Discussion
'morning all!
Unfortunately I've just been rear-ended in my seven whilst starting to move away from some lights - clearly a bright yellow car with the lights on is not visible enough for some people.
It was pretty low speed but the back panel is stoved in and the fuel tank looks pretty bent. Obviously I'll be contacting the insurers as soon as they are out of bed, but I was wondering how they are likely to deal with this sort of thing? Send the car back to Arch/Caterham for a full check over & repair? I'm with Adrian Flux if anyone has any experience of them.
B.
Unfortunately I've just been rear-ended in my seven whilst starting to move away from some lights - clearly a bright yellow car with the lights on is not visible enough for some people.
It was pretty low speed but the back panel is stoved in and the fuel tank looks pretty bent. Obviously I'll be contacting the insurers as soon as they are out of bed, but I was wondering how they are likely to deal with this sort of thing? Send the car back to Arch/Caterham for a full check over & repair? I'm with Adrian Flux if anyone has any experience of them.B.
B,
Really sorry to hear of your woes. I had a damage only bump in July when a BMW came out of a side road and hit the back of me. I cannot comment on AF or Caterham in terms of dealing with the repair as I am insured with MSM and the repair was handled by Millwood of Dursley.
I needed a new rear panel. I was told that Arch would cut off the rear panel approximately where the roll bar sits, then weld a new panel on. This sounded very "cut & shut" to me, but when I saw the repaired car I cannot see the join between the new and existing panels, even when the areas were highlighted to me.
I was boring a bloke rigid with the above story at a recent Lotus 7 club track day at Llandow, and he told me that Arch can weld unpainted bare ali and once they have finished you cannot see the join - true masters of their field.
You might have to go through some hoops and delay to get your yellow beastie back, but I am sure that it will be as good as new. I was truly amazed at the quality of the repair undertaken on my car - I hope you will be with yours.
Really sorry to hear of your woes. I had a damage only bump in July when a BMW came out of a side road and hit the back of me. I cannot comment on AF or Caterham in terms of dealing with the repair as I am insured with MSM and the repair was handled by Millwood of Dursley.
I needed a new rear panel. I was told that Arch would cut off the rear panel approximately where the roll bar sits, then weld a new panel on. This sounded very "cut & shut" to me, but when I saw the repaired car I cannot see the join between the new and existing panels, even when the areas were highlighted to me.
I was boring a bloke rigid with the above story at a recent Lotus 7 club track day at Llandow, and he told me that Arch can weld unpainted bare ali and once they have finished you cannot see the join - true masters of their field.
You might have to go through some hoops and delay to get your yellow beastie back, but I am sure that it will be as good as new. I was truly amazed at the quality of the repair undertaken on my car - I hope you will be with yours.
Ah, thanks for that, that's an encouraging story! Glad you got back on the road ok & are happy with the repairs. My one consolation in this is that it happened in the Autumn and not earlier in the year, that would have been a tad annoying 
I've just spoken to Flux & the underwriter and they'd like me to get some quotes from appropriate repairers in my area as they have no suitable places on their books. By the sounds of it, any reputable Caterham place, such as Millwood, will then outsource the repair back to Arch, so all I need now is somewhere reasonably close to me.
So, does the assembled PH mass have any recommendations for a decent Caterham specialist local to me that can handle this kind of work? The car car is currently down near Arundel on the south coast. If not, I suppose Redline aren't too far away....
B.
I've just spoken to Flux & the underwriter and they'd like me to get some quotes from appropriate repairers in my area as they have no suitable places on their books. By the sounds of it, any reputable Caterham place, such as Millwood, will then outsource the repair back to Arch, so all I need now is somewhere reasonably close to me.
So, does the assembled PH mass have any recommendations for a decent Caterham specialist local to me that can handle this kind of work? The car car is currently down near Arundel on the south coast. If not, I suppose Redline aren't too far away....
B.
beckerman said:
Ah, thanks for that, that's an encouraging story! Glad you got back on the road ok & are happy with the repairs. My one consolation in this is that it happened in the Autumn and not earlier in the year, that would have been a tad annoying
I've just spoken to Flux & the underwriter and they'd like me to get some quotes from appropriate repairers in my area as they have no suitable places on their books. By the sounds of it, any reputable Caterham place, such as Millwood, will then outsource the repair back to Arch, so all I need now is somewhere reasonably close to me.
So, does the assembled PH mass have any recommendations for a decent Caterham specialist local to me that can handle this kind of work? The car car is currently down near Arundel on the south coast. If not, I suppose Redline aren't too far away....
B.
I still think you need to get the car to arch as welding alloy is not particularly easy. They can also chesk the space frame for damage. Arch are pretty cheap so it may be more cost effective to get the car trailered to them and back. I've just spoken to Flux & the underwriter and they'd like me to get some quotes from appropriate repairers in my area as they have no suitable places on their books. By the sounds of it, any reputable Caterham place, such as Millwood, will then outsource the repair back to Arch, so all I need now is somewhere reasonably close to me.
So, does the assembled PH mass have any recommendations for a decent Caterham specialist local to me that can handle this kind of work? The car car is currently down near Arundel on the south coast. If not, I suppose Redline aren't too far away....
B.
This won't be cheap for the other parties insurers, so make sure you get it done properly. I speak from experience.
My 7 was rear ended, but not so bad that I couldn't complete a 1700 mile touring holiday and still do a trackday at Brands.
I didn't go through my insurers as the other party's insurers had a '3rd Party No Fault Claims' line and just dealt with them.
I took the 7 to Caterham South for an assessment which was subsequently passed to the insurers who then sent their own assessor, fortunately he was aware of Caterhams.
Caterham assessed the damage as; new rear cage, new petrol tank, new rear skin, transport to and from Arch, transport to and from TSK, labour to remove rear wings etc. Final quote £3,005!!!
As I was considering totally rebuilding the car ('twas 15 years old at the time) I agreed with the insurers that I could have cash in lieu. I then went about putting that money towards the rebuild costs.
Bruce at Arch straightened the rear cage and the petrol tank was hardly dented (it's still there today). Full story here
My 7 was rear ended, but not so bad that I couldn't complete a 1700 mile touring holiday and still do a trackday at Brands.
I didn't go through my insurers as the other party's insurers had a '3rd Party No Fault Claims' line and just dealt with them.
I took the 7 to Caterham South for an assessment which was subsequently passed to the insurers who then sent their own assessor, fortunately he was aware of Caterhams.
Caterham assessed the damage as; new rear cage, new petrol tank, new rear skin, transport to and from Arch, transport to and from TSK, labour to remove rear wings etc. Final quote £3,005!!!
As I was considering totally rebuilding the car ('twas 15 years old at the time) I agreed with the insurers that I could have cash in lieu. I then went about putting that money towards the rebuild costs.
Bruce at Arch straightened the rear cage and the petrol tank was hardly dented (it's still there today). Full story here
jingars said:
B,
I was told that Arch would cut off the rear panel approximately where the roll bar sits, then weld a new panel on. This sounded very "cut & shut" to me, but when I saw the repaired car I cannot see the join between the new and existing panels, even when the areas were highlighted to me.
Thats how every caterham is put together, the rear panel is seperate from both of the side skins so requiring a small inch or so weld as you say below the roll bar/top rear shock mounting either side.I was told that Arch would cut off the rear panel approximately where the roll bar sits, then weld a new panel on. This sounded very "cut & shut" to me, but when I saw the repaired car I cannot see the join between the new and existing panels, even when the areas were highlighted to me.
I would take it to arch, more so for the potential of having a look around the place, remember to not get carried away and wipe your mouth whilst your eyes get a feast! Not sure if they respray it though.
If a company hasnt worked on a caterham before they might take a bit of time working out how it all comes apart and goes together. Its bread and butter for Arch.
I would be looking at using somewhere like Caterham South or similar to have the work completed. They will have the car stripped down and transported to Arch for the repairs and then sprayed for you. and then rebuilt back up
If you take the car straight to Arch, Bruce will sort out the aluminimum repairs but you will have to sort out the paintwork yourself. Plus I'm sure you would have to strip the car down too for Arch to take on the repairs so you are doing a lot of the work yourself and having plenty of hassle when its not your fault.
There are several decent places you could use and I personally wouldn't be limited by area if I wanted the job done best. Nowhere really is too far away that you can't get to within a few hours
If you take the car straight to Arch, Bruce will sort out the aluminimum repairs but you will have to sort out the paintwork yourself. Plus I'm sure you would have to strip the car down too for Arch to take on the repairs so you are doing a lot of the work yourself and having plenty of hassle when its not your fault.
There are several decent places you could use and I personally wouldn't be limited by area if I wanted the job done best. Nowhere really is too far away that you can't get to within a few hours
'evening all!
Just got in from a very long day at work and fired up the machine, so apologies for not posting earlier
. Firstly, thanks to everyone for taking the time to reply. I haven't had to deal with an insurance repair for a long time, the last time was when a deer wiped out the front of my TVR in darkest Sweden believe it or not, but that's another story .
Unsurprisingly, I want the work done properly, and am not worried about it taking longer or having to travel a bit further to get it done. Caterham South is fairly local in the grand scheme of things, so I'll give them a call tomorrow and book the car in there. I'll also have to sort out transport for it, as I'm not really happy driving it without really knowing the state of the fuel tank. As for the costs, if this is judged to be anything other than a no-fault claim I'll be stunned, so it doesn't matter to me what they are as the other chap's insurance will be paying
.
I'll keep you posted on how it goes
B.
Just got in from a very long day at work and fired up the machine, so apologies for not posting earlier
. Firstly, thanks to everyone for taking the time to reply. I haven't had to deal with an insurance repair for a long time, the last time was when a deer wiped out the front of my TVR in darkest Sweden believe it or not, but that's another story .Unsurprisingly, I want the work done properly, and am not worried about it taking longer or having to travel a bit further to get it done. Caterham South is fairly local in the grand scheme of things, so I'll give them a call tomorrow and book the car in there. I'll also have to sort out transport for it, as I'm not really happy driving it without really knowing the state of the fuel tank. As for the costs, if this is judged to be anything other than a no-fault claim I'll be stunned, so it doesn't matter to me what they are as the other chap's insurance will be paying
.I'll keep you posted on how it goes
B.
B, sorry to hear about your car and hope she is sorted out soon....
I always wondered what would happen if there is no nearby approved caterham body repair. I live in scotland and not sure what i should do if i am involved in an accident. I have an RAC recovery anywhere in the uk. In the event of accident i would probably bring the car back home. RAC said they would only transfer the car from home to a local grage but not to CC south. Who should pay for transfering the car to caterham south? I am insured with Frank Pickles but they didn't give me a clear answer!
I always wondered what would happen if there is no nearby approved caterham body repair. I live in scotland and not sure what i should do if i am involved in an accident. I have an RAC recovery anywhere in the uk. In the event of accident i would probably bring the car back home. RAC said they would only transfer the car from home to a local grage but not to CC south. Who should pay for transfering the car to caterham south? I am insured with Frank Pickles but they didn't give me a clear answer!
Glasgow2,
My experience was that when I was hit and the car made immobile (mechanically sound, but when the driver's side rear wing was ripped off something blew in the electrics), initially requested recovery to my home address as it was only some 10 miles away.
Dave Spragg of MSM Insurance rang me at the roadside as soon as he knew of my accident. He advised that an accident only got one "free" recovery, so he strongly advised me to get the vehicle recovered to the repairing garage. So that is what we did.
I would imagine that if you were found to be the party at fault for an accident, or if a claim went knock-for-knock, then any additional costs for recovery might well come back to say hello - and they might be quite large bills.
As my car was picked up quite late in the day (despite the accident occuring just after 2pm) there was some talk of the car not making it to the repairers before they closed. In that case the car was going to spend an overnight in the recovery company's secure pound. If there was some debate/delay in agreeing the best way forward after an accident up in your neck of the woods, then perhaps the same might be put in place for you.
My experience was that when I was hit and the car made immobile (mechanically sound, but when the driver's side rear wing was ripped off something blew in the electrics), initially requested recovery to my home address as it was only some 10 miles away.
Dave Spragg of MSM Insurance rang me at the roadside as soon as he knew of my accident. He advised that an accident only got one "free" recovery, so he strongly advised me to get the vehicle recovered to the repairing garage. So that is what we did.
I would imagine that if you were found to be the party at fault for an accident, or if a claim went knock-for-knock, then any additional costs for recovery might well come back to say hello - and they might be quite large bills.
As my car was picked up quite late in the day (despite the accident occuring just after 2pm) there was some talk of the car not making it to the repairers before they closed. In that case the car was going to spend an overnight in the recovery company's secure pound. If there was some debate/delay in agreeing the best way forward after an accident up in your neck of the woods, then perhaps the same might be put in place for you.
'evening again!
A quick update. After a bit of to'ing and fro'ing on the 'phone, the underwriters have agreed that Caterham can do the repair so I have a low-loader coming down from Dartford on Thursday and the Insurance Assessor should be seeing the car at the factory on Friday. So it should be in safe hands from now on, assuming the other driver doesn't turn round and somehow claim it was my fault....... This feels too easy......
Hopefully I'll have her back in the garage in time for Christmas
B.
A quick update. After a bit of to'ing and fro'ing on the 'phone, the underwriters have agreed that Caterham can do the repair so I have a low-loader coming down from Dartford on Thursday and the Insurance Assessor should be seeing the car at the factory on Friday. So it should be in safe hands from now on, assuming the other driver doesn't turn round and somehow claim it was my fault....... This feels too easy......
Hopefully I'll have her back in the garage in time for Christmas
B.
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