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conny · 23 Sep 2021

Had a rear ender yesterday and this is the damage to my car.
It's a 60 reg Peugeot Partner and was MOT'd last week.
What I want to know is if anyone considers this to be a likely write off by the insurance company. 'We buy any car' have given an online value of £3,300 but there are one or two small dints/dents elsewhere so I know they will reduce the price if they had had a look before this incident. I had a feel underneath and there feels like a thick tubular cross member that feels bent.

Burnerman · 23 Sep 2021

No need for anything hasty here regarding your insurers.....the bumper is a plastic shell with the reinforcing bar behind it. Best to remove the bumper and see if the reinforcing bar is creased, but you'll need to budget for a new bumper and paint.
An independent garage will sort you regarding the fitting and then it's off to the body shop - asking for a cash price!
'We buy any car' will offer a rock bottom price so avoid if you can.
John

conny · 23 Sep 2021

Thanks John. Was browsing last night and found a perfect replacement so decided if they do scrap it I'll take the money but if they repair it I will simply sell it and get the money back that way.
Found the same model, but a semi automatic, which I was thinking of doing earlier this year so on holidays my wife can take a turn at driving it. 62 reg with 68k on the clock. Ex disability model so it has all the features such as in-built phone calling, foldaway mirrors, split tailgate and full service history and MOT record. Bodywork looks good allround, (took a magnet in a muslin cloth and didn't find any filler patches), gaps around bonnet and all doors seem uniform and engine purrs quite quietly. Pick it up Saturday after the current MOT, (due to finish at end of November), is renewed for 12 months.
Got it from CSB Autoseekers in Maldon, Essex

Burnerman · 23 Sep 2021

Does the car have the DV6 diesel, conny? Great engine but frequent oil changes are essential.
I can’t comment on the semi auto box though, never come across one but reliability comments seem to vary.
John

conny · 23 Sep 2021

Paperwork says it's a Teepee S and engine is 1.6 e-HDI
Stumbled on a report on the web earlier, think it was 'Carbuyer' from a couple of years ago, which said this engine was near the top of it's class for performance and reliability, a good family car with the heart of a workhorse and much more superior than it's petrol equivalent. My old one was a 1.6 HDI and I think the only problem I had in the 6 years I had it was something about a sticking vent valve, (or something like that, I seem to remember posting on here about it).
I feel happy with it and I'm confident it will be a good buy for me.

sxturbo · 23 Sep 2021

The tow bars taken quite the knock, so it could have twisted the chassis rails where it bolts to,

Its also possible it damaged the crash structure behind the bumper.

It's a difficult one to assess, in theory it just needs to go on a jig and be pulled about and then have a new bumper and tow bar,

sxturbo · 23 Sep 2021

conny said:
Paperwork says it's a Teepee S and engine is 1.6 e-HDI
Stumbled on a report on the web earlier, think it was 'Carbuyer' from a couple of years ago, which said this engine was near the top of it's class for performance and reliability, a good family car with the heart of a workhorse and much more superior than it's petrol equivalent. My old one was a 1.6 HDI and I think the only problem I had in the 6 years I had it was something about a sticking vent valve, (or something like that, I seem to remember posting on here about it).
I feel happy with it and I'm confident it will be a good buy for me.

Only advice is to get the oil changed twice as regularly as the book suggests.

The DV6 engine although reliable when maintained well wasn't a reliable unit when left to the service schedules set by the OEM.

Remember the OEM just needs the car to last 3 years and be as cheap to run as possible for buyers and fleets which means long extended service intervals for which really the oil (they have very small sumps) cannot take.

Harry Bloomfield · 23 Sep 2021

conny said:
I had a feel underneath and there feels like a thick tubular cross member that feels bent.

Sounds like the deliberately deformable crash bar. If I am right, they are easily replaceable on most vehicles.

If the insurance decide to right it off, you could offer to take its value in cash - less the scrap value, then repair it yourself with second hand parts.

conny · 24 Sep 2021

Harry Bloomfield said:
Sounds like the deliberately deformable crash bar. If I am right, they are easily replaceable on most vehicles.

If the insurance decide to right it off, you could offer to take its value in cash - less the scrap value, then repair it yourself with second hand parts.

I honestly wouldn't know where to start and don't have the space Harry. Plus I couldn't trust myself to have done it correctly.

cdbe · 24 Sep 2021

Big tube will be the towbar bracket. Insurance won't repair that but it will be a nice earner for whichever back street "repairer" gets hold of the salvage, but new owner might struggle to fit another tow bar!

conny · 24 Sep 2021

So where under the car does this clamp to?

cdbe · 24 Sep 2021

It's a while and a few cars since I fitted mine but there's two big chassis rails (I know it's a monocoque chassis but it still has them) running up inside the wheel arches and they usually bolt to these, either directly to captive nuts or with some reinforcing plates. They might be a bit bent inwards with the impact.

Some people say a towbar saves your car, others say it bypasses the crumple zone and causes more structural damage.

Avocet · 26 Sep 2021

Stick your phone camera under the car, and try to post up a few photos of the big round bar and the area around each end of it

When you say the new one id a disability car with a "split tailgate", do you mean it has a lowered floor in the back, and a fold-down ramp to get a wheelchair in and out?

conny · 26 Sep 2021

Avocet said:
Stick your phone camera under the car, and try to post up a few photos of the big round bar and the area around each end of it

When you say the new one id a disability car with a "split tailgate", do you mean it has a lowered floor in the back, and a fold-down ramp to get a wheelchair in and out?

No I know the ones you mean but it's not that style. In this instance 'split tailgate' means you can pop open the rear window to put things on the parcel shelf or, by lifting the back section of the boot cover, put things in the boot if someone has parked too close to lift the tailgate up fully.
We know it's been used by a disabled gentleman because of some of the paperwork the dealer showed us plus there is only 61k on the clock with a full service history, (stamps), (by Marshalls, a well known disability service agent in this part of the country), MOT's, parts fitted etc).

Avocet · 26 Sep 2021

conny said:
No I know the ones you mean but it's not that style. In this instance 'split tailgate' means you can pop open the rear window to put things on the parcel shelf or, by lifting the back section of the boot cover, put things in the boot if someone has parked too close to lift the tailgate up fully.
We know it's been used by a disabled gentleman because of some of the paperwork the dealer showed us plus there is only 61k on the clock with a full service history, (stamps), (by Marshalls, a well known disability service agent in this part of the country), MOT's, parts fitted etc).

Ah. Ok, yes, I understand now. In fact, I was being dopey this morning, because you'd never be able to fit a towbar to one with a lowered floor!

The towbar replaces the rear crash cans and bumper reinforcement, so you need to check that the chassis hasn't been damaged. Make sure the panel gaps either side of the tailgate are even. Also, that the spare wheel carier still functions. The towbars are easy to fit, and there should be plenty of them around. The harder part is the wiring (which you already have) so if the chassis is OK, it shouldn't be much work to get a bumper and replacement towbar from a scrapper.

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