To re-repair or not to re-repair?

Hi Folks!

I have a Micra K11 Facelift automatic reg 51. I have had it since January this year I previously had 2 K11's on Motability between 1994-2000 so know what great cars they are. In the last week of April my Micra was rear ended by a speeding driver attempting to overtake without due care or attention when there was another car coming the other way. My Micra was promptly repaired (a new rear bumper) and this week I had to call the body shop to ask a couple of questions about this and was informed that the Micra had been in a previous accident and the repair was not satisfactory. I contacted the AA as I am a member and they advised me to get an HPI check. When I bought the car in January the sellers had the service booklet and Direct Gov MOT history back until 2006 which showed that the Micra had a mileage of 6,610 miles at its MOT in October 2011. The day I collected the Micra the odometer reading was 7068 miles. I did the HPI check firstly that stated that the mileage was 69000 miles so I rang the DVLA they advised me to call VOSA which I did. The person that I spoke to at VOSA was very helpful and when through the car's MOT history with my back to 2006 and they confirmed that the mileage is genuine and told me that the mileage on an HPI check can be inaccurate.

The HPI check stated that the Micra was written of in November 2011 as category D as being not economical to repair so I took it to a local bodyshop yesterday for an estimate. The assessor looked at my Micra and showed me where it had been repaired on the offside rear quarter panel which had sustained a dent and been knocked out and filled and re-spayed. He said that it was a poor repair. He advised me to get a wheel alignment check which I will do next week in order to see if the axel or rear axel was damaged as the rear offside wheel has been replaced.

The thing is the mileage is genuine yesterday the odometer reading was just over 8000 miles. If there is no damage to the axel I need to consider if I should pay to have the offiside rear panel replaced properly. Although I paid £2000 for the Micra its low mileage and good condition otherwise mean that it has a lot of life in it my average mileage is around 6500 miles a year. In personal economic terms it would cost me more if I were to buy another small automatic which would most likely have more mileage and wear and tear . My question is although the repair isn't bodyshop standard it has passed an MOT in January or given the Micra's low mileage is it worth paying out to have this repair repaired properly? I have included a photo of the offside rear quarter panel repair what do people think?

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BTW: The S shape mark is dirt where the assessor moved his hand over the panel.
 
Sounds like someones not noticed the low mileage when they've entered the mileage into HPI & added another zero...
The rear quarter does not look bad in the picture.Run your hand around the inside of the arch & you may feel the extent of the amount of filler used.You could pull the interior panel inside back & look in there at the damage.Also look at the area in the boot around the rear light & boot floor to see if the impact was there.
It does not take much to write a car of that age off insurance wise with rear quarter damage as the damaged panel needs to be replaced with new main dealer parts,obviously expensive.
Also if the axle was out of alignment the tyres would be likely to show uneven wear.
If you're unhappy with the finish on the panel then you could get it repainted,but might be best to get the whole side done so it matches.
If the axle is fine & you like the car then just carry on,good to have such a low mileage car.:)
 
Dear Sleeper,

Yes I think that when it comes to the HPI reading whoever entered that added an extra zero! The mileage is genuine, the MOT history which has been recorded from 2006 and available from Direct Gov the Micra (called Millie) was owned from new by an elderly lady she took it to the same garage for both the car's MOT and service and so there is a good record of its MOT and service history and mileage.

It's the low mileage which is the important thing about this car. The rest of the bodywork is in good condition obviously there are some small paint work issues scratches and a small dent near the handle on the driver's door which looks like a supermarket trolley rolled into the driver's door. What I am going to do is see what the results of the alignment check reveals if the axel hasn't been damaged then I think that I will probably get a few quotes for repairing the offside quarter wing properly and save up and have it done the assessor who looked at it on Friday said that there was a think application of filler and that it could last for up to 2 years so that will give me the time to save up to have it repaired properly. If the axel is not damaged I think that it would be silly to buy another small automatic as I won't find one of that age with such low mileage. Given that the Micra is known for it's reliability it would also be silly to get rid of her I bought Millie in January and that was mid winter and she hasn't let me down. From a personal perspective I think that it would cost me more if I was to look for another automatic aside from probably having to pay more for a car it might not be as reliable as my Millie Micra and I could be shelling out for mechanical repairs etc.
 
Don't worry the filler will last forever provided the edges are sealed if it's the arch that was repaired & water cannot get in behind it.
 
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