My beloved townie is off the road presently, following a young chap being good enough to park his scooter in my tailgate at 50mph or so...
To add insult to injury, said youth was uninsured and drunk :-(
After much hassle (thanks go to Ian and Jim), I've been able to source a secondhand tailgate and bumper, and the vehicle will be back on the road by the weekend.
Now for the note of caution. The assessor was inclined to write the townie off! Parts are horrendously pricey. For all new parts, the cost would've exceeded the value of the vehicle- talgate, lights, bumper, irons, rear glass...
The rear glass alone lists at £484+ vat!
Be careful out there people. We pay them money, and they don't want to fix our cars after somebody else damages them... :-(
- (#7024) David Miller, 5 Feb 03
Sorry to hear of your problem David and I am glad that you are now getting it sorted out. We pay inflated insurance premiums, just because, when unfortunate incidents like this happen, we want our vehicles put right. It seems to me, scandalous that insurance companies can start to argue when parts costs, on re-building, are found to be high. When I insured, I did ask why the cost was higher than a "normal" vehicle and I was told that this was because parts were expensive for imported vehicles so, when I renew my insurance, in a few eweeks, I will want some confirmation that my hard earned cash is being spent to safeguard my Masterace's future in the event of an accident. I don't want some assessor linking my pride and joy with some of the bangers which, sadly, command
an equal price in the market place. Thanks for the tip.
- (#7025) John Davis, 5 Feb 03
John
I fear that your insurance company will tell you anything to ensure they keep the business with you. It's only when you come to make a claim that you will really know if you have been conned.
- (#7026) Ian Dunse, 5 Feb 03
I hope you beat him severly over the head with the bumper!!
Steve
- (#7027) Steve Taylor, 5 Feb 03
David,
Sorry to hear of your accident.
If its any help, I know Warren Craig, insurance garager / breakers outside Downpatrick, had a manual Townace with frontal damage that he was breaking, 3-4 months ago. As far I know its still there.
- (#7028) stephen judge, 5 Feb 03
The other option when in this situation is to let him write it off and then buy the salvage back at 20% ( thereabouts, depends on the age of the vehicle and can be less if before 1992 I believe ) of the value of the vehicle. Repair it and put it back on the road. Its one of the few ways we can actually make money from our insurance companies. Its legal, but you still have to declare that the vehicle was damaged, if requested, when you sell it.
- (#7029) Stephen Judge, 5 Feb 03
Thanks for that Stephen, but as the other party was uninsured, the only way to get anything substantial back (fully comp, but £600 excess, NCB full but not protected :-(...) was to have the solicitor claim against the Motor Insurers Bureau. The excess is only £300 that way, and one can be sure of payment following completion of police proceedings.
The assessor was a chap from Dromore direction, and was more than happy for me to source s/h parts, and will be advising a cash settlement based on parts prices and labour to strip paint and fit. I'm doing the stripping and building myself, so things could work out OK ;-)
- (#7030) david miller, 6 Feb 03
Hi David,
Sorry to hear your Townie is bent up.Hope repairs go well for you!
Have a feeling that even here "Down-Under",Insurance assessors would try the same tactic!
Cheers,Trev,;-)
- (#7112) Trev Sutton, 6 Feb 03
David
When it comes to re-paint time, if you have no one else chosen, I can get a quote from my brother, You've seen his work on my frontal damage.
No obligation, no offence taken, if its not a suitable price or Quality, or time scale does not suit.
I believe he is competitive but thats my biased opinion.
- (#7113) stephen judge, 7 Feb 03
ta stephen, but it's all done and dusted. it went straight into a friends shop, as i needed a car asap...
- (#7114) david miller, 8 Feb 03
I felt very upset to hear about your Townie. Just like to say that I hope they got that youth locked up and if not, hows about getting together a vigilante and teach him and others a lesson. I had a weird thought going through my head
Just like ants help each other out, when one gets injured they all go to help. What a thought, thousands of Townies out to get the yob! What a picture. 'Hope all's OK now
- (#7176) Jo, 10 Feb 03