Courtesy cars

snowyz81

Hiya

I had a crash in my car, i skid on snow and hit a post

Finally after nearly 2 weeks, the garage has picked up the car and i've got my courtesy car. I drive a 5 door astra 1.6 60plate, and for my courtesy car they have give me a 5 door 107 1.0. I had to argue to get the 5 door, as i have a 2 year old and would struggle getting her in and out the car. Now these cars have pretty much NO boot and if i put her pram in i would struggle to get anything else in. The garage has already said that i probably wont get my car back till after christmas. Can i say i'm not happy and ask for a bigger car??

I do alot of motorway miles, and its a nightmare.

vikingaero

You don't get anything in life without asking, but I imagine with the snow related accidents there may be a limit on the number of cars available.

You might also need to read you insurance policy small print to see if you are entitled to an equivalent car.

MadDogWoman_2

If you speak to your insurance company and explain that the courtesy car isn't suitable for your needs, you may be able to get a hire car.

neilmcl

You're at the mercy of your insurer. As it's a fault claim the insurer are under no obligation, other than their contract with you, to provide an equivalent vehicle.

Mark_Hewitt

The only time I've had a courtesy car it was of the same 'class' but with cost cutting going on, who knows!
I had a 1.4 Fiesta in for repair and I got a 1.6 Focus Ghia to play with!

mcjordi

if you look on your policy documents it does normally state a group A car ie KA/107/Matiz.. when the car is being repaired..

like for like is normally for a non fault claim from the likes of Drive assist/Help hire..

Lum

Most insurance companies charge extra for like for like and you have to explicitly request it when you take out the policy.

Even the likes of Helphire don't seem to be able to manage like for like, best car I've had from them was smaller, heavier and had half the power of the car it was replacing. A problem when my morning commute at the time involved overtaking 3 or 4 tractors every day.

bigblackdog

when my courtesy car was going to be delivered i asked what it was , i told them i needed a 4x4 as i had a holiday booked , after a few phone calls and much snorting from me , they delivered a spanking new X5 , must admit i was in no real hurry for the repairs to be completed , did they not tell you what car you would be getting? that would have been the time to say its of no use to you

geo555

Who is supplying the courtesy car? If it is the repairers then you will only get a small bottom of the range model from them. If you need something bigger then you will have to hire one yourself.

carlw80

I had a crash in my car, contacted the insurance, they put Helphire in contact with me to get a replacment car whilst mine was repaired. Whilst on the phone to Helphire I stressed to the person that I didnt want any charges to me personally because I thought the case would go 50/50 because the crash was on a round a bout. The person said I wouldnt get any charges. They sent a car out to me and posted the keys threw the door. My insurance has now accepted liability now Helphire want me to pay for the Hire charges. I didnt sign any paperwork what so ever, because I refused to sign the document because it put me personally liable for the charges. Now Helphire are saying thay have a recording of the telephone call with me agreeing to pay the fees if the case was lost. I dont remember this, but I do remember stating that I didnt want any cost whats so ever for the hire of the vehicle. Now helphire say they only listen to the end of the conversation not the full conversation and they are going to take me to court to get the costs back.
Does anybody have any advise on what I can do about this situation, I have not signed anything, but will the conversation on the telephone stand in court?

wealdroam

carlw80 wrote: »

I had a crash in my car, contacted the insurance, they put Helphire in contact with me to get a replacment car whilst mine was repaired. Whilst on the phone to Helphire I stressed to the person that I didnt want any charges to me personally because I thought the case would go 50/50 because the crash was on a round a bout. The person said I wouldnt get any charges. They sent a car out to me and posted the keys threw the door. My insurance has now accepted liability now Helphire want me to pay for the Hire charges. I didnt sign any paperwork what so ever, because I refused to sign the document because it put me personally liable for the charges. Now Helphire are saying thay have a recording of the telephone call with me agreeing to pay the fees if the case was lost. I dont remember this, but I do remember stating that I didnt want any cost whats so ever for the hire of the vehicle. Now helphire say they only listen to the end of the conversation not the full conversation and they are going to take me to court to get the costs back.
Does anybody have any advise on what I can do about this situation, I have not signed anything, but will the conversation on the telephone stand in court?

Who do you think is going to pay for it then?

It's going to be you or your insurance company who pays.

What have your insurance company got to say about this?

What does your insurance policy say about hire cars?