Damaged..............

[00slk]

Janet's R230 was hit in the side last week and the damage is looking like a write off, but up to the op's insurance to decide, hope it isn't totalled as it is one of the nicer SL's out there.
Its pushed the door catch post in as well as the door and 1/4 panel.


The external damage doesn't look much


The door is toast though

 

[sl500amgsport]

Really sorry to hear this, you have plenty of pre- damage photographs to argue the higher end of book valuation.

What year is the car?

Mercedes SL500 R231

 

[McDonald]

That's really bad news. We all love these cars but they are as vulnerable as any other. I hope it's not written off, but the insurance valuations are so low that any damage beyond superficial makes it likely. Small wonder that owners of interesting cars resent the insurance industry. We don't get value from them.

 

[00slk]

Thanks SL500amgsport, luckily there was no causalities. Certainly have many many pictures 2003.
I wanted an SL for myself after buying this for the wife, when I started looking after at 6g cars I then realised why they were that price

 

[00slk]

That's really bad news. We all love these cars but they are as vulnerable as any other. I hope it's not written off, but the insurance valuations are so low that any damage beyond superficial makes it likely. Small wonder that owners of interesting cars resent the insurance industry. We don't get value from them.

It like any car, their values drop like stones and after many have gone the values start to creep up and then they become classic cars and worth a fortune, like a big cycle.

The impact set the roll bar off

 

[sl500amgsport]

Thanks SL500amgsport, luckily there was no causalities. Certainly have many many pictures 2003.
I wanted an SL for myself after buying this for the wife, when I started looking after at 6g cars I then realised why they were that price

Good starting point with insurers:-

https://www.pistonheads.com/classif...ine-kahn-20-inch-wheels--full-history/8786118

They will probably offer 6k, meet in the middle...

Mercedes SL500 R231

 

[00slk]

The mileage is 126k on ours so that can be a killer.
Our Alfa Spider caught fire and needed a coil pack and the wiring that went with it, the insurance wrote it off. I couldn't believe it You can buy this stuff off the internet for less than £200 I said to them. They offered £1200 as the value. We agreed on 2250 at the end of the call, they were going through Autotrader to get a value, I happened to be on there too and we were negotiating and looking at all the models that were on offer

 

[LostKiwi]

Sorry to hear this Peter - especially after you'd sorted it all out recently.

 

[ZZZZ]

Sorry to hear it ...

 

[sl500amgsport]

The mileage is 126k on ours so that can be a killer.
Our Alfa Spider caught fire and needed a coil pack and the wiring that went with it, the insurance wrote it off. I couldn't believe it You can buy this stuff off the internet for less than £200 I said to them. They offered £1200 as the value. We agreed on 2250 at the end of the call, they were going through Autotrader to get a value, I happened to be on there too and we were negotiating and looking at all the models that were on offer

They are not very bright are they, my CLK320 was a write off simply as it was stolen and recovered and had been thrashed. My wife got all emotional saying I don't want the car back as it has been thrashed and in a chase with the MET. I took the car to the Main dealer, told them what had happened and asked them to quote the insurers to bring the car back to brand new condition as that was how the car was pre-theft. You can imagine the size of the quote, insurers wrote it off and I received enough to buy a Range Rover Vogue a year newer!

They offered me to buy the car back for £1200 and my local mechanic offered to replace the discs and pads for £400 but wife was still emotional about it and I was banned from doing it. I might have had difficulty selling once insurers had classed it as a write off but still reckon I could have made a few grand

Mercedes SL500 R231

 

[John Laidlaw]

Just catching up Peter and horrified to see this!

 

[flowrider]

Good starting point with insurers:-

https://www.pistonheads.com/classif...ine-kahn-20-inch-wheels--full-history/8786118

They will probably offer 6k, meet in the middle...

Mercedes SL500 R231

And that's not even a good spec!

 

[flowrider]

Janet's R230 was hit in the side last week and the damage is looking like a write off, but up to the op's insurance to decide, hope it isn't totalled as it is one of the nicer SL's out there.
Its pushed the door catch post in as well as the door and 1/4 panel.

The external damage doesn't look much


The door is toast though

Sorry to hear of the possible demise of another SL. Glad there were no injuries and I hope the insurance gives you a decent payout.

 

[JBell]

Glad all OK.

If it has pushed the structure of the car then probably a write off, repairing that will cost thousands, the door is probably around £1500 going on what a guy in the office had done to his TT recently: a passenger door and spray the rear wing with a little dent repair came in at £1800

 

[SL63 Mark]

Wow, just trying to think what I would do. Probably claim the insurance, then negotiate to buy back as Cat D and repair it myself and keep it. Not sure how possible that would be, but I would try. Either way I would be shelling out £££ for something that was not my fault.

 

[00slk]

Thanks for all the comments chaps, their insurance have been in touch tonight £4550 was there value! A total loss as repairs come to over £7000. We have not excepted anything yet and my wife told them that we can't replace the car for that. Their reaction was we are not prepare to pay you what you think the car is worth, just market value. Glassons book was used and I'm sure they have taken trade in value? Their insurer went on a site and said she has found a same model but with fewer miles for double their value, wont that be market value my misses said to them? There are now going to talk with the engineer and get back to us tomorrow morning. We said our car is £7000, to which they replied we definitely wont give you that. We have an option of £3100 and our car back. I know it can be repaired for a lot less than the 7 grand, I'm already weighing up this option. I am a retired panelbeater with many years experience in heavy crash repair work so the repair isn't an issue for me, it's my decrepit ageing body that causes the issues now


If it's retained it will be on a cat F what ever that means, I have seen a cat N too

 

[Gkinghorn]

Awful... I hate insurers .... scumbags

Category A/B/F/N/S Total Loss Write-Offs

Insurance write offs, total loss or category loss vehicles are vehicles that have recorded accident damage to them and are categorised by an insurance assessor in five varying levels of damage. When any vehicle has been involved in an accident or has been severely damaged, the accident report and overall look of the car will determine what category it’s placed in.

The categories are based on the damage and the financial outlay that would be required to repair the car. In other words, if the car, motorcycle or van is so damaged that the repairs would be more than the total cost of the car, then it would be declared a total insurance loss.

Category A

A category A insurance write off is a vehicle which is completely ruined, such as being burnt out, and all of its parts and shell should be crushed. These vehicles should not and cannot be used again on the roads again and are classed as a total insurance loss. Unfortunately, many category A vehicles have their identities stolen, such as log books, VIN numbers etc, and are used on stolen cars only to be identified when the stolen car is sold and the new owner tries to insure it.

Category B

A vehicle that has been assessed and branded as a category B write off should be crushed and never be allowed to return to the roads. However, if there are any ‘good’ spare parts on a category B car, they can be salvaged. Many of these vehicles are bought from the insurance company by salvage yards that will dismantle the usable parts from the cars and resell them as used parts.

Category F

A category F insurance write off is a fire-damaged vehicle that an insurer refuses to repair. However, vehicles branded a category F could be returned to the road after being extensively repaired and tested. Vehicles that have been stolen are also category F vehicles and as the insurer has made a total loss payment to the owner, even if the vehicle is identified again, the insurer is allowed to repossess the car from the new owner.

Category N (Formerly ‘Category D’)

A category D vehicle has had less damage than a category S and is not structural but the cost of the repair is too high for the insurance company. The vehicle could be repaired and returned to the road, but in this category it does not make financial sense for the insurer to be the one to foot the bill. Many vehicles fall into this category and are sold back to the owner to repair themselves, as damage is often minor.

Category S (Formerly ‘Category C’)

Any vehicle written off as a category S vehicle would has been structurally damaged and uneconomically viable to repair by an insurance company. However, they can still be repaired and returned to the road by a company or individual, after being thoroughly checked and tested by an SVA test and an MOT.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[flowrider]

Thanks for all the comments chaps, their insurance have been in touch tonight £4550 was there value! A total loss as repairs come to over £7000. We have not excepted anything yet and my wife told them that we can't replace the car for that. Their reaction was we are not prepare to pay you what you think the car is worth, just market value. Glassons book was used and I'm sure they have taken trade in value? Their insurer went on a site and said she has found a same model but with fewer miles for double their value, wont that be market value my misses said to them? There are now going to talk with the engineer and get back to us tomorrow morning. We said our car is £7000, to which they replied we definitely wont give you that. We have an option of £3100 and our car back. I know it can be repaired for a lot less than the 7 grand, I'm already weighing up this option. I am a retired panelbeater with many years experience in heavy crash repair work so the repair isn't an issue for me, it's my decrepit ageing body that causes the issues now


If it's retained it will be on a cat F what ever that means, I have seen a cat N too

Tell the insurer you don't want the cash but instead you want them to supply a car in the exact spec and condition instead.

 

[grahamcol]

I've been following this with interest. Gutted for the op. Insurers really are the pits ! ****** highway robbers wanting maximum cash in with premiums yet they want to screw you when you make a claim. High time something was done about all of this I think, but goodness how ! I hope this gets resolved to the satisfaction of the op.

 

[00slk]

Tell the insurer you don't want the cash but instead you want them to supply a car in the exact spec and condition instead.

Told them that tonight, just get 'it's paid out on market value' They'll have me to deal with tomorrow, if they can't find another similar model for £4500 then their market value quote is well under value. I have been on AT and the Bay, £4500 yer right!