So I've driven the Jimmer into a fence post, at speed... What next?

Thanks man. I have been looking non-stop on all the sites, I think I'm going to stop for a while and have a proper think about what even makes sense. What's eating me up is knowing all the little jobs I did are gone. Rear speakers, sound deadening in the doors, steering damper, android head unit and heck 2 weeks ago I just piggybacked a rear light in off the front with my own custom loom. Dunno if I have the appetite to do all that again...

Plus there's the money side. A replacement is going to realistically be £5-7k and I'll need to be careful about rust or else that could be even more money gone. Or I get a newer one but still, same cost problem and my insurance is already going to be way up because I just claimed.

It really does suck crashing your car, not least if it was a hobby / project too.

Hi again all, been 2 weeks since last post. In the intervening time I have had the insurer come back twice. Firstly to offer £4,500 which I rejected. Then after escalation they have increased it to £5,750 as their "final offer". They say the guide average was £4,500 but their claims handler could find no comparable vehicles online (55k miles, automatic, JLX edition), hence this increased settlement.

What annoys me is that they consider the boot panel / arch replacement work as just "maintenance" so they say it adds no value to the vehicle. Very frustrating because we all know that level of corrosion hugely informs a Jimny's used value and this one was perfect in the usual nasty places.

What do people think then, worth just accepting the £5,750 or should I keep dragging it out? I told them I'd decide over the weekend.

Personally I would take the cash and go and buy Scimike's Jimny, and spend the balance on whatever mods you want. Just my 2p....

If they won't come up anymore then I think you will have to take it. The newer Jimnys are starting to drop in price so this should push down the Gen 3s so I would have thought you could get into another one fairly easily. Also I wouldn't see it as just £5,750 but more like £5,750 plus the 3k you were willing to put into fixing your broken one. So you could be looking at 9k Jimnys which from looking online puts you in newer one still with an Autobox. Also don't be put off by one at the other end of the country as having one transported is only a couple of hundred pounds which you could haggle off  price of the car anyway.

I would take it even if you don't buy mine
My independent HPI report has my 2009 as £5300 for a typical private sale. I believe even this may be on the high side, so £5750 is good in my opinion.
It's true what they say, what you have spent on it is irrelevant, the typical price assumes it in good condition anyway and accessories etc do little to increase the value.
Good luck whatever you decide.
Mike

I think I would take the money, if it’s not repairable all of the work to the boot is unfortunately worthless now.

£5,750 sounds like a good offer in comparison to how much Mike’s 2009 Jimny was valued at and I doubt you would find better, especially at the price Mike is offering at.

Are you stuck with having to have an auto or is it just a preference? If you thought about Mike’s find a manual somewhere near you and take it for a test drive just to see how you get on, for the most part I doubt they will be really that much different.

Robin

Not making any suggestion about the condition of this Jimny, but see the recent topic called Grinding, the poster has a 2008 auto with recent MOT he wants to sell, after fixing a problem with it.

£5750 sounds very generous for any 2005 Jimny! I'll soon be selling my 2008 auto with around 70k miles, I was thinking somewhere in the region of £3k would be a fair price. Maybe I need to aim a bit higher...

Thanks for replies all. Decided that £5,750 is realistically very fair and so I'll just take it and move on with things. Not least because I have managed to get myself another one for less! An automatic 2008 with 72k miles, JLX+ too so hooray I've now got A/C   It's a little crusty behind the headlights but everything else seems sound! Very surprised it happened after all my moping about not being able to find another nearby. I happened to be visiting friends a few hours away and it came up so I took the initiative and just got it.

Thanks for suggesting @Scimike's though, I would have given it some serious thought if this one hadn't come up. Getting one from someone who has looked after it well is worth its weight in gold. And @Busta, the Glass / CAP etc guides put my old 2005 automatic 55k miles at £4.6k so if I were you I would list it at least £5k and be willing to go down 10-15% or so.

Hooray! Good luck with your new one.