Hey guys,

 

Most of you would have read the thread or seen on the news what happened to my block of apartments last Friday with the flood waters. Saturday morning I started the awful process of informing my insurance about the incident and finding out where I go from there and the process of putting a claim forward. The car was collected on the Wednesday (damaged front and rear bumpers when dragged onto the loader) and I awaited the call from my insurer (RSA). Well about 20mins ago the call came through along with the settlement offer which I will accept. I knew I wasnt going to get back the thousands I have put into the car but nevertheless I am reasonably happy with the amount they have offered.

 

However they have given me the option to buy the car back before it goes up for sale. Now bear in mind the car was floodwater damaged from a river (not salt water) and as a result the car is now a cat B which means it can never return to the road unless it undergoes a VIC test. The buy back option is 10% of the claim amount, less my £50 excess. Now what I want advice on is potential parts I could salvage off the car that I could sell to try and recoup some of the £1000s I spent on parts and bodywork over the time period I owned the car. For example the wheels, suspension. I know the electrics are more than likely gone.

 

Seeing my car being dragged onto the transporter and front/rear bumpers shattering was quite a traumatic expierience if I am honest and i'm not sure if I even want to see the car again because of this. But is it worth doing to get what I can off it before sending the shell off to its final resting place in my local scrappy?

 

So do I take the cheque and forget about it or take a smaller cheque and have the car back? I guess the question I am trying to ask is what would you do?

imo bud i would take the smaller cheque and get the car back, if your happy with the price you can buy it back for, im sure you will recoup alot mor money breaking it for parts as you have done alot to it and there are some really nice bits on it, and as you say it was fresh water which will dry out so the majority of things will survive fine once dried out....plus on a selfish note i want your wheels lol, but kidding aside you should make the money back over time, im totally gutted for you though mate, on the other hand could you buy it back and get it back on the road with the insurance payment?

engine

exhaust

suspention

body pannels

some electrical items

pipe work

wheels

will be fine and u can resell on

 

it just depends on the cost u want to sell these items @ to what u have to pay to buy it back

When my car was rear ended and wrote the car off, i bought it back, may as well, a VIC check isnt that bad, just means the car has to be checked for road worthyness and that any damage is repaired correctly and to a high standard.

 

Personally if that was me, id get her back, you will have your check plus the amount of whats on the car in parts, as mark has said, the engine should be ok and i woudnt discount the eletrics off just yet, get it back give it a damn good dry out, check it over at key electrical points, i would bet she starts and runs.

 

As its not salt water there will be less corrosion, and more oxidisation, but this can be combated with the correct tools / sprays.

 

As i said, i have a full shell here with the main harnesses all nice and dry if you need to replace anything, plus ECU's as well.

I think most of us on here would buy a spares or repair Zed for £500 or less...so yes buy it back in :yes:

When my car was rear ended and wrote the car off, i bought it back, may as well, a VIC check isnt that bad, just means the car has to be checked for road worthyness and that any damage is repaired correctly and to a high standard.

 

Personally if that was me, id get her back, you will have your check plus the amount of whats on the car in parts, as mark has said, the engine should be ok and i woudnt discount the eletrics off just yet, get it back give it a damn good dry out, check it over at key electrical points, i would bet she starts and runs.

 

As its not salt water there will be less corrosion, and more oxidisation, but this can be combated with the correct tools / sprays.

 

As i said, i have a full shell here with the main harnesses all nice and dry if you need to replace anything, plus ECU's as well.

 

 

 

I'd agree with this mate,

 

at the end of the day you may find that after a good dry out, check over and minimal outlay the car may be perfectly fine

Buy back, hand the car over to someone you trust like Jeff, Jimmer etc with some of the cheque and have back a perfect car repaired!

even a full Interior and new ECU wouldnt cost that much to put back in .. and then dry/clean all other electrical and flush exhaust system

u could have it back on the rd for a 300quid

I would go with the other posts Dean and buy back. If you have the room and time fix it up mate or send it to Jeff.

Isn't a cat B a write off that could be sold for parts but the shell had to be crushed?

 

My JDM was a cat B and I bought it back for salvaging bits but once complete I had to get it crushed and provide the DVLA with the certificate of destruction.

 

So with that in mind, you won't be able to repair the car as it's no longer considered safe to be on the roads. Don't know why they said a VIC test would be needed. I'd check up on it.

 

That said, I'd still buy it back and strip for parts.

Edited November 9, 201213 yr by Steams

Cat A - Crushed

Cat B - Parts only

Cat C - VIC test

Cat D - Cosmetic no VIC test

 

Daughter as told me this, it's her job and the Cat B she says must be broken by a registered breakers yard, so will require a letter from the yard to the insurer to say that they have it.

Take the big cheque and move on !

 

Onwards and upwards, as they say ?

 

You gotta strip it, advertise the parts, wrap them, arrange couriers or deliver and still deal with the timewasters/****s that thrive on this planet ?

 

Please stay with the Zed family, you have a fair bit of respect on here.

 

Apoligies if not what you wanted to hear, but you did ask for individual thoughts !!

 

Good luck in your descision mate, and just to add here, I do feel for you. Pisher as we say up here.

 

Alan...................

If that be the case why would a half wet shell constitute Cat B (not even salt water at that), where's the compromise to its structural integrity?

Apart from the muppets who wrecked the spoilers, surely the main unrecoverable damage is electrics, I don't know the spec of the spec of the car, but you could pick up another zed as a base project and use all the salvagable parts to build a new project, maybe make a few quid in the process!!..oh and a big car ramp for parking overnight lol!

If that be the case why would a half wet shell constitute Cat B (not even salt water at that), where's the compromise to its structural integrity?

 

You'd need to ask the DVLA that mate. But for some reason most flood damaged cars are given a Cat B status.

Fresh Water

 

This is a vehicle that has been damaged by fresh water with no evidence of sewage contamination. In most cases this type of damage will occur out of town and be connected with a river flooding. If the vehicle has been totally submerged it will most likely be written off as a category “B“. This means that the bodyshell should be crushed. The vehicle should never reappear on the road, but it can be broken for spare parts plus any residual scrap metal. This category of ‘write off’ is reported to the Department of Transport and subsequently made available in a Motorcheck report.

 

Where the water level is at the level of the dashboard or below, an insurer may opt to write off the vehicle as a category “C” or “D“. The status chosen generally depends upon the estimated cost of repair and the vehicle’s pre-flooding value. Worryingly category “C” and “D” ‘write offs’ are not reported to the Department and may not be detected on your Motorcheck report.

 

Salt Water

 

Vehicles with interior salt water flooding should always be dealt with as a ‘total loss’ and written off by an insurer. They will normally be categorised as “A” or “B” depending on the level reached by the water in the interior of the car. In some cases where there has been only minor low level flood damage to the exterior of a car, consideration might be given towards a possible repair but this would be highly unusual and should be taken on with extreme caution and only by a professional.

 

Sewage Contaminated

 

Where there is evidence of sewage contamination within the interior of a car, including the boot area, a vehicle should always be dealt with on a ‘total loss’ basis and will be categorised as “A” or “B”.

I'm gonna have to clarify the situation on Monday when I decide what to do. To be honest the thought of getting it back on the road after seeing it submerged pretty much left my head as soon as the water had gone. I only really considered it for the parts to make some money back OR (watch this space) putting them on a 2nd Zed....

 

This time last week I was done with modified cars as a whole not just the Zed scene. But after calming down and doing a lot of thinking - I realised that damn shorty was good to me despite all the money I chose to pump into it! Never let me down!

if you keep it bud hire a de humidifier,it will draw most of the moisture out,take the seats apart and put the covers in the washing machine or get a leather kit.it will be quite a bit of work changing all the fluids etc but its a nice car, and id probaly fit new wheel bearings too,moisture will wreck them in no time.