Repairing vs writing off a car - any thoughts?
Repairing vs writing off a car - any thoughts?
So I had a crash. My car has been assessed as a repairable write off and I have to decide if I push the insurer to repair or I take the payout. I owe no money but would be out of pocket to purchase new(ish). I was not intending to trade it in or sell in the foreseeable future.
I understand the process if I opt for a write off. If I push for repair I know it needs review and scutiny.
I am thinking of pushing for repair. Anyone else gone down that path? Any gotchas or experiences to share? I really am in two minds right now.
Edit: had long chat with the repairer and reviewed the damage and went with write off. Panels and all the suspension on one side was stuffed and needed replacement. The risk of other stuff being just out enough to cause future problems, and risk of issues from sitting out for months waiting on parts was just more than I wanted. Got a fair payout. Bye beasty. Thanks for crumpling so I didn't...
Take the car to a mechanic you can trust and get a qualified opinion from someone who has actually seen your car and the damage.
Smash repair places often charge excessive amounts of money and your car might be repairable somewhere else for a fraction of the cost.
Honestly, if the payout for your car is fair value, just take the money unless it's something particularly desirable. A Mazda 3/cx 9/Ford focus/povo pack ba falcon is not. Just get the offer, have a look and decide if it's worth it. If you can't buy an equivalent or slightly better car, put your foot.down (e.g. if it's a shitbox, you may not be able to afford another car)
Any more details for us with what's happened and what it is?
I've had two not at fault accidents and I had no want to get the cars back due to the mode of damage, one was a BF2 ute and the other a CX9
Others that know anything about cars might be interested to know the year, make, and model...
Personally, I would absolutely 100% push for a write off.
I would much rather buy a second hand car which was a little older than I might like, than have to drive a car which has been in a serious accident.
IDK much about cars really. My parents had a Subaru WRX back when they were amazingly cool. Only a couple of years old. Got rear ended by an idiot, extensive damage to front and rear. They couldn't get the insurer to write it off. It was a crying shame. I would've been gutted if I was them. It was just never the same. Occasional leak from a door seal. Sometimes the check engine light would flicker. Never seemed to be able to get the alignment quite right. Clutch always seemed to have an obscenely short friction point.
Just all this niggly stuff that you could never really pin down. Like after going back to the repairer the 6th time and saying "look mate I swear the check engine light was flickering yesterday" and they hook it up and say "everything's totally fine... again" what are you going to do?
The thing that would really shit me though... is that it's just tainted. It's not my daily driver any more but I still have my first car, it's nearly 20 years old now. It's just... nice, like I've taken care of it and for a 20 year old car it's kinda cool. Once a car has had a major accident no one want's to buy it. For all of the above reasons.
If you push for repair it will be like someone spilled fish curry in your back seat. The smell will never really be gone and years from now on a hot day when you climb in you'll still find yourself cursing the day some cunt did you that nasty.
It's an unusual make - an Abarth (jotted vup fiat basically) hence the repair costs. And five years old. Good nick. Logbook serviced. Would be out of pocket to replace (bought when first in market and more expensive now).
But yeah I have had that niggly, fish curry, not quite right feeling after repairs before on other older cars (even minor repairs) so I am timid. I am only considering repair because it's been so good and I do really like the model. But I am being offered a good price and can survive for a bit while I watch car sales for a good deal...that's why I am so conflicted.
Holy shit I've heard the name but never actually looked at one. Those look amazing. I would absolutely enjoy the fuck out of driving that.
I can understand your dilemma. Of course I can't decide for you but for me, the uniqueness and character of a car like this would absolutely push me further towards taking the write off. I mean it's sad, but it is an inanimate object and driving the repaired car would just bug me no end.
I would much rather buy a second hand car which was a little older than I might like, than have to drive a car which has been in a serious accident.
The last time our car was repaired under insurance, our car slightly brushed against the rear bumper of another car at about 2km/h (carefully reversing out of a tight parking space). It left a scratch on our car that wasn't even deep enough to reveal metal - only the clear coat on top of the paint was scratched - the actual colour paint was undamaged. Seriously we have worse scratches elsewhere on the car from minor misshaps (e.g. we have a 3 year old... sometimes he plays near the car). Also the plastic headlight protector fell off and needed to be glued back on.
If we didn't need to do an insurance claim to fix another scratch just as minor on the other car, I wouldn't have even bothered fixing it. A bit of a polish with wax and it'd buff right out but we wouldn't even bother since the car has a dozen scratches. And who needs a headlight protector anyway? Previous owner of the car's decision to install that, I would've just taken off the one on the other headlight.
But we did need to involve insurance, and the smash repair company is incentivised to get as much money as they can out of every repair... So they charged $12,000 to fix it. The car was valued at $14,000 so it was almost a write off.
Yeah fair enough. A good counterpoint.
Would 100% fix myself if it were older/more common. No structural damage but cosmetic and mechanical components - imported and expensive tho. Don't have the tools or space to even start to DIY
(My old Holden was a fuel guzzler but made things like this waaay easier!!)
Repairable writeoffs are difficult to sell and difficult for the new purchaser to insure.
Your car may be repaired back to pristine condition but it is automatically worth 25% less than the identical one which isn't Cat C/D