So what was said about the chassis itself? You reckoned that panel gaps weren't right anymore. The way that the grille seems to have popped out on one side does suggest it has twisted a little. Does their 11 hours of labour include a bit of jigging then?
Only 8mm difference from corner to corner so chasis is ok and body work is ok apparently, just need to adjust the bonnet hinges as battery dislodged in the smash and knocked the bonnet open. But as am claiming through ins they are replacing everything that`s even slightly damaged as it was mostly brand new parts fitted to the car. Have submitted a quote to the ins company today so hopefully will hear back soon... will keep you posted. I did managed to get a front subframe with ARB, rear beam and OS drive shaft with CVs all for 40 so if it comes to it and I need to pay for repairs myself I have a good start!
I did pretty much exactly the same thing as you a few years ago, it cost me 10 (this is why I hoard spares ) and took about a week to fix it all - rear beam, wishbones, driveshafts, couple of wheels and putting the screen back in/trim back on, then I discovered it was pretty bent anyway and scrapped it a few months later... Seems daft to go through insurance for a car that can be fixed for less than the price of a KFC, but if it's beyond your abilities I guess it's all you can do
Well, there probably isn't much point. ANYHOW: If you really got this all fixed for 1200, I'd call it a bargain. It surprised me that some garages work for 40 quid an hour, but that's up to them. The point to consider though, is what your insurance would do. They usually have their own repair garages and they charge an arm and a leg for any little repair. For instance, a small dent in the side could cost around 850 quid. I wouldn't be surprised if your repair would cost more than 2500 quid. If you can, I'd get a quote first and make sure they give you the option of withdrawing your claim.
So ins company have agreed to pay for the following: O/S drive shaft incl inner and outer CVs Front O/S strut Front O/S wishbone Front O/S lower ball joint Front O/S hub assembly Front O/S wheel bearing Rear engine mount Brand new rear beam Rear O/S wheel bearing O/S handbrake cable 4 new G60 steels 4 new Michelin Pilot tyres O/S Track rod end up to a cost of 1830 All parts from VW where possible and other pattern parts from GSF. Have also added a re-conditioned (cleaned up and painted) front subframe and ARB (as mentioned above I got these and a driveshaft with CVs and a rear beam for 40), poly bushes for the new rear beam and a solid rubber GB mount to the list out of my own pocket. With any luck I will have the car back some time next week. Am gonna drive at 20mph everywhere from now on (and 2mph in the corners )
fitted new front tyres 2 weeks back then heading out that evening a dog was running up the dual carridge way torwards on coming cars , hate to think what would have happened with the on the limit tyres i had before , hope you get your golf repaired.
just thought i'd mention that i had classic insurance on the mk2, as it was over 15 years old. no claims bonus not required. flat rate 225 fully comp (limited mileage negotiable), in the event of a smash you keep your no claims intact. as it wasn't used to obtain the policy at that price, it isn't part of the equation. so you can claim now, then insure it as a classic next year at no extra cost. win win
As far as I know any car over 15 years old can be insured as a classic (with the right insurer of course).
mine was parked outside, my only car. equity red star iirc, through adrian flux. i have to have normal insurance now though, about 4x the price more's the pity.