accident

PCwiggum

Hi, my wife and daughter were involved in an accident at the weekend. (Ran into the back of someone).

I'd just like to ask your opinion on 2 questions....

1. Do you the the car is a write-off? Its an 05 passat btw.

2. Judging by the damage caused, shouldn't the airbags have been deployed? none were set off. Luckily they weren't badly injured - just bruised by the seat belts.

Halfrauds

nope and nope.

new wing, front panel/bumper, bonnet and a suspension check and you should be grand:), actually on second thought depending on the cost it could be a write off,would all depend on if your chassis isnt mangled and out of alignment. a 05 passat must be valued at what about 10-12k??

the airbags are triggered by a predetermined rate of deceleration, most cars these days are made to crumple like a crisp bag when invovled in a impact, so most accident look much wors than they actually are, if you ever see a car that was in a fatal accident they are unrecognisable.

Graham_B18C

Christ that must of been a good whack, glad everyone's ok.

Is there any damage over the drivers door? That could be very costly to repair if there is. But if the chasis and general structure of the car is ok, then I can't imagine it's a write off.

But I always thought the airbag censors are in behind both sides of the bumper, judging by the pic I would of thought they'd of gone off.

If they had of gone off then it would of pushed the car more into being a write off as it costs a few hundred quid to get em fixed AFIK

seanybiker

Nobody is gonna know if its a write off from just looking at pics bud. Good to hear the missus and daughter are ok after it. Now ya know not to leave a woman try drive again.

PCwiggum

Halfrauds wrote: »

a 05 passat must be valued at what about 10-12k??

its insured for 14k, bought it in the uk in the summer and just paid the vrt this month - what a waste.

Wouldn't mind another trip to cargiant if it is written off. I'd be up a few quid with the more favourable exchange rate at the moment. I'll be diasappointed if it is repairable...

tuxy

Were they tailgating or was there some kind of brake failure?

PCwiggum

tuxy wrote: »

Were they tailgating or was there some kind of brake failure?

They came over the brow of hill to find someone had stopped suddenly to turn in the middle of the road, there were 2 other cars between her and the first one

peasant

Was it a car they hit? Looks to me like they ran in under the back of a truck and the bumper/truck body just peeled the bonnet off.

That would explain the relatively big damage, even though the airbags didn't deploy.

Glad to hear that nobody was seriously hurt.

EDIT

Going by the pic this could very well be a write off. The r/h chassis member seems to be deformed at the front and I would also have some doubts over the A-pillar.

Also some engine damage can't be ruled out.

Darragh29

PCwiggum wrote: »

Hi, my wife and daughter were involved in an accident at the weekend. (Ran into the back of someone).

I'd just like to ask your opinion on 2 questions....

1. Do you the the car is a write-off? Its an 05 passat btw.

2. Judging by the damage caused, shouldn't the airbags have been deployed? none were set off. Luckily they weren't badly injured - just bruised by the seat belts.

Defo not, around 3-4k worth of damage though but certainly not a write off and not BER (Beyond Economic Repair).

As for the airbags not deploying, wouldn't expect them to as it is not a direct frontal impact and as things go, the damage is fairly minor. The fact that the damage goes down the side of the car along the wing would have taken a lot of energy out of the collision. Airbags for really there for head on impacts. You should be glad they didn't deploy because it would add another 1-2K to your repair bill...

Webmonkey

You'd get that done for < 2k easily imo. I had a crash few years back, whole front was destroyed, definetely considered a write off but loved it so much that I got it sorted. New Bonnet, Wings, Radiator, Slam Panel, Bumper, Engine Mounts, Lights and all pulled back repaired and sprayed all for for 1200 euro that included cost of parts! Obviously parts came from scrap yard and slam panel had to be repaired.

You'd be surprized how cheap you can get these repairs done for. Repairs at main dealers will cost though.

Yeah impact probably wasn't enough for airbags, did the seat belt tensioners go off? - Be glad in one way as it costly to replace an airbag.

Darragh29

Webmonkey wrote: »

Obviously parts came from scrap yard and slam panel had to be repaired.

Well that explains how the invoice was so low. You can forget about 2K on this job if this car ends up in a VW Workshop.

Webmonkey

Meant to say new slam panel there, but yeah if it goes to a main dealer it can cost. Nothing wrong with second hand bonnets, when re sprayed look brand new again.

darling.x

Hi there, i'm glad there was no1 injured.

I drove my car into a wall a few months ago. If you intend on fixing your car, i found partfinder.ie very useful. Its a list of all the scrapyards around the country. If you do a search there you might be able to find compatible second panels (and even better if it comes in your colour).

I got my car fixed up in september, and had another accident in november. Will have to fix my car again sometime but not so sure.

bazz26

I'd be more concerned about the cost of putting right the damage that may not be visible.

It most likely can be repairable but it may not make economic sense to do so. I would get a professional to assess the damage first and then get a quote for repair.

AugustusMaximus

It all depends how damage has been done to the chassis.

I doubt anyone on here could give you a serious answer with just one picture.

ninty9er

That picture is practically useless, but from the picture it would appear that the body damage was only to the bumber, bonnet and driver's side wing. If the mechanical parts are okay, that's definitely repairable.

My grandmother's car was assumed a write off by the main dealer, but the insurance company fixed it anyway.

Dave147

darling.x wrote: »

Hi there, i'm glad there was no1 injured.

I drove my car into a wall a few months ago. If you intend on fixing your car, i found partfinder.ie very useful. Its a list of all the scrapyards around the country. If you do a search there you might be able to find compatible second panels (and even better if it comes in your colour).

I got my car fixed up in september, and had another accident in november. Will have to fix my car again sometime but not so sure.

Maybe you should consider investing in a bus pass? :P

The front looks like it has more than 3-4k damage tbh..

Tech3

darling.x wrote: »

I drove my car into a wall a few months ago.

I got my car fixed up in september, and had another accident in november. Will have to fix my car again sometime but not so sure.

Might be worth doing a few lessons first before you start driving again for the safety of other roads users.

PCwiggum

Thanks for all the feedback guys - its interesting to know about the airbags, I suppose if they were deployed it would've meant a much more serious smash and I'm thankful the seatbelts done their job.

I know its hard to tell what the total damage is from the pic so I'll just have to wait on the insurance accessor, just due to the timing I've a longer wait than normal because of the holiday period.

ninty9er

PCwiggum wrote: »

Thanks for all the feedback guys - its interesting to know about the airbags, I suppose if they were deployed it would've meant a much more serious smash and I'm thankful the seatbelts done their job.

I know its hard to tell what the total damage is from the pic so I'll just have to wait on the insurance accessor, just due to the timing I've a longer wait than normal because of the holiday period.

Truck driver took the whole side off my uncle's Passat Christmas week 4 years ago....didn't get the car back until the beginning of April.....getting the assessor out will be easy compared to the wait to get all the work done to fix the car to a proper standard.

PCwiggum

ninty9er wrote: »

Truck driver took the whole side off my uncle's Passat Christmas week 4 years ago....didn't get the car back until the beginning of April.....getting the assessor out will be easy compared to the wait to get all the work done to fix the car to a proper standard.

I expect it will take some time to repair, if it's not written off - here's another question - can I get a refund on my motor tax, seeing as it will be off the road?

darling.x

Dave147 wrote: »

Maybe you should consider investing in a bus pass? :P

Yep, i've got a free travel pass.

Hi tech2, i'll be continuing with driving lessons in jan and i hope to get weekly driving lessons.

The driving test centre has rescheduled my driving test to the end of jan. But i'm going to cancel and take my time to apply for the driving test again. Theres no rush. I was putting myself under a lot of pressure to get the full driving license. I'm saving for another learners car.

Keith C

PCwiggum wrote: »

its insured for 14k, .

You can insure it for €50k, you'll only ever get market value

AugustusMaximus

Keith C wrote: »

You can insure it for €50k, you'll only ever get market value

You'll get the book value which is very different to the market value.

Dartz

I'm looking at the picture, and I can see that the air intake's been smashed up. There's also a lot of exposed wiring, and a something that might be the power steering pump hanging off. It looks like it missed the majority of the engine block(There's a chip off the top, but most of the covers are unmolested), but there could well be damage to the wiring loom and the engine management system, especially if some things shorted out.

Does the engine even run (Probably poorly with the intake smashed)?

Darragh29

Dartz wrote: »

I'm looking at the picture, and I can see that the air intake's been smashed up. There's also a lot of exposed wiring, and a something that might be the power steering pump hanging off. It looks like it missed the majority of the engine block(There's a chip off the top, but most of the covers are unmolested), but there could well be damage to the wiring loom and the engine management system, especially if some things shorted out.

Does the engine even run (Probably poorly with the intake smashed)?

The radiator doesn't look as straight as it should be although I'm assuming that the coolant expansion bottle being full means the system is still intact. You can horse on another 300-500 Euro for a radiator if that has to be replaced...

papu

looks like a mean accident , i'd have the airbags checked anyway , you'd want to be safe than sorry, should give a mechanic a look at it and see what he says , then go from there. If the chasis is twisted she'll never drive the same again.

Darragh29

papu wrote: »

looks like a mean accident , i'd have the airbags checked anyway , you'd want to be safe than sorry, should give a mechanic a look at it and see what he says , then go from there. If the chasis is twisted she'll never drive the same again.

It doesn't look like there is any chassis damage. As for checking airbags, they cannot be checked and there is no need to. The impact sensors will have to be replaced and the airbags will be fine. They check themselves and if there is a problem with electrical impedence or signal processing, they will flag themselves as having a problem and the ECU will turn the Airbag light on...

papu

Darragh29 wrote: »

It doesn't look like there is any chassis damage. As for checking airbags, they cannot be checked and there is no need to. The impact sensors will have to be replaced and the airbags will be fine. They check themselves and if there is a problem with electrical impedence or signal processing, they will flag themselves as having a problem and the ECU will turn the Airbag light on...

fair enough , i just knew something had to be done to airbags after a collision . replacing the sensors seems more logical.

Darragh29

papu wrote: »

fair enough , i just knew something had to be done to airbags after a collision . replacing the sensors seems more logical.

Airbags check themselves every second that the car is running, because the ECU checks for a pre specified impedance value for all devices that it sends an output signal to. If there is even a possibility of a problem, you'll be the first to know!

Airbags aren't like a brake pad or a headlamp bulb were you can "just have a look at it"... You leave them alone unless they are flagged by the ECU as operating out of range....

Dave147

Keith C wrote: »

You can insure it for €50k, you'll only ever get market value

Get your own independent assessor, they'll get you more than the insurance companies book value.