[Desserper]

I only had my 9yr old 2009 plate I-Miev for 8-9 months, but it was an absolute adventure from the moment I collected it in Nottingham last year and brought it home to Scotland. After doing over 10,000 miles in it and pushing it too its limit in all weather and a daily 100 mile commute, it has sadly been written off following an accident.

I got caught out by a winter April whiteout on the A68 Soutra area. There was heavy snow lying and a blizzard snow storm. No snow ploughs or gritters had been on the road. On a straight section of road the lightweight plastic I-Miev with its small 15" tyres went all Torvill & Dean and spun out a couple of times onto the oncoming traffic on other side of the road.

Somehow my I-Miev shown only bumper and rear exterior apparent damage while the other car I hit was proper mashed up and an instant write off. The lightweight plastic I-Miev just seemed to bounce off the other car and I have still been driving it as normal last 2 weeks.

The insurer does not consider it worth fixing however. The bumper replacement was going to be expensive, but has now been identified there is also damage to the high voltage cables where the bumper has impacted them, and has been deemed not safe to drive either.

Shame I can't attach pictures of the damage on here, but is amazing how durable a plastic car can be.

Goodbye my quirky but friendly strange BEV. It was fun, it was an experience without doubt. @Drive Green let me know if you get another I-Miev or iOn in stock!

 

[DBMandrake]

Sorry to hear that and glad you're OK !

It's a shame that cars are written off so easily these days when there isn't a lot wrong with them....thanks to our throwaway society and paranoid insurance companies. The impact can't have been too severe if the airbags didn't go off.

Apparently if the airbags do go off in these in an impact the high voltage system will shut down and cannot be started up again, on purpose. It requires reprogramming with a dealer diagnostic tool after repairs have been completed before it will let the HV system run again.

My only car crash was about 25 years ago (and in another country) and like you I drove the car home, however I then did some panel beating to the front and fitted a new front bumper myself and the car was good again for a few years...

Good luck with finding a replacement, second hand prices of these have gone up in the last year - I could sell mine for a profit today with an extra 12k miles on it!

By the way you can attach images, just click on More Options if you're only in the small editor, then click Upload a File.

You have to add them one at a time but you can have multiple images per message.

 

[freddym]

I suspect the strength of the i-miev and clones is down to the HSLA steel used in much of its construction. The plastic parts are limited to bumpers and trim parts. Do you have an option to purchase the right off from your insurance company?

 

[Desserper]

By the way you can attach images, just click on More Options if you're only in the small editor, then click Upload a File..

Cheers, didn't know that, pictures now attached!

 

[Desserper]

It's a shame that cars are written off so easily these days when there isn't a lot wrong with them....thanks to our throwaway society and paranoid insurance companies. The impact can't have been too severe if the airbags didn't go off.

Agree with you about throwaway society etc. Funny you mention the airbags, there was a warning light on for the airbag prior to accident, which you may remember I asked you about recently Probably a sensor issue, so don't know if it would have gone off or not, the impact must have been big as other ICE car was mashed up and write off.

Good luck with finding a replacement, second hand prices of these have gone up in the last year - I could sell mine for a profit today with an extra 12k miles on it!

Yeah I know, and I got a good price on the one I just crashed too. The payout whatever it is of no good to me really, as I had a great low cost run around there. I would like another quirky small vehicle. A battery owned Twizy is a rarity but a BEV Smart Car would do me even with the T2 only charging. Otherwise will probably be an ancient Leaf which obviously is a bit more mainstream and not so much of an experience.

I suspect the strength of the i-miev and clones is down to the HSLA steel used in much of its construction. The plastic parts are limited to bumpers and trim parts. Do you have an option to purchase the right off from your insurance company?

I don't know but that would only be of any use to me if I wanted to sell the parts or use the battery for something else. I don't have time/know how/interest or funds to fix it up myself either, and it needs going to Mitsubishi unfortunately for the bumper replacement. Just not cost effective for me as an individual. I also need another BEV asap to get back on the road.

 

[Gary Paterson]

do you know if the on board charger is ok as I need one for my 2012 imiev?

 

[Desserper]

The DC Rapid Chademo & AC Charging were both fine. The car was running fine other than hanging bumper. The main reason it is being binned is (a) cost and also (b) the bumper got pushed in and the internal damage was too the High Voltage Cables. Although operates they have been deemed a safety risk, and car is currently marked as unsafe to drive, and they are not willing to give it back to me.

From your point of view though, I can't see how you could acquire any parts from this I-Miev. The insurance company will do what they wish, will probably sell it to a local car scrappy (I could find out where, and I have a hunch where it will be). That is my belief from discussion with garage.

The amazing thing is the car could potentially be worth a small fortune to someone who knows what they are doing and is able to break it up, and has the time, ability, energy to sell everything off individually. You could easily get £500 or more per door for example just for starters. The battery is even very useful to those who can make use of it for a custom project (or spare). If I was this way inclined I would be buying the car back myself!

 

[Chris_]

When I had a car written off, the insurance company valued it at £4k or something and paid me that. When I asked about the written off car, they said I could buy it back for something like £500, and then I'd obviously need to get it repaired, new MOT and roadworthiness checked and it would be listed as accident repaired.

I didn't buy it back, but somebody obviously did as it has a valid MOT, tax and is back on the road.

 

[Drive Green]

It's sad to see the end of this lovely little iMiev. It was a great little car that had an amazing adventure on it's first journey home from us. We took real enjoyment from knowing that the iMiev was working hard despite it's age. There can't be many EVs from this era doing the sort of mileages that Jonathan does every day.

I hope we or someone else can find you another car soon. It is unfortunate that the prices in the used market have increased quite noticeably since the purchase of this one.

Fingers crossed you are back in the seat of another EV soon

 

[Desserper]

If it is of any use to anyone like @Zelenec perhaps, the I-Miev has been sent to a breakers in Edinburgh, contact details are on their website:
Welcome to SCB Vehicle Dismantlers and Auto Salvage Dealers, located near Edinburgh, Scotland

I was at the garage today to collect my charging cables, and they gave me a bag of stuff they cleared out from the car. They believe the car will likely be broken up and sold as parts, rather than sent to auction.

So in the bag of stuff from the car I came away with today was this strange orange connection piece! (see attached photos) Funnily enough I had never seen it before in my life. It must have been slotted in somewhere or tucked away somewhere? But what on earth is it? Seems to have a couple of euro plug AC style pins but much thicker than that would be. And has a magnet bit which suggests it can clip on somewhere via magnetism. Also is on a hinge.

@Drive Green still on the hunt for a BEV. The only thing doing so far has been a £5000 advertised 2012 iOn that has been for sale for yonks in Yorkshire. I considered it last time I bought I-Miev from you but I had a chat with the seller and did not get a good feeling about it. Same again this time. Would never rule out buying private, but I like the security and comfort you get from buying via a reputable and established green car trader/seller such as yourself.

Anyway, would love to know what this odd orange looking piece is used for!..... 100 bonus points for whoever knows

 

[Spiny]

It looks like a chademo dust cover?
I know nothing about i-mev's though

 

[Biffa]

Sorry to hear about the bump, and sad to see a early EV bite the dust, these are going to be difficult to keep on the roads as the year go by since there isn’t a large pool of them to justify parts at anything other than exorbitant prices.

The part: Given the colour and the prongs is that not some sort of HV isolator, given what they said about the cables, they would surely have pulled it?

 

[donald]

An isolator.

 

[Desserper]

100 points to @Biffa ! had a wee google and it is what is described as a "service plug" or similar that disconnects the high voltage battery array from the inverter when removed.

 

[Biffa]

Pity the poor bugger who buys it and can’t work out why it is not powering up!

Without the clue of the bright orange plug sitting on the passenger seat...

 

[Desserper]

Pity the poor bugger who buys it and can’t work out why it is not powering up!

I think they may have possibly given me the orange isolator part back just for my peace of mnd or to prove to me the car was powered off. I did push hard for a repair... garage were very good about it and invited me in to have a look and show me what the hidden damage situation was and why could not be fixed. I always trusted the garage, and was not their decision either, they prefer to fix the cars up, but is insurer who makes the decision based on the repair costs.

Call me an exploitative cash'r in'r by all means, but they can buy it off me on the classifieds here or ebay for a price That is where my 3-pin plug cable and T2 adaptor cable will also be going too if I don't get another I-Miev or iOn.

Insurance companies shaft us in many ways so anything you can recover and put towards next car helps. As it goes I did get a fair and very reasonable offer for the payment on the car, but I got shafted in other ways throughout the process.

 

[Biffa]

For the 1st time I have actually taken out gap insurance, on the basis that a couple of years in then if my car got written off, I would like to be able to replace it like for like. It was only 18 months old when I bought it and 5 years of 50k cover cost £360 to 110% of purchase price.

Insurers are rarely the bastion of generosity we would hope for, and there is a contradiction in there since I have insured for the gap, however they have obviously done the maths and it is quite unlikely. So I am once again paying for peace of mind at a rate of about £6 a month for a long shot.

However according to Terry Pratchett million to one shots happen 9 times out of ten!

 

[Neilew]

Anyway, would love to know what this odd orange looking piece is used for!..... 100 bonus points for whoever knows

It looks like the emergency cut off plug. Did the Fire Service come to your bump? It's the first thing they pull out. On the Zoe it's beneath the carpet in the driver's foot-well.

Edit: Oh pump! I've just seen @Biffa reply.

 

[Neilew]

However according to Terry Pratchett million to one shots happen 9 times out of ten!

Don't drop your special arrow!!

 

[Edd Beesley]

I only had my 9yr old 2009 plate I-Miev for 8-9 months, but it was an absolute adventure from the moment I collected it in Nottingham last year and brought it home to Scotland. After doing over 10,000 miles in it and pushing it too its limit in all weather and a daily 100 mile commute, it has sadly been written off following an accident.

I got caught out by a winter April whiteout on the A68 Soutra area. There was heavy snow lying and a blizzard snow storm. No snow ploughs or gritters had been on the road. On a straight section of road the lightweight plastic I-Miev with its small 15" tyres went all Torvill & Dean and spun out a couple of times onto the oncoming traffic on other side of the road.

Somehow my I-Miev shown only bumper and rear exterior apparent damage while the other car I hit was proper mashed up and an instant write off. The lightweight plastic I-Miev just seemed to bounce off the other car and I have still been driving it as normal last 2 weeks.

The insurer does not consider it worth fixing however. The bumper replacement was going to be expensive, but has now been identified there is also damage to the high voltage cables where the bumper has impacted them, and has been deemed not safe to drive either.

Shame I can't attach pictures of the damage on here, but is amazing how durable a plastic car can be.

Goodbye my quirky but friendly strange BEV. It was fun, it was an experience without doubt. @Drive Green let me know if you get another I-Miev or iOn in stock!

Nice white Leaf for sale in the classifieds if you fancy it, could be another exciting adventure getting it home from Corby...