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I was hit by a drunk driver on Friday midnight and my car is likely to be deemed a write off as the sills and A pillar are crushed, doors badly deformed and the car was only worth 4k so likely just not economic to repair. Had to climb out the passenger side it was that bent up.
Im looking at replacement options and it's proving a bit difficult to shortlist something that fits my needs and wants.
Must have a boot in excess of 500L with the rear seats up, we use our car for all sorts including weeks of camping, festivals, bikes, road trips and tip runs. Probably needs to be an estate tbh. We don't like crossover/SUVs.
Comfy seats and nice interior, I use it for driving long distances for work occasionally, and for road trips, so being a nice place to sit is important to me and my partner.
Not boring, I've had a SEAT Toledo for 5 years and it was dull as ditchwater so if I'm going to have to spend money to replace it, I want something a bit more 'snazzy'.
Petrol/diesel not too bothered as long as it's Euro6 if it's a diesel.
Mustn't be an absolute shocker for reliability, but I'm not concerned about a car with 100k on the clock as long as it's in good condition with a service history.
Budget probably 10-11k ish. So far I've come up with: Focus Estate ST3, SEAT Leon Estate FR, Audi A4 Avant (concerned about potential repair bills on these), Mazda 6 estate, VW Passat.
Some thoughts on the crash/insurance, having not dealt with this before is there usually some back and forth about value of a payout for a write off? There aren't many Toledo's for sale so I don't have a lot similar to go off. Can I claim for uninsured losses with the legal cover I have, for example the full tank of fuel I'd just bought? I also just spend £1,800 fixing the DSG gearbox 4 months ago and basically not seeing a penny of benefit from that now but still paying it off on a credit card.
Just a bit of a shit situation and there seems to be little choice out there for sensible priced replacements. We were saving for a wedding but now I'm feeling a bit out of pocket and wasn't expecting to have to fund a new car with little more than some deposit money out of the payout I'll likely get but that's life!
Not boring
May I present for your consideration, the Aston Martin Lagonda Shooting Brake. Not sure if it’s within budget, probably, not.
Nice, I'm sure adding a spurious whiplash claim would cover the extra cost of it.
Having been in the same boat criteria-wise recently I'd still avoid Mazdas like the plague. We looked at everything on your list and ended up with a Focus.
Mazda petrols are pretty much bombproof.
Diesels slightly less so.
Having driven a couple, I'd be looking at a petrol Mazda 6 estate.
Sounds like you're lucky not to have injuries with that amount of damage! I got hit by a drunk and suffered quite a bit with neck pain after the event (genuine rather than fabricated pain!). It took nearly a year to sort but the car was fixed and I got £3.5k for my injuries, which fortunately have settled down. That would give you some compensation for the auto box!
Mondeo diesel estate
Sounds like you’re lucky not to have injuries with that amount of damage! I got hit by a drunk and suffered quite a bit with neck pain after the event (genuine rather than fabricated pain!). It took nearly a year to sort but the car was fixed and I got £3.5k for my injuries, which fortunately have settled down. That would give you some compensation for the auto box!
Ouch. Yeah I was surprised I wasn't hurt given the damage, side airbags didn't go off nor did the steering wheel one but it was a hard enough impact to crush the structure and make the door unopenable. I do count myself lucky given what it could have been. I swerved to avoid the guy so it went from what would have been a head on collision at 40 with a van to a glancing blow along the side.
How about a Kia Ceed estate. Solid reliable cars. Go for a 4 or GT line and you’ll also get lot of kit and a very comfy interior.
Jag xf?
Not dull!
I think not boring and comfortable may be a little contradictory.
I would look for a nice Volvo estate. Best seats in any car I have driven.
I came here to say Volvo too. We’ve just got an xc90 and I’m amazed at how comfy, well thought out and generally pleasant it is. We brought it for practically reasons and I expected to be lukewarm on it but I love it.
Re car value, tap the details into webuyanycar. At least that way you have a potential comeback for the initial derisory offer.
As for a replacement, my wife bought a 3 year old 1.5L petrol Kuga with 10K on the clock for not much more than your £11K limit so there are bound to be some slightly older or higher mileage ones that sneak in to your budget.
That said, I would go with a Mazda 6 petrol from your initial list.
Re car value, tap the details into webuyanycar.
Would have thought that would undervalue it too. Autotrader ads or forecourt prices might get you closer to an acceptable figure.
I quite like the Volvo's but they do attract a greater price tag for the mileage, although I see plenty listed with close to 200k that appear fine still so they clearly go the distance.
Not thought about the Kuga, thanks for the suggestion.
squirrelking
Having been in the same boat criteria-wise recently I’d still avoid Mazdas like the plague. We looked at everything on your list and ended up with a Focus.
Aren't they essentially the same car?