SMASH ADVICE

[palerider325icab]

Hi Guys.
My mate bought a 525i SPORT L 24v REG full history first class condition and a very high spec wirh a rare colour from a zoner about 7 months ago.
To cut a long story short its got bumped up the jack big time on Monday night from 4x4.
The accident was not caused by my mate,he is also insured 3rd party only.
The thing is i hear so many storys of insurance company offering stupid pay out price on the car what is the best way to get a fair price.
I also told him before they come and look at the car take all the good bits off,as he has a old 525i to replace them with.
Would he be able to buy the car back is second option as she has some nice bits Half leather,close ratio manual box and lsd etc full m5 kit.
If they offer a stupid price and the take the car some scrap yard is going to make a fortune.Its just i had a soft spot for this car as the performance was out of this world and i would hate for it to be banished to some scrappy.

Any advice regarding this matter most welcome.

Cheers
Rhino

[smithy318i]

If he is only 3rd party, they will pay him NOTHING.
Best just not to claim (imo)

[Steviec]

If the accident wasnt his fault, he WILL get paid out by the insurance wether fully comp/third party as his insurance will claim off the other parties insurance. Was he injured??
Its down to the insurance company if he can buy the car back or not, and as for pay out, they usually go for book price for the condition of the car before the accident. If its a rare example (ie special colour) when a claim amount is offered and if this amount is too low, try to find similar models for sale and send copies of the adverts to the insurance company with a letter explaining why that model is worth more.

[palerider325icab]

Hi My mate is 3rd party only,but what about the guy that caused the accident will it not go through his insurance surely to god he doe not lose out with regards to the car .


Cheers
Rhino

[Steviec]

Another way to get the price up a little is to give the crashed car a good wash and polish and clean the inside, might seem pointless but the assessor will think that its been looked after alot more.

Betweem my bro and I, we have had many dealings with insurance companies (even a court case [we took the other party to court and won]).

[palerider325icab]

So if i can find a few adds of cars in bmw mags i think there was a write up a couple few months ago on the 525i sport maybe that would help.
The colour is MEDIRA VIOLET i only think its rare as i have not seen any this colour.
Would it be better to leave everything as it is in the car.

Cheers
Rhino

[Steviec]

If you start replacing the likes of half leather seats with cloth, remove bits of trim, replace alloy wheels for steels ect, the assessor will offer a lower price as he will think its a lower model and maybe not looked after.

[palerider325icab]

What is book for a

525I SPORT
L REG
FULL HISTORY
FULL SPEC WITH OBC,LSD LEATHER HALF,CLOSE RATIO BOX.
175 + MILES.

Cheers
Rhino.

[palerider325icab]

Makes sence,but it would be a shame to get the car and then be offered a stupid price for her.
How much do they let you buy a car back for anyway,will get some pics as i dont know if its a right off.

Cheers
Rhino

[Steviec]

Sorry mate I dont know the book price (hopefully someone else will) but if its too old to be in the book then they normally resort to valuing against others advertised.
It might be worth a trip to a newsagents and look in the Glasses guide (I think thats what its called) and have a glance through, they do a book for newer and one for older cars.

[Steviec]

Is the car still drivable? If so, take it to a few bodyshops and get quotes, atleast this way you will get an idea of wether its going to be written off or not.
Cars normally get written off if the repair value is about 50% of the value of the car but this percentage differs between insurers.

[doug325i]

You should also negotiate hard with the insurance company, the first figure they come back with is allways a V low offer. They have alot of flexability.

If the care has rare options, its not a bad idea to say nto then - OK you find one in this condition with LSD leather Kit history etc.
It seems to be a good approach.

Doug

[palerider325icab]

I have just been up to his house,and taken a few pics would anybody have alook and see what they think as i am toying with the idea of buying the car as i still have a soft spot for her.

I can send pics to your email please have a look and let me know what you think.

Cheers
Rhino

[Steviec]

Can you send the pics to steve.clarke@bankofengland.co.uk please.

[palerider325icab]

Hi M8 pics sent,let me know what you think.

Cheers
Rhino

[palerider325icab]

What would the best way for my mate to hold on to the car plus still get paid out ,as i am thinking of makeing him an offer for the car.


Cheers
Rhino

[Steviec]

I would say its a close call but if they do write it off I would try to buy it back. I think an insurance approved garage would charge a fair bit to repair (cut section, new fuel filler pipe, tailgate ect) but an un approved garage would do a good job at a fair price.

When I get home luch time ill post the pics up if you want.

[palerider325icab]

Cheers,just post 1 or 2 if you dont mind.

I am thinking of offering him Ԛ£500 for her do you think it is worth it.

Cheers
Rhino

[Steviec]

Does the back door still open and close?

[palerider325icab]

As far as i know,i am going up tonight to have a look as i am off work with the flu.
How much in money terms would it cost to fix at a normal garage.
He paid Ԛ£2000 pounds for it from a zoner but she really is nice car shame to see her go.

Cheers
Rhino

[fuzzy]

if your handy with the spanners its worth trying to fix it yourself, i got quoted Ԛ£1200 to fix a recent front end bump from a bodyshop, in the end i fixed and sprayed it myself for under Ԛ£200.

[palerider325icab]

Anyway thanks for your help,please post up 1 or 2 pics for me so i can get a few more opinons on the damage.

Cheers
Rhino.

[palerider325icab]

I dont think its a DIY repair job,needs to go to a genuine garage for repair me thinks.
There is a zoner on here with a front end smash on his 325i sport what a shame it looks like such a nice car.
In his add he says he was able to buy the car back form the insurance people so i might be in with some luck thats if my mate will buy it back for me.

Cheers
Ryan

[Steviec]

Its hard to tell without seeing the car in person. The rear would need to be pulled out.
If you end up buying the car back yourself, I would remove all trim and bumper (insurance would quote about Ԛ£600 for the bumper alone) and any other little jobs that have to be done. That way it will cost quite a bit less as your are not being charged for the sometimes time consuming and fiddly jobs, only for the main bodywork.
As I say, first thing you need to do is get a few quotes, find out the value of the car and take it from there.

[Steviec]

Another way of keeping the cost down would be to source a 2nd hand boot lid youself as it would be drastically cheaper than a new part.

[palerider325icab]

Suppose the insurance paid out Ԛ£2000 for the car how much would they charge to buy the scrape value of the car back of them.

Cheers
Rhino.

[Fushion_Julz]

The criteria for allowing a car to be "bought back" after a write-off is the category of write-off...

Cat D (stolen/recovereds, very light panel damage or light interior fire, etc) and Cat C (moderate panel damage, no structural damage, light under-bonnet fire, etc) can be bought back as salvage...

Cat B (heavy panel/structural, rolls, total burns, etc) and Cat A (balls of scrap) cannot be salvaged...they are "break only" by authorised salvage merchants.

In the case of Cat C/D for cars that are 10yrs or more old and not "special or collectable" most insurance companies will let you keep the salvage without charge as they actually pay to have the car broken/disposed of by their breakers/salvage merchants...
However, the car will get an HPI entry that will certainly affect its future value and often its insureability...

[Steviec]

Ive been having troubles uploading the pics, but I got 1 done.

[E30BeemerLad]

Rhino, I have just spotted this thread and I am just popping out, so feel free to PM me with any queries you have or if your mate wants someone to deal with the claim for him etc. Happy to help

[palerider325icab]

Thanks stevie for the pic,beemerlad i sent you a pm last night if you could give him some advice as he is only 3rdparty but it was not his fault.
I am sure there will be a drink in it for you lol

Cheers
Rhino

[palerider325icab]

Well guys what do you think of the damage,should i try and buy it or leave well enough alone.

Cheers
Rhino

[kam-325i]

It does not matter if he (your mate) is fully comp or TPO, he claims of the driver who caused the accident/crash.

[Fushion_Julz]

That car is certainly a write-off....It *might* just be a cat C, but looks like the boot floor might be shot and that would probably make it Cat B

My 530i SE (M30) in mint condition, with about the same mileage (but 1990) and all possible extras on it, full service history, etc, was written off after a joy-rider hit it and drove off...They valued the car at Ԛ£1200 (after I argued the toss on the spec)...but I'd only paid Ԛ£550 for it 4 months prior.

Damage was a small fraction of yours, Palerider....N/S rear door skin beyond repair (but the door and window was OK), small scratch on N/S front door and rear N/S wheelarch with a broken bumper mounting bracket at the rear N/S.

They let me keep the salvage for free, though (Cat C), but I would have had to prove I had fixed it if I had wanted to claim again on that vehicle.

[palerider325icab]

Its a shame but like you said the boot floor might be stuffed,never thought of that.
You can see from the pics that the car is mint,what book value it i dont know ,had a look at parkers guide at tescos but they only cover new cars.
If i bought it would it be to much to repair and would it be listed as a cat then.

[Steviec]

Im not sure if the boot floor would be badly damaged as it looks like with the height of the 4x4, its hit above the bumper hence causing so much damage to the bodywork and very little to the bumper which should have taked the impact.
I think that if it had of hit the bumper, you would be looking at a fraction of the damage.
End of the day, almost every car is repairable, just depends how much time and effort you want to put in to it. In my short time of mk1 Astra GTE ownership, there were cars that you would expect to see in a scrap yard that were being brought back to show standard.