The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Yes, all brand new towbars have to fit the vehicle they're designed for. The Picasso's was literally bolt-on and despite what has been written online, I didn't have to remove anything apart from the spare wheel to get access to the mounting points. I'm still awaiting my twin socket upgrade kit. The newer cars with their canbus systems make DIY installation of towbar electrics a bit of a nightmare.

I received the upgrade kit and got it fitted so I now have fully working twin sockets on the towbar for the caravan and I can run the fridge and charge the leisure battery while I'm towing it. I did this job nearly 2 weeks ago.

On Friday night, the offside headlight bulb failed. The handbook says that it is an H4 bulb. Halfords were asking £7.99 for their cheapest H4 bulb so I got one from my local motor factor for just £3.50. Fitting it was quite easy unlike some moderns. I might upgrade to Osram Nightbreakers like I did on the Astra. I've ordered some decent quality 501 LED bulbs from the only eBay seller that I DO trust (Classic Car LEDs). I bought some warm white LED sidelight bulbs for my Dolomite which are still going strong to this day. One of my LED sidelight bulbs failed ages ago so I binned it, reverted to filament bulbs, put the other one (which was still working) in my interior light (it takes 501 bulbs) and I've finally got round to ordering some decent quality replacements.

The LED bulbs arrived in the post so I got them fitted. This was the best shot I could get showing the difference between the filament bulb (on the left) and the LED (on the right).


I'd bought 4 bulbs and the number plate light also takes the 501 bulbs so that's where the other 2 bulbs ended up. Here's another comparison with the LED on the left and the filament bulb on the right.

In Holland that would be illegal RNO plates on a Citroën.

Jeroen

In Holland that would be illegal RNO plates on a Citroën.

Oh feck! The Picasso was hit by a drunk driver who didn't stop. The driver's door mirror has broken, both doors have been scraped and the rear quarter panel has been pushed in. The car was parked outside the house at the time so I'm 100% not at fault.

I know who the guilty party is but due to the police being involved I'm not going to divulge any further details on a public forum. For this reason I'm going to put it through the insurance and let them write it off (it is worth bugger all) and get another car.

soe8m wrote:These holes are no issue for a Dutch MOT. You can arrive with almost no car left and it's ok.

I do admire Dave's persistentness but want to make one remark. There is nothing wrong keeping a car alive suggested by Rob and Alun. I have a about 5 years a 1996 spare Toyota Corolla what i do keep alive, worth 100 euro and the most reliable and also the newest car i ever did own. The new tires were more last year.

In my opinion to keep it cost effective do only what is neccessary and as cheap as possible. It is easy to spend to much. This Picasso will be a good car, has a new clutch and is till now very cheap. Don't spend more. From this point on all you do spend more will be a loss. The car won't be worth more by adding any new parts and unneccessary repairs. If it has an MOT don't repair the sills. Tomorrow someone does hit it, you did spend on an unneccessary repair. Car gone, mony gone. It will drive ok with holes in the sills. Keep it as cheap as possible.

Jeroen

Some one else needs a prediction for 2017?

I'm sorry for you Dave.

Jeroen

B45t4rd, feel for you Dave,

Jeroen, I don't regret taking this car on and I'd been looking at replacing it with something a bit better and newer before the accident. Having the insurance write if off is the perfect excuse for me to get a replacement car. I want another MPV and I'm happy to stick with Citroen so I've narrowed it down to either the C8 or the Grand C4 Picasso. I'm seriously considering a diesel which will be better for towing the caravan but I'm wary of the 1.6HDi engine because I've heard tales of woe where the turbos fail. Most turbo problems stem from lack of regular oil changes or carbon build-up but the 1.6HDi seems to be particulary fragile because of the power it has to produce for a 1.6. The 2.0 seems to be more bulletproof than the 1.6 and will be still cheaper to run than the petrol engine in terms of fuel economy and road tax.

I've had a call from the assessor and they're going to pick the car up tomorrow so I might not see it again once it has gone. The one thing that has p*ssed me off is that there's just over half a tank of petrol (I filled up on New Year's Eve).

Dave, assuming you are unlikely to get money off the other driver( police don't seem to worry too much) are you sure you want to claim?

Just a thought, but if you have an excess, and by the time you get stung for higher premiums for the next couple of years, you may be better off not claiming. Once the insurance company have taken your car (something I would be VERY wary of, as they then hold all the chips, and not much you can do about it) it will be too late, they may offer £400 or something, take off the excess, and you end up with no car, a few quid and precious little esle except a claim against you (doesn't matter if you were not in the car, it happened to me last boxing day, car parked, the other cars insurance company paid for everything, my premiums still went up because of it)

1. Siphon the fuel, or use the electric pump to decant it elsewhere. Even if you give it away to a neighbour it is better than seeing it disposed of with the car
2. Remove the tow bar you have fitted and flog it on eBay
3. Do not let them take the car away until you have an agreed settlement that you are happy with
4. Do not give them the V5c until you have an agreed settlement that you are happy with
5. It is a 'no CLAIM discount', not a 'no BLAME discount'; unless the insurers recover ALL of their costs from the third party, your premiums will rise if you claim. The third party may well not have had any insurance at all.


Be aware they are unlikely to even offer the market value of the car as their first offer. Refuse their first offer. If you have given them either the car or the V5c then their first offer is likely to be their final offer.

Re the claim affecting your insurance.
You may have protected NCD,but that only protects your discount.
The base cost may go up 50%, so even with protected NCD you premium will go up 50%.

Just hope you get treated fairly by the insurer.

A protected no claims discount is one of the biggest cons sold; all it protects is a spurious % discount, it has no affect on premium quoted prior to discount.

Personally I would consider keeping it and parting it out. They'll offer you little more than scrap value for it which combined with a rise in insurance premiums will render the whole claim largely a waste of time.

Alternatively keep it and drive round with a big dent in the side until the MOT runs out and then buy another car. I imagine a half decent Focus C-Max could be had for little money if you really must have an MPV and you can even get it with the same engines as the PSA cars. Or just buy a regular Focus estate. The answer to anyone wanting a cheap, reliable and well made car is generally a Ford Focus.

If you want to run another interesting and long running thread then buy another French car or some godawful Zafira rubbish, there's months worth of problems to chase out of them and people always sell them on at any sign of trouble so there's usually plenty to choose from.

Or buy a Japanese car, there will be nothing to do to it giving you more time and money to spend on your classic.

Happy New Year one and all.

Dave,

From the picture posted, and given what this vehicle owes you, I have no idea why you are even contempolating the course of action that you are. By your own admission you enjoy the car and it has proven a practical workhorse. It has cost very little and has a new clutch and some other bits.

Just buy a door mirror from eBay, continue to run it around with the dent(s) and scrap it or part it out come MOT time. Any other course of action seems insane - especially letting the insurance company take it away with no settlement agreed.