Accident repair - paint doesnt match

[Deleted User]

Got a classic 1987 mini cooper in mint condition. Well, it was until someone ran into the back of it in a car park when it was parked.

Anyway, off it went to the bodyshop recommended by the insurer. Got it back yesterday.

Very poor paint job. Its now blatantly obvious that the back has been resprayed but not the whole car.

Spoke to my insurance company who said that they could not expect the 3rd partys insurer to pay for a complete respray and that this was sometimes the problem with older cars.

Seems a bit unfair. So now I've got a car with not matching paintwork due to an accident that blatantly wasnt my fault.

Surely, this is not right. Shouldnt the 3rd party or their insurer be liable to restore the car to its original condition regardless of whether it requires a complete respray?

Kilty_2

I know if your own insurer repairs your car at their approved repairer you have a right to complain about it, so don't see why not with a third party.

Strider590

The car must be repaired to state it was in prior to the accident and it's value must remain unaffected by the repair.... This is clearly not the case and if a match could not be made then the whole car should have been resprayed at the expense of the 3rd party.

Get in there and complain!

steveo3002

kick off about it , they will sort it if you moan enough

they will never respray the whole car , but theres methods to blend the old into the new so its not noticable

if its a poor it might be worth asking to have it done elsehwere

[Deleted User]

Kilty wrote: »

I know if your own insurer repairs your car at their approved repairer you have a right to complain about it, so don't see why not with a third party.

Its done through my insurer with them getting the cost back from the other insurer.

[Deleted User]

Strider590 wrote: »

The car must be repaired to state it was in prior to the accident and it's value must remain unaffected by the repair.... This is clearly not the case and if a match could not be made then the whole car should have been resprayed at the expense of the 3rd party.

Get in there and complain!

Exactly what I said.

They said they were obliged by law to mitigate the costs and as such could only repray the area damaged otherwise the other insurer would not pay up.

Trying to find out where I stand legally before I phone them again...

[Deleted User]

steveo3002 wrote: »

kick off about it , they will sort it if you moan enough

they will never respray the whole car , but theres methods to blend the old into the new so its not noticable

if its a poor it might be worth asking to have it done elsehwere

Thing is bodyshop charged £2000 to do the work. New boot and small respray at the back.

I reckon they just did a cheap job and made a shedload of money out of it.

[Deleted User]

It gets worse - went back to garage to complain and they said, yes, it doesnt match. It looks like the back end has been resprayed but thats all the insurance company would pay for.

Phoned insurance company and they say they said that the 3rd parties insurance co will only pay for repairs to the damaged area and not a complete respray. I argued that now it doesnt match and they said it even though it was unfair it was tough luck...

Surely, this cant be right. Surely I've got a right to have car repaired to how it was before the accident? Remember this was a show quality classic car....

I guess my only option now is to go to FOS and see what they say? No idea where I stand legally.

I must admit I wish I hadnt even gone through my insurers and gone straight to the third party. Thay way I could have argued with them directly.

Wonder if I still have the option to sue the third party or their insurers directy to get the car back to its original condition? Seems like all these insurers are in each others pockets and look after each other....

chrisw

I once had a Nissan Primera and had a bit of a scuffle with a lorry on the motorway. Every panel needed respraying apart from the bonnet and a front wing. The colour match was ok but the whole car had a mirror finish apart from the original panels which stood out like a sore thumb. The lorry's insurance refused to respray the remaining 2 panels so I paid about £100 to get them 'blown over'. I presume this just means a quick spray over, but it looked fantastic afterwards.

[Deleted User]

chrisw wrote: »

I once had a Nissan Primera and had a bit of a scuffle with a lorry on the motorway. Every panel needed respraying apart from the bonnet and a front wing. The colour match was ok but the whole car had a mirror finish apart from the resprayed panels which stood out like a sore thumb. The lorry's insurance refused to respray the remaining 2 panels so I paid about £100 to get them 'blown over'. I presume this just means a quick spray over, but it looked fantastic afterwards.

That cant be right that you were out of pocket....

chrisw

I wasn't happy, but on the other hand I could also see they had a point to some extent. Also, the reason the remaining panels stood out so much was that the paintwork before the accident was pretty rough with chips and swirl marks, so I figured for £100 at least I got a car in mint condition.