[ryan]

Howdo gents,

After some advice from anyone in the know.

Got rear ended on a dual carriage about a year ago - a year due to apathy on my part and incompetence on the insurances part.

My question is:
Could anyone throw a estimate out there as to the cost of the work required?
New single rear door (barn), bumper assy, bumper cross member and the floor needs pulling out. If anyone can help I'll stick pictures up later.

I'd quite like a cash in lieu settlement rather than it being written off.
The local garage I took it to said he'd write it off before he even saw the damage at back of the van, and wouldn't entertain the idea of estimating.
My thought is that the repair won't come to 60% of the value of the van (1999 T4 TDI LWB, 380'000 miles), but it might be close.

I want cash so I can fit the tailgate I bought and so the van doesn't have a Cat C/D against it.

Cheers for any advice
Ryan

 

[Grey n Grumpy]

If waited a year before persuing this , then I reckon your chances are slim , to non-existent .... The insurance co. will have asked for a quotation , and probably suggested a repairer ..?? There is probably a time-limited clause , so , unless you have been in regular contact with your insurers to resolve it , reckon you may have lost any chance of a resolution ....the insurance will have sent an assessor , and you will have had an offer ...

 

[Huskyman]

Hi I second that If you can get a cash setttlement off the other guy i think that will be your best option good luck with your quest

 

[aircool1966]

if you got a tailgate, why do you want to do the work yourself when if you were rear ended it would be the other guys fault and his co would have had to pay for work on your van,
if rear floor is bent dont know what they would say ,,,,,
if you dont want it cat c/d why go to the insurer
and why take so long ,,, i bet his car is fixed by now,
as for cash payment you would have to discuss that with your ins co who should have been acting on your behalf
, have i misunderstood your post , you want to fit a tailgate to a van that has barn doors and you want the insurer to pay for this because someone ran into you a year ago

 

[aircool1966]

oh and any good worth thier salt body shop will give a quote for work to be done, to how it was before
not to mod it ,

 

[ryan]

Thanks for the replies.

To be clear, the info I'm after is a very very rough estimate of what the costs would be to fit a new barn door, bumper assy and pull the floor and slam panel / cross member out.

If someone knows this info then I'll be able to confidently challenge the garage's refusal to estimate (my assumption is that he thinks the van is worth £500) or take it elsewhere.

If someone in the know thinks that work would cost under £2k then there's a chance they might not write it off.

 

[gojira]

personally i'd not touch a vehicle that had been in an accident that had folded the floor. this is probably why your garage thinks it's a write-off and doesn't want to waste his time giving you a quote.

as a guide, 5 years ago i had a passat written off that was rear ended. that was purely cosmetic and hadn't folded the boot floor, but the boot lid, bumper and both rear wings were bent. i got paid out £2800 which was a fair price to replace the car. i bought it back as salvage for £400 after talking to the bodyshop that did the insurance quote, who assured me the damage was purely cosmetic (chassis/suspension still straight) and they hinted strongly that they could probably fix it for me for less than £1k.

as soon as bodyshops hear 'insurance' the price goes through the roof. maybe for a job as big as your van they're just not willing to do it for anything less than 'milk the insurance company' prices, which means your van may well be a write-off.

 

[Grey n Grumpy]

Almost any decent bodyshop (not garage ) will offer a quotation .....It,s not possible to remotely give you a ££s figure , because of all the variables ..it has to be looked at by proffessional repairers , who will assess it , and offer their opinion . There will be a number of bodyshops in your area . If the floor is bent , how does that affect the side panels ..?? They are all connected ......

 

[ryan]

Based on comments here I went to another bodyshop. These guys were initially reluctant to do an estimate, but n the end did one to placate me.
As the guy thought it would still write the van off, came out at £2.5k inc vat for the stuff he could see it needed from a 1 minute external inspection.

So write off and buy back it is

 

[Grey n Grumpy]

If I was you , I would visit several bodyshops , and get written quotations ....you may be mistaking the difference between that , and an estimate ..??