I have a 1996 Renault Trafic T1100 2.2 petrol Motorhome. On Thursday (05/11/2015)I was on my way with my dog to catch the Eurotunnel as the start of a 45 day trip around France and Spain.
I was on the M25 doing about 65mph and near jnct 24 when an idiot driver that had fallen asleep at the wheel smashed into the back of me pushing me into the centre lane. Thankfully no one was overtaking at the time otherwise I dread to think what would have happened.
He must have been doing 90 to 100 mph as he has badly damaged the near side rear of my van and also the cabinets inside.
I did manage to eventually get it home and I have had verbal quotes for the damage, which will be confirmed in writing on Monday. £3800 for the bodywork, £850 for the interior cabinet damage and there is a mechanical fault (rumbling when I drive the van) that will be analyzed and priced up on Monday.
It is fairly obvious that my van will be written off and I was told that if it is I might be able to buy it back and with the money I get off the insurance (which will be nowhere near what I paid for it in September) I could get it repaired and at a fraction of the quoted prices. I should be able to buy used parts for what I need.
The parts I will need if I can get it repaired would a near side rear door, near side rear corner bumper and near side rear light cluster. I would also like to replace the front bumper as well. I have someone that will do the internal work at the right price already.
Do any of you guys know the best places to look for these parts and is there a problem in buying back a write off, repairing it then insuring it again.
CatC write off is repairable but has to undergo a vehicle inspection by VOSA or DVSA or whatever they call themselves these days.
We bought a damaged Land Rover Defender CSW for one of our sons that had a severely damged front n/s corner.
Once we got it home it was obvious that a new chassis was needed, so we got a galvanised chassis and fitted it.
The inspection was done at Northampton, guy came out with a clipboard, we showed him the before and after pictures and he checked the VIN plates, job done.
There are restriction on driving such vehicles back on the road, apparently until the V5C is re-issued you cannot tax it, but we did manage to MOT it.
Sorry for my late reply but I didn't get any email notifications to say I had any responses to this thread.
I am just about to take the van for a quote on the body work damage then for a quote on the woodwork damage. They have already seen it but hadn't got their paperwork with them to complete the quotes but the body repairer couldn't see any structural damage to it so hopefully it will be a cat D.
The bodywork has been damaged as well as the internal cabinets on that side of my van. It looks like the quotes are going to be in the region of £4600 to £5000 so it will almost certainly be written off.
I looked at the Gov.uk site and I can't find anything to do with what happens if you buy back your vehicle.
Buying back the vehicle is an agreement between yourself and your insurers, I agreed with my insurers after an accident to repair the car myself, they recovered the car from France and paid me to repair the car, a quick VIC check MOT and I was back on the road.
The Bly thing I would say is don't accept the first price they offer you.
Regards
Bob
------------- Retired and living the dream touring Europe