You can sell the car to anyone for whatever price you agree, so you could simply do that and ignore the insurance company, though technically I believe you should inform them if there's been an accident even if you don't claim and even if it's happened on private property. (I'm slightly unsure of my ground here - perhaps someone more expert can confirm.)

Secondly, I wonder if the price you've been quoted for a repair is realistic, or whether the places you've contacted are trying to rip you off. If you can get the car fixed for a reasonable amount - even if the repair is less than perfect - that is the route I would take, assuming the car is in good shape mechanically.

No reason in principle why you cannot claim on your own insurance and get either a repair or market value as a write off. Makes no difference that it happened at home. Of course your excess would be payable on repair or deducted if they pay out on a write off and as you say your premiums would go up.

How much is your excess?

Was quote for new parts? Might a repair be possible using a panel from a scrappie?

Other thought, given age, is whether pre-existing corrosion allowed the wing to separate ie it was already weak.

I'd be wary of telling them anything that's not true ie that it was scrapped for engine failure. Unlikely but the story could come back and bite you later.

Hello Sarah,

First let me say it can happen, I saw a class 1 driver with over 20 years experience, very used to driving extended vehicles ( even for a class 1 ), with extra wide loads, all the right markings. police in attendance because of the size of the load, had to inform hignways of their route to avoid low bridges etc months in advance, etc

On pulling off from the kerb, to start his journey, the load clipped the post and that vehicle was going nowhere as the load had shifted.

Pretty much most of the advice you have been given is good, forget about spending £ 1000 on it, if you can find a garage that will charge you labour only then try and get the parts yourself, as already suggested if you do that then no more then £ 300, scrappy are good or euro car parts.

As for your insurance, it is kind of a grey area, where others are involved by either damaging their property, or a person then most def yes to telling the insurance, but as you stated no one else was involved, your car is yours and has no outstanding payments on it, and since it was on your property and not on a public area or a private road where the public would ordinarily have access you do not need to tell anyone.

As for your friends, that will take longer to live down if ever, but I have seen professional HGV 1 drivers do worse things, so cut yourself some slack.

Good luck.

Edited by A Driver since 1988, HGV 2006 on 30/01/2020 at 12:57