what to do?

[Niva]

Long story short;

Mate crashed my car tonight, he wasnt exactly being an asshole and he has decent motoring skills hence being the only person ive let drive my cars in the past. Although he will be paying to get it fixed I aint mad, I doubt under the circumstances I would of done much better but the end result is the same, beloved cressida is looking pretty sorry for itself.

My issue is that I know he isnt rolling in cash at the moment, but niether am I. I know if I just put it into a panel shop they will tear him a new asshole and I probably wont see the car for a while.

at a glance its a new fender, bumper, lips, grill, light, etc... but actual body under the bumper itself is pretty bend out of shape. nothing in the engine bay looks touched.


Anyone been in this situation before? I simply wont have the time and dont have the panel skills to get it back looking mint again myself so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

All in all, shit happens.. no love lost

[shifted]

Owen @ Meltham's - they sponsor this forum?

Based off of everyone else's suggestions in every other similar thread. :)

[RICEY]

Im guessing no insurance?

He should probably sell his car to pay for repairs and buy something cheaper.

[Lump]

Owen @ Meltham's - they sponsor this forum?

Based off of everyone else's suggestions in every other similar thread. :)
probably cost more than its worth
ricey's suggestion imo

[random?]

Reshell?

[shifted]

probably cost more than its worth
ricey's suggestion imo

This is why insurance exists.

Reshell will probably be the cheapest outcome for both parties.

[Lump]

yes i know, if he had insurance he probably would'nt need to ask the question

[RICEY]

I even had full cover on my $600 bunky. Just not worth the risk of not having it.

[random?]

Quick look on gumtree and there are 2 cressida's going for under 2k, which is probably cheaper than fixing said damage.

[Lump]

yeah that silver grande with the dents in the rear could be an option, mate could buy that & swap gear over for pits

[random?]

yeah that silver grande with the dents in the rear could be an option, mate could buy that & swap gear over for pits

Exactly the one I was looking at.

[duste]

Shit mate. :p

[Skitzo]

Re-shell. Should be able to pick one up with popped motor for less than a k. Make sure you get the same series as what you currently have, as it may effect engine mounts.

[uzx83]

I am wrecking two cressys at the moment selling gaurds and lights and stuff pretty cheap if you need that. Best way (if you want to keep the car and not reshell) is take the car and the new parts to someone instead of them looking for the parts as they will charge wreckers prices

[Fukushima]

Don't see why mate should have to pay more than 500 or so unless he wants to.

You let him drive it without insurance, it's your responsibility what happens to your car.

[Macca]

Don't see why mate should have to pay more than 500 or so unless he wants to.

You let him drive it without insurance, it's your responsibility what happens to your car.

Unless he was driving like a cock without permission

[Niva]

Don't see why mate should have to pay more than 500 or so unless he wants to.

You let him drive it without insurance, it's your responsibility what happens to your car.

Is that what you would do if you crashed someones car? Or let me guess you have never driven someones car that you werent fully insured for.

[Risk10k]

Wouldn't drive an uninsured car.

[Fukushima]

Yeah look its definately a grey area, if your mate feels he is responsible he can pay as much as he likes.

When I had the galvsport car for 2 months I rang up and got my own insurance.

When I handed my keys to Gav Clarkson at racewars (ie completely uninsured) it'd be completely unreasonable to expect him to pay if he binned it or popped the motor / box unless he felt he should.

I'm the one handing the keys over.

[ho57ile]

If I was driving someone elses car and I binned it I would feel 100% responsible for paying for the repairs as I would expect the same if they were driving my car.

[Brett_J]

Not that it helps your situation, but between me and mates that have borrowed/driven each others cars, you break it, you fix it.
I had a mates STi, it did a clutch while I was driving it, I replaced it with 2nd hand stuff, so it was in the condition I got it, I expect he would have done the same.

[sensei_]

Yeah look its definately a grey area, if your mate feels he is responsible he can pay as much as he likes.

When I had the galvsport car for 2 months I rang up and got my own insurance.

When I handed my keys to Gav Clarkson at racewars (ie completely uninsured) it'd be completely unreasonable to expect him to pay if he binned it or popped the motor / box unless he felt he should.

I'm the one handing the keys over.

i think legally if you hand the key over, even if they are at fault you cannot pursue damages. i remember a classmate and his friend in a similar incident. classmate lends friend his chaser. said friend guns it around a corner, loses it and gets into accident resulting in total loss. classmate ask for value of his chaser from friend; said friend tells him to fuck off because he handed him the keys (as advised by his lawyer). in the end both guys hate each others guts and classmate is out whatever money was spent into buying the chaser.

i wouldnt drive anyone's car that isnt comprehensively insured, and i definitely wouldnt let anyone drive my car unless i was prepared to take a total loss.

when i borrow family relative's car or even cars from friends, i always ask the question "do you have comprehensive insurance?" "does it cover me?" if either questions get a "no" response i hand back the key, because i couldnt afford to fix anyone's car if i damaged it. paying the excess is easy (1-3k i think it is for non nominated drivers), having to repair someone's $200k mercedes is much more difficult.

[Niva]

Yeah this isnt going into anything legal or technical, the way we work is basically you bend it you bought it. Ive had a motor pop while a mate was driving, I didnt expect him to pay for it.. stuff like that I see as it was obviously gonna happen anyway and it was just unlucky.

I'm just trying to do the right thing by him and get it done in a cost effective manner, but at the same time my car was pretty clean and I dont want to go backwards.

[ho57ile]

Best of luck then, these things can get real ugly real quick. Sounds like you and your mates are close and all reasonable blokes. Re-shell sounds like a fair deal to me, plus an excuse to hang out/drink piss on the weekend, swapping it all over.

[Faz]

reshell, i'm only fixing my cressy shell because i'm an idiot

[Chivalry]

Should post up photos to get a better evaluation because (to me at least) it sounds like it is not worth re-shelling it and sounds easy enough to repair. You say nothing is touched in the engine bay, so do you mean the radiator is ok too? If the impact didn't push the radiator support back or badly damage the skirts it shouldn't be that hard to bash it back into shape, throw cheap parts on it and continue to use it until you do have more cash to burn, then reshell.

[ReaperSS]

Big O at Melthams all the way brother!

[d1mitch]

i always work on the you break it you fix it rule. i binned a borrowed s15 in a drift comp at barbagallo after i broke mine in the morning, cost me around 5k to fix the s15 but fair is fair

[mr_mike]

If your both trying to do it on the cheap then stripping all the damaged parts off should be your first move. Make a pile/list of every bolt on bit thats broken, now have a look and see what else on the cars actual structure is bent. Take some measurments on the diagonal across the engine bay and on the undershide of the engine bay make sure everything is still straight or within a couple mm.
If shit is bent send it u'll need to send it to a panel shop for a tweak on the auto robot. If everything is still square start hunting the classified for parts, bolt everything back on and make sure it lines up then all u need to do it send it to a shop for painting.

Its the most work for u and ur mate but will be the cheapest option.

Post some pics so we can get a better idea of whats bent

[Niva]

If your both trying to do it on the cheap then stripping all the damaged parts off should be your first move. Make a pile/list of every bolt on bit thats broken, now have a look and see what else on the cars actual structure is bent. Take some measurments on the diagonal across the engine bay and on the undershide of the engine bay make sure everything is still straight or within a couple mm.
If shit is bent send it u'll need to send it to a panel shop for a tweak on the auto robot. If everything is still square start hunting the classified for parts, bolt everything back on and make sure it lines up then all u need to do it send it to a shop for painting.

Its the most work for u and ur mate but will be the cheapest option.

Post some pics so we can get a better idea of whats bent

awesome advice mate, cheers.



reshell, i'm only fixing my cressy shell because i'm an idiot

Yeah, I cant consider reshell for some reason. even if the numbers add up




Will grab some pics when my phone charges, have just pulled some of the underneath out so I can move it around freely and there is a decent amount of fluid under it. my guess is power steering, have just replaced every part of the P/S system so atleast we know how that all goes together

[Fukushima]

http://www.imgur.com/zRCwrUf.jpeg

Related... If your mate leaves his Oaklies on the TV cabinet where your dog can eat them it is your right to throw up the not responsibility arms...

But in this case I am going to be a good bloke and buy him some new ones. In Phuket next month.

[Tocchi]

i hope they were Chris's

[Drift_R32]

Re-shell for sure
Surely cheapest way of doing it
Least your mate and u are close
Otherwise he could pretty much just bail and leave u with wrecked car

Happened to my mates motorbike
Lent to mate, mate writes it off
Insurance wouldn't cover because his mate had suspended license which he kept quiet

Went to court
5$ a week until the 15k is paid

Honestly this no Insurance bullshit has to stop

[beatle]

Would try Mint Smash in East Vic Park

Mint Smash Repairs
Tel 9361 0197
Fax 9361 6991
www.mintsmash.com

They sorted me out when I got T-boned in the poopra.
Competitive price and was very happy with the work
macmintsmash@bigpond.com