unfortunate Christmas - Damaged rear quarter

[nip]

What's the overhaul condition like? also what are they worth , would be nice to repair. If you get good money from the insurance I would personally strip the whole vehicle and fully repaint it

[hunker7]

I'm happy for them to write it off and give me car's value and I buy the car off them.

new quarter panel is €375 off Audi tradition, and I assume you can put another £1000-1500 on top of that in labour and materials to get it done properly. So really, anything below £2000 I am not happy with!

[nip]

Firstly I'd look at the overhaul condition of the car , stitching a quarter in isn' as bad as it looks, but saying that whats' it worth? What' the price o f a quarter? . Insurance way of looking at it is writing it off as harsh as it sounds. What the insurance could do is give you a 1 off payment to repair it only if they think the repair costs arnt as much as the vehicle value .
if I was yourself i would sum all the pros and cons . Cost , value, condition of overhaul car . Btw sorry to hear your bad news .

[hunker7]

I would talk to them. Since my accident and my good experience of alpha my son had a bump in a car park where the other car cut the corner too tight and rubbed against the front bumper and wing of his S3. The other driver admitted it was her fault. I took her details and my son gave them to Reg at alpha and he took it from there. He contacted the woman's insurance company and my sons company on his behalf sent a courtesy merc 200 and gave the go ahead to repair the car that same week. No blot on his insurance either. They handled it all. I'd phone then for a chat. They are based in Northern Ireland so may put you in touch with someone local to you.

Cheers matey, I'll give them a ring first thing tomorrow.

[4WDrifter]

I would talk to them. Since my accident and my good experience of alpha my son had a bump in a car park where the other car cut the corner too tight and rubbed against the front bumper and wing of his S3. The other driver admitted it was her fault. I took her details and my son gave them to Reg at alpha and he took it from there. He contacted the woman's insurance company and my sons company on his behalf sent a courtesy merc 200 and gave the go ahead to repair the car that same week. No blot on his insurance either. They handled it all. I'd phone then for a chat. They are based in Northern Ireland so may put you in touch with someone local to you.

[hunker7]

From your description of the accident I'd say you were not at fault and that the insurer of the car which hit you should be paying the repair bill. Please do not try to reason with your own insurance company or the other insurance company yourself as they will run rings round you and shaft you. My advice is go to a claim handling company like these people I used when a young lady drove off the central reservation of a dual carriageway into my path. I've no connection to this company and when my car repair guy suggested using them my first thought was another snout in the trough but they came up trumps. They know all the dodges insurance companies use and they fight your corner. It seems they get their money by " hiring " you a courtesy car. I took the front passenger corner out of my S2 coupe and they wanted to write it off. I finished up I kept the car and accepted nearly 8k in lieu of repairs. Suffice to say it repaired very nicely.
http://www.alphaaccident.co.uk/

Should I wait for insurance to come back to me with a number or I can just get in touch with them?

[4WDrifter]

From your description of the accident I'd say you were not at fault and that the insurer of the car which hit you should be paying the repair bill. Please do not try to reason with your own insurance company or the other insurance company yourself as they will run rings round you and shaft you. My advice is go to a claim handling company like these people I used when a young lady drove off the central reservation of a dual carriageway into my path. I've no connection to this company and when my car repair guy suggested using them my first thought was another snout in the trough but they came up trumps. They know all the dodges insurance companies use and they fight your corner. It seems they get their money by " hiring " you a courtesy car. I took the front passenger corner out of my S2 coupe and they wanted to write it off. I finished up I kept the car and accepted nearly 8k in lieu of repairs. Suffice to say it repaired very nicely.

http://www.alphaaccident.co.uk/

[hunker7]

I quite like my grey S4 I haven't seen a Noggy Blue S6 for sale?

[Vorsprung durch Technik]

My thoughts are the same as i mentioned on facebook. If it was my car it would be a whole quarter panel. All this nonsense about it's too invasive, how the hell do people think Audi built the thing. There are plenty of decent bodyshops that this job would just be run of the mill and straightforward to do. As long as you get the body shop to show how the new panel was prepared for welding to the original structure with spotwelding equipment this should satisfy even the biggest doom mongers out there.

Alternatively you could always speak to someone on here who has attempted to sell his Noggy Blue URS6 estate via a facebook contact which for some reason fell through because the buyer lost his details. This all came out on a S6 topic where i knew what car he was talking about. He might sell you his car you never know?

[hunker7]

Just been on the phone with insurnace and asked then how they come to a value for the car. They use "glass guide" who apparently research recently sold vehicles, mileage etc etc. I am very curious of seeing what value they come back with, considering no online valuations work for any vehicles before 1998 and I've seen maybe 2-3 S4's for sale on eBay for instance in past 5 years.

Apparently they now have only 2 categories Cat F (non structural damage) and Cat N (Structural damage). Looking at damage I can't see how it can be Cat N but I am not an "engineer" so what do I know ay?


Might need to go down claim handling firm route if they're not willing to give me good aim of dosh. Should have an answer my mid next week at the latest.

[hunker7]

Not feeling sick oddly enough haha. 3 lane roundabout, two inner lanes were at standstill, I moved over from middle to left hand lane and a guy was creeping into left hand lane between cars and didn't see me coming and caught the rear and we know how that ended.

[4WDrifter]

Without wanting to make you any sicker than I know you already are, could I ask how it happened and whose “fault” was it? Just wondered.

[macspring]

Reason why I'd want to replace quarter panel, is to keep car's value intact.

This comment on the above might be too brutal / harsh, so please ignore / disregard as you see fit.

Rather than fuss about this car's value when it's now been 'so' damaged in the car quarter, I'd start saving to have the funds ready for a minter of a UrS6 Avant when one comes up. It will in the next 18 months, one of the late model P reg batch of cars in the UK. They will, I've seen couple over the last three years, you just have to have the funds to hand and be able to recognise a car that is close to being a minter or with a little bit of fettling will be. Because no one, other than about five of us on here, has copped onto them, they are relatively inexpensive.

Newer Audis can be tempting, but they will have their own set of issues / costs. When you want a specific model of older cars they are never an easy proposition in terms of expense and grief.

Probably not a helpful post for you right now, but just thought I'd mention it to give you perspective to your predicament.

As has been mentioned a proper old school and old in age metal man is your best way forward with this car's damage imho.

Kind regards.

[S2TORNADO]

Thanks for replies chaps. Reason why I'd want to replace quarter panel is to keep cars value intact. Not planning on selling, but newer Audi's are tempting and I can't say I will never replace it. New quarter panel is €375 delivered off Audi Tradition which isn't too bad.

Some would argue that a new quarter panel is such a big job which disturbs so many areas it could devalue the car as much as a thin layer of filler.
Remember, if a PROPER panel beater gets it very close all of the original seams/joints are still intact and the filler is minimal. When i say proper panel beater i'm talking about a skilled metal man, not the modern day "equivalent".
Ive just watched a fella knock out a beemer rear quarter this afternoon. Not quite as bad as yours but after half an hour it was car shaped and another hour later it'd been stretched and/or shrunk smoove. He then skipped it over with paper and the feathering showed high spots and low spots were absolutely minimal.
Again, you need to find out if there's any proper metal lads in your area as the numbers who say they can do it to the ones who actually can will be very different. Most people in the trade nearby you will know who the genuine skilled lads are so try and ask someone who's independent.

[hunker7]

Thanks for replies chaps. Reason why I'd want to replace quarter panel is to keep cars value intact. Not planning on selling, but newer Audi's are tempting and I can't say I will never replace it. New quarter panel is €375 delivered off Audi Tradition which isn't too bad.