

Death of a thousand paper cuts.

DublinWriter · 13-04-2006 12:11am

For the year of the car, I wouldn't bother getting it repaired. Take the money and go buy something similar second-hand.

An authorised Nissan Dealer wouldn't touch that kind of repair job, and a typical garage would just try and fix the chasis (if damaged) using what's called a 'jaws', basically a high-powered pulling device.

Even so, after the best of repairs, it won't be the same car again and won't have the same retail value.

Secondly, and I really don't want to try and pre-empt you on this or sound like some kinda ambulance-chaser, but you may have whiplash.

I've seen a few people get rear-ended (not by me thankfully) and do the whole getting out of the car rubbing their neck routine.

The symptoms of Whiplash can actually take up to three months to manifest themselves.

Thankfully, there's a prodecure they do in the Blackrock clinic that can test for genuine whiplash cases.

I really only say this because a mate of mine was rear-ended, thought nothing of it, settled up a few months later, then developed serious pain 3-4 months after the accident. As he'd already settled up, he couldn't take any further claims.

Guy:Incognito · 13-04-2006 1:09am

Would the omsp on the vrt website be a good indication of what an insurance company will give you in an write-off situation?

prospect · 13-04-2006 9:28am

If the OP can tell me the details of the car, engine, spec, mileage etc, I can give the official book value. That will clear up all this hear-say.

MrPudding · 13-04-2006 1:01pm

My GF got hit yesterday. 2005 Almera. Plenty of damage to the rear of the car and the floor of the boot has crumpled. A strange wobble from the back of the car now as well.

The guy that hit her, from behind at speed, is saying it is her fault:eek:

Ah well.

MrP

DC · 13-04-2006 1:11pm

crosstownk is on the money. I can tell you that Hibernian will write off a car if the damage repair costs exceed 50% of the market value.

I tipped into a car at a roundabout doing about 5mph. I only saw a small crack on the rear bumper and thought I would be able to get it fixed for a couple of hundred. The quote came back at over 2K, despite no other visible damage. I reckon your damage repair cost will be very close to the value of the car.

DC · 13-04-2006 1:21pm

The guy that hit her, from behind at speed, is saying it is her fault

LOL

If you hit someone from behind it is your fault full stop. Even if your GF stopped dead in the middle of the road, he would have had to leave enough room to stop. I mean, a child could run onto the road and you have to brake suddenly. There is no excuse to get rear ended then, is there...

I have hit a couple of people from behind (lightly) at the approach to roundabouts. I didn't use the excuse that they stopped suddenly when it looked like they were going ahead. I took my punishment like a man

Kimbot · 13-04-2006 1:30pm

TBH I would not repair it if the chasis is damages because in turn the car would be weaker!! If the car is weaker when you have an impact on that part of the car it will crumble alot worse!! I imagine the insurance will call it a write off!!

franksm · 13-04-2006 1:37pm

MrPudding wrote:

The guy that hit her, from behind at speed, is saying it is her fault:eek:

Sorry to change the topic a wee bit, but what's the MO if this happens to you ? I mean, if it happens to me I would hopefully take a couple of photos, then retire to the side of the road or hardshoulder so as not to block the road - but if the guy that runs into you turns out to be a nasty gobshyte, is it best to leave things be and call the Guards ?

Yes, common sense says not to call the Guards if no-one is hurt and it's just a fender-bender, but in real-life things aren't so sweet.

(grasping lots of good-luck-wood while writing this)

MrPudding · 13-04-2006 2:07pm

franksm wrote:

Sorry to change the topic a wee bit, but what's the MO if this happens to you ? I mean, if it happens to me I would hopefully take a couple of photos, then retire to the side of the road or hardshoulder so as not to block the road - but if the guy that runs into you turns out to be a nasty gobshyte, is it best to leave things be and call the Guards ?

Yes, common sense says not to call the Guards if no-one is hurt and it's just a fender-bender, but in real-life things aren't so sweet.

(grasping lots of good-luck-wood while writing this)

Calling the gardai worked out really well for her:rolleyes: They arrived after about 45 minutes (the other driver had already left) and they basically told her she was wasting their time.

MrP

nanoro · 13-04-2006 5:09pm

prospect wrote:

If the OP can tell me the details of the car, engine, spec, mileage etc, I can give the official book value. That will clear up all this hear-say.

99' Nissan Primera (2000 model), 1.6 litre engine, in good condition, no damage at all, 42k on the clock.

colm_mcm · 14-04-2006 8:28pm

the book price on 99 primera's 4600 (checked today, sure that's correct!) but i know you can generally buy them for a lot less than that

Write off?

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