Sandwiched :(

[Dr Zoidberg]

Ho hum , time to phone the insurance company.

Heading home along a dual carriageway in the right hand lane following a Citroen Xsara when someone in the left hand lane decided to pull out from around a parked bus. The Xsara braked hard and stopped. I braked hard and stopped behind her. The bloke behind me in an astra didn't notice us stopping then stamped on the brakes. His ABS kicked in and he juddered down the road before hitting me at about 25mph punting my car into the back of the Citroen.

I now have a nicely reshaped bonnet , bumper and wings. The tailgate is pushed in , the rear bumper is a total mess , and the rear side panels seem further out than they were before. I've not yet removed the wreckage of the PC base unit that was in the boot to see if there is anything out of shape under the carpet , although the sill at the edge of the boot seems to be distorted.

Wonder what the chances are of this writing off an '03 car?

[Alex]

Sounds like the guy in the astra did a good job to it, glad you are ok

[Huck]

bad luck zoidberg, hope it gets fixed quickly.

[Dr Zoidberg]

bad luck zoidberg, hope it gets fixed quickly.

I've just lifted the carpet out of the boot , and the base of the well where the spare wheel fits is decidedly out of shape.......

This to me does not look good.

:thumbdwn:

The gaps down the side of the tailgate are no longer parallel , and in places the sill of the boot has a crinkled look to it.

[faboka vrs]

Glad your ok mate. This should cheer you up a bit.

Last night I watched a Lancer Evo 8 and Impreza P1 having a little race in a car park (it was a cruise) when the evo decided to go sideways through some railings. To top it of the P1 won. LOL

[faboka vrs]

I've just lifted the carpet out of the boot ' date=' and the base of the well where the spare wheel fits is decidedly out of shape.......

This to me does not look good.

:thumbdwn:

The gaps down the side of the tailgate are no longer parallel , and in places the sill of the boot has a crinkled look to it.[/quote']

Dosen't sound good. :thumbdwn:

[Dr Zoidberg]

Dosen't sound good. :thumbdwn:

Doesn't look good either

[monkeychild]

as long as the chassis is ok your motor will not be written off (well that was the case for me when I had a crash)

[Dr Zoidberg]

as long as the chassis is ok your motor will not be written off (well that was the case for me when I had a crash)

Well the boot floor is decided bent.

Any ideas what they can do about that ?

[DGW]

Surely the Octavia doesn't have a chassis in the normal sense of that term? :confused:

[monkeychild]

these bodyshop guys can do amazing things It all comes down to cost really!! If the total of the damage repair bill is not economic they will write it off, if it doesn't cost much they will repair it (easiest way of putting it )

[Kentish]

I had a Vento that was shunted from the rear. The insurance assesor (sp) missed the distortion to the boot floor that I noticed after it came back...the car went straight to the bodyshop so I never had any time to fully inspect it.

When they come to check out your car, be around and point out everything that you feel isnt right, in other words be the picky b******d they hate.

If they know you know what is damaged and wrong, they will have to include it all on the assement for your insurance so that way even if it isnt written off it will be fixed and made perfect..which on an 03 car it should damn well come back as.

[flyingscot]

It's a nasty scenario. I have heard of this more times than I care to remember. The problem is who is at fault? Astra? Guy that pulled out? Insurance companies will be fighting that for a while. You may also find it will be treated as 2 seperate accidents, Astra into you then you into the Xsara... Happened to my Dad once being sandwiched in the middle of a tunnel too, a truck had no air in his brakes and rammed a whole queue. Usually more damage wil be done to one car than the other as the Astra braking will cause his nose to dip and go under the bumper, and depending on the car cause more damage to one than the other. As for being written off, we will see depending on damage. An 03 car should be O.K mind.

[Quinten]

I've been in this situation twice (third time lucky?), and on both occasions it was the driver behind me who's insurance paid out. As for the damage at the back, my Renault had the same (or at least very similar) damage and the body shop got it all back straight again. And I'm sure an 03 car is still a long way of of being written off... Car will be on the road again way before insurance has sorted it all out though

[skodaw]

You would be amazed at what a GOOD quality bodyshop can do these days - there are repair panels made to rectify these sorts of problems if needed although they usually straighten out very well.

Couple of things to bear in mind - your insurance company may insist on the car going to an Approved repairer - thats fine if you know there work - if your not happy with their choice - tell them - they can't make you take the car anywhere you don't want it to go.

Also bear in mind the warranty -- not only the paint warranty but also the corrosion warranty - for these to remain intact the repairs will need to be done by an Skoda aprroved bodyshop.

Don't be fobbed off by the insurance company saying they guarantee the work -- they usually only do that for 3 years -- where will that leave you in 5 when its rusting(assuming its still your car of course)

Also bear in mind you are allowed to claim for the loss of value on the car if it has to have major repairs - a lot of people are unaware of this. - and of course insurance companies are not in a hurry to point it out either.

Hope you manage to get it sorted out ASAP -- and remember if they do right it off NEVER,NEVER accept the first offer becuase it will be pants!!

[Dr Zoidberg]

Thanks , thats good advice , although having had a bike written off in the past I'm well aware of rejecting the first offer.

They have arranged for a local insurance approved repairer to contact me and sort out when to pick it up and check it out.

I have used them before when someone rammed the back of my Citroen AX and their work was pretty good but that was more minor repairs on a 4 year old car.

If it does get repaired then I will check with them about being Skoda approved before they start.

To be honest I am half hoping that there is significant structural damage under there and it does get written off. Once metal has stretched and twisted like it has in this case it cant be bent back so it would mean some pretty large chunks being replaced. All four wings front and back are bent plus the bonnet , tailgate and the whole floor of the boot area.

The car is only ten months old and I'm not going to be happy at all with it having that much work done on a car thats nearly new. If it does get written off I'd start off by demanding a replacement car.

If it is repairable I'll also use your suggestion of compensation for the cars reduced value. I know I wouldn't buy one if I knew it had been in an accident.

[Dr Zoidberg]

One more thing , can someone with a straight octy measure the distance between the arrowed point on the attached pic , and the corresponding spot on the other side. The panel gaps are way wider than they should be , and it looks like as the boot floor has been pushed up the top edges of the rear wings have moved further out.

[DGW]

If matters do progress to arguing about a valuation for your car and accident depreciation, have a read of the Insurance Ombudsman Bureau (now defunct) advice on both topics in the link below:

http://www.theiob.org.uk/digest/v/valuation_of_motor_vehicles.html

[SkodiRS]

My previous Octy estate was hit from behind on the M4.......had a bent floor, rear slam panel, cracked rear bump, knackered hatch door....

....was a 2000 W reg and was repaired.

Couldn't tell it had been in an accident after it had been repaired but, there's always that nagging thought in the back of your mind that something isn't right.

[JimFord]

One more thing , can someone with a straight octy measure the distance between the arrowed point on the attached pic , and the corresponding spot on the other side. The panel gaps are way wider than they should be , and it looks like as the boot floor has been pushed up the top edges of the rear wings have moved further out.

3mm on both sides on my '02 vRS.

Hope you get it sorted to your satisfaction.

Regards: Jim Ford

[ColinD]

Hope your okay,

Car should be fixed. If a lorry hitting a xantia and removing half it's estate capacity can be done, then an 03 Octy should be fine IMHO.

As to bumps, Way back on 08/02 I was shunted. It was that fast to very slow type of traffic on the M6, Queue ahead slowing slowing slwoing stopping I stop, Fiesta behind me is locking up, but she stops for about a second, ong enough for me to think "phew" then bang, car behind her shunts her to me (scratches my bumper removes her radiator and bonnet). Pulling over in what is now a stationady M6 to see 4 cars behind the fiesta....

That took over a year to resolve! Ended up being car no3 that hit the fiesta, the others somehow managed to proove that car no3 was at fault. How? Because I felt only one tap, the fiesta felt a few more. It totally disprooved the person at the back is always at fault ( Who was a blacked out black private plate BMW, who I would not want to mess with ).

Although from what you say it sounds a little clearer so you should be fine...unlike the previously observed undertaking fart in car no3

[philc]

Ouch! Bu99er!

The main thing, as always, is that you're OK. You'll be surprised how often body shops replace whole body shells -but I hope you get it sorted without too much hassle.

I almost had a similar experience on a French motorway on Saturday I was overtaking a Vectra, when he started drifting into my lane. I had nowhere to go, as it was a two lane stretch. I glanced sideways, to see that the other driver:

1. Had his window right down, at 80 mph

2. Appeared to be reading a letter, balanced on the steering wheel

3. Appeared to be asleep, as he jumped and looked around wildly when I blasted him.

Phew.

French drivers, eh?

Phil :thumbdwn:

[pearce_jj]

Also will depend on your insurance co - iirc direct line (eg) will replace a car less than 1yr old if the repairs are >50% the cost of a new car. Could be wrong though.

Agree with you though, I wouldn't want it even if it could be fixed. Did the air bags go off? Only ask as I wondered if the whole dash needs to be replaced.

[a1topdog]

I think insurance companies only write the car off if the cost of repair is > 65% of the cars current value.

They will not compensate you for loss of value - because if they repair the car it is not recorded on any register - ie HPI, so if you sell it the buyer will never know it has been repaired unless you tell them - which you are not obliged to do.

I'd like to see pictures of the door gaps - that gives a better indication of the damage then the rear wings and tailgate.

[Dr Zoidberg]

I'd like to see pictures of the door gaps - that gives a better indication of the damage then the rear wings and tailgate.

There is no gap at all between the rear edge of the rear drivers side door and the back wing.

Its been dropped off at the garage , and the reckon that once they have taken out the section that makes up the boot floor and lip at the edge of the boot , that the rear wings should fall back into place ok. Personally I'm not convinced , and I'll be checking everything very carefully if they do go ahead with fixing it. If it isn't millimeter perfect then I'll be rejecting it.