Gutted...crashed my car.

newmember2

Long story short, yesterday I crashed my car into a steel car park barrier which smashed the windscreen and damaged the offside a-pillar and leading edge of the door where it meets the a-pillar. Would need by the looks of it, a windscreen, another door and the a-pillar repaired. Car is a 2003 Bora Sport that I've had since I brought it in from UK in 2008. I think it's probably a write-off and I'm gutted as i really liked that car.

northgirl

Did it 2 weeks ago. Gutted for you.

newmember2

Did you end up having to write off your car?

mickdw

Given the very small value the car has, it would surely be an economic write off insurance wise.
That's not to say you cannot fix it and drive on if you really want to keep it.

northgirl

Yes, write off. It was a 02.

RandomAccess

Was it a height restriction gate?
A guy I knew had his car roof peeled open like a tin opener because someone left one of those part way open.

Quite a sight when I arrived moments later!

He managed to get it repaired by replacing the roof skin. But sounds like structural damage in your case.

soups05

just recently got myself a bora, gutted for you newmember cos its a great car so far. hope you can sort it, from my reading it seems they last forever.

newmember2

Yes, found it t be a great car - it's never failed to start or has never left me stranded/walking home The PD130 engine had enough torque when needed. Mine had 210k+ miles on it with the timing belt just done and I was hoping for another 100k at least. I'll see what the panel beater says to me on Tuesday.

Sam Quentin

newmember? wrote: »

Yes, found it t be a great car - it's never failed to start or has never left me stranded/walking home The PD130 engine had enough torque when needed. Mine had 210k+ miles on it with the timing belt just done and I was hoping for another 100k at least. I'll see what the panel beater says to me on Tuesday.

Well what's the verdict?

Cee-Jay-Cee

newmember? wrote: »

Yes, found it t be a great car - it's never failed to start or has never left me stranded/walking home The PD130 engine had enough torque when needed. Mine had 210k+ miles on it with the timing belt just done and I was hoping for another 100k at least. I'll see what the panel beater says to me on Tuesday.

When the A pillar is bent then its not an easy fix, not impossible but will need to be put on a jig and pulled.

TheBoyConor

Bent pillar?
Wrote off. Forget about it.

On a car of this age even the damaged door would have it wrote off.

newmember2

I'm after finding a place that will fix it.



Looking from the inside of the car with the trim removed there is no damage to the a-pillar, the damage is all on the outside on the outer skin that the windshield rests on and that carries the water channel coming down off the roof.
There's a fair few black Boras and 4-door Golfs around for breaking so the door will hopefully be the easy part.

TheAnalyst_

You silly goose.

TheBoyConor

Scrap it.
It's worth nothing.

bennya

It's worth something to the OP, as it's a car whose history he knows. If it can be fixed cheaply then it's absolutely worth it. Better the devil you know and all that.

Skylinehead

TheBoyConor wrote: »

Scrap it.
It's worth nothing.

Having a car for 10 years is worth something. Sentimental value is not worthless, necessarily.

JohnBoy26

bennya wrote: »

It's worth something to the OP, as it's a car whose history he knows. If it can be fixed cheaply then it's absolutely worth it. Better the devil you know and all that.

That won't be fixed cheaply.

bennya

If it can be done for 50% of the price of a replacement car of that vintage, then it's worth it in my eyes. Only tricky bit is the A-pillar.

newmember2

Managed to pick up in my colour (LC9Z) - door complete, OS front wing (mine was rusting from the centre of the arch), and roof rubber for the princely sum of €60. New windscreen is supposedly €150, so after that it's the body repair and paint.

Jeju

Could you fix up the A pillar and leave the windscreen, if windscreen repair in included on your insurance without affecting your no claims save yourself 150

newmember2

Jeju wrote: »

Could you fix up the A pillar and leave the windscreen, if windscreen repair in included on your insurance without affecting your no claims save yourself 150

This would've been the plan had this not been the year I decided as the car was worth so little to go third party on my insurance. There's still a chance I might have windscreen cover so gonna give them a ring in the morning to check. Thanks for the reminder.

newmember2

Just to put a close on this...managed to get the car repaired - under €500 for everything including a replacement wing that was not part of the original damage. If you look at the photo closely you can see where the roof has been pulled down at the top of the driver's A-pillar. It's not ideal but car is back on the road.

Maewyn Succat

newmember? wrote: »

Just to put a close on this...managed to get the car repaired - under €500 for everything including a replacement wing that was not part of the original damage. If you look at the photo closely you can see where the roof has been pulled down at the top of the driver's A-pillar. It's not ideal but car is back on the road.

Probably shouldn't put your licence plate on here...

James Bond Junior

Maewyn Succat wrote: »

Probably shouldn't put your licence plate on here...

Why? Far more people see his plate in the real world than on here.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

James Bond Junior wrote: »

Why? Far more people see his plate in the real world than on here.

But they dont know its crashed in the event of a sale.

Avatar MIA

newmember? wrote: »

Just to put a close on this...managed to get the car repaired - under €500 for everything including a replacement wing that was not part of the original damage. If you look at the photo closely you can see where the roof has been pulled down at the top of the driver's A-pillar. It's not ideal but car is back on the road.

In a disposable society it's good to hear these stories. Well done.

the_syco

newmember? wrote: »

If you look at the photo closely you can see where the roof has been pulled down at the top of the driver's A-pillar.

If you try to sell the car, and you get no hits, it'll be because the reg is shown here.

EDit

the_syco wrote: »

If you try to sell the car, and you get no hits, it'll be because the reg is shown here.

TBF, the car is 15 years old, has 210K on it already and the OP plans to put another 100K at least on it. If he/she then sells it on, its gonna be worth peanuts anyway (financially speaking)

James Bond Junior

the_syco wrote: »

If you try to sell the car, and you get no hits, it'll be because the reg is shown here.

The reg is shown but its a picture. If someone searches the reg, it's not going to bring them here unless it's typed in.

soups05

yyeeessss, well done op. great to see you got sorted. its a beaut too. mine is exact same colour.

josip

James Bond Junior wrote: »

Why? Far more people see his plate in the real world than on here.

If a neighbour, or someone who knows the OP in the real world, stumbles across the pic, then they might read all the OP's other posts on boards.
The OP may have posted things in the past that they would rather some neighbours/friends not to know.

newmember2

josip wrote: »

If a neighbour, or someone who knows the OP in the real world, stumbles across the pic, then they might read all the OP's other posts on boards.
The OP may have posted things in the past that they would rather some neighbours/friends not to know.

Had thought when posting the photo that my only concern would be having my reg cloned and I didn't feel there was much in the way of a market for cloned fifteen year old Boras but yes, you raise a fair point.

bennya

Just as easy to clone a reg that’s on the street, I wouldn’t be overly paranoid about it.

Well done on the repair and I hope it gives you many more years of motoring.