Junior wrote:

Could always ram it a few more times in to the wall

druand wrote:

Hope there is a kink in the roof, that will help in having it written off. The 3/4 rule does not always apply, car can be classed as an uneconomical repair. The cost of repair to insurance co. may be more than payout to you less what the car is worth for salvage. It is not then declared as "written off" just a Cat C or even D.
Agree I would not want to have it back.

AndyC wrote:

Who or what sort of driver hits a parked car Must be a drunk, a half blind, or some old codger that should not be on the road at all . Maybe even a combination of all these - and the police are not interested

Gees, the offender should at least loose his driving licence for ever

The Policemen did say that the offending driver would have to undergo a variety of examinations/tests etc. as you simply cant go around driving into stationary vehicles which are clearly visible. They doubted he'd have a license in the new year. Its a shame but some people simply shouldn't be driving.

I'll keep you guys informed

Cheers

Different ages must have different rules as the traffic police that attended mine wasn't bothered that a 20 odd year bloke could drive in to a parked car on a clear sunny morning and manage to head butt his windscreen and admit he was making a call on his mobile

Since the bus could just scrape through by mounting the kerb they went on their merry way to ticket speeders or catch peope who don't drive into parked cars  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

I would say that it is dead! A customer of mine smashed up the front of his FL2, it wasn't anywhere near as bad as the front of your in laws and his was written off. Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

The assessor came out today and said it'll be around £8000. The question to him was are you an 'engineer' and how can you tell the damage its done to the driveshafts etc.? The answer was no!!!

Therefore we are waiting on an engineer to assess the damage from a mechanical point of view.

Did you guys know that the FL warranty (18 months left) would also be doubtful after repair as Land Rover would not be able to tell it was either from the factory or crash .

More tomorrow i guess,

Get quote from LR - they will use genuine parts and their labour rates - you don't have to have it repaired at the insurers repairers.

The repairers will always give you a 12 month guarantee on the repair but it won't match the remaining warranty. I would guess that corrosion proofing wouldn't be up to OEM spec either.

My first LR - FL1 was drowned - see my gallery - engine did start but probably needed major work. Interior was badly water damaged from just 1 hr in the water and they wrote it off.

Good luck with your in laws. Personally I would get rid as soon as this is fixed - they are never the same again. Sorry  There's always a way forward!

2008 Freelander Td4 GS - Stornoway Grey - Now Gone - Sob
2011 Freelander Td4 GS 150 - Rimini Red - in its place - Better x far x 4!!

Keep us updated with this but insist on an LR approved bodyshop, then you should get a decent job and no warranty trouble.

As for the write off, I'll be stunned if they actually fix it, but bear in mind that your folks are entitled to a hire car off the other driver's insurers, when they factor that in (think the hire on an equivalent vehicle will be about £100 - £150 per day I reckon) I think it will make a quick cheque look a lot more attractive as they then won't need to give a hire car. Blue

Cheers Blue,
He's got a hire car and its been moved to a Land Rover Approved Body Shop in Conwy (as Conwy Land rover dont have one). He's been told the prices are the same and all parts will be from Landrover (at conwy)

I'll keep everyone informed

Good luck sorting this out mate. We Don't Care About Pot Holes !!

maffs wrote:

Cheers Blue,
He's got a hire car and its been moved to a Land Rover Approved Body Shop in Conwy (as Conwy Land rover dont have one). He's been told the prices are the same and all parts will be from Landrover (at conwy)

I'll keep everyone informed

Just a tip - be aware of any so called APPROVED body shops as these are body shops that have an arrangement with an insurance company which consists of paying the body shop a very low hourly rate & usually not allowing the correct amount of hours to do the job to the correct standard that should be expected plus getting as many jobs through the body shop each day = I think you know where I am going with this!!

Just before I took out a traders Road Riscs policy this year my insurance renewal came through for my MG ZR-Express Van & a new clause was put into it stating that if I was to use a NON APPROVED body shop my excess would increase by £200 I politely rang them to explain exactly why I would NEVER use a so called approved body shop & only use one that I TRUST & then told them to stick the policy!!

Regards the above post. I agree how can an assessor quote the repair costs, totally silly. I heard of a story like this recently (may have been on here) about a repair quote of £16,000 & it actually cost just over £8,000  (Past) Freelander 2 HSE 2010 MY In Rimini Red.
(Past) RR Evoque Dynamic Lux Si4 In Firenze Red.
(Past) RR Evouque Pure Tech in Barollo Black with bespoke Firenze Red colour coding.
(Present) Freelander Metropolis 2015 MY In Santorini Black with Ivory Premium Leather.

The difference here is between Insurance Approved (just means they are cheap) and Land Rover Approved which means that it's a manufacturer approved facility, in theory that's the best you can get. Supposedly  Blue

Blue wrote:

The difference here is between Insurance Approved (just means they are cheap) and Land Rover Approved which means that it's a manufacturer approved facility, in theory that's the best you can get. Supposedly

A few years ago I had a customer in Maidstone with a Mercedes S Class. They owned an appartment In Paris with an underground car park & one night apparently some German nice folk took a dislike to the English registered cars in the car park & keyed the Merc all way round. When it came home it went to Bodyline in Maidstone Kent who were an approved Mercedes body centre. When it came home after £3000 worth of work we noticed that the body shop had billed the insurance company for a new o/s head lamp unit for over £600 as it has been scratched only to find it had not been replaced It went back with stern words from the owner.

Within 2 Months or so the owners wife was driving the same car & had a small knock on the 0/s front wing & bumper. It went back to the same place & had a new bumper & front o/s wing only it didn't have a new wing as a few days after it came out of the bodyshop the dent in the wing reappeared as all they had done was try & push it out & there was lots of dirt inside the wheelarch but the insurance company was billed for a new wing.

Now this is only 1 car that has been into the same APPROVED bodyshop twice & on both occasions there was a scam so how many other scams are performed every day? (Past) Freelander 2 HSE 2010 MY In Rimini Red.
(Past) RR Evoque Dynamic Lux Si4 In Firenze Red.
(Past) RR Evouque Pure Tech in Barollo Black with bespoke Firenze Red colour coding.
(Present) Freelander Metropolis 2015 MY In Santorini Black with Ivory Premium Leather.

Yeah, even the manufacturer approved shops often leave a lot to be desired, I just had the Z4 done at a local BMW approved centre and it's ok, although needs a correction to get rid of the fine scratches in the paint, fortunately the insurance company will be coughing for that too.  Blue

You as a customer have very little control over what the insurance company does or does not do. Sure you can try, but don't hold your breath.

If the damage is only 8k, it wont be written off. It's surprising what a wreck a car can look, yet a few new bits and a body panels later, it's a right as rain.

Despite the Assessor not having mechanical knowledge and you are quite right to have it looked at someone who is, the Assessor is not exactly thick either. He will have seen plenty of damaged cars and would be pretty accurate.

The thing to beware of is if it's written off, your in law probably wont get back as much as he needs to buy a new one, unless he has GAP insurance.

Being involved in accidents is a no win situation.