Mazda MX5 - Crash damage repair costs and write-off

GB ( snipped-for-privacy@microsoft.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

You crashed it...

Bet you're wishing you'd paid the extra hundred quid or so for comp now...?

There is no chassis, it's a monocoque. Are you sure there's no damage to the structure?

Absolutely _sure_ nothing's been transmitted to the inner wing? Had it jigged yet?

Fairly hard impact, then - I wouldn't be at all surprised if something's come through to the structure.

The car is worth £8k *undamaged*, with a clean history. As a damaged-repaired? Knock at least a grand off that. So it's worth £7k.

And the repair is *quoted* at £7k. But we all know what happens between quotes and invoices, don't we? Thinks get... found... that need doing while you're there.

So the bill's now £8k. IF it's straight. On a car worth £7k when it's done.

OK, so it's going through your company books. Compared the cost of leasing a new MX5? I'll bet you'd find that would be far "cheaper" in terms of real money in your pocket.

Sound advice, I'd say. Yes, you could cut the repair cost drastically by using second-hand parts, especially the wheel and panels. But the labour cost will remain the same - possibly higher, because of more paint prep work.

Go and have a look at FleaBay...

But if you're having to ask, then breaking it isn't for you. Last car I broke, I walked away nicely financially, but the sheer hassle factor... Never again!

Most insurance companies work to a half/two thirds ratio (if you are lucky) to determine if the car is economically viable for repair. Remember also that the guesstimate is based on a mostly visual inspecton with no way of knowing what else is wrong once the car is stripped down.

OK, the cost of repairs is say 7k tops based on the initial inspection but what do you do if more is found wrong and it takes the price over the current, and I say again, *current* sale price in good condition. The repairs alone will wipe that 2k off any resale price before depreciation comes into effect plus it has been experience that cars never drive the same again after such a major crash and repair (parts tend to shift in a collision, to their detriment).

If this was my vehicle, I would scrap it for break it for parts. The car is uneconomic to repair based on current market prices and I would have not much confidence in how it would handle or how much I would have to fork out in repairs when other long term issues start to come out in the months after the repair. I have been in your position with a diesel car which ended up siding along a crash barrier when some dipstick pulled out in front of me in driving rain and I ended up crabbing across the carriageway when she locked up while braking to avoid the prat (no suprises that he didn't stop, the driver of that T reg Bluebird was a right shithouse). The car would have been economically viable to fix with just the panel scrapes down the drivers side but the car was skidding along a removable contraflow barrier with no curb and where the curb did start the drivers front wheel hit it with such force (60mph+) that the chassis was warped so badly you could see a ripple in the roof and the sunroof was jammed solid in its slides. The cost alone for a chassis straighten put the repair viablity right out the window before I could even consider the visible items like panels and a paintjob. The car was written off and broken for spares in the end, a sad end to an old trooper.

PDH

Have you got anywhere to store the bits? I reckon you could strip it completely in a weekend and have the shell removed on the Monday, so your neighbours would have to be pretty grumpy to complain. You could wrap a tarp over the oily bits until they're sold, but stuff like trim and all the odds and sods will need keeping in the dry and will take up a lot of space. As for demand, there'd be plenty. I'd expect 90% of it to sell on eBay, but you need the time and inclination to photograph and list it all carefully and then follow up by wrapping and posting it all promptly. Alternatively, you could just list the wreck as it is and sell it whole.

Thanks for that. Do you have any idea at all what I could hope to get for it as a wreck? Also, sold as bits would that come to more money than as a repairable wreck? For example, what would an engine + gearbox go for, do you think? One or two hundred Pounds, or much more than that? It's barely run in, of course. I've never done this, so I'm completely at sea about this sort of thing.

It's rather outside my experience as I've only done this with older, cheaper cars, but I'd expect more for the bits than the complete car. Listed properly, you'll find that even odd little bits of trim that you wouldn't value at all, will sell for good money to the States or Australia where they deteriorate in the hot sun.

Completed listings on Ebay don't come up with all that many MX5 items so it's hard to get a good idea (hardtops sell for 400-500 quid, if you have one of those). I'd expect more than that for such a low mileage engine. Personally, I'd list the engine (alone, with no anciliaries) with the words "can be heard running" and a relatively high reserve, before making any serious decisions about breaking up the car. If it doesn't sell, you've only lost the listing fee and can think again what to try next.

Advice: Never insure your car with Third Party cover. I'm sure for the extra expensive of having a comprehensive policy would be justified even if its a trade policy

I would strip it & sell the undamaged parts on eBay

Do a search on Ebay and find out what such things go for. I'd say more than a couple of hundred pounds for a low mileage engine you can prove the provenance of. You could also search on Google for Mazda breakers and see what they charge for bits.

I wonder if there's any radical difference between the fuel systems, etc. of UK and US versions? If theirs are strangled by emissions legislation, there could be a market for free breathing UK bits over there.

Not if its recorded as a CAT C or CAT D. At est it's worth 66% of market value.

Ebay.

Was the most expensive £100 he ever saved.

LOL, even my 20yr old Ford Shitbox is FC.

Why? If I had a 20yr old Ford Shitbox, I'd pay as little as I possibly could on insurance. Do you really want the hassle of making a claim when it's just a throwaway car anyway?

Just let them write it off and then buy it back off them (usually for sod-all, hundreds) and repair it yourself. Ask about the possibility.

Not to mention losing your no claims bonus (or one of your lives if protected).

There will be an MX5 owners club in the US and on in the UK (wasnt it also known as a miata ?) - check about, they will scavenge all over your remain parts and all you will have to do is list it in their forums as "Breaking...bla bla" to start them off.

Check the forums for existing cars being broken, you'll find loads. Make a list of their prices for the parts and see what the sum comes to. Adjust as you see appropriate (add 10% maybe) and wait for the offers. Owners clubs are great for this sort of thing, people who want the bits of your car without the expense of dealer prices.

Places like this :

Except it's a classic. It has an agreed value of over £2k.

Some of us drive cars whose value INCREASES every year.

And unlike you, I can actually drive so I'm not worried about accidents. Not had an at fault in the last 1.5 million miles, don't expect to have an at fault in the next 1.5 million miles.

No-one ever does, or they'd be locked up for criminal damage at the very least :-)

Incidentally it doesnt take something to actually BE your fault for you to get the blame, in any case where there is even a hint of doubt the insurance companies will automatically offer 50:50 to the other company and its very hard to make them change their mind. A friend of mine was screwed for a 'fault' accident when someone pulled in front of him and slammed on immediately - because he hit the rear of the vehicle and the other driver claimed that my friend had been driving up his arse (no witnesses either way) the claim went to court and was awarded to the other guy as my friend had been too close to stop. Also, a recent aquaintance moved to overtake a van and a car that were travelling very slowly on a road that opened to a dual cabbageway for a short period. He indicated and pulled out and started to pass the van, the van pulled out without indication to pass the car in front without checking his blind spot and hit the side of him. The van driver later claimed that my aquaintance had misjudged an overtake and tried to 'dart' back in behind him and misjudged it and hit him. It went 50:50 until my friend took it to court and the van driver won 100%. Based on the fact that my friend drove a fast car it was assumed that the van drivers version was more likely to be true.

Trust me, justice, truth and fairness is dead and buried in the UK.

Willy Eckerslyke (oss108no snipped-for-privacy@bangor.ac.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

My 10yo XM is fully comp, too.

The reason is simple. Because if I do have a claim, it's FAR less hassle for me. I just ring my insurer, and leave it to them. No running around, just a hire car to keep my mobile.