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[frostbite]

+1 check for creases in boot floor

[jonathanh]

almost exactly the same happened to me in a very old Vectra.... although my towbar got bent up as well

in my case, the other party's insurer stopped talking to me, assuming I'd go away as the car was really only worth scrap.  Unfortunately for them I issued court papers against them and they paid up straight away.  The claim was roughly built up as

£10 for each day the car was out of action
scrap value of the car ( got 4 similar prices from auto trader and averaged them)
cost of tow hitch.

the boot floor was crumpled but 90% of it pulled out with a 5 tonne winch and something heavy to pull it from ( land rover defender cam in handy for that..)

replaced the bumper and tailgate and it's good as new.

so my suggestion is to get as much cash from them as you can and fix it yourself - keep copies of all correspondence and notes of phone calls ( its a real bore doing that but it helps if it goes to court)

[Diamond Black Geezer]

If you get a penny more than sweeet FA, then you're doing very well. I came a cropper in an accident that wasnt my fault late last year, and after 6 months wrangling have arrived at a 'FU in your old car'-style settlement.

My very best of luck to you, any advice, this is the forum to be 

[terry paget]

I have a spare bumper off a facelift, and a boot lid off a 1999 earlier shape saloon. Would the boot lid fit? It looks similar, though the lights are not the same.

[Doctor Gollum]

Bumper, crash bar and lights off...

Get busy on the rear panel with blocks of wood, bottle jack and sledge as required...

Refit fresh crash bar etc... Job jobbed.

Would suggest not unbolting towbar.

Bootlid might fit the hinges but the rest won't fill the hole, even if the latches line up

[terry paget]

Thanks to all for advice.
I rang Hastings Direct Monday. They were helpful, brisk and accepted my claim, said their client was at fault. A woman rang Tuesday, lots of questions, told me an assessor would call Wednesday.

He called this morning, examined the car, took measurements of tread depth, etc. He pointed out that the tow bar was bent sideways, that the rear door aperture was distorted, declared it a write-off.

He asked me what I thought it was worth. I muttered that they appear on e-bay at £2000, that I had to replace the car, that any e-bay car needs collecting, and needs sorting - cam belts, clutches, etc. He smiled. His smart phone had come up with a value of £700, what did I think of that. I hesitated. He asked me what I had paid for it, I replied £400 3 years ago..

I pushed for £800, which he accepted, and said if I wished to keep the wreck they would knock off 10%. It would be a category C wreck, meaning I could not put it back on the road.

Thanks again for your help. I am relieved I have managed it, all in 3 days.

[Kevin Wood]

I pushed for £800, which he accepted, and said if I wished to keep the wreck they would knock off 10%. It would be a category C wreck, meaning I could not put it back on the road.

No reason why you can't put a cat C back on the road. Cat A or B you can't but C or D you can (although it's recorded, so you'd need to tell your insurer).

[tunnie]

As I suspected, declared write off straight away. Worth checking insurance implications of a CAT C? Wonder how it would affect a premium. 

[Doctor Gollum]

Cat C can be put back on the road. Pm me if you need any help re repairs...

I know you favour Dropbox , but could you post pictures of the rear quarters where the meet the doors on both sides, doors closed. Should be an even 4-5mm shut line.

Would suggest leaving the towbar in situe, but remove the tow ball to remove any temptation to tow with it.

Cat C can be put on the road all day long, no VIC anymore either although your insurers might insist on dropping cover down to TP until it is re Mot'd.

As for the value side of things, 10% is fair salvage, and if the car is otherwise sound, I would fix it and run it until it dies

[Entwood]

As I suspected, declared write off straight away. Worth checking insurance implications of a CAT C? Wonder how it would affect a premium. 

Has little effect on premium as the "risk" level is unchanged ... however there are a lot of insurers who simply won't touch a cat C or D, and the online comparison sites become useless as well, as you cannot enter the fact that it is a cat C or D, which you must declare.

There is no longer any need for a VIC check on a repaired Cat C or D, although some insurers will insist on a new MOT

Chris's clit is cat C after the idiot T-boned it and damaged the door/front wing, insurance estimate of repair £1600, value of car £1200, I actually paid £900 to have it fixed and pocketed the £300

Adrian Flux will insure Cat C & D, they are not the best insurer but they are not completely useless, you just have to tell them the same thing 4 times before they listen to you ! Premiums are competitive however, both the clit and the Omega are now with them.

Too slow .... far too slow ....   

[Nick W]

As I suspected, declared write off straight away. Worth checking insurance implications of a CAT C? Wonder how it would affect a premium. 

Of course it is a write-off, it isn't worth anything to anyone except Terry. And that's only because he already owns it, knows its history and knows that a replacement is going to have issues.


As for repairing it, I would borrow another bootlid to see how well it could be made to fit using basic pulling techniques. Somebody with experience could probably straighten it well enough to put it back into service for a few quid's worth of secondhand spares.


As for it being Cat C, it wasn't worth anything before, it just means that nobody will buy it.

[Doctor Gollum]

Thanks to all for advice.
I rang Hastings Direct Monday. They were helpful, brisk and accepted my claim, said their client was at fault. A woman rang Tuesday, lots of questions, told me an assessor would call Wednesday.

He called this morning, examined the car, took measurements of tread depth, etc. He pointed out that the tow bar was bent sideways, that the rear door aperture was distorted, declared it a write-off.

He asked me what I thought it was worth. I muttered that they appear on e-bay at £2000, that I had to replace the car, that any e-bay car needs collecting, and needs sorting - cam belts, clutches, etc. He smiled. His smart phone had come up with a value of £700, what did I think of that. I hesitated. He asked me what I had paid for it, I replied £400 3 years ago..

I pushed for £800, which he accepted, and said if I wished to keep the wreck they would knock off 10%. It would be a category C wreck, meaning I could not put it back on the road.

Thanks again for your help. I am relieved I have managed it, all in 3 days.

To be clear, TPs insurer/assessor have suggested that it's a Cat C? Not sure they can do that... but sounds like you have agreed to effectively sell them your car for £800, and then buy it back for £80... Net result being £720 plus a dented car that you already own.

Might be worth asking if they'll just give you £720 for your trouble and keep the car off the register Not that I would trust them to do that, but there we are.

Had a car registered as a Cat C before my insurers made their first offer... if you don't claim, it cannot be a loss but once recorded, always recorded...

Although as Nick W suggests, the car that was only ever worth anything to you, is still only worth anything to you, so no change in the scheme of things

[terry paget]

Thanks for advice. I had given the car up for dead, and was scouring e-bay for a replacement. I changed the hed gasket on this car last summer, and the rear wheel arches show no rust, so it might be worth saving. Pics follow of the rear door gaps; the doors open and close normally. I have 2 other FL saloons in the fleet, Be's boot was damaged when he backed it into a skip, but the wife's 2003 police special is in tact.

[Nick W]

There's a very good chance that pulling the impact area will considerably improve the door gaps and also allow you to fit a straight bootlid: mine clearly had a smack up the arse when it was worth repairing, but neither 1/4panel to door fit is much better than that  


This would mean you only need to find a bootlid and the lamps which can't be hard/expensive.


I haven't had much practice at the straightening, and if using makeshift methods would probably lose the towbar to reduce the force required.

[Doctor Gollum]

Ok, looks to be a fairly square impact, which is good. Effect on/of the towbar depends on three things... previous impacts, type of towbar and how it's fitted.

Wings are likely pushed forward from rear edge rather than floor, though you might find there's a crease either end of the bar

How does the tank seem to be sitting in it's straps compared to a n other Omega saloon?

Only suggest keeping the bar bolted up as once undone it will need removing completely, so best left until last in the strip down process