General Is my GP repairable or written off?

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General Is my GP repairable or written off?

Joined
Apr 15, 2011
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Sydney, Australia
Hi

Sad news :( When driving home from uni today i got distracted and in the split second i wasnt watching what i was doing, i hit a pole and gutter. I have nothing to blame but myself being distracted :( Both airbags inflated, the car doesnt start, the right front wheel wont turn and the passenger door doesn't open. I'm not sure if the chassis is affected but the front suspension is certainly wrecked, as is the guard, light, bumper, wheel and probably the door skin as it's slightly dented. The seat belts are also all weird :s

The tow truck drivers think there's a good chance she'll be written off? What are everyone's thoughts? I kinda don't want her to be written off :(

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There will be a lot of people that disagree with me here but after having 2 cars written off myself (neither my fault), I think that is a write off.

Damn :( I just recently spent 10 hours washing, claying, waxing the paint etc, then shampooing the interior etc. The car was immaculate! then on tuesday i had an iPod adapter fitted, and ordered floor mats from eBay, so i really loved the car.

Oh well, i guess i'll just have to learn from my mistakes... luckily it's all insured :)
 
I don't know about parts/labour/GP value in Australia, but I'm pretty sure that'll be a write off. Might be helpful if you told us the year of the car though.

Once the airbags are deployed you know that's it. The suspension damage looks quite severe, the dash and steering wheel would have to be replaced for the airbags, and there's a fair bit of bodywork damage too.


PS: Was the distraction a hot girl? :eek:
 
I wouldn't be at all surprised if it is written off but I think it could be repaired if you were determined. The insurance co will normally offer you the chance to buy the car back from them.

I'm guessing that the door doesn't open because the front wing damage is interfering with its leading edge, if this is the case chassis should be ok.

Airbags going off is a bummer, dought it was necessary. Were you carrying a passenger?
 
I don't know about parts/labour/GP value in Australia, but I'm pretty sure that'll be a write off. Might be helpful if you told us the year of the car though.

Once the airbags are deployed you know that's it. The suspension damage looks quite severe, the dash and steering wheel would have to be replaced for the airbags, and there's a fair bit of bodywork damage too.


PS: Was the distraction a hot girl? :eek:

Parts/labour for Fiats in Australia is ludicrously expensive as everything is imported and being European, Fiat thinks it can charge premium prices (and they get away with it). The car is insured for $10,000 (6,700 pounds), which what its worth and it's a 2008 8v 1.4 dualogic, with 80,000km (50k miles)

I'm super embarrassed to say that it was a spider dangling on a web infront of my face that distracted me :/ i think it was there as i parked under a low hanging tree at uni. I tried to move it away with my right hand and have a feeling i might have moved the steering wheel into the pole with my left hand (still holding the wheel)

& @Jameshobiecat, i was alone at the time (thankfully) although i think the passenger airbag went off as my uni bag was on the passenger seat (although the seatbelt buzzer didnt sound?). Although im glad they did inflate, as i hit the airbag pretty hard :s

I dont know for sure, but in the last pic, on the bottom right of the wheel well, the white area that's usually covered by a liner looks bent, is that repairable?
 
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Everything is repairable at a price but I had not spotted that. Given your comment about auz prices it is probably an ex car.

Don't fancy paying your insurance premium next year!
 
I'll be making the insurance claim today, judging by what everyone's said i think it'll be gone... I loved the car though so i'm pretty sad :( Although if they do fix it, it might not ever feel the same again... I'm not looking forward to paying increased insurance though :( Atleast this will be an opportunity for me to get a manual transmission car :)
 
It's all repairable, in the UK I'd put costs at about £4-5k imo. In the first pic though is the door open and left ajar or its it like that as a result of the accident?

The suspension damage doesn't look structural to the vehicle, so can all be changed, new dash and airbags, wing, possibly bumper and headlight. Plus the damage to the gearbox, this could be the costly item imo.

All depends upon price of parts and labour down under though as mentioned. If in the UK I'd have said its about 50/50 as to if an insurance company would decide to repair it or write it off. I suspect if written off it'll be sold as salvage and put back on the road by someone :)
 
It's all repairable, in the UK I'd put costs at about £4-5k imo. In the first pic though is the door open and left ajar or its it like that as a result of the accident?

The suspension damage doesn't look structural to the vehicle, so can all be changed, new dash and airbags, wing, possibly bumper and headlight. Plus the damage to the gearbox, this could be the costly item imo.

All depends upon price of parts and labour down under though as mentioned. If in the UK I'd have said its about 50/50 as to if an insurance company would decide to repair it or write it off. I suspect if written off it'll be sold as salvage and put back on the road by someone :)
Also if you repair it, your insurance premium will also go up not just due to you causing accident...but salvaged cars are notoriously expensive to insure as they're not as 'safe'. Even if its CAT D repaired, the insurance hike can be a monster.
 
Also if you repair it, your insurance premium will also go up not just due to you causing accident...but salvaged cars are notoriously expensive to insure as they're not as 'safe'. Even if its CAT D repaired, the insurance hike can be a monster.

Thats not nessecarily true. Insurance companies don't even ask this so I don't know where you got that from.

A written off car thats been repaired car isn't suddenly 'Unsafe'.
 
They don't ask because they already know.

The only thing it will affect is the value of the car should you be in another accident i.e you won't get anywhere near the non-writtenoff value.
 
I think things may work differently in Aus, If i a car is written off by you insurer, i don't think you get it back at all, you just get a pay out and the car is sent to auction - but i dont know for sure how everything works. IF the car had a written off title on the government register, it can't legally be re-registered in my state (New South Whales) ever again even if repaired.

As Most Easterly Pandas said, the parts would be expensive, and you could probably add another 1,500 pounds to his estimate. The Dualogic hydraulic thing was still making it's usual noise when the drivers door was opened after the crash so i don't think it was totally wrecked, although the starter motor worked, the engine wouldnt start. The bumper and headlight would also need to be replaced. To be honest i dont remember if the passenger door was like that as a result of the accident or if it was opened :(

I think she is a write off though...

I looked around online for another GP (they're hard to find in Aus) and found a 90hp 1.3 M-Jet manual for sale nearby, at a price that my insurance pay out would cover... but for now i don't think i'll be getting a new car anytime soon.
 
Sorry to hear about your incident - My first GP had a shunt - knocked the rear end about 2" out of alignment with the rest of the car. The garage did a £2.5k repair job on it, and tbh it looked as good as new. Problem was, it never drove the same - had a wierd vibration over 40-50mph (and I was doing quite a bit of m/way driving at the time). I ended up getting rid simply because I didn't feel safe driving it anymore. I wish they had just written it off in the first place..

If they managed to fix mine, I can't see why they can't fix yours. But you may never be happy driving it again if it feels different...
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:(!

I had an accident in a brand new punto evo a week after purchase, was rear ended at high speed and the damage looked less than that :O lol

Guy who hit me was out cold (I thought he was dead, forgot to check despite being a first aider)

Whoops! :D
 
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