Discussion
So to reconnect the wheel to the car I think all that's needed is -
1. new hub carrier as per that pic
2. new strut / shock
3. Spring - which has gone missing
4. Brake pipe/s
5. Handbrake cable
6. Drive shaft looks ok but rubber boot has split - not sure if the shaft and half shaft is salvageable.
So assuming the rest is ok -
Arms + tie tod
Brake caliper, disc and handrake parts
Whatever sensor/s for abs and psm
Wheel itself - could be buckled
So in parts I think that's less than a grand and the wheel is on. Then we can answer the question of will the car drive - is the engine + gearbox + everything underneath the car ok.
Then all that remains is question of if car is straight or needs jigging.
Then bodywork.
Done
1. new hub carrier as per that pic
2. new strut / shock
3. Spring - which has gone missing
4. Brake pipe/s
5. Handbrake cable
6. Drive shaft looks ok but rubber boot has split - not sure if the shaft and half shaft is salvageable.
So assuming the rest is ok -
Arms + tie tod
Brake caliper, disc and handrake parts
Whatever sensor/s for abs and psm
Wheel itself - could be buckled
So in parts I think that's less than a grand and the wheel is on. Then we can answer the question of will the car drive - is the engine + gearbox + everything underneath the car ok.
Then all that remains is question of if car is straight or needs jigging.
Then bodywork.
Done
Wheels come off or race cars all the time. As a driver you just kinda get used to it. Load points are engineered to take consistent loads in certain directions. They can fail easily in a load is applied in another direction. Once a corner duds into softe earth and the car is not travelling in a straight direction it is compromised. In a potential aquaplaning scenario, a driver needs to see the potential danger in advance and load the steering wheels before entering the standing water. If he doesn’t, to a large extent he is a passenger and his options are limited. There is nothing about this incident that I can see that’s unusual. Things are even worse in a mid engineer car as you have less options once the cars entrees the standing water. In wet conditions, a driver needs to be very vigilant and be constantly scanning the road surface for standing water.
Steve Rance said:
Load points are engineered to take consistent loads in certain directions. They can fail easily in a load is applied in another direction.
There's a video on YouTube (can't find it currently) of an AMG Merc hitting a gentle kerb at Adenaur Forst at a relatively low speed but with the front wheels at a right angle to the kerb. The suspension instantly and completely fails and the wheel is flopping about while the confused driver attempts to drive off in random directions 
Years ago, competing in a sprint on the Goodwood circuit, I had a spin exiting the chicane - a very common place, judging by the perennial tyre marks there. Just merely spinning through 360 degrees with wheels crossing from Tarmac onto the grass (no contact whatsoever) was enough to bend a front, lower wishbone on my TVR Griffith.
Digga said:
Years ago, competing in a sprint on the Goodwood circuit, I had a spin exiting the chicane - a very common place, judging by the perennial tyre marks there. Just merely spinning through 360 degrees with wheels crossing from Tarmac onto the grass (no contact whatsoever) was enough to bend a front, lower wishbone on my TVR Griffith.
Ouch.Yes that's a regular spot for hitting the grass - with very little room for error.
ATM said:
I've asked the insurance company about buying back the wreckage. Has anyone here done anything like that?
If youre that keen on keeping it why dont you tell them not to repair it, not to pay out against it and you'll have it back.Then get the few bits and fix it yourself - assuming it hasnt bent any chassis work
saaby93 said:
ATM said:
I've asked the insurance company about buying back the wreckage. Has anyone here done anything like that?
If youre that keen on keeping it why dont you tell them not to repair it, not to pay out against it and you'll have it back.Then get the few bits and fix it yourself - assuming it hasnt bent any chassis work
ATM said:
I've asked the insurance company about buying back the wreckage. Has anyone here done anything like that?
I did. Maybe not a representative example as the figures involved were much smaller. The car was a run of the mill Ibiza 1.2, worth about £1250 at the time. It was written off and recovered to my home (shell was stuffed in a bit at drivers footwell). Insurance company allowed me to buy the car back for £150. It had a tank full of fuel worth £50! If the percentage values are similar it could work in your favour. It’s worth asking I’d have thought.ATM said:
I'm not necessarily keen on keeping it, I'm just curious and want to know their asking price. If it's super cheap I'll have it. Otherwise they can just pay me and that's that.
When I wrote my GT3 off, I bought the salvage off the insurer for 10% of the amount they paid out (which was less than the car’s worth) doing so enabled me to sell the salvage at a profit and effectively regain the full value of the car pre-accident.I suspect your insurers will have grave concerns as to the damage done to the transmission in this case. Additionally they seem to be very averse to taking risks with ANY suspension and steering components these days, all the more so as your car will be considered a high performance vehicle.
If in doubt they’ll replace everything, and in the process the costs ramp up drastically.
Slippydiff said:
When I wrote my GT3 off, I bought the salvage off the insurer for 10% of the amount they paid out (which was less than the car’s worth) doing so enabled me to sell the salvage at a profit and effectively regain the full value of the car pre-accident.
ThanksI'm a bit concerned about insurance or insuring the wreck. Many many years ago my Renault 5 turbo was damaged and while outside my home waiting for the insurance to figure out what to do the wreck was stolen by some guys in a truck. They had the balls to knock on my neighbours door and explain they had been asked to collect it. Someone told me once you are paid out for a write off your insurance policy is then cancelled. I'm presuming it's the same if you buy back the wreck too.
ATM said:
Thanks
I'm a bit concerned about insurance or insuring the wreck. Many many years ago my Renault 5 turbo was damaged and while outside my home waiting for the insurance to figure out what to do the wreck was stolen by some guys in a truck. They had the balls to knock on my neighbours door and explain they had been asked to collect it. Someone told me once you are paid out for a write off your insurance policy is then cancelled. I'm presuming it's the same if you buy back the wreck too.
Yes. They'll want your logbook and the relevant certificate of insurance returned to them. The policy is then cancelled upon receipt of them. I'm a bit concerned about insurance or insuring the wreck. Many many years ago my Renault 5 turbo was damaged and while outside my home waiting for the insurance to figure out what to do the wreck was stolen by some guys in a truck. They had the balls to knock on my neighbours door and explain they had been asked to collect it. Someone told me once you are paid out for a write off your insurance policy is then cancelled. I'm presuming it's the same if you buy back the wreck too.
I'd leave the car/salvage with who whoever recovered it or wherever it was taken to be assessed. Only when you've agreed terms with your insurer (and decided to purchase the salvage) would I move it, and as you've highlighted, it needs to be moved somewhere safe away from prying eyes and scrap merchants looking to make an easy few quid !
ATM said:
I've just spoke to the insurance company. They gave me a compelling number to buy back the wreck so decided I'll have it back. Now the saga of repairing it begins.
Congratulations! Photos of the damage please when you’re ready and full step by step updates as and when they happen. I hope you get it back to where it was before the accident. It was cheaper than I thought. I didn't even need to think about it. And yes you get the difference. Over the last few weeks I've been thinking about what to buy next even though I don't really need another car but to be honest there isn't that much exciting me. So fixing up and keeping the Boxster is better the devil you know. But I've got my thinking hat on - as much as you can buying Porsches. I want to try to get the wheel back on first and then answer the question will the engine and box and everything else work. If they do it's plain sailing - or is it plane. Then body work quotes or I could still sell as is. I think it's a better sale with 4 wheels on and driving. If the car doesn't drive then it's probably a breaker - maybe. But I can't be arsed doing that myself.
I am probably stating the obvious, but I trust you will have the chassis checked out on an alignment rig before you buy the bits to repair it.
The fractures caused to the cast steel hub carrier probably required tremendous forces. Unlike the wishbone of a TVR. Tearing the top mount off does not, once the strut is no longer in compression and attached at the bottom.
As a Cat D car, it is unlikely to ever be worth what it was before the accident, but good luck.
The fractures caused to the cast steel hub carrier probably required tremendous forces. Unlike the wishbone of a TVR. Tearing the top mount off does not, once the strut is no longer in compression and attached at the bottom.
As a Cat D car, it is unlikely to ever be worth what it was before the accident, but good luck.
rdjohn said:
I am probably stating the obvious, but I trust you will have the chassis checked out on an alignment rig before you buy the bits to repair it.
The chance of the insurers releasing it from their yard without payment and taken to a specialist for jig checking is probably zero.Olivera said:
rdjohn said:
I am probably stating the obvious, but I trust you will have the chassis checked out on an alignment rig before you buy the bits to repair it.
The chance of the insurers releasing it from their yard without payment and taken to a specialist for jig checking is probably zero.My thinking is that Dave’s garage round the corner could probably get the wheel back on, but a decent body shop would check the chassis alignment before putting the wheel on and quoting for the necesary body repairs.
It is the total cost that will determine if it should be broken for bits, or rebuilt as a Cat D repair.
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