accident repair

Re: accident repair

Nicola Smith — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 19:40:09 GMT

Some of these garages are dodgy. Im lucky that OH is a mechanic so sorts my car out. When I had an accident he insisted on inspecting it on ramps beofre accepting the car back. Good job he did, split air con piping caused by part of repair rubbing on pipe and none of the repair had been painted so metal would have just corroded. It took me about 3 months beofre my car was repaired to standard, he returned it loads of times. He also dealt with the garage as I could get noone with them as a mere female. If I hadnt known I would have had a rusty car in no time. We ended up taking insurance company to insurance ombudsman as they were no help at all and it was their approved repairer.

Re: accident repair

Tracey Louise — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 21:13:15 GMT

Yeah, the bulbs are originally yellow, but its a painted coating that cracks and peels off with time hence the failing, as i am assuming ur indicator glass is clear so its the bulb that makes the indicator flash up yellow.

But u can buy clear bulbs too for cars that have yellow indicator glass.

So just confirm what they put in at the time of repair, or if they didnt need to replace the bulbs.

They are only under obligation to repair faults caused by the actual accident and not anything that was present before the accident. Fuel pipes crack with age too, e.g corrosion.

Your best bet is to ask what work has been done and if it is around the area where the pipe is then chances are the pipe cracked during the collision.

Good luck in gettin to the bottom of this, i find as a woman, that garages do not take us that seriously

Re: accident repair

Julie-Anne Wilson — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 23:02:32 GMT

[quote user="bonny10"]

Apparantly after speaking to my dad it is the colour on the bulbs that faded and not the wrong bulbs at all. The repair company obviously didn't check them but i guess it isn't their fault if the colour had faded. I have completely got confused with what the VW guy told me.

Still going to ring and find out what repairs took place though.

[/quote]

That can happen but check a receipt just to make sure.

Re: accident repair

Steph Phillips — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 21:38:47 GMT

I have to agree with sal.. ask the garage that repaired your car for a detailed report on what they did.. oil pipes are fairly strong so my guess is that it split on colision?! like you say though, thats hard to proove.. good luck with it and don't let the 'garage guys' take you for a fool either!

Re: accident repair

bonny10 — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 19:25:23 GMT

Still going to ring and find out what repairs took place though.

Re: accident repair

Sal the 1st — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 19:04:12 GMT

the company carrying out the repairs should have carried out an inspection and provided the insurance company with a written report of work needing to be carried out with an estimate of costs. they will also have provided the insurance company or yourself with a docket/receipt for work carried out, this is normal procedure - it is a copy of these that you need.

Re: accident repair

bonny10 — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 19:03:35 GMT

Doolally, my experience sounds like yours too. They had my car for weeks on end and when i rang the insurance company to ask how long they would take the garage just wouldn't communicate and even put the phone down.

It took them 2 days to get me a hire car (even though i paid extra for one) and when after weeks of waiting i spoke direct to the garage to be told they were waiting for a part to be delivered- my car turned up back at my house 30 mins later apparantly complete!!

Its just a nightmare!

Re: accident repair

Doolally — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 18:56:10 GMT

My experience of insurance repairs is one person decides what needs repairing, then tells someone else to do it...so if the first person doesn't notice something needs repairing then it won't get done. Someone drove into the side of my car a few years ago, it took 10weeks to repair, then when I got it back I noticed if I filled the petrol tank up to full it leaked underneath...but I let it go as I couldn't prove it was the accident that did it and I was so sick of the whole saga.

But, recently, I had my car serviced, got it back and a few days later it was making a rattling noise, I got it checked out by another garage and the noise was because there were only 2 wheel nuts on one wheel!! I hadn't touched the wheel and it's always parked in a secure carpark so I don't think it was tampered with...I complained to the original garage about them being negligent and they paid for the other garages fee.....

So I think you could complain about the lights and them being negligent definitely, try mentioning the other bit and see what they say.

Good idea above re checking on the repair docket, although I don't think I got one when my car was repaired after an accident. But I think with the lights you should definitely chase them about that.

Re: accident repair

bonny10 — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 18:52:12 GMT

The repair company were ones that deal directly with my insurance company, i didn't get a choice where it went and to be honest i was not impressed with their service at the time.

I suppose the oil pipe is hard to prove but i will be complaining about the bulbs and asking for a copy of what work has been taken out.

Re: accident repair

Sal the 1st — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 18:26:08 GMT

so what we are saying here is that the company that carried out the repairs have sent a vehicle out onto the road with a repair which is not road legal (wrong coloured lights) - if your insurance company isnt interested in that then they should be!

Was the repair company one recommended or chosen by the insurance company?

Could you ask for a copy of the original report from the company carrying out the repairs as to what damage they found and how they repaired it? - that way it may give you some indication as to where they have checked/ been on the vehicle and what they could possibly have missed? the repair docket should also give you itemised details of parts used - so if they have listed the bulbs it should either state a colour or parts number which should be reasonably easy to check

Re: accident repair

Julie-Anne Wilson — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 18:22:11 GMT

Yeah the oil pipe could have split after you got it. Or if it wasn't where they were repairing they wouldn't have noticed it.

The problem with insurance jobs is they sometimes get told what they can and can't fix. Then you get the other end of the spectrum that'll bump up the fixes so they get more money.

Re: accident repair

Caro Laithwaite VN — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 18:11:17 GMT

Iagree with Nightshade, with the oil it depends when it split and if they were working down that end to notice so harder to prove.

Re: accident repair

bonny10 — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 18:01:15 GMT

Yeh it was the repair company that put them in. More concerned that they didn't notice the split oil pipe and i have been breathing in all the emmissions, i am going to ring insurance company tomorrow and complain.

Re: accident repair

Julie-Anne Wilson — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 17:56:15 GMT

If it was the repair company that put the white bulbs in instead of orange then I'd definitely complain to them and possibly claim compensation (although bulbs only cost a few quid so it wouldn't really be worth it). But I'd definitely complain to them and let them know if was their mistake that cost you money.