BMW 3 Series Coupe - Rear end collision damage

Honest John Back Room » Legal matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Sun 27 Jan 2019 11:35
BMW 3 Series Coupe - Rear end collision damage - Worried Driver
Hi,

Looking for some advice, having been rear-ended yesterday by a delivery van - I realise no one will know for sure, as I don’t have photos, nor do I know the extent of the damage, but any advice gratefully received. Liability shouldn’t be an issue.

I’ve never been involved in an accident of this type, so am unsure if there are any questions I should be asking when the car’s damage is assessed? I was hit at 20-30 mph, so there is significant damage to the rear, but the boot opens. The rear bumper is completely destroyed and the rear part of the exhaust also looks damaged. My car has a value of about £20,000, so I’m hoping this will mean it can be fixed. I know nothing of crumple zones, but assume this may protect the overall structure of the car? I also want to ensure that it’s future resale value is not impacted by having had a significant accident.

Just worried at the moment!

Thank you.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 27 Jan 2019 11:45
BMW 3 Series Coupe - Rear end collision damage - Palcouk

Simply inform your insurance company, they may have a number of prefered repair shops.

If not take it to your choice of repair shops.

Be very wary of taking any offer of car hire as you will be liable for the cost if the other parties insureres refuse to pay the extortionate fees

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 27 Jan 2019 14:08
BMW 3 Series Coupe - Rear end collision damage - gordonbennet

You might be surprised if you contact the third party's insurer directly, if liability is cut and dried as you say then they should prove helpful (being glad to have at least some control of costs) and it's in everyone's interests here to avoid the accident management style places who will want to put you straight into an expensive hire car and then extend the repair time to ramp up the charges.

Ask the third party's insurer for an equivalent hire car, at their expense, if they have any sense they'll come and collect your car and drop you off an equivalent hire car, and they should swap them back when the repair is complete.

You could ask for your car to be taken to a BMW approved repair centre (if you know of one), and if they refuse to play ball then the leg work will be down to you, but this route will qualify you for only a basic courtesy car and anything above that has the risk mentioned in the above post.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 3 Feb 2019 08:27
BMW 3 Series Coupe - Rear end collision damage - gordonbennet

Presumably no longer worried?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 3 Feb 2019 14:54
BMW 3 Series Coupe - Rear end collision damage - leaseman

Your car will suffer from "diminution of value" due to the fact that it has been in a serious accident. You should make a claim for this actual loss to you personally, and it will be worth taking opinion as to what this diminution is likely to be, depending on how long you intend to keep the car.

You will also suffer loss as you will need to declare this accident, even if it is classed as "no-fault" in future insurance renewals, depending on how the question is posed on quotation requests. Again, you should be informing the other party's insurer that they should cover your increases for the foreseeable future, and declare a quantifiable figure.

Please let the forum know how you get on as both these actual costs are often neglected in claims and they constitute a considerable real cost to the aggrieved party in a no-fault accident.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 3 Feb 2019 17:02
BMW 3 Series Coupe - Rear end collision damage - skidpan

Your car will suffer from "diminution of value" due to the fact that it has been in a serious accident.

Total nonsense.

Wifes Nissan Note suffered a similar accident, needed new tailgate, bumper and odds and sods. When we sold it to Evans Halshaw all they asked was "had it ever been written off", answer was no thus the accident did not affect the value.

The Nissan Micra that preceded it suffered quite a bit of damage when Dad hit a barrier at Asda. Needed 2 doors, repairs to front and rear wings, extensive repaint to blend in and 2 wheel trims, I was surprised they actually fixed it, must have been on the verge of being uneconomic. When I sold it the fact it had never been written off meant I had nothing to declare.

Most cars suffer damage in their life and if its properly fixed there is no "diminution of value". If they are repaired badly and its obvious what has happened their value will be reduced.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 3 Feb 2019 17:27
BMW 3 Series Coupe - Rear end collision damage - leaseman

Sorry Skidpan, as I almost invariably agree with your posts. I request that you retract your slight on my honesty and professional knowledge. A relatively new BMW Coupe with an accident free history is probably in a different sphere from a Note or a Micra in terms of potential buyers discernment (whether trade or retail) and, whatever the car, diminution of value is a fact! You do not mention the extra insurance premium that will, no doubt, be incurred, so I assume you agree with that part of my post.

I trust that the majority of the collective professional subscribers to this knowledgeable forum would agree with my summary.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 3 Feb 2019 18:09
BMW 3 Series Coupe - Rear end collision damage - gordonbennet

My interesting episode regarding BMWs and repaired damage was when i took a lorry load of 9 x 3 series saloons back into BMW's dist centre, they were being returned from their brief ( not be repeated in a hurry :-) stint as renters from one of the customers i pulled for.

Some of these cars had sustained various repairs, mostly completed in house at the rentals own workshops...a rather good repair shop too, and i'd never seen anything like it before when defleeting most makes, they took this inspection lark seriously, a small army of be-smocked chaps complete with clip boards arrived and went through these things with magnifying glass close inspection, noting all the non genuine parts, eg bumpers bonnets lights that had been used in repair.

The results of this? the experiment wasn't repeated.

Somehow i doubt we'll hear from the OP again, but i hope i'm wrong, there's a good reason recent new posters like Sarah Kingslye get lots of instant help and considered advice/suggestions, because they are quick to acknowledge replies and provide follow up in due course.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 5 Feb 2019 10:22
BMW 3 Series Coupe - Rear end collision damage - skidpan

Sorry Skidpan, as I almost invariably agree with your posts. I request that you retract your slight on my honesty and professional knowledge. A relatively new BMW Coupe with an accident free history is probably in a different sphere from a Note or a Micra in terms of potential buyers discernment (whether trade or retail) and, whatever the car, diminution of value is a fact!

Any car that is properly repaired after an accident should suffer no loss of value. Show me an advert on Autotrader where the seller declares damage other than a categorised write off. More specifically how many £20,000 BMW's have any mention of body repairs in the adverts. I do not believe for one moment that a dealer reduces the price of a car that has been properly repaired.

You do not mention the extra insurance premium that will, no doubt, be incurred, so I assume you agree with that part of my post.

My own experience is premiums do not rise after no fault accidents. After the wifes accident in August 2017 at renewal in November 2017 the premium fell. November 2018 the premium fell again (but by then she did have a more powerful Fabia that is in a higher insurance group).

I request that you retract your slight on my honesty and professional knowledge.

Sorry, no retraction.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 5 Feb 2019 17:05
BMW 3 Series Coupe - Rear end collision damage - leaseman

Only time will tell Skidpan. I have given my best professional advice, borne up by 52 years of experience in these matters, including running Retail dealerships, a bodyshop and fleets of vehicles. Maybe WD will keep us informed.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 6 Feb 2019 11:34
BMW 3 Series Coupe - Rear end collision damage - skidpan

Another example

In November 1995 dad bought a 6 month old Nissan Primera, ex Nat West car. Paid £9500 which was about £4500 off list.

In February 1996 whilst parked at a Nursing Home visiting a relative a staff member hit the car damaging the front nearside wing and bumper. Immediately admitted liability but their insurers argued about the car being on private land thus not insured and it took until June to get an agreement to do the work, about £400 form memory.

Before the car went to the bodyshop Dad was stuck hard up the rear whilst sat in traffic which put both him and Mum in hospital and the car off the road. I thought it would be written off, the hatch no longer fitted, the boot floor had deformed jamming the spare wheel in and the tow bar was so deformed it was almost on the road. But the went ahead and fixed it at a cost of almost £5000 plus 3 months car hire and £7000 of personal injury compensation.

A couple of weeks after he got it back the neighbour across revered into the rear of the car damaging it yet again. I tried to drive off but when he saw me on the road he admitted it was him. The damage was about £2000 worth.

So in 12 months the car had suffered £7400 of repairs.

He decided it was time to shift it.

He waited until January and the local Nissan emporium had a quantity of pre reg Almeras at an excellent price. I was stunned when the offered the full PX value (£7800) against a hugely discounted car and whilst they never asked about damage they repaired it so must have known.

And his insurance did not increase.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

We give you the low down on how to save on insurance, little-known tricks and tips, what insurance groups mean and how to use insurance aggregators to beat insurers.

Insurance group finder and how to save on insurance

From economical vans to those that have the largest payloads, we have a shortlist for everyone - click to find out which will suit your needs.

Undecided on which van to buy? Our Top 10 shortlists can help...