Hello Forum,
Thank you in advance for taking the time to read and respond.
Background:
Few weeks ago my son had accident in his 2018 V60 Polestar making a left turn and missed an oncoming Honda Accord, so it ended up hitting the Volvo in the right side wheel, luckily wasn’t at a high speed.
- Neither my son nor the other driver go hurt. The Honda accord had its front damaged and driver airbag deployed.
- Volvo right side curtain airbag as well as the passenger side airbag got deployed, despite that there was no one sitting in the car other than my son (driver). Neither the steering wheel nor the front dash airbags deployed.
- All my son felt was the car shifting to the left due to the impact.
- The right front wheel took most of the hit, it appeared to be leaning inward at the top and even more when turning the wheel towards the left.
- Engine was running, I was able to drive the car from the intersection to the side of the road, but the impacted wheel was making knocking noise when turning towards the left.
The estimate:
- Volvo repair shop (this is in Ottawa, Canada) gave an estimate of ~$23k CAD, however the insurance (Aviva Insurance) appraisal came at $21k CAD (it had only 100k KMs on it – 62,137 Miles)… their said that it was difficult to find a comparable car on the market because it was a unique car.
- The estimate mentioned a bent control arm, damaged radiator, obviously new headlight, bumper and RHS fender.
- So obviously the car was classified as a Total Loss due to the ratio of the repairs cost to the value of the car.
Initial Decision:
- I want to repair the car since it is such a unique V60, (taking in consideration the estimate will grow in $ amount), so I asked the insurance company that I want to keep the car, so they gave us a check for the value of the car ” minus” ~4400 salvage money they would have received had they scrapped the car.
- The car is now branded “Salvage”, which means that after being repaired, it would need to pass a structural test to be registered and road worthy again. and will be branded as a “rebuilt”…. and of course finding an insurance company that will insure it.
- This definitely impact any possibility for future selling, but my son would like to keep it for as long as possible once repaired….. so since the car
The Challenge:
- After a week, the Volvo repair shop calls me to tell me they don’t repair a salvage car, even if I am paying for it now.
- The manager advised me (and he was sincere) that the cost will go above the initial estimate (which is expected), and even if they repair the suspension, they are not sure if there would be a damage to the transmission that we might only discover after we finish the repair and get the car on the road!!
- Now that I have the car, I am considering taking it to another reputable repair shop (CAR STAR) and have them assess the damage and if they see any impact to the transmission, or the subframe of the car. If transmission/engine have damage, then it is not worth pursing the repair any further.
My question to the forum:
- From what you’re seeing in the photos, or previous experience through an accident, do you think the transmission would be impacted in such a hit?
- Is there a possibility that damage can be sustained even though visual inspection wouldn’t show anything with the transmission?
I just feel bad dumping this beautiful car just because of the insurance assessment and not really trying to take a look at the actual extent of damage. (I posted a photo of the car before the accident).
Much appreciated.
Ahmed