Wheel moving back could just be a collapsed lower wishbone - hit a kerb at 30 in a micra, does it every the time.
It would take a substantial blow to move the drivers door if hit on the passenger side, it would imply the offside A post has moved - not good.
Still possible to repair, if the repairer has good alignment kit, and a concientious operater, then it will be OK - otherwise I'm with your Mrs on this one.
Re-shelling is an option, but not at dealer prices, only if you buy it back for scap and do the job yourself.

Suspect it's time you looked for a new car - you did get GAP insurance, didn't you? Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

I would think the fact that the airbag going off has ruined the dash that will count heavily against whether its worth repairing cost wise.

Hi Andy 131

Did take GAP insurance so covered from that aspect if they do write it off.

Still waiting for feedback from the assessor and not sure if no news is good news, however irrespective of the outcome the wife has decided that tomorrow we are going to look at a couple of showrooms.

I may not have much say in whether it is replaced, but hopefully as it is my car I may be allowed an opinion on what we buy.

Can I ask what insurance co this is ?

Feel free to PM if you wish.

Hi snowy

I had a similar accident to this over a year ago but not quite as far forwads as you. Mine was repaired at LR and included both doors and B pillar - quite extensice repair.

The car has been OK since but I was told that if any of the airbags had gone off (they hadn't) that the car would have been written off. The airbag sensors apparently are interlinked and if one goes off then they all need replacing - i'm not sure how true this.

The freely is a tough old beast and can take some hammering but at some point all that energy has to go somewhere.

I too hoped that mine would be writtent off - it wasn't - but I'm pleased with the repair but the niggling doubt is what impact this will have on the price of it when I come to exchanging it for a newer model.

hope you get what you want.

DR There's always a way forward!

2008 Freelander Td4 GS - Stornoway Grey - Now Gone - Sob
2011 Freelander Td4 GS 150 - Rimini Red - in its place - Better x far x 4!!

Bearing in mind our FL2 was hit up the rear by a numpty travelling at 90mph - we all were he just didn't brake.

The insurance company said write off, I said different.
Did most of the work myself, very happy with the result.
She steers strait - even at autobahn speeds, no wandering. Off-road you can still open and close doors normally with one wheel 18" in the air, so structurally no flexing.
All new parts fitted genuine LR because I personally bought them.
The only fly in the ointment is the paint job, not that the guy didn't try, just that Tangiers Orange has to be sprayed over black or the shade just isn't right, and he wouldn't listen - you know the type, I've been doing this 30 years etc.. He ended up spraying the rear 3 times, the front twice and the bonnet once - the give away is the roof is original.
That said I put a 4ft scratch down one side a week later getting close to some gorse down a narrow lane and have added two more since.

Just to point out it takes a really hard knock (or one at an unlucky angle) to truly destroy a FL2 chassis. It's generally the labour cost that makes it uneconomical. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

Sill no final decision, but got an email on Friday to say repair bill was up to £9000 and possibly still counting, don't know the parts/labour breakdown for that.

The intention was to pass details to the Insurance company's engineer ( for those interested that is SAGA ) with a recommendation to write off, suppose now just wait to see if they agree.

With a bit of 'T Cut', it will buff out!








Naaa, sorry to hear your misfortune. I would push for a write off personnally. Why would you want it back after that amount of damage?

snowy22255 wrote:

Insurance company's engineer ( for those interested that is SAGA ) with a recommendation to write off, suppose now just wait to see if they agree.

Still hadn't heard from anybody by last Thursday so phoned the body shop and was told they had been given instruction to repair. Spoke to the assessor who confirmed that the just under £9k figure was based on visual exam only and that cost could well rise when the vehicle is stripped for repair. Although still not 60% of vehicle value not that far away if more damage found.

I understood that the Economical Repair cost was normally around 60% - 65% but when I spoke to SAGA I was told that for their engineers the range is actually anything from 60% to 80% and in extreme cases for rare/classic vehicles 100%. For a Freelander SAGA's write off point is 75% - 80% of value.

I have spoken to my own insurers and they would write off at 60%, I also have an email from a SAGA claim manager telling me that the write off value would be 65% and I am asking them to stick to that. The current position is that the body shop have been told to hold back on repairs but to do a complete strip down and assessment and get back to SAGA with any revised cost at which point SAGA will reassess their position.

I have no idea if they will find another £2k worth of work so I suspect it will be a repair.

This has been a learning experience for me, for example my own insurance company would add the cost of the hire car ( about £1k ) to the repair cost thus the uneconomic repair price is reached quicker, however SAGA have that as a separate cost.

I don't like the way insurance premiums keep going up because of the added cost of Lawyers and Accident Claim Management Companies so thought I was doing the ethical thing by dropping the Accident Management Company and dealing direct with the other drivers insurers, ( my own insurers agreed ) who promised that I wouldn't be out of pocket.

It now appears that although the insurers are sticking to the rules I still lose out however had I gone with a Claims Management Company all of their added costs would almost certainly have resulted in the car being uneconomical to repair.

[quote="snowy22255"]Still hadn't heard from anybody by last Thursday so phoned the body shop and was told they had been given instruction to repair. Spoke to the assessor who confirmed that the just under £9k figure was based on visual exam only and that cost could well rise when the vehicle is stripped for repair. Although still not 60% of vehicle value not that far away if more damage found.

I understood that the Economical Repair cost was normally around 60% - 65% but when I spoke to SAGA I was told that for their engineers the range is actually anything from 60% to 80% and in extreme cases for rare/classic vehicles 100%. For a Freelander SAGA's write off point is 75% - 80% of value.

I have spoken to my own insurers and they would write off at 60%, I also have an email from a SAGA claim manager telling me that the write off value would be 65% and I am asking them to stick to that. The current position is that the body shop have been told to hold back on repairs but to do a complete strip down and assessment and get back to SAGA with any revised cost at which point SAGA will reassess their position.

I have no idea if they will find another £2k worth of work so I suspect it will be a repair.

This has been a learning experience for me, for example my own insurance company would add the cost of the hire car ( about £1k ) to the repair cost thus the uneconomic repair price is reached quicker, however SAGA have that as a separate cost.

I don't like the way insurance premiums keep going up because of the added cost of Lawyers and Accident Claim Management Companies so thought I was doing the ethical thing by dropping the Accident Management Company and dealing direct with the other drivers insurers, ( my own insurers agreed ) who promised that I wouldn't be out of pocket.

It now appears that although the insurers are sticking to the rules I still lose out however had I gone with a Claims Management Company all of their added costs would almost certainly have resulted in the car being uneconomical to repair.

What is not always cheapest is usually cheaper .... in the long run .
Good Luck .... (ps Invoice in the Mail...) Wales
Were the mud is thicker, and the ruts are deeper.
(And we have the water to wash it off, and more on the way..! )
Sd4 and chrome Ar*e piece, Auto box for best fun
09 Xs Gone
12 xs Gone
HSE with Leather seats and 4 years warrenty.. staying for now !

Sorry mate -

look at it this way. The other insurer is working to minimise their exposure not yours. They aren't there to represent your interests - you didn't pay them.

When I had my bump the other insurers offered to cover it if I solely worked through them and then got arsy when I told them no. Ditch the claims rcovery people - they are only interested if they can make a fast buck but progressing your whiplash injury - no injurys ? are you sure sir? - anything else is too complicated for them.

I would suggest that you make a U-turn and unless you have sgned something - re-engage your insurers and get them working on your behalf. Thats whatt you paid them for - and your insurance premium will go up next year not matter which way you do it.

Act now or repent at leisure. your insurer will be ahhpy for the other to progress on your behalf as it saves them money too - so just what are you paying for......


Good Luck

DR There's always a way forward!

2008 Freelander Td4 GS - Stornoway Grey - Now Gone - Sob
2011 Freelander Td4 GS 150 - Rimini Red - in its place - Better x far x 4!!

If the other driver is 100% at fault, your claim is against the other driver who will normally pass it on to their insurers. If you claim via your own insurance policy, there will be a clause giving them the right to repair or write off and they will be looking for the cheapest way to settle the claim. As you do not have such an agreement with the other insurance company you are legally entitled to have the car put back to the condition it was prior to the accident, regardless of cost, that is assuming you want to. You will however need to advise your insurance company under the terms of your policy.

This is particularly useful with older vehicles when quite a small amount of damage can get them written off. I have successfully used this twice, once for my son when someone went into the back of his first car and for my sister when someone came over a hump back bridge on the wrong side of the road and damaged the whole offside of her Montego estate. In both cases the other insurance company wanted to write them off but repaired them on instance.. Remember there are never problems, just new challenges

TonyJ wrote:

If the other driver is 100% at fault, your claim is against the other driver who will normally pass it on to their insurers. If you claim via your own insurance policy, there will be a clause giving them the right to repair or write off and they will be looking for the cheapest way to settle the claim. As you do not have such an agreement with the other insurance company you are legally entitled to have the car put back to the condition it was prior to the accident, regardless of cost, that is assuming you want to. You will however need to advise your insurance company under the terms of your policy.

This is particularly useful with older vehicles when quite a small amount of damage can get them written off. I have successfully used this twice, once for my son when someone went into the back of his first car and for my sister when someone came over a hump back bridge on the wrong side of the road and damaged the whole offside of her Montego estate. In both cases the other insurance company wanted to write them off but repaired them on instance..

Tony / bjb134

Thanks for the advice, it is in line with my own thinking. My insurance company would have pursued the matter on my behalf but then my claim would have been against my own policy with them reclaiming the cost from the 3rd Parties insurers and as you say the decision on write off or repair would have been theirs.

Although in honesty SAGA ( 3rd parties insurer ) have in general been very good to deal with, as I have argued my case relative to repair, write off, and potential resale devaluation due to extensive damage they have suggested that I might want to go back and deal with my own insurers, that is obviously because it would the remove the return to pre accident condition or no detriment requirement from them.

This thread was initially about the damage to my car and any advice about how I might ensure that if the damage was serious enough that it was written off. I think with the various posts it has to some extent now changed into what hopefully contains some useful aid to any one else unfortunate enough to be involved in a no fault accident. I have certainly learned from the experience.

Neil