LE crunch

Sad news. Somebody decided to pull across in front of me today and made a bit of a mess of my LE

Obviously I am very angry, especially as not my fault. Not sure if it will be written off, I fear it will & then I have to decide if I want to salvage and repair it.

I *hope* it looks worse than it is. I really want to avoid letting this/another LE go to LE heaven.

Recovery guys said it possibly looked like there was no chassis damage, airbags did not deploy.

Any advice greatly appreciated, before the assessor comes & writes it off (as is likely).

Gutted for you arm, what a bummer

Hope you can salvage a workable solution from it.

its a right off .... as i think i had the last brand new bonnet 2 years ago

Sheesh! The bonnet looks a little way off fixable, but it does look like that took the brunt of the impact. I think it looks worse than it is, new bonnet, bumper and fog light and fingers crossed nothing underneath is bent.

Done the a pillar so its game over.

If there's a dimple in the roof above the pillar badges and 2 chips of paint missing from the boot lid or Any cracking around the strut top body sealant then the shell is scrap.


If not it can be repaired but uneconomical for an insurance company due to the value and they don't use second hand components.

gutted for you arm as it was a very clean le

arm, bad news mate!
What an A-hole! Def an insurance write off if you go that route? Especially with the A-pillar damage.
You could try to get it repaired outside of a claim. It depends how flexible the other driver is?
Good luck with it, I think your going to need all that comes your way!
Regards, Ross.

Gutted for you

Whose assessor? You could try a third party claim management company to avoid writing it off.

I wouldn't worry too much about the dent in the A pillar providing there are no marks above the B, as JBT described. You want to be more concerned about damage to front chassis legs. If you look down there length and look for things like new dents or paint flaking.

Gutted for you

Gutted for you... Looked a lovely coupe

Sorry to see this. Cast iron write off I'm afraid. I bought a nice Inky VT6 in the summer that was a Cat C write off, just for a bent wishbone, slight damage to front wing and one wheel/tyre damaged.

Yours makes the damage (now repaired) on my Inky look like a stone chip. If insurers get involved, they will want to repair via their authorized repair shops with new parts from Fiat. They will quickly decide that this is impossible as most of the parts will no longer available new.

You could get one of the specialists on here (Joe at FCSS did mine) to quote you to fix with good secondhand parts and see if the other party wants to pay outside insurance for repair. Damage looks extensive though and I doubt, even to protect their NCB, that they'll want to pay that much, but that would be the only way to avoid it being written off.

Or, you let it get written off and decide from three options (after arguing the settlement price up with evidence of real LE values/don't accept their first offer) and then do one of the following:-

1) Buy the wreck back off the insurance company (usually 10-15% of their settlement value) and then get it repaired by specialist, as above, but using settlement money. You would need significant amount left over for it to compensate for it now being Cat C and for your hassle and pain.

2) Buy back as above, but break it. This option would get you most money if you've got the facilities to do it. Plus, you'd have no shortage of takers on here for parts, especially LE interior etc.

3) Just take best settlement you can get after negotiating the best deal you can.

Anything can be repaired if you throw enough resource (money) at it, but just from the photos you can see it needs bonnet, front bumper, headlight(s), grill, fog light/side light, wing liner, possible wing, bumper carrier (don't know it's proper name) other items under bonnet that could be damaged, A pillar needs repair which could need windscreen out, possible tyre, respray, lots of labour and looking how hard it's been hit and from the direction, I wouldn't be surprised if the chassis is also bent, meaning engine out to straighten it.

Hoping for the best for you whichever way you go.

Cheers guys and gals!

Will have a look tomorrow in daylight. I don't recall seeing any dents/marks above the B pillar, only on the A pillar which looks more like where the corner of the bonnet hit it.

I am still expecting it to be a write it off but hopefully not a cat A/B so I then at least have options.

I'll have to decide what to do based on final settlement (options listed by Pigman).

Cheers.

It won't be a Cat A or B; you're still alive, and the car can be driven.

As I said you may want to try a claim management company if you want to keep it. They'll be able to negotiate a settlement figure and hopefully avoid write off. Use that on quality second hand parts and you're away.

absolutely gutting alan, though glad youre (physically at least) ok. pigmans advice seems sound and is also bourne out of 1st hand experience. keep us all posted, it does look bad but seems to be the bonnet that took most force / deformation. it indeed would be a shame for another LE to go, though of course do whats right for you as breaking the salvage would likely bring in more cash for you.

This got me thinking. A rare and special car, badly damaged but repairable if deemed of enough importance, could be consigned to the crusher on the say so of your insurance company's assessor.

Cat A would mean no salvageable parts. Clearly not the case here, so even if deemed unworthy to ever be returned to the road, Cat B should be the worst designation it would receive.

It is not illegal for a Cat B car to be returned to the road, but is against ABI practice or code of conduct. Just like a Cat C, it would need repairing properly and the a VOSA VIC check before returning it to the road.

This usually can only happen if the owner retains the salvage, as the insurance company would pass it on to a breaker to dismantle and then crush the shell.

If I was in your shoes and wanted to get any value from my LE, I think I'd first tell the assessor that I know the real value of more rare LE Coupés and that once an appropriate settlement figure is agreed, I would like to buy back the salvage. This is a cleaner solution for the insurance company and might make the difference between the assessor rating it Cat C instead of Cat B. This could be important, because once it's been assessed as Cat B, the insurance company may be reluctant to sell you the salvage.

Don't be put off by VIC check, whether it's Cat C or B. I went through this with my Inky and it was no hassle. If you get this far I can guide you through the process.

Regards
Pete (aka Pigman)

Sorry to see/hear mate..... It'll be a write off but going on photos only you could possibly fix it up....

As others have said, very bad news.
Hopefully you can agree to keep the salvage and get a full repair done thereafter. Best of luck.

mate I feel for you I had the samething on my plus They will wright the car off for as little has front bumper damage as they did mine it cost them more to have the car repaird then to just pay you out .. The damage in the pictures looks worser then it is all what I can see just get another bonnet bumper front headlight and bumper support bracket .. You might need a new washer bottle and grill and have that dent taken out on the pillar

As posted above, it will be written off as you cant buy new parts anymore and the cost to repair would be too high
As long as its straight it would be an easy repair and the costly bit would be the respray! but you should see yourself with a lovely motor again!!

If you do decide you cant bear to have it back whatever you do dont let them have it to crush, you can buy it off them for peanuts and sell it on yourself would be a shame to see it go to waste!

Thanks again everyone!

Will do my best to ensure it is back on the road. If it turns out the final settlement << repair costs, I will ensure it is not crushed until all the nice bits have been removed!

So I take it you are alright?

So sorry to hear this Alan. Hopefully it isnt as bad as it looks and will all work out for you!

Choker for you mate, sorry to see a coupe in this state...

Awful to see a coupe like that but main thing is you're ok.

Early days, but Nigel's got a really good bonnet on his new breaker. Right colour too.

Worth talking to him if you can get the salvage rights.

Hope it all works out for you.

Sad news, glad you are ok. Good luck with the insurance claim. Get recording LE's for sale now, the market rate for these cars is about £2k at a push...and then you have to prove you sold your mother in order to improve it, not maintain it...that is key.

Sad to see the LE in that state, good luck with the insurance and glad you are ok.

Feeling your pain today arm.

I don't understand, it's not as if they blend in. . . .

Hope we both get them back on the road soon.

I hope so!!

Arm that is one of the cleanest post crash cars I've ever seen.

Can't believe an LE and a plus within days of each other! Must be a full moon or some weird voodoo stuff going off it Turin!

I polished it up at the scene just for the photo! Just needed a better backdrop.

Any news? Did you get a hire car?

Oh dear what a real shame. Are you still fighting the insurers? Have you considered a settlement in lieu and repair privately?

Third party insurance assessor (finally) came yesterday to see the car and, as expected, complete loss. Now await their offer....

Besides all the damage, the chassis leg is bent so un-economical repair (apparently).

Hope you're having more luck with your Plus Muzzy!

Meanwhile, I am looking out for a very decent (black) LE like mine was....

I'm having a bit of a battle myself. My first offer was.....wait for it...... £840!