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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Aibu in wanting to change car

20 replies

ChablisLover · 13/03/2012 20:08

So. Was in car accident on Friday. Not my fault I hasten to add.

Was rear ended and a lot of damage done. Panels pushed, boot looking a bit dodgy and parking sensors knocked out.

Man came to collect car says it should be fixable but what would he know as he is not an assessor.

Even if car fixed, i really don't think I want to drive it again. Its going to an
Approved body shop (by the insurance company) so it should be ok but I really don't know about it at all.

Of course I would rather it hasn't happened and that I should consider myself fortunate I have a car but I just don't feel comfortable driving it again.

Plus I read a load of bad reviews about said body shop online and has made me worried.

I know I am being unreasonable but can't help it.

OP posts:
LunaticFringe · 13/03/2012 20:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

McHappyPants2012 · 13/03/2012 20:16

If the cost of the repair is more than the value of the car it may still be a write off.

But Yanbu if you have fears of driving this car get a new one

Original poster
ChablisLover · 13/03/2012 20:26

Was told by garage if it costs more than 60% of the trade in value to repair it will be written off.

Dh up to high doh again about costs of it all and how it's a great car. Yes it will cost money and yes it's a great car but heart no longer lies to it. I have had my only accident in 19 years of driving in it and it has associations.

Will wait and see what insurance assessors says tomorrow.

Like the point re MOT but I'm in northern Ireland and our system is different over here. The mot system is run from centralised depots and can't be accessed without appointments and those appointments run v strictly on age of the car.

OP posts:
Plomino · 13/03/2012 20:33

I had an almost identical accident some years ago . Got hit hard from behind, to the extent that the other parties car was a write off even though less than a year old. My Ford Galaxy looked ok, but had dent in tailgate . I got it back, and it seemed ok, but I just couldn't shift the nagging doubt I had about it . It sounds mad, but I just wasn't happy with it, particularly as it was the car we always had the kids in. In the end, I got rid less than 6 weeks after the accident.

If you can manage to get rid, without crippling yourself financially , why not ? I found my peace of mind was worth it .

CakeMeIAmYours · 13/03/2012 20:40

YANBU to want to change car, but I've found in the past that in the car is written off, then the 'total loss value' of the car (which will be what you receive from the insurance company) is often very substantially lower than I thought it would be. Alarmingly so.

Can you find out how much you would receive? That might help you to decide what to do.

If they are funny about writing it off and would prefer to repair it, remember that you are entitled to be put back in the same position after the accident as you were before it. I.e. With a car that hasn't been seriously damaged in an accident.

They will never be able to deliver that if they repair your car, so you would have quite strong grounds to insist that they write it off and give you the money to buy a different one.

CakeMeIAmYours · 13/03/2012 20:40

if the car...

Original poster
ChablisLover · 13/03/2012 21:08

I called into the garage on Saturday and have a fair idea of what it's worth.

I know I have the right for it to be repaired as new but trust is a wonderful thing.

I also know I don't have to accept the first settlement I am offered if the car is written off.

I would say the parking sensors will be the dear thing to fix.

OP posts:
rhondajean · 13/03/2012 21:10

You can send it wherever you want to be repaired. Insurers will tell you to take it to a certain place cos they basically get bulk discount but I would never take it there, they do not tell you it's your choice cos they are cunning bastards and all they care a out is getting it settled with minimum cost.

Original poster
ChablisLover · 13/03/2012 21:22

I know I could send it anywhere.

But after discussing it with dh we decided to go with the repair centre recommended.

I hope to god they do a good job.

OP posts:
rhondajean · 13/03/2012 21:40

Ah okay it sounded like a lot of your concerns were about the repair shop, and I thought you didn't know.

It's ne'er happened to me touch wood but it has to DH a couple of times and he always goes to the main dealer.

YANBU to feel like this btw.

NearlyMrsCustardsHardHat · 13/03/2012 22:58

Yanbu i was rear ended last year and the back end crumpled like tin foil. Luckily it was vadodara enough my car was written off because there is no way i would have wanted to drive it again!

NearlyMrsCustardsHardHat · 13/03/2012 22:59

Wtf! Bad enough not whatever crap my phone spilled out. Bad enough

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 14/03/2012 00:34

My car was written off 5 years ago. TBH I would've sold it after, I don't think I would've trusted it again (Accident was non-fault)

Then a couple of months ago I found myself driving along, behind my car (it had a part personalised number plate, I chose my initials from the choices I had available)
I presume the new owners knew Hmm

Pusheed · 14/03/2012 01:35

"You can send it wherever you want to be repaired"

No you can't. The insurance company has a list of approved repair shops and you need to take it to one of them.

Over the years I have had two cars written off and have had about 5 insurance repair jobs so unfortunately I am an expert on this subject Blush

In my defence only two of the accidents was my fault

kipperandtiger · 14/03/2012 01:52

Parking sensors are usually not expensive to replace. Approximately fifty something quid for one and then a bit for workmanship, shouldn't be more than 180 quid including VAT - not unless your car is a Ferrari/Maserati/Porsche - I would have thought. Sounds like it will be the panels that cost the most, so it will probably have to come off the insurance (and if it's not your fault then the other party's insurer should pay, and in many policies might not even affect your no claims bonus).

You could discuss with your DH whether you can both afford to own two cars and whether there's enough parking space for two. Sounds like he likes this car, you don't. But if another driver rear ends you in your new car, would you want to replace that too? You see where this could lead.....

(Yes, another one here who has been in accidents so therefore now knows a bit about prices....)

Original poster
ChablisLover · 14/03/2012 09:41

its a BMW - so am thinking it could be quite costly as the whole computer fault system has gone haywire - seatbelts and all will have to be checked. All 4 parking sensors are away. The boot can be opened but the compartments in floor of boot are stiff to open. The back panel has been pushed into the rear passenger door and it goes all the way over the roof till the bonnet.

that side also has the petrol tank and the panel has kinked and bowed - never mind the damage at the back of it.

Basically i have been run into in a queue of traffic at approx 30 - 40 mph.

DH and I have 2 cars anyway - I work quite a distance away and strange hours and public transport is not reliable so we need the 2 cars - so parking isn;t an issue - I have managed more in my small driveway.

The accident wasn;t my fault - the other driver admitted responsibility.

My son and mother (who is registered disabled) were also in the car with me at the time and I feel like I haven;t done enough to protect them.

I need to replace the car seat also - the neck rest looks a bit dodgy to me at the minute and even if it didn;t I would be getting a new one anyway.

DH likes the car as it is a good car - I know it is a good car but I also know that it has been damaged and will be repaired but I just do not trust it anymore. That is all. DH thinks I am irrational about the whole thing so I have said fine - you have it and I will take your car. I just do not want to drive it again.

Am also worried that the approved body shop will fuck it up in repairing it and I will lose more money.

OP posts:
CakeMeIAmYours · 14/03/2012 12:51

The point is, you are not under any obligation to have it fixed at all.

If you put your foot down, they will have to write it off.

If you (understandably enough) don't trust the car, why accept a repair at all when you could have a new car?

Pusheed · 14/03/2012 13:34

From your description the insurance company will write it off.

The first time I had a car written off was because my car got boosted. The thieves modified my Go Faster stripped Ford to look like a bog standard Ford. Apart from that, the car was mechanically sound.

The cops retrieved the car (and arrested the perps) but the insurance company said that they couldn't trust the car ro be mechanically sound despite the thieves only making cosmetic changes.

My car was in a working state, unlike yours, and it still got written on by the insurance company which is what you want, right?

Original poster
ChablisLover · 14/03/2012 14:58

Car not being written off. Its fixable. AngrySad

So will wait and see now.

OP posts:
BellaOfTheBalls · 14/03/2012 15:31

YANBU. Negative connotations can be a terrible thing. A couple of years ago DP hit a kerb in very snowy weather at a low speed. DP felt the tracking was a little out, but the car seemed OK. 2 days later, 2 days before Christmas the snow melted and we began the 200+ mile journey to my parents. As soon as we hit the motorway it appeared the car was NOT alright. The noise coming from the wheel was quite spectacular.

We had had the car almost 2 years, and aside from its horrific fuel consumption it was no trouble at all. But after that I hated that car with a fiery vengeance. I just couldn't feel safe in a vehicle that had broken so easily. This wasn't an old car either; it was brand new when we got it.

Agree with PP about having it put through MOT after work completed. Xx

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