Accident!

[Standaman94]

Some prat in his van reversed in my front!

The metal step at the back cracked my bumper And number plate, seems as though the tow hook and a bracket are bent. No obvious damage to radiator o anything mechanical, I managed to get it to work just fine.

I'll upload some photos when I get home

what could be damaged?

[katbloke]

While you're there check condition of section that the tow eye is welded to. Mine was rotten through

[16v_paddy]

The tow eye isn't welded to anything, it's held in place with a big bolt. Sounds likely that the inner structure of the bumper will be smashed to buggery

[katbloke]

This is what I was meaning

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o189/katbloke/WilliamsRestoShack/DSCF9013_zpsab399d66.jpg (http://s120.photobucket.com/user/katbloke/media/WilliamsRestoShack/DSCF9013_zpsab399d66.jpg.html)

[Standaman94]

Ah that's interesting... Maybe the tow isn't bent after all. For some reason I thought it stuck out a little further than that.

Do you have any photos of whatever holds the bumper up on the driver's side?

[Standaman94]

Here's the damage.

On the way home it sounded like one of the wheels rubbed against something at a slight left turn at one point.

http://i.imgur.com/OJYOgYL.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/AILO02D.jpg

[16v_paddy]

Looks like a replacement bumper is in order & the drivers side took the brunt of it.

The bumper is held on in 5 places, inside the wing behind the arch liner on each side will be 10mm bolts, there's also 2 leg type things that stick out from the bottom of the bumper which go to the subframe and a 10mm nut that's inside the hole you ca see on the front

[Standaman94]

A bit miffed at that, the previous owner took a lot of time to do the bodywork. I probably won't be able to find a decent bumper in such good condition as this one [was].

What are these bumpers made of? Plastic?

[16v_paddy]

Yeah all plastic, it'll be the inner structure of it that's broke. If you look at katbloke's picture, the recess in the cross member is filled up by the inner structure of the bumper, that's what makes it sit correctly & what is most likely smashed to bits.

Take the bumper off to assess the damage but I'll bet it's just the bumper itself & the rest will be fine. Not hard to source a replacement bumper as 449 body parts are common as muck

[Standaman94]

I see what you mean. Hopefully he missed all the cross member in there, looks very close to me. I'll see if I can take the bumper off without doing any further damage at the weekend.

I've had a quick browse for bumpers but haven't seen anything yet other than a couple of scrappy Willies and 16V on ebay. I've been in contact with Mark Fish Motorsport too, said they'd be happy to do the repairs when the insurance gets back to me and all that.

Can't drive it legally anywhere now though since the front plate is broken, I'll need to get to Halfords I think :P

Such a shame, I haven't even had the car a month yet!! [-( Not my fault at least.

[16v_paddy]

Ask Matbrown on here he's bound to have 1 and if you can find 1 in good nick it wont cost anything extra to have it fully fixed.

I'd still drive it tbh, 2 big cable ties like I've got on mine will pull it all back into line for the time being :winkey: and if insurance are paying for it I'd just get a brand new 1 from Renault

http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/qq165/16v_paddy/2014/2014-06-10200428_zpsd0e5f5ed.jpg

[Standaman94]

Do Renault still supply them or something then?

[Standaman94]

Update: Cross-member is definitely bent, which is causing the bumper to droop down. More photos to come

[Standaman94]

http://i.imgur.com/g0G7Ids.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/bIE1SHN.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/p4dUPDY.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/VmF5cQ7.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/de9ulrX.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/aAmirs7.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3QM4JON.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/L1iyrxn.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/eV0NMg3.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/HXinaYO.jpg

As you can see, the beam is bent downwards where the tow eye has been pushed back.

A bit of the plastic trim around the radiator and wheel arch has been broken by the looks of things.

I'm lucky it didn't go any further back, otherwise it would have hit the radiator. There seems to be no mechanical or electrical damage and the wheels don't appear to rub against it (while moving forward/back etc on driveway at least)

[northy]

A good body shop would straighten that panel out no problem.

New bumper painted up and your good to go

[16v_paddy]

It'd have to be a mega impact for it to go through the cross member & damage the rad. Get the bumper off to get a better look but that's looks to be a very easy fix tbh

[Standaman94]

My insurance company will only let me take it to an "approved" garage (otherwise it affects my NCD and I have to pay excess) so I'm hoping they're not going to decide it's a write-off :-(

I may try contacting the company of that van that hit me again and see if they or their insurance company will pay out. Not sure how that affects my insurance though.

[16v_paddy]

Personally I'd never let anyone from any kind of insurance company go anywhere near a mk1 clio, they'll have your pants down. If anything, claim from the van that hit you & through them alone, you can't avoid the excess and it'll only effect your NCD if they don't accept 100% liability

[Standaman94]

Hmm. I'm pretty sure my excess is really high though, and probably not something I can afford off the bat. If that's the case I may need a loan or something.

On Monday I'll give the company a call again and see if they might even pay me outright. It's a big European pet food company that supply for pedigree breeders and things like that, I doubt a couple hundred bob to settle something will be an issue, surely?

[16v_paddy]

Ignore the excess thing atm, speak to the company, you need them to sort out admitting liability before anything else.

Once you've got the ball rolling for that, get the bumper off the car & take lots of detailed pics of the damage. Then find a few reputable bodyshops, show them the pics & ask for quotes to fix that and to paint a bumper & fit for you. Now add to that the cost of a new bumper from Renault which according to my copy of dialogys is £184.53 +VAT. That's the information you'll need so the company will know what this claim is going to cost them. Then you wait to see what they say.

The end result should be that they agree to pay out - worst case will be that they agree to pay that minus what your excess is - you get a good nick 449 bumper from matbrown or someone else from here for about £50, DIY fix the damage with a hammer, blocks of wood, wet & dry paper and some rattle cans AND have some cash left over :winkey:

[Standaman94]

Righty. I'll have a pleasant chat with them tomorrow then.

I'm hesitant to get the bumper off right now. The way the beam is warped, I'm unsure if the bumper will go back on willingly and then I won't be able to safely drive it anywhere far. So I'll probably take the car direct to the shop so they can see the real thang if necessary.

I'm happy to get a brand new bumper, I might as well anyway. As for colour, I have a friend who's dad does professional resprays who has said he's happy to help out. Hopefully the rest of the car has been resprayed the right colour... I will have to contact the previous owner and double check. A lot of care and attention has gone into the bodywork.

As I said, Mark Fish said they're more than happy to do repairs and they're down the road from me essentially. I had already booked myself in for a diagnostic and to fix some electricals anyway. I'd rather get it done by someone who knows what they're dealing with, I don't want to be driving a car around with a dodgy frame or anything...

[northy]

i would let Mark Fish give you a estimate for repair work. Least that way you can send it the person who hit you to pay before work starts.

[Standaman94]

Update: Company's insurance have said they'd pay for repairs if I give them a quote, which they will check.

Sent some basic details and those photos to a local body shop and they're quoting £2000

[FATBOY]

Keep us updated . That's a right bugger. I would have been fuming.... Have to meet up in the better weather.

[Standaman94]

Williams in the hands of Mark Fish now :)

Enterprise have given me an automatic 2012 Astra to replace it... not quite as quick haha

[northy]

any updated pictures???

[Standaman94]

Finally got it back!!!

Mark Fish has done an absolutely fantastic job on it, bumper looks stunning and brand new!

The car has got a new radiator, a used bumper, resprayed and with fog lights, cross member and tow eye, plus the alternator belt has been tightened.

The heating seems to work a bit now, plus the battery light that was occasionally flickering has stopped now.

A top job from Mark and totally exceeded my expectations :) I'll post some photos soon.

[katbloke]

Great stuff bud

[Dunc]

Awesome news matey!

Did the insurance company want to write it off or did they write it Off? Or did it go through with no problem and no cat d status?

Dunc

[Standaman94]

Went through no problem, no write-off or anything :) Aviva were really cooperative, which is a bit weird for an insurance company haha

[northy]

looking forward to the pictures.

[Standaman94]

As promised, here's some photos:

http://i.imgur.com/NJL59lV.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/9NH4G7g.jpg

[16v_paddy]

Good stuff 8-)

[FATBOY]

looking good :)

[FATBOY]

nice little car show over little clacton this sunday if your about????

[Standaman94]

Ooh, might do if it's free. How do I get in?

[FATBOY]

its free and no need to pay, just turn up. i should be there for 9.30am. be nice to get them both together... could convoy over from colchester???

[Standaman94]

You don't have to book a space or anything?

I live about 5 mins from the Weeley roundabout if you wanted to meet up at McDonald's or the petrol station?

[FATBOY]

sounds like a plan. meet at the BP weeley for 9.30 am. will pm you my number :)