CHR Rear collision

[Gav 18]

Hi all

The wife got driven into by an 18-ton wagon today ☹ Thankfully she is okay (bar a stiff neck now) and just damage to the vehicles.

Everything is booked in via insurance to start the repair process but wanted opinions on any potential underlying damage to the car that I might want to draw the repair shop’s attention to/have checked in greater detail?

Anybody had similar and can offer any advice?

Thanks 

[FROSTYBALLS]

If the car has a spare wheel, check to see whether the seal has been blown. Also check the boot floor for any creases/deformation - boot floor may need replacing if creased.

[Auris James]

Sorry to hear this. I'd get the repair company to take out all the boot trim and look for damage to boot floor etc. If ramp, look underneath for damage as well.

Hope you get it repaired quickly. I would be tempted to get it repaired by Toyota subject to your insurance terms and possible extra excess if not using insurers preferred repairer.

James. 

 

[Catlover]

It was many years ago but I did see a insurance company assessor examining an accident damaged vehicle. He was extremely thorough in his work and I wouldn’t have thought he was going to miss anything. Gave me a lot of confidence, so it made me chuckle the thought of a layman telling skilled assessors/engineers what to look for.

[FROSTYBALLS]

51 minutes ago, Catlover said:

it made me chuckle the thought of a layman telling skilled assessors/engineers what to look for.

The OP has asked for advice on potential damage, which from their prospective, is quite reasonable. Most insurers now rely on the approved repairer's assessment of damage/repairs, rather than using their own assessors - this save them costs and reduces the time taken to repair the damage and settle the claim.

[forkingabout]

I would push for the repair to be carried out by a Toyota approved bodyshop.

Most insurance approved bodyshops normally do an average job as they have an endless stream of damaged vehicles waiting for repair & there not to bothered about there reputation.

[FROSTYBALLS]

37 minutes ago, forkingabout said:

I would push for the repair to be carried out by a Toyota approved bodyshop.

Nowadays, quite a few insurers charge an additional excess if their approved repairer isn't used. The OP needs to check their insurance policy to see whether they are affected by this.

[forkingabout]

21 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

Nowadays, quite a few insurers charge an additional excess if their approved repairer isn't used. The OP needs to check their insurance policy to see whether they are affected by this.

The 3rd party caused the damage so there insurance should be paying for the repairs - the OP's insurance shouldn't be paying a thing towards this.

[FROSTYBALLS]

1 minute ago, forkingabout said:

The 3rd party caused the damage so there insurance should be paying for the repairs - the OP's insurance shouldn't be paying a thing towards this.

Things aren't always as cut and dried as they first appear.

[Catlover]

1 hour ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

The OP has asked for advice on potential damage, which from their prospective, is quite reasonable. Most insurers now rely on the approved repairer's assessment of damage/repairs, rather than using their own assessors - this save them costs and reduces the time taken to repair the damage and settle the claim.

It still made me chuckle though.

[TonyHSD]

13 hours ago, Gav 18 said:

Hi all

The wife got driven into by an 18-ton wagon today ☹ Thankfully she is okay (bar a stiff neck now) and just damage to the vehicles.

Everything is booked in via insurance to start the repair process but wanted opinions on any potential underlying damage to the car that I might want to draw the repair shop’s attention to/have checked in greater detail?

Anybody had similar and can offer any advice?

Thanks 

Hi, sorry to hear that happened to you. The easiest way to check for any additional damage which will be present in your case is to open and close the rear hatch, try that and see if any extra force is needed, plus how smooth closing is going, if there are roughness when lock into position this will indicate a potential damage to boot floor panels. If you look at the hook where rear hatch locks you may also see second mark on it, this is happening from the opening and closing the rear hatch and the difference in the position of the floor. Under bumper most likely there would be a damaged panels, you can see from inside the boot , you will need to remove anything from inside and inspect with a torch. You can also look under the car for exhaust pipe damage, happen often when rear ended. This is probably a bigger job than a bumper only repair. After the repair been done and you have the car back best to check for how rear hatch operates, should be as before the accident, check for any external noises while driving, and check for all lines and gaps are aligned properly both sides of the car, check inside the boot if all damaged panels been dealt with too. 
Good luck 👍

[Cyker]

When my old Mk1 D4D went in for insurance repair, I let them use their own people - Rye Street Group.

Was a sandwich collision, so radiator, front cross member, AC condenser and rear bumper all needed replacing.

When I got it back, I found the clips that held the front headlamps had snapped but they'd just epoxy'd them together; They'd also not replaced the fairing that directs air from the front to the intercooler - This was ordered and replaced; The bonnet stops weren't set properly so the bonnet wouldn't shut until I screwed them down more; The rear bumper was replaced but evidently the mountings had also been bent as it no longer aligned properly and the sides stuck out but about 5 mm - They'd just tried to bend it back and epoxy the sides so they didn't stick out so I didn't discover this until a couple years later when it all popped out again while I was bouncing through an off-road carpark at Farnborough.

 

[yossarian247]

On 7/31/2021 at 8:34 AM, Catlover said:

It was many years ago but I did see a insurance company assessor examining an accident damaged vehicle. He was extremely thorough in his work and I wouldn’t have thought he was going to miss anything. Gave me a lot of confidence, so it made me chuckle the thought of a layman telling skilled assessors/engineers what to look for.

Having seen a Citroën which had suffered rear impact damage then apparently 'fixed' by just having a new plastic rear bumper fitted, with the structural damage underneath, including a badly creased metal boot floor being totally ignored I wouldn't be so sure! That was at an insurance approved repairer who was also a Citroën main dealer! 

As mentioned above, the bodyshops themselves tend to do most of the assessing now, and just email pictures or video to the Insurers. 

[Catlover]

46 minutes ago, yossarian247 said:

Having seen a Citroën which had suffered rear impact damage then apparently 'fixed' by just having a new plastic rear bumper fitted, with the structural damage underneath, including a badly creased metal boot floor being totally ignored I wouldn't be so sure! That was at an insurance approved repairer who was also a Citroën main dealer! 

As mentioned above, the bodyshops themselves tend to do most of the assessing now, and just email pictures or video to the Insurers. 

It was about 25 years ago I was talking about. But there again, maybe I too trustworthy.

[yossarian247]

51 minutes ago, Catlover said:

It was about 25 years ago I was talking about. But there again, maybe I too trustworthy.

The incident with the Citroën was about 15 years ago, but then the garage involved was Dixon Motor Group who went spectacularly bust a year or so later. Hopefully it wasn't representative of the industry as a whole. 

[DavidinDerbyshire]

On 7/31/2021 at 1:00 PM, TonyHSD said:

Hi, sorry to hear that happened to you. The easiest way to check for any additional damage which will be present in your case is to open and close the rear hatch, try that and see if any extra force is needed, plus how smooth closing is going, if there are roughness when lock into position this will indicate a potential damage to boot floor panels. If you look at the hook where rear hatch locks you may also see second mark on it, this is happening from the opening and closing the rear hatch and the difference in the position of the floor. Under bumper most likely there would be a damaged panels, you can see from inside the boot , you will need to remove anything from inside and inspect with a torch. You can also look under the car for exhaust pipe damage, happen often when rear ended. This is probably a bigger job than a bumper only repair. After the repair been done and you have the car back best to check for how rear hatch operates, should be as before the accident, check for any external noises while driving, and check for all lines and gaps are aligned properly both sides of the car, check inside the boot if all damaged panels been dealt with too. 
Good luck 👍

Definitely have the exhaust checked all the way back to the manifold.  I was rear ended in  VW T4 by a Metro   (lady driver on phone at T junction) and didn't do a thorough check. I had a towball which went through her radiator but I couldn't see any other damage. Felt sorry for her and let her off. Two months later my exhaust blew at the exit point. The pipe had  shafted into the exhaust, not by much, but enough to weaken it. Cost me £180 but thought better of litigating. Learnt the lesson the hard way.