Accident and Safe Prognosis

[stuiji]

First ever accident yesterday. No one hurt, just shaken up.

Ran into back of a small car after sudden stop in traffic ahead. 30mph or less, my beloved 1990 van of 17yrs didn't slow down when I hit the brakes...MOT passed two weeks ago....

Obvious damage:
-Front panels and grills all smashed and crushed
-Radiator split and pushed back.
-Pillars half way up windscreen (intact) have small but visible buckle.
-Cab doors closing bit not so easily....
-Brake pedal completely stiff in upright position....

I worry if this means, even with panel repairs, that the integrity and strength of the van has been compromised too much to safely drive again?

Any advice or experience of such things would be very welcome.

An insurance assessor will be looking at it (I'd imagine?) and a local bodywork tech as well but maybe not familiar with t25s per say? Who'd be best trusted for a comprehensive safety assessment? MOT Centre?

How reliable are insurance assessors -Trinity Lane in this case - I wonder if they'll just be too quick to right it off?

Are there any less obvious structural or mechanical things to look out for when assessing the van's remaining safety potential?

A lot of questions but any individual pointers at all much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[davidoft1]

the insurance assessors job is primarily to judge the cost of repair versus vehicle value, sounds like yours is fairly bad damage and will be written off financially.  mechanically and body structure wise its perfectly repairable. T25s are not a magical vehicle , anyone with the experience can repair one. question do you want it repaired, can you pay the cost if the insurance wont? keep in mind they made a lot of t25s so buying another is pretty easy 

[cobblers]

As above, they're not special vehicles, but I would say unless it was a high value minter to start with, the insurance company is very unlikely to repair it if the windscreen pillars are bent. It'll need a lot of hard to source parts.
You could ask to retain the salvage and get it repaired yourself. It'll be perfectly safe if done properly.

[cobblers]

I should also add that if you do want to keep the van, don't let them take it away if they haven't already. If it's dumped at a copart lot for assessment, it'll sustain a lot more damage while being shunted around with a forklift.

[R0B]

Can you post up some pictures?

[stuiji]

Thanks Folks, that's reassuring. If it's repairable to a safe level I'd go for that, attached to it so we are. Whether it's written off or not by the Insurers, buying it back as salvage might be an idea to get the work on it done.

Here's what I managed to take before 911 took it to their depot at the Polis direction they wouldn't take it directly to a garage. Planning to get it picked up Monday morning and taken to a local garage/bodyshop.

This is the same place where I got four wheel arches, some panels and a sill and a respray done 9months ago.

It's a Holdsworth villa. Also runs on lpg. Its had at least 10k spent on it in just the last 3 years alone. Was waiting for final itemisation from welder to agree a new value with the Insurance. I wonder if that's still negotiable with the insurance company?

Thanks for your replies.

[Stesaw]

Ouch.

[cobblers]

Sad to see that. It's definitely safely repairable -  but even on an otherwise very good van, I would be surprised if the insurers choose to repair it unless you can find your own bodyshop willing to take the job on. 

Make it a big priority to get the van back into your custody, otherwise it'll disappear into the system and start accruing "storage charges" etc.

[R0B]

Gutted for you fella.

[stuiji]

Hi,

Van has been written off as Category S total loss.

I need to decide whether to spend the insurance (I bought it back) on repairs or sell it on as is (I've had a reasonable offer already.)

I'm also wondering how difficult would it be to sell on at a later date and whether market value would be considerably affected?

Does anyone have experience of making a decision in a similar situation, and how things worked out for you further down the line.

Sentiment v economics, general van angst and devil you knowv std car and other types of holidays....

Thanks in advance again

[keynsham1]

Just a note, but as the insured you are entitled to have your van fixed at the expense of the insurer whatever the cost. The insurers argue that it is not financially viable if it will cost more than what 'they' value it at but that is not the law. If you insist, they are obliged to pay. I say 'if you insist' because that i itself is no mean feat.I know of a woman who did just this with a Morris Minor she had for years but it took her some years before they backed down, and a few solicitors letters I suspect!!

I have my van on a classic agreed value policy with Heritage insurance, which I would strongly recommend if you can.

[mrhutch]

Just a note, but as the insured you are entitled to have your van fixed at the expense of the insurer whatever the cost. The insurers argue that it is not financially viable if it will cost more than what 'they' value it at but that is not the law. If you insist, they are obliged to pay. I say 'if you insist' because that i itself is no mean feat.I know of a woman who did just this with a Morris Minor she had for years but it took her some years before they backed down, and a few solicitors letters I suspect!!

I have my van on a classic agreed value policy with Heritage insurance, which I would strongly recommend if you can.

I used to write insurance software and can confirm this is the law (well, it was when I worked in the industry).  Getting the insurer to actually do it is another matter thou..

[stuiji]

I didn't know that about insurers cheers. My insurers told me that if repairs were 65% of the value then they write it off. I checked my policy again and there is no mention of this.

Interestingly I completely missed this section in my policy which the insurers never mentioned as an option....

"We will replace your vehicle with a new one of the same make, model and
specification if, during the 12 months after first being registered in the UK from new,
your vehicle is:
• damaged and repairs will cost 65% or more of the amount shown in the
manufacturer’s price list (including tax and VAT) at the time of loss or damage; or
• stolen and not recovered."

Has anyone tried invoking a similar clause? Does this mean I could be due a brand new T6 transporter conversion?

[stuiji]

Me bad, Misread clause.... doesn't apply coz damage wasn't within first 12 months of registering....

[mrhutch]

Principles of subrogation state that the insurer has to put you back in exactly the same position that you were one second before the “event” occurred.

As well as normal insurance I wrote software that dealt with big stuff. Think oil rigs and football stadiums and huge container ships. I actually put in the system in newcastle that insured Alan Shearer and family when he signed back in the nineties!! Was very interesting but a bit niche.