The Passat, having violated a Fiat Panda (1) by taking it roughly from behind, is looking likely to be classed as a write off (2) according to the nice lady at the approved repairers where it currently sits awaiting an inspection by the insurance assessor.
Arse.
Still... no-one was hurt, that's the main thing.
(1) So it's not all bad (2) Apparently they've not bothered to do an estimate, as it's pretty obvious to them it's beyond economical repair, but they need the assessor to see it before they can confirm it
Oh, bad luck mate. I just got my write off money through this morning from the Mazda, but as you say, no one hurt and it's just a lump of metal at the end of the day!
Aye... one which I'll have lost a lot on by the time the finance company take their chunk (1), if it is written off.
I worked it out earlier - between this and the Fabia before it, 16 months of TDI ownership has cost me something in the region of £4500, assuming I get a reasonable settlement on the Passat.
Fingers crossed, they're not looking at eBay and the like too closely at the mo, and cough a reasonable amount back on it.
I've not looked twice at the salvage - it's a proper mess, and not something I'd want to try and repair.
I've borrowed my mates 306 HDI for now... so I've little choice - gutless to say the least by comparison.
(1) Which might actually equate to me still owing them money on it, depending on what the insurance company value it at. :-(
Never rains but it pours eh? M'sorry to hear that dude :-( Was anyone hurt? But if you try and look for a silver lining, at least if it works out that you were going to have to sell it, or give it back to the finance company - you'll already of done it :-) Of course, if you land a monster new IT contract and wouldn't have had to get rid, then it's a bugger again :-( But on the happy side again, you'll be free of the monthly payments, and get to use the mighty Nova some more :-D!
See, I started on a sad face up there, and I managed to end on a huge happy face :-)
Didn't seem to be at the time... however, I've got what feels like a bit of bruising coming on in my back, and the proverbial neck ache.
This is true, although I was quite hopeful it wouldn't come to that, as I'm clearing loads of my old tat out at the moment on eBay and stockpiling the money 'just in case'.
I've shoved that on eBay... no disrespect to it, but it's not a car I can really use for distance commuting / turn up for job interviews / business meetings with.
I've agreed to buy that Mazda van off my mate I mentioned a few weeks back, as a sort of possible in, into work other than IT in the near future.
I'm also considering whether or not to buy this 306 HDI I've borrowed off my mate, who now has a Fabia vRS. Being a late Meridian model, it looks the part and I'd own it outright.
As per my other post, given how much I've effectively lost on this and the Fabia, I'm not so sure I want to set myself up for potentially yet another huge loss any time soon.
:-)
I'm not going to get miserable about it... I'm a lot luckier than a lot of people out there right now. One of the good things about having done a lot of different jobs in the past is you've got a fairly broad skillset, and if I do decide to go it alone, there's plenty of different things I can turn my hand at to make a living.
Did the Panda (new or old style?) driver suggest anything like a whiplash claim? I had little knock in the 405 once, I was overtaking, he wasn't indicating and when he turned without looking (which was a surprise to me let me tell you considering the speed he was still going) I nearly missed him, but he clipped the 405, just above the rear wheel. My insurance company was on my side, one of the 'witnesses' said the front of my car hit his ffs - I had damage to prove otherwise heh! Anyway, he tried to make a £7k whiplash claim! From the front corner of his car clipping the back of mine! Thankfully, my insurance company just kept laughing at them, and they settled 50/50 I think. Which was unfair, as I was doing nothing wrong except overtaking whilst young... It always annoys me that people think overtaking is illegal - mine was on a queue of 3 cars, which were still moving at a fair rate, he didn't break till I was committed, and there was still no indicator! I suspect he just went "Oh shit this is my turn! and if I do decide to go it alone, there's plenty of different things I
New style Panda... no idea about whiplash, but given it was quite a big hit, I wouldn't be surprised if for once, genuine whiplash had occurred.
Well its true - I'm not so sure I want to do IT in the sense I have been any more, anyway.
I've been asking around this week at places I used to work and friends / family with businesses locally, if they can think of anything they could do with a hand with now and again - the plan being I'll do whatever is offered up first.
And then, who knows... something might turn into something bigger and I'll focus on that.
The main thing I do know, is that I'm a lot happier in myself since that last job ended and I've not been spending my days getting frustrated by office politics etc.
Wow, must have been a bigish shunt. The missus's old Corsa got rear ended at a junction by an A6 crumpling the boot floor, then a year later, the whole passenger rear quarter got caved in by a speeding light jumper in a mini, and the insurance repaired it twice.
It was. Probably best if I don't comment any further on that particular aspect of all this right now though, given it's now got to go through the insurance etc.
No idea whether or not they'll repair the Panda - the offside rear quarter was all folded up and the rear door didn't exactly fit any more.
I dread to think how pissed the shell now is at the back, and the rear wheel was mullered and pointing inwards, indicating a bent leg / rear beam etc.
Having been down and inspected mine properly today, it appears to need a bonnet, headlight, bumper, grille, badge, wing, wheel, tyre, and both near side door skins ... the NS passenger door has shifted slightly back and won't open, and there's a slight dent in the roof by the B pillar.
And that's just externally.
Looking beyond the outside, it'll need an intercooler, rad, air-con condensor, and the inner wing is kinked.
Belts got forced off the front pulley which is also damaged... the ABS pump has been slightly crushed as well, by looks at it.
I'm sure there's load of other stuff they'll put down on the estimate if I ever get one.
And then there's both front airbags and the windscreen which got done by the drivers airbag when it went off - possibly because my head forced it into it?
I've got to be honest... much as I love that car, and much as I've basically walked away from it, I'll always be wondering if it's 100% if they did decide to repair it.
Ha. Just to add a data point, our SAN has been nothing but trouble recently.
Mirrored RAID-5 disks, dual hotswap PSUs, redundant hotswap fan trays, so what happens? the motherboard dies. Twice. The second time three days after the backup tape drive went down.
We have (had) Intel full-on 'support'. Worse than useless.
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