Joining the RAB hedgerow rejuvenation project

[Ziggymole]

Land rovers are or were fab vehicles for home repair, I can remember having one on the drive with a cracked chassis. A bit of good welding, and it was fixed in no time. They go together like a mechano set, and aren't they supposed to be just a little bit tatty? At least that separates them from the Sloane Ranger set whose land and range rovers never see mud.

Good luck fixing it, if I understand how they go together anyone can.
Ziggy

 

[fox403]

I'm afraid all that went with the last 300tdi... td5 came along now u need to be a specialist to fix them

Sent from my MB525 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Bee-Key-Pur]

That's what happens when you put all those heavy supers all on the same side of the vehicle....

One side of the car still looks OK, I'm sure it could be repaired. It's a good job you have a spare you can use for now...
All the best...

 

[AnotherNewBee]

Surely if it's a Landie it's supposed to have been rolled at least once?

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Should have had a St Christopher medal on the dashboard.

Dusty.

 

[dudley]

Must repair it. My wife parked our defender into the back of a liquid gas tanker. Direct line ins did not even want to look at it when told both wings, front grill and bonnet damaged. Instant write off. "we will recover it to salvage" was their plan of action.
No way is it a write off, it's just body damage nothing mechanical, but they would not listen, and would not guarantee I could buy it back as evidently once its signed over to salvage it belongs to them so what they do with it is up to them. BUT, they said I could get it repaired and invoice them for a pre agreed cost. We agreed £2000. Bargain for them as value was around £7000

So a few eBay purchases and several cross country trips for parts of all colours we had all we needed.

I am no mechanic but I did have a meccano set.

It took me a couple of months but hey ho we still have it.

Unbolted the bent bits and it looked even worse.

 

[dudley]

And here she is all repaired for under a £1000 View attachment 6612

 

[Chris B]

Hi all,
yes I have it on good authority it's worth around £5k as salvage so write-off is easy option for insurers as it's worth about £10k undamaged and repairs likely to cost at least £6k. The roof alone will be £2k. It's worse than it looks and none of the doors close properly as the whole thing is bent out of shape. The crack in the windscreen was not due to anything other than movement of the frame.

 

[Teemore]

Try phoning Nene Overland to see if they have any bodies available - you might also try the like of Charles Bennison 4x4 - they are specialist LR breakers and i have bought pieces from them in the past. Take and hour or so and price second hand parts as Dudley did. That'll give you an idea as to whether it is worth your while getting someone to quote you for replacing the panels if you are not inclined to do so yourself. Pick up one of the Land Rover magazines (not a plug but look through LRM or LROI) and look for the specialist breakers and independent garages.

 

[alanf]

Hi all,
yes I have it on good authority it's worth around £5k as salvage so write-off is easy option for insurers as it's worth about £10k undamaged and repairs likely to cost at least £6k. The roof alone will be £2k. It's worse than it looks and none of the doors close properly as the whole thing is bent out of shape. The crack in the windscreen was not due to anything other than movement of the frame.

The trade phrase is "beyond economic repair" which, depending on policy, will also include providing a replacement vehicle while it's being rebuilt and other costs. The 'accident repair' standard is a small hatchback, which isn't going to be enough here so figure on hiring a similar vehicle for 3-4 weeks minimum.

If scrap value + professional repair costs + hire and other ancillary costs is greater than the 'book' value (the "Glass's" estimate of what a dealer would give for it) then it's uneconomic. Anything that involves straightening the chassis on a jig rather than simply replacing panels will be heading toward five figures which means uneconomic is easily reached. It's cheaper for the insurers to declare it sooner than later. If the decision drags on they are liable for the replacement hire. As soon as it's declared beyond economic repair the argument is purely about valuation and they walk away.

By the way, unless your vehicle is in poor condition, you don't have to accept their first offer. Produce bills for parts and mileage records on the low side and you have a case for them raising the offer. They will often add a thousand or so if you show you are prepared for a drawn out argument over value. To summarise a long story, I was rear ended but it was ten months before the other car insurer paid out. Because it was an uneconomic repair from day one, the liability to provide replacements etc stops whether the claim is actually paid or not.