[X-AHH]

Thanks everyone for the input and advice.

I'm waiting for further instructions from The Department of War and Finance as to what her preferences are regarding replacement vehicle size. I'm giving her some time to get over what happened as she really took it to heart. Over thirty years of exemplary driving without even a single fine of any kind, then one big mistake. It came as quite a shock to her. It's a vehicle that she drives 90%of the time so it's only fair for her to make that decision. If it was just up to me, I'd replace the Mondeo with an FGX XR8 or Mustang.

Once I receive a direction as to whether it's going to be a small, medium or SUV version etc, I'll update the thread.

I have already taken the car to a friend who is a sole trader crash repairer and he basically agreed with the insurance assessor. He said that he could repair it on the cheap but it's going to be a long and drawn out process to panel beat the two front guards, front panel, both RHS doors and rear quarter panel. He still estimated around the $10k mark which I would have to pay for out of my own pocket because the insurance company wouldn't support such an approach. Either way, with the amount of work involved in repairing them or replacing panels with new ones the cost soon start to add up. We are going to need a replacement vehicle within a week or two.