Well this was a sad day. I was well on my way for a road trip around Cornwall I had been waiting for a long time. Somewhere in St. Austell I was caught up in traffic. Was waiting to turn right as there was a huge queue of cars turning to where I was coming from. One car stopped and flashed me. I thanked and left. A second later I had a Skoda in my door. Didn't see it before the hit. Zero visibility because of the queue. Didn't even see there was another lane behind it. Legally it's still my fault. No personal injury to anyone, thank goodness for that. The Skoda suffered more severe damage than my car as it was thrown sideways on a metallic fence. Airbags went off etc. The damage to my car can be seen in the attached photo. The recovery guy said chances are it's not a write off. I lost brake fluid pressure for some reason too. And the car would not start either. Does this look repairable to you? Any advice on how to deal with this are welcome.

 

Most likely the reason for not starting is he inertia switch to cut of the fuel pump in an accident and it is right behind where you got thumped.

From JTIS:
Inertia Fuel Shutoff (IFS) Switch The inertia fuel shutoff (IFS) switch is designed to cut power to the fuel pump in the event of an accident. It is located behind the left-hand cowl side trim panel.

Car is most likely repairable, the picture doesn't look THAT bad. A new fender and a door shell. Didn't even break the glass so most of the things inside the door are probably reusable too. The airbags are most likely the worst of the expense, but hey, you get new seat covers out of it, so maybe it's time for a custom interior.

 

Thanks for the info on the inertia switch. Makes perfect sense. Sorry I was a bit unclear; My airbags didn't go off. The Skoda's did...

Still a bit shaken about this all and probably worrying about too much. The bit under the door was bent in quite a bit too. Also the door hinges might not be where they should. Grr... This is going to keep me awake all night...

 

Glad you (and everyone involved) is OK. Very sad about the car, but cheer up, they can do amazing things with metal. Plus you will get new paint out of the deal.

 

The Jag appears to be repairable. If they find that the car's structure is no longer 'true' or out of proper geometry in general, I'd consider NOT fixing it, otherwise that will haunt you forever with excessive and premature tire wear, plus awkward handling. It doesn't look like it got hit hard enough to have caused that problem though. The A-pillar looks like it is where it is supposed to be. You'll know after you get it on a chassis alignment system and have them see if things are still 'properly square' in general.

 

That looks like a direct hit to a structural member. Your insurance company is likely to total the car out. Even relatively minor rear quarterpanel damage from a user here resulted in the car being totalled out. I don't remember who it was though, sorry.

 

I dropped my 1997 XK8 at the body shop a week ago for a new paint job. You can imagine how exited I was to pick her up after passing the shop for a week. When I pulled into the lot yesterday, she was prominently on display, glowing like there was an energy source from within.

I cranked her up and she seemed to rumble a bit. I wrote it off to lack of use fore a week. As I pulled out of the lot I headed to the gas station but the old girl continued to gurgle and finally lose some of her power causing the check engine lite to illuminate and flashing several engine performance problem codes as well a gearbox fault code.

When I returned o the body shop to enquire if they had inadvertently done something, they were expectedly very defensive. "We don't work on engines, we just painted the car" was the reply. I asked if perhaps something could have been blown into the engine compartment when the front bumper was off, but I was assured that nothing like that happened. They did however say that they sprayed the engine compartment out to get the dust from he buffing of the car cleaned out.

So, I brought her to my mechanic who sick discovered that 4 of my spark plugs were submerged in water. He dried he holes out and cleared my codes. It runs fine now, but it was a scary drive to the shop imagining the worse. A brand new looking car that might need a new engine.

Beware of the body shop, or at least warn them not to wash your engine!

 

Looks structural to me too. Have been here myself and sold the car shortly after it was repaired as it just didn't feel the same. Unless you have sentimental attachment it could be better (assumes insurance) to prefer it wasn't repaired. You did ask for opinions and that is just mine. Best of luck either way.BTW having the steering wheel on the "right" side may have saved you a few bruises!

 

Thanks guys for the input. I guess I just have to wait and see what the insurance company says. It wasn't a direct 90 degree hit. More like a 45 degree one. At first I didn't even realize I was hit. Suddenly I just saw the Skoda sideways on the road and I wasn't going the direction I was supposed to anymore.

Such a shame. I just had the front brakes done, transmission fluid and filter change and a full car underseal... I've taken good care of it and so has the previous owners. It has a lot of documented history as it should for 112k miles. The mileage does show as normal road rash but that's normal and fixable. I'm kind of hoping it is repairable. Either way I end up paying my rather hefty excess :z

 

it was in fact a glancing blow,which means not a dirrect hit.however,the dammage to the a-post[door hinge area]just very well might total it out.take all factors into acount,age,mileage,value and cost too fix.now if you would like to keep this car,if its totaled,buy it back and have a smaller shop repair it for you.price a used door and fender,and the big cost will be time on the frame rack if theres a-post damage...steve.

 

Just remember that if you do that, here in the UK, it will end up recorded as either a CAT C or D write off, which will lower the resale value and make it more difficult to sell in the future.

 

Your other option is a contract repair, you get the cost for the write off and you agree to pay the difference to fix the car, looks like you will need it to go on a jig, that way you do not get a CAT D and you are in control of the funds which means you can use secondhand parts.

If you do go through the normal route and end up with a CAT D it is possible to have it removed from the register and have an engineers report done, costs about £250, I do not think Cat Cs are removable but you would need to check that.

 

Good news. The insurer, the garage and me have agreed on a contract repair using second hand door, wing and chassis bits. I pay my excess, the insurer pays the rest. The car's going to a body repair workshop and jig as soon as they receive the parts. I will have them repaint the front bumper, bonnet and the other wing as well which I obviously have to pay separately. Looks like this cat had some lives left after all

 

Glad to hear it!

I'd hate to see a beautiful coupe go to the breaker yard. Well done.


.

 

Glad your situation turned out the way you wanted. Keep us posted on your repair process....

 

Good result Kari. Hope you post some Pics when it's finished.

 

Likewise, Kari,
You had a bad day, but congratulations, you've come through it!
In total agreement with Neil, above I hope to see the pics soon too!
Resolution, Restoration and Retrospect in Rhapsody !
I hope you feel like a Winner when it is all sorted!
Stu