I've just received word from my insurance.

They estimate the repair bill to be $50,000 but consider the car's residual value to be rather more than that so are not going to write it off. You are right about the suspension and they will replace the entire wheel assemblies.

Behind my back the recovery company contacted my insurance - Zurich - and within two working days they have organized everything for me. There were no forms to fill in and they only had one question to ask me:

Do I want to get it repaired myself and pay $1000 excess, or have them repair it in their partner garage, for which they will give me a $250 rebate. They cover the recovery costs with the hauling company as well so I will get a total bill of $750.

Within an hour of this their garage called me, told me the car will be ready next Friday, and if I need a replacement car in the meantime they will have one driven out to me.

They did all this because they felt I was probably suffering some PTSD and they didn't want to disturb me.

Jaguar cars + Zurich insurance.

What a team!

 

What currency is that repair bill in?

 

Congratulations - you deal with classy suppliers. Sorry that you had to find out how good they are through and accident. Please let us know how the repairs turnout. Thx.

 

Haha, I was wondering the same thing!

 

Your insurance company and the way its reacted have been amazing to say the least, but $50,000?

Surely you've added one Zero too many?

 

This is Switzerland. Take a zero off and you've got the price of new tires. ;-)

The currency is actually irrelevant, I converted to US dollar because it's easier for an international readership to understand. At the moment though, the exchange rate between Swiss Francs and USD is close to parity.

To give some context, the purchase price of the auto when new was around $180,000-$200,000, but I got it ex-demo for $120,000.

 

wow...

What drives the price so high in Switzerland?

 

UPDATE: Returned from the garage today, and it looks like new:

Jaguar XKR | The Skankworks

Even the little dents and nicks along the sides, made by careless drivers of less eye-pleasing autos who throw their doors open when parking next to you, have all been repaired.

Most of the damage turned out to be superficial. There was a delay in repairing since one of the foam rubber shock absorbers behind the bumper was lost and a replacement had to be ordered from the factory. Insurance covered all except for two tires which I have to pay for since they were already worn.

So all's well that ends well.

Happy motoring.

 

I well believe the cost of repair in Switzerland. My first European business experience was there. We bid on a contract based only on the exchange rate at the time and lost or shirt (read ***).

Babes in toyland for sure but a lesson well learned. Exchange rates and true costs do not correlate. The people we sent in were paid standard US per diem expenses. They threatened to walk off the job after the 1st week when they discovered the real cost of living there. Of course we had to make it right and, as I recall, we had to double their expense reimbursement.

Sorry. Didn't mean to high jack this thread.

 

She sure does look pretty! Glad you got her back in working order!

 

The matter was closed in mid-July and the car sold, just a little more than six weeks after the accident. There were some misunderstandings in the initial estimates, and I will give the final tally in USD even as we acknowledge that the days of the US dollar as the world's reserve currency are drawing to an ignominious close.

The damage to the auto was relatively minor. It was largely cosmetic and almost all of the parts involved were already in need of repair or replacement. The original bumper was re-fitted, a side ingot was replaced, one door and a rear side panel were resprayed, and the brakes and tires were replaced. The repairs and replacements added $10,000 to the car's re-sale value, and naturally I sold it while the going was good.

The total accident bill, including recovery, highway clean-up, and fixed-penalty from the police came to $26,900. Insurance pay-out, refund on pre-payments, and increased resale value came in at a cool $36,200.

By pure coincidence, in the same week I sold the auto, I picked up a new work contract that will see me through the winter, and which would have meant driving every day down that same highway I skidded off which will soon be covered with layers of ice and snow. Not a pleasant prospect, so I've spent half the cash I received on another form of luxury transport that I've always wanted: A first-class season ticket valid for unlimited travel on every train, bus, tram, streetcar, and boat in the entire country. The new commute takes me all the way around Lake Zurich offering daily views of the breathtaking sunrise and sunset over the Alps. Truly spectacular natural beauty that cannot be fully appreciated when one is behind the wheel of a dangerous, fume-belching, gas-guzzling, internally combusting car. Except when one is stuck in a traffic jam, that is.

One last picture:

Swiss Service Station | The Skankworks

Happy motoring. ;-)

 

Things must be different in Switzerland. In the US, replacing parts and repainting would decrease value drastically!

 

Agreed. The issue I had with my XKR-S. I will NEVER be able to resell it regardless if the "chirp" is gone...nobody wants a problem car in the USA!!....NOBODY...

 

I can't see your chirp problem having any impact on your resale value. You have it well documented and it was only a very minor problem. On the other hand if you had a major problem with frame or body structure rivets coming loose it would effect the resale value. No worries, Ryan.