Octavia Written Off - Need it fixed

connundrum

My father in law's 08 Skoda Octavia was written off earlier this year.

The car hit a wall at approx 70kph and has severe damage to the front end.

It was towed to a garage and on initial inspection by we were told that it'd cost apprx €7,000 to repair.

The car has huge sentimental value as my father in law is deceased, my mother in law really wants to get it fixed, but obviously would want to avoid paying the value of the car to actually repair it.

From the bonnet back, the car is still in great shape. I've checked all joint and hinge areas and can see no sign that any sections have been pushed back etc. It is being kept in a warehouse near Saggart at the moment.

Does anyone know a mechanic/bodyshop who might take this project on, on a part time kind of basis? I'm thinking that we could probably extend to €3-4k for the job, but we're not in a hurry for it like.

Before you advise against the above, please know that I already have advised against doing this. But like I said, the car is important.

Cheers, Dave

mickdw

To be honest, after hitting a wall at 70 km/hr, I would expect that it would have significant structural damage and cost alot more than 7k to repair hoever if its a €7,000 repair according to assessor, I would think the repair should be rather less if you were to buy a front end complete from a breaker. Is it driving?

MugMugs

What category was it put into when it was written off?

TheBully

If the car is classed as a write off and insurance paid you the damages then even if u buy the damaged car back off the insurance company for a few hundred, It cannot be put back on the road! A write off is exactly what it says on the tin!

Guy:Incognito

TheBully wrote: »

If the car is classed as a write off and insurance paid you the damages then even if u buy the damaged car back off the insurance company for a few hundred, It cannot be put back on the road! A write off is exactly what it says on the tin!

There are different levels of write off. A car worth €400 would be written off if a new door was supplied, sprayed and fitted at a man dealer. Pick up a cheap door in a scraprad and said car is good as it was before the door was wrecked.

Working off the UK system only a CAT A and B cannot be put back on the road. C and D are perfectly fine for repair.

A write off from an insrancepoint of view just means its not economically viable to fix it.Whether it is too badly structurally damaged to be allowed to be repaired is another issue.

connundrum

Apologies, left out probably the most important bit!

Insurance was TPFT and the accident was a single vehicle - so it was not seen by an assessor. The only assessment made was by the initial garage mechanic.

I'll try get a pic of the front end and put it up.

I'm presuming we're talking a new bumper, front panels, bonnet and associated bits. New or 2nd hand motor, radiator and associated bits (apologies, my motoring knowledge is poor at best).

dave45dave

TheBully wrote: »

If the car is classed as a write off and insurance paid you the damages then even if u buy the damaged car back off the insurance company for a few hundred, It cannot be put back on the road! A write off is exactly what it says on the tin!

Dont know how true this is , i crashed an 04 530d last year. There was over €9000 damage to the car and the insurance company said there was extensive damage and the car will never see the road again. An simi check that i did said the car is nct valid until March 2012. There was no nct left before crash. Worst still its back on the road as a taxi in celbridge.:eek:

connundrum

http://twitter.com/fitzsimonsdavid/status/137687535278239745/photo/1/large

Pictured.

johnos1984

I'd say it's fooked. The front end is well out of alignment.

Best thing you could do is purchase a similar one, or a high spec one and remember him that way.

Sorry and all. I wrote off a car my Dad gave me before he died and had to make a similar decision

EPM

That looks goosed.

Got a breakdown of the repair quote?

Dartz

The passenger cell looks reasonably intact. The windows don't seem to have cracked so it hasn't buckled. It might be possible to find one that's taken a rear or side impact and been written off and scrapped, take the front end off that and transplant.

But I can't vouch for how structurally sound the result would be.

tittle mouse

op is there ripples in the roof?

mickdw

Someone will put that on the road id say.

Voodoomelon

Whilst I can completely understand a sentimental attachment to a car a deceased loved one once owned and the unwillingness to part with it, repairing a mangled Octavia in such poor condition is madness.

That car will never be right, even with huge amounts of money spent and you may as well be flushing the money away. Perhaps she should do something far more meaningful to celebrate is life with the thousands she would save by not repairing it and moving on.

Henry Ford III

Almost anything can be repaired, but is it economic to do so?

That car has suffered heavy damage - chassis, engine, bodywork etc. It'd have to go on a jig and be pulled square.

run_Forrest_run

if the car held such sentimental value perhaps it should have been treated as such in the first place and not driven into a wall.
Be thankful that no one was injured and do the responsible thing and keep the car off the road, I'm sure your father-in-law would want you to make the right decision.

-Chris-

run_Forrest_run wrote: »

if the car held such sentimental value perhaps it should have been treated as such in the first place and not driven into a wall.

Don't be bloody ridiculous.

connundrum

I see that this has tailed off a bit.

No one has any suggestions for a garage/mechanic/body shop who'd look at this with an eye to working on it part time?

uberwolf

OP, the view here seems to be that you put that back on the road and you may well have someone else to mourn. This time with guilt attaching.

barura

Why not get another octavia and swap the interiors? Like the dash, wheel... everything? Get one in the same colour too! It would still have the same 'feel' and would still be the same place that your father in law used to drive.

I would really suggest against putting a car that damaged back on the road, but you can still keep the essence of the car in another...

Del2005

connundrum wrote: »

I see that this has tailed off a bit.

No one has any suggestions for a garage/mechanic/body shop who'd look at this with an eye to working on it part time?

The thing with them working part time is it'll still take a long time and time costs money.

Modern cars are designed to absorb energy from crashes by crumpling the engine bay. The whole front of that car will need to be rebuilt and to get it done right will cost way more then your willing to spend.

Spending your budget on repairs will mean compromises which will affect the quality of the car after repairing it. Can't tell from the pics but I assume the airbags and seatbelts went off, not sure of the exact price but you're looking at about €1500 just for the drivers side. That's only leaving €2,500 for parts, painting and labour.

If you want the car for sentimental purposes then you're going to need to get it done properly or not at all, sorry.

Mycroft H

I would write it off to be honest. It will never ever be 100% right again. Plus I would be dubious of crash protection in something thats already took significant damage even though it was correctly repaired.

Gael23

Better off to let it go and get another one the same year/colour/spec so it will be almost identical. Think that if he was here the last thing he'd want is someone else to be put in danger

Big Nasty

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Whilst I can completely understand a sentimental attachment to a car a deceased loved one once owned and the unwillingness to part with it, repairing a mangled Octavia in such poor condition is madness.

That car will never be right, even with huge amounts of money spent and you may as well be flushing the money away. Perhaps she should do something far more meaningful to celebrate is life with the thousands she would save by not repairing it and moving on.

+1 on this.

I understand completely why you would want to repair it but it's just not practical with that much damage. You would have let it go at some stage down the line anyway, unfortunately just as in life, we have to let go of some things sooner than we anticipate.

Atlantic Dawn

Think of it that it was his car that saved the life of the driver and this was it's last mission, perhaps it was faith in some way that your father selected this car over any other. It will cost so much so repair and will be questionable from a safety point of view if it would ever be the same car again particularly with another head on impact that it might be dangerous.

Try to get the same colour, make, model of car or else maybe get a newer one to see it as an improvement of your fathers original choice of car and a moving on.

connundrum

Thanks to all.

Dave

EPM

You could make a couch and coffee table a la top gear with it. It would be kinda cool in a way! Sell the rest for parts then.