not a good day. gutted in fact.

[TADO]

this morning i spent fiddling around with the car, doing a few very last jobs ahead of next months mot and then gave it a good polish and wax.
katie and i decided to head out to the peaks for a drive and to take some nice pics. heading out of sheffield on the main a-road we were doing about 35, maybe 40mph.
theres a well known cross roads with stop signs on both sides. as we approached it an FRV pulled out of the side road and in front of us causing us to slam the breaks on hard. on the other side of the crossroads was a volvo also at the stop sign. at this point we were almost on the junction... when he pulled straight out without looking with about 5 metres between us.
we hit him straight into the side. at a guess we were doing about 25-30 having breaked hard because of the FRV pulling out (thank goodness).
the volvos spun round and ended up in a fence. we came to a very abrupt stop in the middle of the road.
once we'd worked out we were both ok we couldnt believe what had happened. fortunately the chap was very good about it and adimitted full responsibility. there was also a second car on the other side of the crossroads who saw everything and they are going to be a witness.

beat-wise, looking at it things dont look too good. we couldnt get the bonnet up at the time to see as its wedged between the wipers, and the recovery guy commented that one of the tow-hooks looked pretty fubarbed which im guessing means things might be a bit bent under there. wheels seem pretty straight from what i can tell and of course its running fine.
we've got everything crossed now and will have to see what adrian flux have to say in the morning.
right now we're both feeling totally gutted but very very glad that we are ok. had we not had to slam the breaks on for the other car, we would have been going quite a bit faster and it could have been a lot lot worse.

as most of you know, the car has a huge amount of sentimental value, time invested and money spent and was pretty much just where we wanted it to be after 3 years... so we really really hope we can get him sorted...

:( :(

[TADO]

couple more. this is the sort of hole a beat makes in the side of a volvo.

[Mylee]

Sh!t Mike, really really feel for ya. Especially after the great effort you've gone to recently. As you know, I know how it feels :awwww:

Glad you are both ok though, that is the most important thing after all.
Just don't take any crap from the insurance, this isn't your run of the mill 'ford focus'. You use a specialist insurer for a reason ;)

Keep us all posted.

[Gavin]

crap glad you are ok mike! flux are pretty good when it comes to like for like repair / replacement

[hothybrids]

That's a sad sight.... I feel for you buddy...

[s8rah]

Gutted for you. Glad you're OK & hope AF can sort it quickly.

[TADO]

thanks all :)
we've not had much sleep and woken up with very stiff necks and pretty glum faces. got to get on the blower to AF soon so will let you know how things go.
what ever happens, im determined to get the little chap sorted somehow.

[Mylee]

thanks all :)
we've not had much sleep and woken up with very stiff necks


claim!!!!!

[Bumbly1]

Glad you are both okay and the stiff necks improve. Hope all works out with the insurance.

I have to say I take issue with Mylee's comment above, that attitude continues to drive up the cost of insurance imho.

Tom

[Midship]

Not a nice sight at all... at least theres no major injuries

Hope your back on the road soon

Michael

[Wh1teLeopard]

I feel so gutted for you, I almost feel like crying :(

The important thing is though you're both ok.

If you are feeling sore etc you need to pop to the local hospital and get it checked out, it'll help with any claims too.

Anything I can do to help just give me a call.

*hugs to you both*

[TADO]

hi all
thanks for the advice and kind words. we've had a day of phonecalls and hassle here. i've gone from feeling incredibly gloomy to feeling optimistic about the outcome.

we went straight down to the walk in centre last nigt and got checked out - they said we've both got quite nasty muscle strain in our necks and shoulders which will take a while to sort itself out. we're just happy to be in one piece to be honest.

car-wise... rang AF this morning who were not very helpful to be honest. they just put me on to norwich union who actually insure the car. they were helpful but told me pretty much straight away that the car would be classed as a write off. i tried to explain etc but to no avail. call centre workers in india dont really seem to care very much at all. they were going to arrange to have it inspected in the next couple of days...
after i'd told him that i wasnt happy with what had been said i ran over the road to the bodyshop guys who did all the work for me. after they'd finished swearing about what had happened they were pretty appauled at what i'd been told and they immediately picked up the car and took it down there - pics below of what 5 mins of dismantling found.

so... on their recommendation we've now ditched our insurers and are going with a company called britannia who will take up the claim on our behalf.
john at the bodyshop is doing a full quote/evaluation of the car and has requested totals and lists of all work and modifications done to use as a valuation guide... norwich union told me their valuation was based on market price and that i could well be marked down as the paint and modifactions would put people off the car. they basically wouldnt even consider fixing it due to its age and the hassle...

in terms of repairs, things are apparently pretty standard for a front end shunt. the car is going on the jig this afternoon for a proper evaluation but it looks like theres no chassis damage, and suspension all looks ok. the bonnet has bent back quite a bit of stuff and theres a kink in one of the arches but the guys are confident its all fixable.

i'll keep you guys posted on whats going on. the good news is that the chap seems to be standing by his word and has informed his insurance about what happened, and our witness has also been in touch and is more than happy to help.
mr beat-chan will ride again.

[TADO]

heres the pics from the bodyshop:

[beatc]

That sucks. It looked like it was a sweet car. That Volvo looks hardly damaged ....

[professor]

My deepest sympathy's Tado. Mine looks the same from the front right at the mo, but like you said you can fix it!!!!!! Hope all go's well getting it sorted.

[unclejemima]

Tado, sorry to hear that. Just as you got the car finished and back on the road! I know how you feel! Don't take any BS from the insurance company! I'm glad to hear you are both ok!
Best of luck,

[old'uns]

noooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
we all know someones who's got a red one going begging ;)
you're lucky its an S and not an XC! how far under would you have gone :help:
glad you're both ok.

good luck

[marcair]

FYI
last year a gal, eating and talking on her cell, backed into my Beat. Suffered hood and hinges, bumper, and front crossmember damage. The hood and bumper is repaired and is stored as spares. The crossmember was wasted. Surprising, the repalcement crossmember, item 5 in the attatchment, comes assembled and is low $.

[Mylee]

I have to say I take issue with Mylee's comment above, that attitude continues to drive up the cost of insurance imho.Tom

Take all the issue you like. I take issue with people who jump red lights, cause an accident and then drive off and leave this

http://www.u-ukhbc.co.uk/vbb/showthread.php?t=2432

I also take issue with the attitudes of insurance companies who take my hard earned £ then give the type of service Mike has described. Sounds far to familiar for my liking. Unfortunately, this is the third time I've heard bad reports about AF :(


Glad your making progress yourself Mike.

[Gavin]

It looks fixable like you say mike, main thing is the suspension, chassis etc ain't bent the front panels should be able to get sorted pretty easily. If they are going on market value of the Beats at the moment because it's a rare car looking at ebay going for 2.5k + atm.

Could always get beardo to help out he has a similar age / condition one?

[jcs]

car-wise... rang AF this morning who were not very helpful to be honest. they just put me on to norwich union who actually insure the car. they were helpful but told me pretty much straight away that the car would be classed as a write off. i tried to explain etc but to no avail. call centre workers in india dont really seem to care very much at all. they were going to arrange to have it inspected in the next couple of days... we've now ditched our insurers and are going with a company called britannia who will take up the claim on our behalf.

Sorry to see that damage. I had a similar issue with my insurer over a shunt in my Jag. They decided to treat it as a commercial write-off (admittedly, the repair shop quote was £7,800!). I told them I did not want to have the car written off and treat a scrap dealer to an early christmas! After a bit of discussion with them and the repairer, the insurers then said they could settle directly with me and it would be my responsibility to pay the repair shop. I asked how much they would contribute and they said £6,500. After some dialogue with the repairer to trim out some fat, I got his price down to £6,800, so it cost me £300 plus my excess (it was my fault!). This also meant that the car never got registered as a write-off. In your case, the difference and excess would be covered by the other guy's insurance, which Britannia should get back for you.

[Steve_M]

It will be the usual story with insurance companies and Beats.

They dont understand the cars, and with parts prices being high, to them parts alone, let alone the wait for parts will mean they will just want to write it off to get it sorted.

Idea of parts:
H/L RH £394.19 No Stock
H/L LH £394.19 No Stock
Bonnet £453.41 No Stock
Front panel £422.77 IN STOCK

[beardo]

Just seen this and am really gutted for you. If there is anything, anything at all I can do for you just let me know. Remember as well as the Beat I am selling I have a good spare red chassis that I will gladly chop up to keep your Beat on the road.

[TADO]

hi all
thanks again for all this - its been a pretty stressful day here and all the advice and messages have been great.
ive put together a list of all the work/modifications/money spent on the car and will take this and steves quick part quotes down to the bodyshop tomorrow to try and get a rough evaluation and quote sorted from them.
think the car was being given a good check over this afternoon so might know some more details then as well. think this might be a loooooong drawn out process... there goes the summer driving then :mad:

[Adam]

FYI
last year a gal, eating and talking on her cell, backed into my Beat. Suffered hood and hinges, bumper, and front crossmember damage. The hood and bumper is repaired and is stored as spares. The crossmember was wasted. Surprising, the repalcement crossmember, item 5 in the attatchment, comes assembled and is low $.

I got one of these a few months ago, it was about 500 euro for the front assembly, light are very pricey.

[Bumbly1]

Looking at the new parts prices above, there is a red one on ebay at present with a buy it now of £900 which could supply all the parts you need and sell the remainder as parts?

Tom

[TADO]

thanks for the tip off bumbly - that does look like a good worst case scenario plan! whether it'll still be around should we need it will have to be seen.
we've already had some awesome and very kind offers of help and parts from board members which we hugely appreciate. *group hug*
apparently britannia work in a similar way to JCS described - ie they wont declare the car a write off even if you end up buying it back. so it might well be a last resort route.

we've got to wait and see now. apparently our friend at the bodyshop has been in touch with the regional manager for britannia to explain the circumstances and exceptional condition of the car and to make them aware that its not any old h-plate honda. the bodyshop chaps have the parts manual and are making a list of all necessary stuff...

[TADO]

Happy update time :D
http://u-ukhbc.co.uk/vbb/showthread.php?p=17288#post17288