Car hit last night

bbb · Post by **bbb** » 06 Mar 2011, 10:45

Hello,
driving home from work last night a young lad in a 106 ran a red light and hit my nearside front end. Only real damage appears to be a smashed indicator and headlamp, 106's front and was totally pushed in.

Car drives fine so dont think anything structural but....
what do i need to look for and where can i get a indicator / headlamp from? ebay, scrappy, gsf? It's a 95 Xantia saloon.

addo · Post by **addo** » 06 Mar 2011, 11:15

Your slam panel is probably stuffed as well; also check the washer bottle, bumper bracing and garnish trim.

bbb · Post by **bbb** » 06 Mar 2011, 11:36

went out for a quick look, lamp and indicator smashed, n/s wing pushed in around indicator, plastic trim that covers the radiator and runs under the headlamps has snapped. Not had the oppurtunity to look under the bonnet yet but the shut lines around the bonnet look straight.

Will go and take some piccies and post up.

Tried to change the spheres yesterday and snapped the chain on my chain wrench. Really not a good day.

spider · Post by **spider** » 06 Mar 2011, 12:47

Are you not going through your insurance then ?

Then again they will probably want to write it off for the slightest pretext these days as they just appear to live in each others pockets and the "knock for knock" policy along with writing off at a low percentage of current value (certainly it used to be high now its not)

If you're not I'd get the 106 driver to pay for it all and then some to cover your time and trouble.

bbb · Post by **bbb** » 06 Mar 2011, 14:43

yep am going through the insurers, lad amitted liability last night but has changed his story this morning and also mentioned additional passengers that weren't there last night. As we are both with the same company I'm guessing they will prefer knock for knock so nobody gets paid out.

Slam panel is fine as are the inner wings, no distortion along the wings (inners and outers) or shut lines, cosmetic scuffing on the bumper everything still aligned and drives fine.

spider · Post by **spider** » 06 Mar 2011, 14:56

Usually the case of a changed story.

I recall reading something a few years ago (I won't bore you with the specifics) but they lost as they lied and picked such a bad one it would of been impossible.

Well, lets hope all goes well for you.

Personally I think up to a certain amount the responsible parties insurance 'should' pay regardless of if the damage would be say 90% of the value, they caused it they should pay, regardless. End of story. The reponsible party can have their premium loaded next year.

The other sore point is its a 'no claim' not a 'no blame' policy as I was quietly told once. This is why they want to know if there were any claims etc over the past five years etc. I think now they say 'any' time period but if its over 5 years ago I don't think it matters, just an excuse to charge you more

Opps I'm starting to go off on one

, I'll stop there.

As above, lets all goes well although it may take a while. Last two claims I had to make took about nine months each and the car was parked at the time, just careless people drove into it for some reason.

bbb · Post by **bbb** » 06 Mar 2011, 17:01

looks like its off to ebay for a headlamp and indicator. Are all the xantia headlamps the same (car is a 95) or do I need to look for something specific?

This looks the same:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Citroen-Xantia-He ... 27b9153b72
Will any indicator be ok?

Thanks

VertVega · Post by **VertVega** » 06 Mar 2011, 17:23

bbb wrote:... Will any indicator be ok?

Thanks

As long as it's Series 1 (MK1) it's alright for yours.

MK1 and MK2 indicators (and headlights) are different.
They won't fit each other. MK2 starts from '98.

civvie · Post by **civvie** » 06 Mar 2011, 17:38

Sometimes it's worth feigning? an injury just to get the police to attend, if you are 110% sure the other party is to blame and your vehicle is 100% road legal, it might mean a trip to the hospital but you are covered in any dispute. Can seem overboard, but as you have found stories can change.

Good luck on the claim

Steve

bbb · Post by **bbb** » 13 Mar 2011, 17:04

sorted the front with a new headlamp and indicator from GSF. Insurance have only offered 50/50 and valued my damage at £300. As it's gone 50/50 they are only paying out £150

Could be worse, don't fancy trying to fix the pug that hit me with 50% of the cost not to mention trying to insure at 18 after a crash.

Would post some pics but can't find the camera lead.

pug_owner2002 · Post by **pug_owner2002** » 13 Mar 2011, 18:02

bbb wrote:sorted the front with a new headlamp and indicator from GSF. Insurance have only offered 50/50 and valued my damage at £300. As it's gone 50/50 they are only paying out £150

Could be worse, don't fancy trying to fix the pug that hit me with 50% of the cost not to mention trying to insure at 18 after a crash.

Would post some pics but can't find the camera lead.

Hi,

The 50/50 is the liability split - Basically the insurance company are saying that you are also to blame for the accident. In this case they should still pay up for the full cost of repair to your vehicle.
Hope you get this sorted, from past experience it's long winded and very frustrating.

MikeT · Post by **MikeT** » 13 Mar 2011, 18:25

It's a condition of insurance that you do not admit liability ever, so it's not unexpected the other driver has retracted his initial statement.

Secondly, to save legal costs (maximise profits) and save time/work it's now common for all insurers to not bother arguing the toss on the majority of claims and simply submit a 50/50 claim, on account. At the end of the financial year, again to save administration and accounting costs, they just tot up and claim or pay the differences to each other instead of settling individual claims as and when.

If you don't accept part-blame, I would suggest you fight it or they'll walk all over you and you'll have to pay extra for the next five years to boot!

Post by **myglaren** » 13 Mar 2011, 18:46

Don't accept any liability.
Your policy should come with legal cover, usually up to £100,000.
Get a solicitor onto it.
Use this as a lever, take the other driver to court and sue them personally for the damages.
They will soon admit liability and let their insurers bear the weight.

birksy · Post by **birksy** » 13 Mar 2011, 20:21

A few years ago a van reversed into my car at a petrol station, I'd stopped to put air in.

I was lucky I didn't lose my legs as I was about to walk across the front of my motor to the airline when I noticed the reverse lights come on before the sh*t box that he called a van swiftly crushed the front of my car.

Despite my not being in the car, my having the keys in my hand and having a perfect side view of what happened it went 50/50.

The at fault party told a pack of lies saying that I had driven into him as he had driven into me.

He admitted liability on the day then failed to respond to any paperwork denying all knowledge then came up with the scenario above.

Likewise the (now ex) Mrs had a personal accident claim when her A-Class skidded on ice into a local coal merchants lorry. The A-Class was drivable and had a broken numberplate, bumper bonnet and cross member. The coalman was very pleasant and there was no damage to the truck.

Yet he had to have a month off work with the worst whip lash ever.

In both cases two different insurance companies said that it wasn't worth fighting and made the settlements.

All I can say is you need witnesses (however pleasant the other party is) and hope that your insurance company is up for the fight.

bbb · Post by **bbb** » 13 Mar 2011, 22:16

as it happened at 2 am there were no witnesses, we are both insured with the same company so can't see them going out of their way to help out.