Involved in a small crash - is it worth trying to fix?

[ThomasAnderson]

Hi,

I was involved in a small crash a number of weeks ago - I've got a Volvo V40 2003 estate that I've kept going for the last six years, would hate to part with it, but does anybody know if it's possible to get it in an MOT-worthy state for mid-March? A lady seemed to come to a dead stop in front of me to let a wagon out, I emergency stopped but the brakes were spongy, still had a bit of room and time sol I kept engaging the brakes, but... no. Into the back of her I go. Now, I did think I was liable but I did mention not seeing her brake lights go on - later found she was liable. But no way that can be proven and, through insurance, the car would be a write off anyway.

There are a number of problems, pictures show but here we are:

1) You can see that the frame has been pushed back on the driver's side and this is what I would think would be the most likely MOT fail, even though the car still drives, would there maybe be a problem with parts of the car too close, etc? Or a safety issue?
2) I put a new indicator in but can't put a new headlight in unless the bonnet can be pulled out/replaced
3) The bonnet still holds in place, but the inside catch does not work, has to be opened from front
4) Headlight being pushed back must have impacted washer fluid, doesn't dispense though it does go down when in use so must be leaking somewhere.

Happy to fix it all if the car would pass it's MOT, just don't want to go through all the hassle and expense if it doesn't. Thanks for any and all help!

Pictures here:

[TeamG]

“Brakes spongy” suggests your car wasn’t roadworthy before the crash. I’d suggest you consider sorting the brakes before you consider the other costs to get the car MOT’d.

[irishcarfan]

You would need to have someone disassemble the front end, lights out, bumper off, radiator support panel 'slam' panel off. Then they can inspect the frame 'legs' to see if they're straight and make sure the frame is okay.

That needs to be done by a competent mechanic who has experience in this sort of thing.

There does appear to be rust around the wheel-well area, so that would need to be looked at also.

If it was my car and I liked it, I would certainly do that. If the windscreen isn't cracked, the doors are opening fine without any funny noises, and if the airbag didn't go off (?), I suspect it can be repaired. The problem some people have is down to price.

We have an old Volvo here which crashed into a bollard in the year 2000. The bonnet was folded in, lights smashed, wing damaged and it looked a state. That was 20 years ago and the car is still on the road to this day.

However as TeamG mentioned, you need to have the brakes looked at too. I know that the S40/V40 can suffer from a hard brake pedal when the aux brake pump isn't working on automatic models, which basically gives you no brakes at all on start up - I almost rolled into a family member's car because of this.

We've also had similar brake issues with a C70 from new, so I know Volvo's of that era suffered from brake issues. If you do get the car going, do have all of that looked at.

You could give Lakes Volvo a call. They might be able to point you in the right direction http://www.lakes4volvo.co.uk/ They might even have all the parts you need. Good luck!

[V40addict]

It's fixable, for about the price of the car, (not at a dealership of course) if the car is otherwise sound I would probably do it . Best to find a repairshop that will do it on the cheap and bring your used parts found on the internet (bonnet etc.).