this post was submitted on 18 Oct 2023
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Repairing vs writing off a car - any thoughts? (beehaw.org)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by TuxOfStars@beehaw.org to c/australia@aussie.zone
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So I had a crash. My car has been assessed as a repairable write off and I have to decide if I push the insurer to repair or I take the payout. I owe no money but would be out of pocket to purchase new(ish). I was not intending to trade it in or sell in the foreseeable future.

I understand the process if I opt for a write off. If I push for repair I know it needs review and scutiny.

I am thinking of pushing for repair. Anyone else gone down that path? Any gotchas or experiences to share? I really am in two minds right now.

Edit: had long chat with the repairer and reviewed the damage and went with write off. Panels and all the suspension on one side was stuffed and needed replacement. The risk of other stuff being just out enough to cause future problems, and risk of issues from sitting out for months waiting on parts was just more than I wanted. Got a fair payout. Bye beasty. Thanks for crumpling so I didn't...

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[–] abhibeckert@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I would much rather buy a second hand car which was a little older than I might like, than have to drive a car which has been in a serious accident.

The last time our car was repaired under insurance, our car slightly brushed against the rear bumper of another car at about 2km/h (carefully reversing out of a tight parking space). It left a scratch on our car that wasn't even deep enough to reveal metal - only the clear coat on top of the paint was scratched - the actual colour paint was undamaged. Seriously we have worse scratches elsewhere on the car from minor misshaps (e.g. we have a 3 year old... sometimes he plays near the car). Also the plastic headlight protector fell off and needed to be glued back on.

If we didn't need to do an insurance claim to fix another scratch just as minor on the other car, I wouldn't have even bothered fixing it. A bit of a polish with wax and it'd buff right out but we wouldn't even bother since the car has a dozen scratches. And who needs a headlight protector anyway? Previous owner of the car's decision to install that, I would've just taken off the one on the other headlight.

But we did need to involve insurance, and the smash repair company is incentivised to get as much money as they can out of every repair... So they charged $12,000 to fix it. The car was valued at $14,000 so it was almost a write off.

[–] TuxOfStars@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

Would 100% fix myself if it were older/more common. No structural damage but cosmetic and mechanical components - imported and expensive tho. Don't have the tools or space to even start to DIY

(My old Holden was a fuel guzzler but made things like this waaay easier!!)

[–] DogMuffins@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 year ago

Yeah fair enough. A good counterpoint.