So after spending considerable efforts into servicing my X308 in recent months, somebody decided to drive through my car. Luckily nobody was hurt but my rear left door and the C-beam fell victim to their actions.
Now it is up to insurance to figure out the details, but it will most likely be considered a full financial loss according to German law.

After the crash, the steering wheel was weirdly turned to the left side, and in order to drive straight ahead it needs to be turned slightly left now. The garage diagnosed that the wheel alignment has been distured and they attempted to fix it but were not fully able to. Someone suggested it might be that the shock absorbers need to be replaced.

Furthermore, the door needs to be replaced and the C-Beam is wrinkled now. It seems the rear fender part continues into the roof, is there a way to replace only part of it?

I am wondering what you guys think about this kind of damage - should I attempt to repair it?

 

I have a collection of six X308 sedans (3 that run and 3 for parts) so I would just park it in one of my spots across from my shop and save it for spares.
20 year old sedans are not worth much to repair but still have parts value.

Maybe find one with a bad engine or gearbox and make 2 into one good one?

 

I am not familiar with German law, but I am guessing that the paying insurance company is going to write it off as a total loss (as they should with this much structural damage) and take possession of the hulk after paying you for current value. In some states, here, some insurance companies will let you buy the junker back to become a yard queen, as Bob noted above. Most will sell it to a junk dealer. The key is to find all receipts that show work or parts that make the car more valuable than the trivial market value in a car this old.

Some states, here, require the insurance settlement to identify a replacement vehicle that can be purchased for the settlement value -- but this is rare! If they do this, in Germany, then let them find you an X308 better than yours at its best: buy back the hulk, strip it for parts newer than your newly found love. . .

 

All of us bleeding for you [bf] but I agree with the advice that Bob & Jim offer.
Best wishes with your next new love!

Cheers,
Ken

 

I have a collection of 10 X308 sedans seven of them running three of them parts cars they are not worth much after they are 20 years old but they still have value for parts but man I got a find a place somewhere else to put them.. i’m thinking we can come up with a Stonehedge reproduction using x308

 

I had almost the exact same damage to my car a few years back. Luckily I had very comprehensive insurance, so they were able to fix it, rather than write it off..

Basically, because of the way the wheel arch is shaped/flared, the only way to repair it and make it look good is to cut out all of the damaged bits and replace with the same section from another car. I would imagine this is not a simple task unless you are an experienced panelbeater. You could always ask around and get quotes though. At the end of the day, everything can be repaired. It's just matter of price

 

As a professional “panel beater” myself, if that were my car depending on prices I would 100% buy it back because it’ll probably be totaled. I’d just find a door in a junkyard the same color and bolt it on. And for the qtr panel/dogleg damage I would have to research the repair procedures but you may be able to just splice in that little section, if Jaguar would only recommend replacing the whole qtr panel then I would just straighten the damage that is there. I don’t think it would take me more than an 8 hour day to get it metal straightened to the point where I would feel comfortable with putting on filler to smooth it out. But I know not everyone is a body man so it doesn’t make sense for everyone. Although if you do bring it to a shop be sure it’s one you can trust to ensure that they won’t just pack it full of filler and send it down the road.

 

Sorry to see that but good to hear no one was hurt.

From what I can see in the photo, panel damage is not too difficult to repair. However, the steering issue would be the deciding factor against this for me. It is likely to be distortion in the floor pan affecting suspension mounting points and consequently steering geometry. I'd take the insurance settlement and find another.

Graham

 

That looks repairable to me, maybe a door and some filler. As to the wheel alignment, I would say that the car which hit you has contacted the rear wheel and shifted the alignment. Might be worth taking it to a wheel aligner to see if it can be fixed, prior to considering panel work.

 

Repairable I had worse crash and the door was in horrible condition luckily the paint shop were good on fixing car accident he offered cheap paint brand I didn't like it I got deber it's great paint brand and reasonable price imo better than standox and cheaper

 

Dear all, thanks for your kind words. I'll try to make best out of the situation and maybe a door replacement is possible.

I've been searching for "Jaguar x308 rear left door shell" and have come up with several results on ebay. It seems part numbers FXF3049BA and JLM11725 lead me to the right offerings.

Does someone have any tips for finding such parts within EU, apart from ebay?