[sailingmania]

hey guys im in a mahusive dielemma....

im 17 years old, i have been driving since november, i had a 1.9td 1996 (p) swb white panel van... and was happy bumbling around in it, forking out 50 quid a week on fuel tho :/ until the 19th of january when a blond girl around 25 went into the back of me! the sill cow was on her mobile however i didnt tell her insurance as otherwise they would'nt be playing ball... my van has been collected and taken away to their authorised insurers, which have assessed and come to the decision to write my van off! hopefully on monday i am expecting a call so arange a write off price

im stuck on weather to let them write it off then buy it back and flog it on to someone on here?? anyone interested in a 1.9td 1996 (p) swb panel van?? its just had a new cambelt kit, water pump, auxillary belt, power steering belt, bottom pulley! it doesent wobble 1 mm! oh and it had a new rocker cover gasket... all done lest than 300 miles ago!!! its perfect!! then someone goes and writes it off! aaaarrrgggghhhh!!!!!

so do i sell it on as a write off??
or accept a cash settlement, and then its not written off...
or write it off, and flog on for spares... engine £500??
or i have been offered a 1985 998cc mini... but i dont think its practical...


then next part of the dielemma... i have seen a 2.5ltr t4 for sale for £1200! its a 1996 (p) which this is a good price yeh?? it has a dent in the side door thats its... either 118k or 180k miles... more like 180k is this aloth for a 2.5? my 1.9td has done 189k... is this a bargain of the year?? and does it have an ecu? if so is it remappable? so it will go like hell??

cheers guys!

 

[andy]

As the accident wasnt your fault , if its CAT C or D you can insist they repair your old van and not write it off.

The early 2.5tdi dont have a 'flashable' ecu (as i learned from Wayne at chipwaizards the other day) so quite a bit more involved in remapping, taking the ecu apart soldering, removing chips etc..
Still 1200 quid sounds cheap... doesnt make it good value if its a though...

 

[ajpepe72]

Have you got any pictures of the damage to your van, insurers are to quick to write stuff off nowadays, if she's hit it square on in the rear and it not too bad then it could be jigged out depending how bad it is. how much damage is there to the rear quarter panels.
If its not too bad i'd try and get a decent cash settlement and repair it, especially considering the work you've had done to it.

 

[sailingmania]

Well she did pretty well to say the least... She hit on drivers quarter, smashing the bumper, my towbar going through her grill and rad she has also badly enter the rear door and now it doesn't fit properly when shut... And in front of the hinges (barn doors) there is a crease line... So it's gonna need to be straighterened... She hit me at 30mph approx felt like more... But that was the speed limit... Oh and she broke my fog light... Her 5 month old 207 was in far worse condition... But that doesen matter because my t4 is in danger of going to a scrappy! Aaaarrrrggghhhh maybe I will buy It back and sell it for bits...??

 

[Gazmataz]

Sounds like there's more work than thought on the van mate. I'd look at buying it back. You can sell the engine, wings and everything inside. You'd get more for the engine than £500 if you can prove what you've done with the receipts to prove it. If you buy another van you can use spares that you don't sell if you need to change anything.

Insurer's will only repair vehicles that cost less than around 20-30% of the value of the actual vehicle. if it's valued at £1000, they'll only pay out £300 max for example. If it's a vehicle over 5 years, they tend to write it off straight away as they can't be asked with the effort. I knew a lad who had a old 3 series BMW that had a shunt in the back and it was written off. He bought it back for £25, repaired everything, got it inspected and sold it for £2500. All the insurance company will do is write it off and sell it to a scrappy. If they can get it repaired, they will probably do just the same. If they don't they'll strip down your van and end up selling all the parts on the "bay" and add a "0" to all the items because of the trend tax that floats around on these beasts. I:

Try and keep it either way. Look at getting another van. Get a rolling shell and put your sorted engine in it. Job done.T:

 

[Dubflecta]

Buy the van back from the insurance company, they will let you have it for peanuts because its to much hassle for them to recover it. Will you claim for your injuries?

 

[sailingmania]

I didn't claim for injuries... As nor me or my passenger were injured... And I can't be laying it on thick, and I can't have the time off work... And im fine... However... I was getting a quote for a 1.25 for fiesta zetec as I have been offered one from my grandma but because I'm only 17 and I have to tick that I have claimed in the past 4 years I'm getting silly quotes like 6-7k!!!! So ideally I have to have the van back, all fixed up, and on the road as then I have rest of this years insurance till november when it will shoot up because u claimed on the woman who went into back if me's insurance I'm not a happy bunny!

 

[ajpepe72]

If it wasnt your fault and its her insurance thats paying it shouldnt effect your insurance, as it will go down as a non fault claim :*

 

[sailingmania]

hey guys an update... got a phone call today saying it is a cateogry c total loss... so im gonna let them write it off, then break it for spares... as i really cba to pay the money and do the work to get it back on the road... if anyone wants to make me an offer for it? if not i will be breaking it for spares... anyone interested in any bits? if so let me know... i will think up some prices...

1.9td abl engine 189k runs sweet! just had new cambelt, waterpump, auxillary belt, power steering belt, bottom pulley (doesent wobble 1 mm!!!) and a rocker cover gasket...

1x modified alternator which actually split charges from the alternator!

and a rolling chassis minus driver back door unless a dented one is wanted? a smashed rear bumper... broken fog light... and a creased body :/... any offers? i reckon 600 for the engine??

 

[andy]

If it wasnt your fault and its her insurance thats paying it shouldnt effect your insurance, as it will go down as a non fault claim :*

It doesnt work like that.

Apparently if you are involved in any accident you are statistically more likely to be involved in another accident therefore a higher risk. A couple of years ago my old van was written off whilst it was parked and ever since i have done online insurance quotes one with and one without the 'non fault' accident it always comes out a little bit higher

Their was a piece on 'watchdog' or 'rip off britain' about this not so long ago.

 

[Yardstick]

It doesnt work like that.

Apparently if you are involved in any accident you are statistically more likely to be involved in another accident therefore a higher risk. A couple of years ago my old van was written off whilst it was parked and ever since i have done online insurance quotes one with and one without the 'non fault' accident it always comes out a little bit higher

Their was a piece on 'watchdog' or 'rip off britain' about this not so long ago.

Not to start a keyboard war here but... that's not entirely true. Don't believe everything you see on TV. There are a fair few companies out there that don't penalize you for driver not at fault claims, Sky Insurance, NFU are two that spring to mind right away. Give online quotes etc a miss, speak to real people on the phone. Takes longer but all this merkat stuff is rubbish and designed for your typical "Dorris" who has just bought a shiny laptop and wants to feel like they have done something productive and save some money on their Saga car insurance LOL:

Anyway as others have said you would more than likely be able to buy this van back off the insurance. I would do this and then you can pick up another van with a shot engine or something for nowt and put yours in. It's a lot of trouble, but if you like the t4 then that will be the best thing (going from what you have said on here).

You'd be mad to get a classic MINI at your age. I've had many, raced them, re-built them and restored them. I still have one in pieces in my garage now. They are a never ending story, much like a t4 but not in a good way and eventually rust away to nothing. At least with a t4 you can drive it about in relative comfort... plus at your age (knowing what you lot like to get up to lol) a mini backseat ain't gonna happen... t4 FTW

So far it seems that t4 prices are going only one way right now.

 

[sailingmania]

haha! that actually made me LOL!!!

right an update.... i got a phone call today from the engineer... he started off asking me what i paid back in september when i got it... i replied £1500 (actually 1k) then told hima bout the work done.... anyway managed to it all the way up to 2k! for a panel van! well chuffed! however now im allowed to take some bits off it before its scrapped... but i havw to replace them with others... so i need to source a really cheap working alternator so i can take my own specially electronically modified alternator which actually split charges! can anyone help? i will try and find out what breakers yard it is heading for, and then will let everyone know so it can be stripped down for spares... i was offered the van for £500 but didnt accept as it has chassis damage and isnt really possible to put back onto the road... it a set of 5 excellent tryres with loads of tred on... good engine... yes its done 189k but im sure it will do another 189k pretty easily! im going over to garage saturday to take stereo and speakers out... anyone need something i maybe able to aquire while im there?? preferable small things... (p.s. not free tho...)