'2 damaged, got to decide next move...

[Anonymous]

'afternoon, ladies and gents.  As you have probably guessed from the title, I got involved in an accident and the MR2 is hurt.

To cut a long story short, the accident happened last Thursday on a 50-mile road in Crowthorne that I know really-really well.  Working late, very tired, pitch black, lost control of the car around a bend - I am sure I wasn't going over 50 but the road was slippery and I think I might have stepped on some wet grass nearside; the combination of all these things have caused the accident.

What is damaged: mainly the front offside (driver's).  The front right wing is badly creased and the front right wheel will not turn.  Overall, the repair cost is ~£4000.  In terms of repairability, the body shop said they have fixed a lot worse with no problems.

The question is, what do I do next?  

I bought the car new on Sep 02 (52) and has 43k miles.  The interior is absolutely immaculate as is the engine (just had been serviced as well) and the rest of the running gear that is not damaged.

The options I am contemplating are:
- Keep it off road and fix it at a later day
- Sell it to a breaker (can I do that?)
- Scrap it

What would you guys do?

[SteveJ]

What do the insurers say about it?

[Anonymous]

Valid question...

I am trying to avoid making a claim; I only have 3 NCB.


Edit: the reason I am not willing to have it repaired is because if I have it repaired and sell it (and if I want to be honest to the buyer), it won't fetch more than £5k and that is probably pushing it.

[Chris_h]

Do you have protected no claims?

Surely your premium would have to rise dramatically over the next 5 years for it not to be worth making a £4k claim?

PS - if the damage isn't serious and it is repaired to an A1 standard, there is no reason why it should have such a big impact on resale price.

Maybe the useful numbers would be

1) Whats it worth repaired and A1 (assumed about 6.5-7k depending on spec)
2) What would someone give you for the wreck?
3) How much will repair cost to A1 standard?
4) How much will your insurance rise over the next 4 years?

[Anonymous]

I don't think I can have protected NCB unless I have 5 NCB...

With two more cars insured, I have a feeling losing 1 NCB will make a huge difference to the overall premium at next renewal.

PS - if the damage isn't serious and it is repaired to an A1 standard, there is no reason why it should have such a big impact on resale price.

Maybe the useful numbers would be

1) Whats it worth repaired and A1 (assumed about 6.5-7k depending on spec)
2) What would someone give you for the wreck?
3) How much will repair cost to A1 standard?
4) How much will your insurance rise over the next 4 years?

I think the car was worth around £7.5k before the accident and I'm not really sure what I can get for it as it stands...  I would love to take it to a breakers but the car is undrivable and getting it anywhere costs me between £50 - £100.

I think, if I make a claim the insurance will rise significantly at the next renewal (due to the loss of 1 NCB on 3 insurance premiums - incuding the MR2).

[scottish_turbo]

Have you got a list of parts the body shop say need replaced or photos of the damage outside and inside the front with the plastics removed?

It must be quite a mess under the plastics if your getting quoted that much cash.

[markiii]

yeah some photos would help greatly

[Anonymous]

The alternative would be to break it yourself. If the engines fine and the interior is good, you could already make more than the 1k difference between the 4k and the 5k you quoted as a possible sale price.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to take the necessary pictures as the car was collected shortly after the incident - I had to act quickly as it had to be taken off the road.

I can ask for the part list though.  The mechanic said £3k was parts and the rest labour.

I am guessing it's not a lot of parts just expensive; although the steering column was not damaged, the bit that connects the steering column to the right wheel (apologies, I don't know what it's called) was broken, hence no steering on one side.  I think the other major component that will need replacing is the radiator.  As far as panels go, it needs a new offside front wing, a new front bumper and somehow repairing a dent on the driver's door.

[Anonymous]

The alternative would be to break it yourself. If the engines fine and the interior is good, you could already make more than the 1k difference between the 4k and the 5k you quoted as a possible sale price.

Yep, the engine is in great condition as is the interior.  As a matter of fact, when I serviced it, I also replaced the facia with a brand new one because of a tiny scratch that was driving me nuts.  The leather is also completely unmarked.

Breaking it myself is something I didn't think of...  It makes financial sense, I guess, although I wouldn't know where to begin.

[Chris_h]

There are often lightly damaged MR2's on Ebay, could be worth doing a 'completed' item search to see what sort of prices they yield.

I guess you may be right re the renewal costs given the fact you insure so many cars.

Not a nice situation, I hope you find a solution.

[Beowulf]

Sorry to hear about your accident and glad you are ok.

 If you dont go through the insurance and still get it repaired, it should still be worth its full value as it will not be recorded. As long as it is fixed properly (pulled and properly aligned) there should be no problems and will be just as good as it was pre accident.
  Hope this helps.

[enid_b]

can i have your rear bumper?

E

[zaf786]

hi mate,

i just thought i would give you some advice as i bought my MR2 for 2,750 pounds damaged, i needed a front bumper, passenger side wing, bonnet and passenger side light i picked all these parts up for 200 pounds from breakers and the light from eBay, and then i paid a local body worker to fix it for me another 200 pounds all in all cost me 400 pounds on the road, i think that you may not be looking in the right places, for parts 3000 pounds is a bit steep as the panels are going to have to be resprayed anyway so why not get second hand ones.
I've seen a radiator on eBay brand new for 90 pounds and the steering part may bee the steering rack i think i'm sure wouldn't cost too much from dealers?
The local body worker did a great job on the repair so i have no regrets and i think that you can have it fixed for a lot cheaper than you are being quoted.

hope that helps

[Anonymous]

You could always sell it on ebay?? There is always somebody on the look out for damaged repairables, obviously you will have to state that it is non drivable!!
I know that the steering racks cost more than £700+vat from the dealers. If the steering rack is damaged then the upright/knuckle and hub/bearing will be too.

[firepower]

i dont know what value you put on your car but at that age it must still be worth 5 or 6 grand so may be worth repairing but i am sure if it was me and my car was insured fully comp i would definitely be putting in a claim to the insurers and would not write off 5 or 6 thousand pounds   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  get your claim in its what you pay your insurance for
also when you take out or renew a policy your insurers ask not if you have made a claim in the last 5 years but have you had any accidents in the last 5 years which you should declare or risk your policy being void if they dicover that you have been involved in a accident , so really you have nothing to lose by making a claim on your insurance .
this is not meant as a lecture just friendly advice i hope you get it sorted mate good luck   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your responses guys, much appreciated.

Firepower, I have never lied to or hidden something from an insurance company and this is no exception.  Of course the accident has already been mentioned (also as the reason for canceling the insurance) but don't forget that 4 NCB (which is what I will have if I don't make a claim) carries more discount than 2 NCB (if I do claim).  At the moment I have 3 NCB.  For this reason, I am anticipating the premium(s) to remain largely the same by declaring the accident but not making a claim.  Please feel free to correct me if my assumption is somewhat invalid.

zaf, I hear you.  I think keeping the car (declared off the road, of course) until I price up all the necessary parts from breakers makes sense.

Enib,   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[Wabbitkilla]

If you've already cancelled your insurance, the you've lost your NCB for the year in which it was insured surely?

[SteveJ]

can i have your rear bumper?

E

[Anonymous]

If you've already cancelled your insurance, the you've lost your NCB for the year in which it was insured surely?

Are you sure?  Nothing like that was mentioned...  Surely, that would have happened if I had cancelled all 3 cars.

I also think that you are allowed to be without insurance for a certain period of time before you lose your NCB and, I think, then you lose all of it...

[firepower]

yes 4 years ncb is better than the 2 ncb if you claim but all i am saying is surely the 10% or so difference does not amount to the value or your car ie : £6000 , then go another year claim free and your back to where you are now regards your ncb   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

[Mad Bob]

If you do sell for parts, If your seats are red leather and good condition. I may be interested in the seats & door cards.   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

[Anonymous]

If I work on the assumption that each NCB after the first one* carries 10% discount and if at next renewal I fall from the anticipated 4 to 2 NCB, all things being equal, the premium will increase by 20%, not 10%.

If I lose the NCB from all three policies (I am almost certain I will), the total insurance premium (all things being equal) will rise by 60% the first year and will be higher than now by 30% the second year.  Based on that, and please do correct me if I'm wrong, it will take 3 years to come back to where I am now.

This is not to say that the premium will not go up anyway, it will because of the accident declaration.  But not by as much as the additional drop of 2 NCB which explains my hesitation to claim.



* The first one usually carries a 30% discount.



Edit: Bob, the seats are indeed red leather and they are not in good condition; they are in immaculate condition.  But hold that thought because I might keep the car until I get the damaged parts list and price them up against a breakers.

[Wabbitkilla]

NCB applies on a per-policy basis.
If you cancel a policy within a years insurance (or the policy only lasts 10 months - some people have learned to their expense), you WILL NOT earn that years NCB - obviously because you haven't been insured on that policy for a full year and haven't earned it.

So you not only have dropped to 2 years NCB by choice, but lost out by not making a claim. These are the little gotcha's the insurance companies play to make as money out of us as possible. Would a broker or insurance company tell you this when cancelling a policy - probably not, it's in the small print when you take out the policy. And they will make more money out of you when you go to re-insure anyway.

It's also the risk you take by having multiple vehicles, as you have to declare the accident to all insurance companies and they will increase the risk factor in your renewals, and may increase your premiums anyway because of that risk.

Been though that myself, accident on bike declared to car insurance company. They didn't increase my risk because the accident wasn't my fault and it's understandable that people have a car and a bike separately insured and you have different ways of driving them.

[Chris_h]

Nik,

My understadning was all cars were on 1 policy (I have a 2 car policy too), so ending one should not affect the years no claims as it will run regardless on the other 1.