Autoline Car Body Repairs

It May Not Pay To Claim For Damage On Older Cars

And here is why!

My wife was recently unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time whilst returning home from shopping when she was involved in a slight accident due to a slight error of stopping the car to allow another to pass from the opposite direction where the approaching cars had the right of way.  She had stopped our car (a Citroen Grand Picasso) just over the white centerline by a few inches, and the car coming in the other direction just clipped our front bumper and driver-side front wing, causing some small dents and scratches to our car, and the other car (a Mini Clubman) had slight scratches and dents to the driver-side door and rear panel.

After they had stopped and assessed each car’s damage, it was obvious that our car had come off the worst, but both were still drivable with no structural or dangerous car body parts that could harm others. My wife and the other driver exchanged information of address, phone number, etc., and continued on their journeys.

On arrival home I looked at our car and could see what appeared to be quite an expensive-looking list of repairs that would be required for our car, as can be seen in the images below.
The damage to the front wing above the center point of the wheel was crumpled, and the proximity sensor had been broken and was dangling down behind the bumper, where the scratch marks can be seen, there were also small dents.

There was also additional damage behind the bumper that could not be seen. The fog light bracket was broken, and the headlight surround brackets were broken, and as a result, the headlight had been pushed further back inside the housing and was loose.  The headlight issue was more evident when driving at night because the headlight was way out of line and the fog light was acting more as a searchlight scanning the sky rather than lighting the road.

Due to the nature of the accident and the damage to our car, I got out our insurance policy and filled a claim online, sending images of the damage, etc., along with the claim form. Within two hours I received a response from the insurance company accepting the claim and sending me further details on how to arrange for collection of my car and arrange for a temporary replacement vehicle to use whilst the claim was being processed, etc.

However, the insurance claim also stated that due to the age of my car (9 years old) and its current value, the car would be written off as uneconomically viable to repair!

That was something of a shock, because my car was in excellent condition apart from this collision damage that I thought could easily have been fixed (in my estimation) for less than £1500, and the car’s value, according to several online car valuation companies, was worth in excess of £6000.

We also knew that the insurance company would more than likely only offer approx. £3000 as the write-off value of our car.

We were now faced with a dilemma: continue with the claim and lose a good car and only get £3000 for it effectively losing us £3000 into the bargain!!

At that point we decided to contact the owner of the other car involved, and we agreed to meet to discuss the situation because he was also faced with a similar dilemma because his car was 12 years old but in excellent condition, plus he had spent a lot of money on it upgrading its interior with better seating and fitting expensive alloy wheels, etc. In effect, a really nice car, worth well more to him than it was worth on paper!

We decided to both get local quotes for the damage at our local body repair shop, where he knew the owner socially.

He spoke to his friend, and he estimated that his Mini could be repaired for approx. £300, which was a “special price” for a friend.

I took my car down to his workshop and asked for a quote for my Citroen Grand Picasso. I was pleased with the quote of about £800 because I had expected it to be much higher.

Because of this great quote, I also asked him to quote for a couple of other panels to be repainted, which were badly faded and the clear coating had started to peel, etc. We agreed on a price, and I happily booked my car in for the repairs to be done.

I returned home and immediately cancelled the insurance claim!

On reflection I was too hasty in completing the insurance claim initially and should have contacted the other driver sooner before submitting the claim. The problem is that the insurance companies always say that you should not admit liability in any insurance claims and allow them to handle the claim in its entirety to avoid any complications with the claim, etc.

This is probably wise advice in most insurance claim cases, but for relatively small claims such as the one we were involved in, it may not be the case.

A few days later I took my car down to the body shop and left it with them to do the work. The owner of “Autoline,” Barry, was very helpful and did a final check of the car to make sure that he had the correct information and confirm the areas of the car to be worked on.

He showed me around the workshop and briefly explained how the work would be done, which I found very reassuring. I left the workshop feeling much better and confident that the work would be done well.

Three days later I called and asked for a progress report, and he said that they had just finished the work and that by the time I could walk down to his workshop, it would be ready for me to take home.

When I got to the workshop, Barry was waiting to meet me, and we examined the car together. I was extremely pleased with the result; I apparently had a new car!

Everything looked brand new; there was no evidence of where the damage had been, and the remedial repairs to areas I had asked him to do as well were superb. The color matching was perfect, and you would never know anything had been done!

Below you will see the after images, which show how good a job he had done.

I would highly recommend Barry and the team at “Autoline Car Body Repairs” in Bacup to anyone.

Well done Barry, and once again, thanks for a job well done.

Geoff Lord

Retired Optician

Bacup

In Summary:

You can contact Barry At Autoline Body Repair.

by Phone on 01706-873-946

Or mobile 07817437924

Email barryackerley@sky.com

Glendale Works

Pippin Bank

New Line

Bacup

OL13 0BU