Archive for December, 2009

At the end of November 2009 in a sleepy village on the edge of the North Moors National Park, in the village of Ampleforth, my eight year old Yaris was parked opposite the White Swan (Restuarant) Pub (I am led to believe has an excellent reputation for good pub grub). However on this particular night I had left my car there. As I am not a frequenter of pubs I did not go into the White Swan. The following morning when I returned to collect my car, some thoughtful person had left their signature on the N/S (Passenger’s side) Rear Quarter panel (a sizeable dent and juicy scrape)!

Instantly, this mean’t that I became a prospective customer for used Toyota car wing. What is actually funny about this that you hadn’t noticed? I work for a recycled vehicle parts locator service CarEngineFinder which is part of the CarSpareFinder group which also includes scrap-car service. I hope my Yaris doesn’t become scrap just yet….

It turns out that this relatively minor (in absolute terms) dent and scraping is going to be a massive job, since the Yaris Quarterpanel is welded on to the main body of the car (unlike the same damage done to a 5-DR Yaris version, which would mean it would need a replacement car rear door panel). I am very proud to announce that the best price I obtained was from a CarSpareFinder part supplier, though I had to make some furthe rinvestigations before I got the supplier to respond). The price came in at a just under £100 for a new part. A new part would have been the same or less than a used part, due entirely to the high labour costs of dismantling (cutting away the quarter panel from) a salvage Yaris, before it was ready to be sent to me. This is an exception, rather than the rule. I did try other parts locators, and I could have used services like 1-call-does-it-all car parts. which would have saved me time, and to which CarSpareFinder subscribes to.

Further developments, and the latest news, is that despite obtaining cheaper car parts it looks as if the labour costs, of having to weld the quarter panel to the main body, might mean my little Yaris (purchased for £2,000 sterling in July 2009) might be written off. The total cost might approach nearly £1,000. I am awaiting contact by an engneer to confirm the position. The decision I have to make is whether to repair it myself, and not to claim on my Direct Line Car Insurance (according to the reviews) but to make a full claim.