I am looking for a second car and Suzuki Swift is on my shortlist. I was told that if the Swift's back bumper is damage, it is a complete write off. Is that true?
kazbanz,
Nov 28, 7:59am
Nope-Not true at all. but then it MIGHT be true. Confused? If you hit any small car in the right way the chasis sustains damage. THAT may well wright the car off. So the damage to the bumper itself wont wright the car off--the underlying damage may well
jmma,
Nov 28, 8:00am
Who told you that?
lookoutas,
Nov 28, 8:05am
BS
You can buy another bumper for about $200. $240 more to paint it. Someone should be able to remove and replace a bumper in 1 hour.
Most other cars would be about the same.
a.woodrow,
Nov 28, 8:19am
Not at all true :) the person who told you that probably isn't worth listening to for future car advice
kazbanz,
Nov 28, 8:22am
hey guys --I suspect the real story that the storyteller was told went like "yep well if the back bumper is damaged bad enough to need replacing then likely theres chasis damage.
wayned,
Nov 28, 8:25am
Wasn't there a stage when the supply of new bumpers was outweighed by the need for them. On near new models, isn't it correct that insurance companies only use new genuine parts on cars under a certain age. For a time this meant Swifts were unrepairable
lookoutas,
Nov 28, 9:00am
The real facts are that a 2005 Swift is worth about 7K. That means the repair bill can go close to 6K before there's any thoughts a writing it off.
That means a replacement bumper, a rear panel, tailgate, one or two lights, a couple of chassis tits, a bit of repair here/n/there, some painting, and it's nowhere near a write-off. How do I know this? Must be coz I've just done one.
Kaz is right, everything is so bum-screwed these days, a damaged chassis has to be replaced even though it can be repaired, and no Insurance Co is going to authorise a repair with their arse on the line.
But this doesn't only apply to a Swift.
mm12345,
Nov 28, 9:15am
Think it goes back to an AA report of a few years ago (perhaps not AA) where they assessed cost of repair of front end and rear end damage to common NZ small cars from a 10km/h impact, and the swift came out way higher than anything else if shunted from the rear. I expect that being a hatchback doesn't help. This was maybe 10 or more years ago - could have been longer. The difference was substantial, IIRC a corolla cost which was lowest was about $1k or a bit more, but the swift about $6k. IIRC the result of a frontal, the difference wasn't so dramatic. Personally, as I've got insurance, front-end damage is more of a concern - rear end damage would normally be my insurer or the other driver's problem. God help anybody uninsured who reverses at 1km/h into a Range Rover and damages the headlight clusters. 2 x $3k each of fancy-looking idiot lights.
rob_man,
Nov 28, 9:27am
Quite common for the plastic cover to get pushed into the rear panel and damage the rails and the boot floor then rebound to close to its original shape. I've had a few people turn up after being rear ended and thinking there was no damage only to find the boot doesn't close the next day. That was after waving away the other car saying "that was lucky, no harm done".
survivalkiwi,
Nov 28, 5:51pm
Back in 07 I bought the wife a brand new swift.at 3 months old Some stupid cow backed her Toyota prado over the front of it. It was off the road for 3 months while they waited for the bumper. We were told it was because so many were used by rental firms they had misjudged the number of replacement bumpers that was needed in stock.
kazbanz,
Nov 28, 7:14pm
yep---when the bumper factory was 20 feet under water
pauldw,
Nov 28, 8:04pm
2008 Herald referring to State comparison of small car repair costs. "But the vehicle with the highest damage bill in proportion to its purchase price was the Suzuki Swift, which State estimated would cost $10,939 of a price tag of $16,990 to repair." Suzuki responded that their estimate was $8900.
panicky,
Nov 28, 8:08pm
I sell new Suzuki Swift genuine panels, truckloads in fact I sell genuine panel for 10 brands and would consider Suzuki in general to be one of the cheapest cars to repair, especially Swift.
lookoutas,
Nov 29, 2:10am
I have no option but to dispute that.
No-one is tight assed enough to have a cheaper repair price than State/IAG
cheapy11,
Nov 29, 2:41am
Incorrect. No insurance company would authorise a 6k repair ok a 7k car. you're dreaming!
Its more like a $5k repair maximum before it would be "uneconomic to repair" which is the correct wording for written off.
lookoutas,
Nov 29, 8:07pm
It's obvious that you work in the industry, and know more than I do. But if you bother to read properly, my comment was close to 6K, due to my knowledge that 5K would be a little too low. So I'm sorry that I didn't get a calculator out and be exact.
pauldw,
Nov 29, 8:18pm
I'm just quoting what was reported. If the survey had been broken down into parts prices and labour the reason for Suzuki coming up with a cheaper quote may have been visible.
lookoutas,
Nov 29, 8:23pm
Hey - I wasn't trying to score points off you mate. That's why there was a big laugh attached.
But any chance to jab IAG can't be missed.
a.woodrow,
Nov 29, 8:25pm
Incorrect.
I've seen insurance co's repair up to 80% of value (depending on vehicle and nature of work) - $5,600 - aka close to 6k.
lookoutas,
Nov 29, 9:22pm
Thanks woody - that was sort'a what I'd worked out in my head without getting a calculator out.
Guy walks into a bar and sez to his mate. "Jeez I need a drink, I've just made my car uneconomic to repair"
It's been "write-off" since my Great Grandfathers uncles rolled the families flash new horse drawn buggy on a corner somewhere in Auckland.
Might have been the first crash in NZ
kazbanz,
Nov 29, 10:18pm
Paul-this is 2015/2016 not 2008. In 2008 the swift hadn't reached saturation point in NZ. I bet if the same report was done nowadays you would see a different result.
pauldw,
Nov 29, 11:20pm
I know that but that report lives on and is probably the reason the OP got his story. What I was fishing for was any comment whether Suzuki NZ had altered spares pricing.
countrypete,
Nov 30, 2:10am
They sure have.
lookoutas,
Aug 19, 9:23am
Just had to delve back and have a look about that crash.
The old Great, great, great had imported a London built Phaeton with a silver mounted whip. In Dec 1850, the boys were driving their mother home from town, hit the side of Hobson's Bridge and overturned into the gully at Newmarket.
Now I can't find Hobson's Bridge, but the gully is the one where the railway now goes underneath Davis Crescent. So I'm picking that in 1850 there was a bridge crossing the gully called Hobson's, which is now just an overpass called the Davis Crescent Overpass.
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