CreosoteChris
Active Member
Hi All – today marked the likely beginning of the end for my beloved 220CE, daily driver for the last 2 and 1/3 years, which was involved in a collision in Ripponden, W Yorks on the way home from work. The incident involved my Merc and a 2002 VW Polo at a busy junction. The other vehicle pulled out on me from a minor road as I travelled quite on a major one - definitely his fault – too close for me to stop in time. A fairly low-speed collision of front corners (a frontal corner impact for me and a side-on corner impact for other driver). I tried to get photos of the impact scene but the other driver reversed his vehicle away before I could get my phone camera pointed at the crunch point.
We exchanged details, agreed it would go via insurance, and left the scene. I pulled in to a forecourt a few miles later and inspected the damage in the light, initial assessment is:
N/S indicator lens smashed
N/S headlight pushed out of place but intact
Strip of sheet metal directly below the bumper bent
Bumper pushed out of place at N/S corner (marginal but non-zero displacement
Front edge of the N/S wing bent at the leading edge (directly above and below the indicator aperture
Phoned my insurer when I got home and reported the incident – the claims handler seemed very confident, from my honest and accurate description of the event, that it would be judged the other driver’s fault. Sometime in the next 48 hours, my car will be taken away by the insurer’s chosen repairers, and I suspect (given the low value of the vehicle, maybe £1500) it will be written off.
And here’s the irony / possible twist in the tail: I always realised that daily-driving a 20-odd year-old 124 would eventually result in slow death through rust, and I bought the vehicle (Aug 2014) hoping to get a couple of years of use before rust problems started to appear. A week ago last Sunday I took it to the jet wash and for the first time noticed the paint bubbling on the offside wheel-arch – the beginning of the end. I was pondering what to do about this, and actually spent about 20 mins on Auto Trader whilst at work today, checking out CLKs – then on the way home….
…so I guess it’s just possible that accident repair will provide me with a shiny new n/s front wing, which sort of alters the cost equation for getting the offside done, and keeping the car in decent condition.
Right now my main concern is the insurance companies rubber-stamp their decision on fault. I’m reasonably confident that it’s going to be found in my favour – true if the actual circumstances of the accident, as I reported to my insurer – are accepted. However, there remains, I suppose, a significant possibility that the other driver will concoct some story which makes it my word against his – not really sure what happens then.
The car (which some here have seen) isn’t any show vehicle – but looks pretty when scrubbed up, drives really nicely, and is (was?) basically a decent example of a C124. Would be a shame, if it gets written off, because there’s so many nice aspects to it (powder-coated wheels, VGC black leather interior, decent stereo, still has that "magic carpet glide" fell to drive). I have this horrible feeling that the insurer will take it away and say “write-off, here’s £1500
Any thoughts / advice appreciated.
Cheers
1993 220CE, auto, red / black leather, 121k, Manchester
We exchanged details, agreed it would go via insurance, and left the scene. I pulled in to a forecourt a few miles later and inspected the damage in the light, initial assessment is:
N/S indicator lens smashed
N/S headlight pushed out of place but intact
Strip of sheet metal directly below the bumper bent
Bumper pushed out of place at N/S corner (marginal but non-zero displacement
Front edge of the N/S wing bent at the leading edge (directly above and below the indicator aperture
Phoned my insurer when I got home and reported the incident – the claims handler seemed very confident, from my honest and accurate description of the event, that it would be judged the other driver’s fault. Sometime in the next 48 hours, my car will be taken away by the insurer’s chosen repairers, and I suspect (given the low value of the vehicle, maybe £1500) it will be written off.
And here’s the irony / possible twist in the tail: I always realised that daily-driving a 20-odd year-old 124 would eventually result in slow death through rust, and I bought the vehicle (Aug 2014) hoping to get a couple of years of use before rust problems started to appear. A week ago last Sunday I took it to the jet wash and for the first time noticed the paint bubbling on the offside wheel-arch – the beginning of the end. I was pondering what to do about this, and actually spent about 20 mins on Auto Trader whilst at work today, checking out CLKs – then on the way home….
…so I guess it’s just possible that accident repair will provide me with a shiny new n/s front wing, which sort of alters the cost equation for getting the offside done, and keeping the car in decent condition.
Right now my main concern is the insurance companies rubber-stamp their decision on fault. I’m reasonably confident that it’s going to be found in my favour – true if the actual circumstances of the accident, as I reported to my insurer – are accepted. However, there remains, I suppose, a significant possibility that the other driver will concoct some story which makes it my word against his – not really sure what happens then.
The car (which some here have seen) isn’t any show vehicle – but looks pretty when scrubbed up, drives really nicely, and is (was?) basically a decent example of a C124. Would be a shame, if it gets written off, because there’s so many nice aspects to it (powder-coated wheels, VGC black leather interior, decent stereo, still has that "magic carpet glide" fell to drive). I have this horrible feeling that the insurer will take it away and say “write-off, here’s £1500
Any thoughts / advice appreciated.
Cheers
1993 220CE, auto, red / black leather, 121k, Manchester