Pothole Damage

was your car the only one effected do you know? or did anyone else end up getting taken out by this monster of a hole.

Another car came down the road about a minute after I'd stopped, I tried waving at them but obviously it was dark and they also hit the hole. When my girlfriend came to meet me, she said there was someone just down the road in the village changing their front tyre. I assume it was the same car!

Luckily the police turned up pretty quickly afterwards and put flashing cones around the hole so no one else drove across it.
 
Just jacked the car up to have a look at the damage and the suspension all looks fine, though obviously I am just looking at it as I can't move it at the moment.

The front alloy wheel has a large crack running the whole way around the middle of the rim, basically making it in to 2 thinner wheels! The rear alloy wheel has a huge dent in it, but isn't cracked. Looks like I'll have to change both of them if the car is written off. Had a quick look, and I can get 4 genuine wheels for about £300 which isn't too bad and I could just sell off the worst wheels to get some money back. Replacing the tyres (Eagle F1A2) will be about £300 for 2, so looking at possibly £500 to replace the wheels and tyres.

I found a website called airbagman, who fit used and new airbags, and have asked them for a quote but haven't had a reply yet. I don't suppose anyone has any idea how much replacement curtain and door airbags would be?

Fox, you mentioned earlier that I'd need a new doorcard. Can you please let me know why this is? I've had a look and I think I can use the same doorcard once the door airbag has been replaced.
 
I am presuming the leather doorcard cover where the airbag is has split as a result of the airbag deployment? Hence the suggestion of a new doorcard.
 
Yeah I'm not sure how you missed it - if the road is unlit then you should adjust your speed accordingly so that you can react to things in the road

Don't be so stupid. You expect him to drive at 20mph just in case round a blind crest/corner there is an object in the road?
 
Don't be so stupid. You expect him to drive at 20mph just in case round a blind crest/corner there is an object in the road?

Actually, yes :confused::confused:

Clearly, you need to be able to stop if there is an unexpected object around a blind bend. If you are driving too fast for the road, which may on occasion for short stretches mean doing 20-30mph on an A-road, then when (not if) you encounter an obstruction such as a broken-down car, fallen tree or stray sheep, you will not be able to stop and you will crash ± serious injury to you or someone else.
 
[TW]Fox;23469846 said:
I am presuming the leather doorcard cover where the airbag is has split as a result of the airbag deployment? Hence the suggestion of a new doorcard.

The airbag appears to have pushed out the top of the doorcard, and it looks like it will just fit back over a new airbag. I'll try to get a picture tomorrow.
 
The car's now been taken to the garage and they'll let me know in the next 48 hours what's wrong and whether it'll be written off.

Ouch. I thought the holes here were bad!! :/

What speed were you doing when you impacted?

I was doing somewhere between 40 and 50 I think, I was starting to slow down as there's a 30 limit in the village just past where my car ended up.
 
Just been told by the insurer that the car is unfortunately a CAT C write-off. I've not spoken to the garage yet, so unclear why it's a CAT C and not a CAT D. If I repaired the car, I would therefore have to have the car MOT'd and get a Vehicle Identity Check done before I can drive it again.

I'll be speaking to the insurance company about settlement and buyback values tomorrow afternoon.

I'm really hoping it will be economic for me to repair the car as the car is in very good condition. I think a 530i Sport may be on the cards if it's not worth it though...
 
My Corsa B (ok not same league) had a dent in the side from someone who obviously forgot their white stick. No structural damage, just a dent and some scuffed trim. Cat C. Wasn't impressed!

You'll probably find the minute airbags are mentioned Cat C is the minimum.
 
Hope you manage to get the council to admit responsibility. I haven't read the entire thread but the insurance company will handle contacting the council for you. They will initially handle the claim and get the car repaired or replaced and then do the council bit and it's basically a waiting game to see if you lose your NCB.

From personal experience, it can be notoriously difficult to get them to accept responsibility, so I hope in this case they do because that's a disgraceful hole.
 
This has been discussed before - CAT C/D isnt about whether its structural or the type of damage, just the cost differential between repair cost and value

I believe the wording is along the lines of "would exceed the value of the car" for C and "are significant compared to the vehicle value" for D

With the cost of airbags from dealers, I'm not surprised its CAT C
 
Just phoned the garage, who wouldn't give me a breakdown, but the estimate is £3,529.84! I know the alloy wheels and the airbags would have to be replaced, but I'm not sure yet how much they have quoted for these so I'm hoping there isn't much else wrong with the car. I've asked the insurance company to send me a copy of the estimate ASAP, so that I can see what the damage is and decide whether it's worth keeping the car when they offer me the settlement tomorrow.

I managed to get a quote to have both airbags replaced at £216, which isn't too bad. I think I can probably get the car fixed (assuming only tyres, wheels and airbags need replacing) for about £700-800.
 
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Actually, yes :confused::confused:

Clearly, you need to be able to stop if there is an unexpected object around a blind bend. If you are driving too fast for the road, which may on occasion for short stretches mean doing 20-30mph on an A-road

I bet you keep a tin of Werthers Originals on your dashboard, right next to your string back driving gloves....
 
I bet you keep a tin of Werthers Originals on your dashboard, right next to your string back driving gloves....

Oh my, you got me. Actually I only keep them in my Rover 75.

Anyway, now seems like a reasonable time to cry "childkiller".. if you are seriously going to try to argue that it is unreasonable to drive at a speed which enables you to stop in the distance you can see ahead. :rolleyes:
 
Just phoned the garage, who wouldn't give me a breakdown, but the estimate is £3,529.84! I know the alloy wheels and the airbags would have to be replaced, but I'm not sure yet how much they have quoted for these so I'm hoping there isn't much else wrong with the car. I've asked the insurance company to send me a copy of the estimate ASAP, so that I can see what the damage is and decide whether it's worth keeping the car when they offer me the settlement tomorrow.

I managed to get a quote to have both airbags replaced at £216, which isn't too bad. I think I can probably get the car fixed (assuming only tyres, wheels and airbags need replacing) for about £700-800.
Let's us know what the estimate returns. It'd be interested to see how much they are paying for the repairs.
 
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