Rear ended on highway - is this repairable, or a total loss?

[tchalikias]

Well, after 12 years on the road and 20 with a driver's license it was bound to happen sometime, I guess.

I was rear ended on the highway at night, I was going around 70-80km/h (~50m/h) and a Toyota IQ crashed on the back of my 200 (going, by my estimate at around 100 km/h).

The IQ immediately rolled over, and I saw it sliding on the motorway with sparks flying on my rear view mirror. This is an image I don't think I'll ever be able to get out of my head anytime soon. The fact that the driver of the IQ was pretty much completely unharmed (save for a small cut on the forehead which was bandaged on the spot by EMTs), to me, speaks to this little Toyota's safety.

I managed to stop my 200 on the side of the road without issues, and was also unharmed.

The Clio.. not so much:



Amazingly, there appears to be no damage the rear quarter panels, and the rear axle looks to be straight. But ofcourse there's undoutedly heavy damage to the rear center and the trunk floor etc.

For now the car was towed to a garage and next week I'm guessing I'll have an estimate on its repairability.

I've read that this sort of rear end damage, especially on 12 year old unibody car such as this, usually leads to a write-off as a total loss. Repair is economically unfeasible.

What do you guys think? Could this 200 come back from the dead? Or should I just accept the loss and move on?

There are so many fond memories I have with this car that I find it difficult to even look at this picture... I feel like a good friend has been mortally injured. I'm in shock and could not sleep last night - I close my eyes and see the Toyota rolling over, again and again on my rear view mirror.

Any and all advice welcome.

 

[Paul_D]

Glad to hear that nobody was injured. I suspect the Clio will be written off though as repairing the boot floor would probably make it uneconomical never mind replacing the diffuser which may well be no longer available new. I wonder what could have distracted the other driver so much?

 

[DS197]

The rear ends needs to be stripped and assessed. Rear axle may look fine but they’re as strong as chocolate and will bend if you simply look at them the wrong way.

The one saving grace is that prices of Clios are much higher in mainland Europe than in the U.K, especially now with the silly prices of second-hand cars. Do you have a trusted bodyshop who can give you an idea of repair costs?

 

[turkie172]

I've been in the same position and unfortunately you are never going to get the full value of the car in my view if the accident is not your fault you should have the right if the car is safe to fix you should have the right to demand it fixed regardless of cost. So start getting proof of similar cars sold and get ready for a fight of the cars value.

 

[tchalikias]

I'm guessing the other driver was distracted either by a smartphone, the beer or beers she had to drink (she was right below the limit) and the fact that she had finished her work shift an hour before. I honestly can't tell, she was in shock. She just stated for the police report that she was behind me and crashed onto me.

 

[tchalikias]

The rear ends needs to be stripped and assessed. Rear axle may look fine but they’re as strong as chocolate and will bend if you simply look at them the wrong way.

The one saving grace is that prices of Clios are much higher in mainland Europe than in the U.K, especially now with the silly prices of second-hand cars. Do you have a trusted bodyshop who can give you an idea of repair costs?

Oh I know about the rear axle. Mine was right on the limit, toe-in wise, from the factory. I had the rear toe-in adjusted to 100% ideal figures using Renaultsport shims back in 2010-2011.

Sigh.

It just hit me that this car has been pretty much the only constant in my life for the past 12 years, however sad that may sound. Everything else has always been in flux... I'll be very very sad to see it go this way...

 

[DS197]

Oh I know about the rear axle. Mine was right on the limit, toe-in wise, from the factory. I had the rear toe-in adjusted to 100% ideal figures using Renaultsport shims back in 2010-2011.

Sigh.

It just hit me that this car has been pretty much the only constant in my life for the past 12 years, however sad that may sound. Everything else has always been in flux... I'll be very very sad to see it go this way...

I know the feeling mate, I’ve only just got my (second) Clio back after having a new rear quarter put in due to some mouth breathing f*****g moron in a van. First Clio written off by another moron, who also should have been aborted, whilst it was parked up.

I would imagine insurance works the same way there where if the repair costs are 80% of it’s value, it will be a write off. You can of course get a cash payout (minus salvage), keep the car and repair it privately. This will cost less than what a bodyshop would charge insurance company.

As Turkie says, you should start looking at similar cars that have sold recently or are for sale as the insurance company will always low ball you. Happy to be pm’d if you have any questions mate.

 

[tchalikias]

Thank you mate. Indeed thats pretty much how it works here as well. We'll see how things go on Monday when the garage opens.

 

[Chris Tan]

I am looking for wreckers that has this model 197 Clio rs Type iii which has been rear ended. Any suggestions?

 

[tchalikias]

Some photos of the damage:





Uh-oh. My first thought was - the boot floor can't have creased SO much! It has received quite a lot of damage but it was the tool tray that had popped off its cubby and raised the floor mat so high. Fun fact: the boot lid opened normally - I managed to squeeze my finger where the boot latch switch is, pressed it, a tired 'bzzclick' was heard and it opened. It never closed again, ofcourse...

Boot floor damage, sadly looks pretty bad:


These cars go for quite a lot of money here in Greece on the second hand market, especially at this mileage. Closest example I could find, with mods, was at around 12k euros, or about 10k pounds. On initial inspection the appraiser of the insurance company did not rule out a repair, nor did the garage (apparently the boot floor CAN be replaced, or evens straightened out in some cases...)

We shall see how it goes.

 

[tchalikias]

Also, weird thing - the car doesn't start. The ignition turns, but the engine doesn't fire up. I'm guessing either a fuel cut-off switch was activated (though that happens when airbags deploy, which they didn't in this case), or, there's something wrong with the fuel pump or fuel tank under the trunk. My fuel level was low and the crash occured by my estimation minutes before the fuel light would turn on.

 

[Sean197]

It won't start if you can't close the boot. Try it with the key card in the slot.

I've found a list of the panels needed to replace the floor, perhaps put a price list together and see how it compares with the garage/insurance estimates- https://www.catcar.info/renault/?la...pbWc9PXx8Z3JwX2lkPT00MXx8c3ViR3JwX2lkPT00MUQ=

 

[tchalikias]

Its got a key, not a card. It has never refused to start with either doors or boot open before. Plus, it didn't start before I attempted to open the boot, so... something else is going on. The dealer said they'll look into it.

 

[R20BTG]

I wouldn’t want that repaired looking at the damage. I’d be focusing your attention on the best possible payout and start looking for replacements. Sorry to see those pictures, hope you’re ok.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tchalikias]

I wouldn’t want that repaired looking at the damage. I’d be focusing your attention on the best possible payout and start looking for replacements. Sorry to see those pictures, hope you’re ok.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I keep getting conflicting opinions. Some say that due to the fact that the rear axle and rear quarter panels have not been damaged/affected, that the car is worth saving (needs pulling at the back, removal of rear frame pieces and boot floor and replacement with new parts, rewelding etc). Others say that I should take this as a sign that maybe its time to let this car go (the running costs, due to engine displacement affecting the relevant taxes are insane here in Greece).

The garage still hasn't reached a verdict - they're understaffed due to national holidays here, so they will be able to have a better picture next week.

I'm still in shock from the accident, I honestly can't imagine how the other driver, who's car rolled over, must be feeling. She must have full blown PTSD. Thankfully I avoided whiplash. At random moments during the day I get a sense of dread and anxiety, for nothing in particular, and have trouble sleeping. But this too shall pass.

But say I do move on and let the old Clio go to scrap (although I'm 100% sure that if I do, its gonna be repaired and be up for sale within a month)... move on to what? all newer cars (even the Clio IV RS) seem to lack that special something, the insanity of a 2lt naturally aspirated engine on a small hatch. I know I'm looking at it from rose-tinted glasses, but this car was pretty much my dream car when I got it and I still love it. But I'm not 20something anymore, I'm almost 40... sigh. Do I just get another 200? The few for sale here in Greece have quite high mileage, mine must 've been the lowest mileage 2010 registered car in the country from what I can see in the classifieds!

I need to think long and hard on this.

 

[Dutch_197]

Also, weird thing - the car doesn't start. The ignition turns, but the engine doesn't fire up. I'm guessing either a fuel cut-off switch was activated (though that happens when airbags deploy, which they didn't in this case),

100%, usually under the hood but I have not seen it. PS is your airbag light on? There is also a G sensor in the car which determines which airbags and belt tensioners must be activated, after a hit these need to be replaced. I also sent you a PB.

 

[tchalikias]

Apparently, from the Clio III onwards, there is no manual fuel cutoff switch that one can enable after a crash. It's all done via the CAN bus - one needs to hook up the CLIP diagnostic computer and clear the UCH 'crashed' state.

No airbag lights on, nothing was activated - neither airbags or pretensioners.

 

[tchalikias]

Just to let everyone know, if you're ever feeling down or disappointed, just remember that almost 8 months later, I still have no car and no reimbursement from the insurance company. They deemed that the car is fixable at around 4-5k, with its current used price sitting at around 11k euros. And 7 months later, Renault have not managed to secure even hald the parts necessary. It doesn't look like they'll be able to find the parts needed within a year since the accident, and the 'cut off' date where they deem a car unrepairable is apparently two years from the date of the accident. Therefore, I will be required to pursue this via a solicitor (which means extra expenses on top of everything else) in the hopes of securing a total writeoff verdict. What a sad way for this Clio to go out.. if I knew that the parts situation would be so bad, I'd have sold the car long ago, since I would be afraid of driving it.

 

[tchalikias]

At long last, almost exactly 10 months after the accident, my car is ready. I just picked it up today. Total damage with parts + labor came to around 5k euros.

Everything was procured straight from Renault dealers all over Europe, over a grueling 8 months. The only part that was impossible to find, as other owners warned me would be the case, a year ago, was the rear diffuser. So the garage went another route: they sent the damaged diffuser to a technician specializing in bodywork repair for yachts/boats and I have to say he did a great job - it honestly looks brand new.

I honestly know jack-all about bodywork, and externally, my Clio was showing its age (numerous scuffs, scratches, marks of all kinds, dents etc.) It really does look like they did a very good job with it. Of course, only time will tell (water ingress/rust). It's insane to me how they replaced some very expensive stuff, yet chose to keep some things that I would consider to be dirt cheap (like 2 of the bump stops of the boot lid!). The silver lining here is that these repairs are covered under a proper warranty, since this is an authorized Renault garage.

All this time, I've been driving the polar opposite of the 200: a 1,0lt 3 cylinder 2021 Opel (Vauxhall) Corsa, which very well might be the most boring car I've ever driven. So as you can imagine, just sitting behind the (worn af) steering wheel of my Clio and taking off at a green light, just put a big, stupid grin on my face. Tomorrow it's gonna get a new set of Continental tyres.

Of course, with the stereo off, I can hear rattles that I swear were not there before the accident (or maybe I'd just gotten used to them). I think the rear boot lock & bump stops need some adjustments.. but honestly, at this point I don't care about the rattles. This was never neither a comfortable nor a 'quiet' car. I'm just happy to have it back. I'll solve the various niggles down the road.

A quick pic at the garage, before picking the car up:

 

[tchalikias]

Being obsessive about alignment, I got the car checked today - its pretty much perfect. I honestly expected the smack in the back to have thrown off the rear axle even just a tiny bit, but no - both toe in and camber are at almost the 'ideal' values (i.e. in the exact middle of the range allowed by the factory). So that makes me very, very happy. Fun fact: my 200 has been driven with Renaultsport racing toe-in shims between the axle and stubs for over 10 years. If you're ever unhappy about the fact that the rear axle is not 'adjustable', they are a very good solution, if you ever wanna bring everything into perfect alignment. I don't know if they can be bought nowadays, though..

I also got a chance to take a look underneath the car. It looks almost perfect. The diffuser shows no signs of having been worked on - I hope it stays that way.

I noticed that the left rear inner wheel arch liner has not been replaced - I was notified that they simply could not find the part but I'd forgotten about it- so it has been repaired with a plastic patch, which won't win any beauty awards, but seems to get the job done.