I
Ian Warren
Guest
On Friday i had a crash, guy went through a red light and hit the passenger side of the car.
My car is a 2001 Y 100SX (1.6) with about 100k on the clock but with air con
The drivers side is pretty much pristine but the passenger side is dented and scratched from front to back.
It has a scratch on the front bumper
dented front wing above the wheel and the back bit is warped so that the door catches on it.
The door is scratched and has a big dent (plus some small ones)
The sill at the bottom behind the door has a dent
Their are scratched on the rear panel
Their is a big dent by the rear lights, I have heard this should be a pull out and touch up job but the dent is huge. It does however only have a couple of scratches in the middle of it so as long as pulling it does not damage the paint it is just a touch up.
I paid about £2k for the car Oct 2006 so gave the price of £1.6k to insurance.
They are not sure if it will be a repair or not (border line is the words they used on the phone), if not I am thinking their are two options
1. Cat D write off, buy back and get the damaged repaired my self, would be nice as I have slightly modded the car (after market alloys, air filter, just fitted 6x9's in the back and 17cm's in the front (this was interesting even with the adaptors that are available) and changed the dash and interior light for blue ones.
2, Buy as a Cat D, repair and sell on, driving round I always get interest in the car, alloys and both together and have a mate who is interested (and he was in the crash sitting next to me. He is still trying to buy the car off me)
3. Get a new car (could follow on from 2). This depends on budget but I might be able to get about £2k (depending on what they give me for the Bravo) to spend although I would like to spend a little less, prob up to 1,750 if poss.
Now I am thinking of several cars and would like suggestions.
My wish list is
a car no smaller then the Bravo
Hatch or Coupe
MPG of about 33 or higher
Insurance group 11 or lower (23 with 2 years no claims, full license for 2 years but this is affordable on 3rd party fire and theft, probably what i should have gone for on the Bravo given the cost of it but went comp as I could afford it)
Pref 3 door (for looks) but will look at 5 door
Not huge (will go up to Mondeo size though)
Petrol or Diesel but perfer petrol (the clutch for 1 plus I have a small hate for diesel that I can not quite justify)
Pref air con
0-60MPH below or around 10.5 secs
Cars I have been looking at
1st, get another bravo, I like mine and the alloys would fit straight on (easy). Would probably look at a 1.8 HLX now as insurance is affordable now. I like my Bravo and so does everyone else who looks at it, especially if i drive them somewhere, others put their nose up but I take that as just the Fiat badge, i am not too bothered about badges (but could not bring myself to buy a Scoda, not matter who good they now are, all the jokes i know puts me off)
2. Get a Golf, a 1.8 or an older 1.9 diesel GTI, no air con with tis option, sensible choice but boring to look at and I do not fend to go for the norm like this. Impossible to get air con
3. Ford Focus, price point seems to suggest a 5 door 1.8. Styling will be fine and a little more practicable but this is not a major issue as I only occasionally have friends in the back but drive the car with only my self in most of the time
4. BMW 3 series Compact or Coupe, would be a 316 or 318, maybe diesel if I can find one, not too bothered if I don't. Hard to get air con
5. Hyundai Coupe, maybe a 1.6 but probably a 2.0 as group 10 insurance. Badge is a little issue here and I know it is a hair dressers car, the trouble is hair dresser cars tend to be good (Audi TT, Mazda MX-5 etc). I am not sure if i can push past the hair dresser image and the badge. Leather interior makes the inside very black and I am not the keenest of leather interiors as cold in the winter and boiling in the summer. I prefer cloth interior due to this
6. Ford Cougar 2.0. I am strangely drawn to this. I have met another car nut who had a mate with one, the mate liked it and he seemed to like it too. Not the best image (again hair dresser) but insurance is ok (group 11), has a massive boot (great for a sub AND luggage). Sub 10 sec car to 60 MPH and does stand out as different. the interior looks nice too. it does seem to offer the most power while fitting in the insurance bracket, high reliability (lots of Mondeo parts). Also comes standard with air con. Also a hatch so 6x9's should be easy to fit.
Anyone got any comments or suggestions?
Oh, by the way, the Pug 306 is out, I just do not like them, boring to look at (and I think ugly), I do not like the clutch at all and they just make me feel uncomfortable.
Insurance prices out Prelude, 406, FTO and a few others
My car is a 2001 Y 100SX (1.6) with about 100k on the clock but with air con
The drivers side is pretty much pristine but the passenger side is dented and scratched from front to back.
It has a scratch on the front bumper
dented front wing above the wheel and the back bit is warped so that the door catches on it.
The door is scratched and has a big dent (plus some small ones)
The sill at the bottom behind the door has a dent
Their are scratched on the rear panel
Their is a big dent by the rear lights, I have heard this should be a pull out and touch up job but the dent is huge. It does however only have a couple of scratches in the middle of it so as long as pulling it does not damage the paint it is just a touch up.
I paid about £2k for the car Oct 2006 so gave the price of £1.6k to insurance.
They are not sure if it will be a repair or not (border line is the words they used on the phone), if not I am thinking their are two options
1. Cat D write off, buy back and get the damaged repaired my self, would be nice as I have slightly modded the car (after market alloys, air filter, just fitted 6x9's in the back and 17cm's in the front (this was interesting even with the adaptors that are available) and changed the dash and interior light for blue ones.
2, Buy as a Cat D, repair and sell on, driving round I always get interest in the car, alloys and both together and have a mate who is interested (and he was in the crash sitting next to me. He is still trying to buy the car off me)
3. Get a new car (could follow on from 2). This depends on budget but I might be able to get about £2k (depending on what they give me for the Bravo) to spend although I would like to spend a little less, prob up to 1,750 if poss.
Now I am thinking of several cars and would like suggestions.
My wish list is
a car no smaller then the Bravo
Hatch or Coupe
MPG of about 33 or higher
Insurance group 11 or lower (23 with 2 years no claims, full license for 2 years but this is affordable on 3rd party fire and theft, probably what i should have gone for on the Bravo given the cost of it but went comp as I could afford it)
Pref 3 door (for looks) but will look at 5 door
Not huge (will go up to Mondeo size though)
Petrol or Diesel but perfer petrol (the clutch for 1 plus I have a small hate for diesel that I can not quite justify)
Pref air con
0-60MPH below or around 10.5 secs
Cars I have been looking at
1st, get another bravo, I like mine and the alloys would fit straight on (easy). Would probably look at a 1.8 HLX now as insurance is affordable now. I like my Bravo and so does everyone else who looks at it, especially if i drive them somewhere, others put their nose up but I take that as just the Fiat badge, i am not too bothered about badges (but could not bring myself to buy a Scoda, not matter who good they now are, all the jokes i know puts me off)
2. Get a Golf, a 1.8 or an older 1.9 diesel GTI, no air con with tis option, sensible choice but boring to look at and I do not fend to go for the norm like this. Impossible to get air con
3. Ford Focus, price point seems to suggest a 5 door 1.8. Styling will be fine and a little more practicable but this is not a major issue as I only occasionally have friends in the back but drive the car with only my self in most of the time
4. BMW 3 series Compact or Coupe, would be a 316 or 318, maybe diesel if I can find one, not too bothered if I don't. Hard to get air con
5. Hyundai Coupe, maybe a 1.6 but probably a 2.0 as group 10 insurance. Badge is a little issue here and I know it is a hair dressers car, the trouble is hair dresser cars tend to be good (Audi TT, Mazda MX-5 etc). I am not sure if i can push past the hair dresser image and the badge. Leather interior makes the inside very black and I am not the keenest of leather interiors as cold in the winter and boiling in the summer. I prefer cloth interior due to this
6. Ford Cougar 2.0. I am strangely drawn to this. I have met another car nut who had a mate with one, the mate liked it and he seemed to like it too. Not the best image (again hair dresser) but insurance is ok (group 11), has a massive boot (great for a sub AND luggage). Sub 10 sec car to 60 MPH and does stand out as different. the interior looks nice too. it does seem to offer the most power while fitting in the insurance bracket, high reliability (lots of Mondeo parts). Also comes standard with air con. Also a hatch so 6x9's should be easy to fit.
Anyone got any comments or suggestions?
Oh, by the way, the Pug 306 is out, I just do not like them, boring to look at (and I think ugly), I do not like the clutch at all and they just make me feel uncomfortable.
Insurance prices out Prelude, 406, FTO and a few others