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General 500c Rear shunt!!!!!!!!!!

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General 500c Rear shunt!!!!!!!!!!

geo uk

geo uk

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Parked in the garage
Joined
Apr 20, 2010
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Location
Carmarthenshire
Hi all

Absolutely gutted today :( as I was stationary indicating to turn whilst waiting for oncoming traffic to pass when a van smashed in to the back of me with my 10 month old son in the back. Fortunately everyone was alright and we were turning into an ambulance station to see my paramedic wife who was working so she checked us over!

Amazingly for the impact the rear bumper has only minor scratches although rear parking sensors knocked out and boot buckled in. ( support bar behind bumper did it's job and is buckled too).

Been to fiat dealer for estimate and they compiled a list of parts and said they'd give me the quote on Monday. My question is how much do u think they will estimate??

Will definately need boot lid, bumper, sensors and bumper support bar.

Just keep telling myself atleast everyone was ok but still a little gutted. Atleast I can confirm it really is a solid strong little car (and mine doesn't have a roof).
 
Rear quarters are fine. Only boot and bumper were affected. I'm surprised the bumper doesn't look more damaged considering the bumper traveled far enough for the front of the car behind to hit boot. Not misshapen at all with just minor scratches and there's not a fleck of paint missing from anywhere! Even the chrome bumper strip is only slightly damaged in one area and seems like it should be much worse. Just lucky I was hit square on.

Only issue at moment is I want my excellent local fiat dealer to carry out work but insurance company wants me to travel about 55 miles to a garage of their choosing. If I use my fiat garage, insurance say it'll be more drawn out but I'd rather wait.

Just curious now as to what the estimate wil be. My fiat garage tell me when insurance give go ahead Thay can get parts and fit in 2 days which is encouraging. I've just been out with duct tape and my hands behind bumper trying to push the parking sensors back in as they were dangling behind the bumper, lol.
 
Yup, boot floor fine. Seems everything was absorbed by the bumper. I was more worried about the seams where the bumper meets the rear quarter but they appear fine and don't seem to have pushed against bodywork at all. Boot hinges are bent though so boot doesn't close square but then thats expected when its caved in so much.

I'm not sure if its the colour or just lack of paint damage but not until you get quite close is the damage that noticeable. The boot is completely warped but strangely the BNW colour disguises it well!

I think the massive steel framed Phil & Teds buggy in boot acted like an internal roll cage!!
 
Very sorry.

It does appear to be a tough little car though.

When it's fixed you'll never know it was damaged.
 
geo uk said:
Yup, boot floor fine. Seems everything was absorbed by the bumper. I was more worried about the seams where the bumper meets the rear quarter but they appear fine and don't seem to have pushed against bodywork at all. Boot hinges are bent though so boot doesn't close square but then thats expected when its caved in so much.

I'm not sure if its the colour or just lack of paint damage but not until you get quite close is the damage that noticeable. The boot is completely warped but strangely the BNW colour disguises it well!

I think the massive steel framed Phil & Teds buggy in boot acted like an internal roll cage!!
Click to expand...

I'd think get the babies seat replaced (by the insurance) if you can or at the very least consult the manufacturer for some advice. It's most likely alright but IIRC baby seats are like helmets, if they absorb any proper impact they should be replaced as a matter of caution :)

Bumper did its job then and absorbed the impact (y)

Glad everyone's OK, at the end of the day it's a car and can be replaced :) You can't be.
 
when i went to my fiat dealer, they where going to charge £2000 to repair the bumper and boot and it would of taken 3 weeks to do if i dint go through insurance! That didnt include sensors or the support bar! what i did in the end was go on ebay and get a second hand, mint condition boot n bumper for £150 as it was cheaper than insurance job. But in your case, i would go Fiat as they will supply new bits and do it through insurance.

Glad you and the little un were ok though. As maxi said, a car can be replaced. you cant. Shows how safe the 500s really are though!
 
You are lucky that the impact was not worse. I had a similar accident, where a van smashed into the back of me at approx. 30mph and even that speed caused my bumper to crumple in, and the boot floor to warp. This is in an Astra, but in a 500 there is not much space from the boot to the most important thing in your car (the little child)

Hope your both ok, and definately look to replace the car seat. Even if you cant see any damage, its not worth the risk of keeping the same one.
 
YouKnowWho said:
You are lucky that the impact was not worse. I had a similar accident, where a van smashed into the back of me at approx. 30mph and even that speed caused my bumper to crumple in, and the boot floor to warp. This is in an Astra, but in a 500 there is not much space from the boot to the most important thing in your car (the little child)

Hope your both ok, and definately look to replace the car seat. Even if you cant see any damage, its not worth the risk of keeping the same one.
Click to expand...
In a rear end shunt it's likely that your car will go forward lessening the impact in terms of parts of the car hitting rear occupants OR the front will hit the car in front which will absorb part of the accident.
 
Well garage got back to me with quote which is over £1000. I'd take a picture of damage and post but strangely it's hard to get the damage to show in any pic I take! The BNW colour makes it really hard to see somehow even though it's smashed in.
 
As Maxi said, get a new car seat under the other parties insurance, it is a valid claim. It's not worth messing around with car seats, which is why insurance companies agree to replace them without question.

Make sure you destroy the old one though rather than take it to the tip as somebody may pick it up and use it.
 
Just to update:

My car went to the dealers last week for fix and after 2 days it is now back good as new. Very happy with work. New boot, bumper, chrome strip, parking sensors. An excellent job and back to looking good as new thankfully.

Other party admitted full liability and we had to pay no excess. I can highly recommend BV Rees, St.Dogmaels in Pembrokeshire now for not only their excellent sales service but also their repair work. Just waiting for them to get a new LED bulb for rear spoiler brake light in and car is back to normal. Now if only they could sort out my speeding ticket for a moment of lapse in concentration last week....

Oh well.
 
Hi!

My first post to the forum!
Glad to read that you and the little one are ok! Should definitely claim for a new car seat.

Don't know whether this has been posted before and sorry if it's a repeat!

I saw a leaflet in my dealership last week that I thought looked interesting and I don't know if anyone else has seen this Fiat Accident Aftercare (can see details of it on the Fiat Website under Ownership section) where if you call Fiat, they handle the whole claims process for you and will insist to your insurer that they use a Fiat garage rather than the one that will do it cheapest. And it seems to be totally free...

Looks quite good if you (heaven forbid) should ever need it! I had an idiot in a mini bus reverse around the corner of a road into me in my old car (an Aygo) and completely wrecked my bumper even though I was beeping my horn and I couldn't go backwards because there were cars behind me, and my insurer (Direct Line) were really worse than useless and it was a nightmare for about 2 months, during which time someone else reversed into the side of my car and put a massive dent in my door! It was hell for a 19 y/o and a first dealing with insurance company!
 
xtommox said:
Hi!

My first post to the forum!
Glad to read that you and the little one are ok! Should definitely claim for a new car seat.

Don't know whether this has been posted before and sorry if it's a repeat!

I saw a leaflet in my dealership last week that I thought looked interesting and I don't know if anyone else has seen this Fiat Accident Aftercare (can see details of it on the Fiat Website under Ownership section) where if you call Fiat, they handle the whole claims process for you and will insist to your insurer that they use a Fiat garage rather than the one that will do it cheapest. And it seems to be totally free...

Looks quite good if you (heaven forbid) should ever need it! I had an idiot in a mini bus reverse around the corner of a road into me in my old car (an Aygo) and completely wrecked my bumper even though I was beeping my horn and I couldn't go backwards because there were cars behind me, and my insurer (Direct Line) were really worse than useless and it was a nightmare for about 2 months, during which time someone else reversed into the side of my car and put a massive dent in my door! It was hell for a 19 y/o and a first dealing with insurance company!
Click to expand...

These magic words tend to work well with insurance companies who don't want to play ball

"I hereby give you notice of my interntion to pursue this matter with the insurance ombudsman, as you are most likely aware this gives you 8 weeks (I think it's 8!) to resolve this matter before I take my case to the ombudsman"

Strangely enough after that cheques come through the door, assessors visit you etc etc :rolleyes:
 
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