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Insurance repairs - advice on rejecting the car
Radek_2
Posts: 3 Newbie
Hello all,
I'm looking for advice how to deal with insurance company and their handling of repairs of my car. For short version skip to the endJ
Last October driving my car (Golf GTI mk6, 13 months old at that time) to work I lost grip in a tight bend due to wet surface, veered onto the other lane and hit a car coming from the other direction. Speed 30-40 mph, front OFS wheel on front OFS wheel impact. On that morning the roads elsewhere were dry but this bend (near a bridge) was dark and very wet. I didn’t see that coming.
Fortunately the other driver and I were ok. His car was a total loss, my was towed away - serious damage to the wheel, suspension, airbags deployed, etc.
I fully accept my fault. I was also very sorry for the other driver.
My car was sent to a "recommended repairer" so an assessor could assess the damage. The repairer quoted £12000 for repairs. It took the insurance company 5 weeks to decide what to do. In the end they decided to go ahead with repairs as the quote was just under 60% value of the car required for total loss (I estimated the value to be about £25000 before the accident but they were looking at £20000). The price of vehicle I bought was more than £30000. Today the same spec would cost close to £35000 due to 20% VAT and higher prices of VW cars. Plus 7 months waiting period for a GTI.
The "recommended repairers" were not VW approved but when I enquired that fact I was told that it's fine because they give 5 years warranty.
Throughout December I was told the car was ready except one parking sensor which was to be delivered in middle of January. Eventually they offered me to take the car and come back for the sensor later which seemed reasonable. The car was in a shocking state - full of paint dust everywhere (including inside of air vents), interior trim damaged, panels not aligned properly, screws missing and incorrectly fitted, rear seat coming off. Poor work. Definitely not for a car of this value and that age. I complained both to the garage and the insurance company and the garage accepted to fix the “small details which most customers would not notice” – I was told. I was offered a courtesy car with the next available one in 3 weeks. After said 3 weeks waiting and further 2 weeks of repairs the car came back with some easy to fix items rectified but some others not (still incorrect/missing screws, broken clips on interior trim panels). In addition the parking sensors and rear view camera don’t work.
Meanwhile I discovered a new “feature” – the VIN stamped on the chassis was gone. On Golf 6 it is on the stay panel, inside the engine bay above the wheel on the offside. The garage cut out the old part and put a new one – but without the VIN. When asked about this “feature” they said not to worry as there is another VIN on the plate and behind the windscreen. The insurance assessors had told them to re-weld the plate to the new panel but they disregarded that anyway. I looked into legal requirements for VIN and there must be a stamped VIN on the body or chassis in a visible and easily accessible place therefore as that was the only place for it my car is not legal. Hearing that the garage offered to either stamp the VIN using ebay bought stamping tools or stamp the VIN on a plate and weld it. Both these solutions will make the car look as it was tampered with and likely to make it unsellable in the future. The insurance company is not helping either.
Another major problem is the steering assist level. The steering is too light now – similar to a Polo or another city car not a GTI with ACC (Adaptive Chassis Control – a £700 option that changes suspension and steering stiffness between Comfort, Normal and Sport mode). The steering assist level is electronically adjustable but it cannot be done by a VW dealer or a VW specialists. It seems it may be factory setting only. Again, no one will buy a GTI that feels like a Polo.
The summary
Following repairs by the insurance “recommended repairer” my Golf GTI mk6 is not legal (no VIN stamped on the chassis) and has lost its driving characteristics (steering very light, ACC not working). Both these permanent “features” are likely to make the car unsellable in the future. The repairers are out of their league, not being able to deal with VW technology (not VW approved).
Where do I stand if I want to reject the car and demand total loss from the insurer? I truly don’t think it should have been repaired in the first place as it is clear to me that it was not repairable.
Any advice would be extremely helpful.
Thanks
Radek
I'm looking for advice how to deal with insurance company and their handling of repairs of my car. For short version skip to the endJ
Last October driving my car (Golf GTI mk6, 13 months old at that time) to work I lost grip in a tight bend due to wet surface, veered onto the other lane and hit a car coming from the other direction. Speed 30-40 mph, front OFS wheel on front OFS wheel impact. On that morning the roads elsewhere were dry but this bend (near a bridge) was dark and very wet. I didn’t see that coming.
Fortunately the other driver and I were ok. His car was a total loss, my was towed away - serious damage to the wheel, suspension, airbags deployed, etc.
I fully accept my fault. I was also very sorry for the other driver.
My car was sent to a "recommended repairer" so an assessor could assess the damage. The repairer quoted £12000 for repairs. It took the insurance company 5 weeks to decide what to do. In the end they decided to go ahead with repairs as the quote was just under 60% value of the car required for total loss (I estimated the value to be about £25000 before the accident but they were looking at £20000). The price of vehicle I bought was more than £30000. Today the same spec would cost close to £35000 due to 20% VAT and higher prices of VW cars. Plus 7 months waiting period for a GTI.
The "recommended repairers" were not VW approved but when I enquired that fact I was told that it's fine because they give 5 years warranty.
Throughout December I was told the car was ready except one parking sensor which was to be delivered in middle of January. Eventually they offered me to take the car and come back for the sensor later which seemed reasonable. The car was in a shocking state - full of paint dust everywhere (including inside of air vents), interior trim damaged, panels not aligned properly, screws missing and incorrectly fitted, rear seat coming off. Poor work. Definitely not for a car of this value and that age. I complained both to the garage and the insurance company and the garage accepted to fix the “small details which most customers would not notice” – I was told. I was offered a courtesy car with the next available one in 3 weeks. After said 3 weeks waiting and further 2 weeks of repairs the car came back with some easy to fix items rectified but some others not (still incorrect/missing screws, broken clips on interior trim panels). In addition the parking sensors and rear view camera don’t work.
Meanwhile I discovered a new “feature” – the VIN stamped on the chassis was gone. On Golf 6 it is on the stay panel, inside the engine bay above the wheel on the offside. The garage cut out the old part and put a new one – but without the VIN. When asked about this “feature” they said not to worry as there is another VIN on the plate and behind the windscreen. The insurance assessors had told them to re-weld the plate to the new panel but they disregarded that anyway. I looked into legal requirements for VIN and there must be a stamped VIN on the body or chassis in a visible and easily accessible place therefore as that was the only place for it my car is not legal. Hearing that the garage offered to either stamp the VIN using ebay bought stamping tools or stamp the VIN on a plate and weld it. Both these solutions will make the car look as it was tampered with and likely to make it unsellable in the future. The insurance company is not helping either.
Another major problem is the steering assist level. The steering is too light now – similar to a Polo or another city car not a GTI with ACC (Adaptive Chassis Control – a £700 option that changes suspension and steering stiffness between Comfort, Normal and Sport mode). The steering assist level is electronically adjustable but it cannot be done by a VW dealer or a VW specialists. It seems it may be factory setting only. Again, no one will buy a GTI that feels like a Polo.
The summary
Following repairs by the insurance “recommended repairer” my Golf GTI mk6 is not legal (no VIN stamped on the chassis) and has lost its driving characteristics (steering very light, ACC not working). Both these permanent “features” are likely to make the car unsellable in the future. The repairers are out of their league, not being able to deal with VW technology (not VW approved).
Where do I stand if I want to reject the car and demand total loss from the insurer? I truly don’t think it should have been repaired in the first place as it is clear to me that it was not repairable.
Any advice would be extremely helpful.
Thanks
Radek
0
Comments
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If I was you I would arrange for your own motor engineers report to be carried out to confirm what is wrong with the work that has been done, might cost you a few hundred quid but it might be money well spent.
If the repairer was your insurance companies choice of garage then they are obligated to put your car back in the same condition it was pre loss. If you are not happy that's where the engineers report comes in as evidence.
In so far as they car now being declared a t/l, tough one to call. Really would need the engineer to tell you what their expert opinion is.0 -
Ultimately, as the insurer chose the garage, it is responsible for the quality of the work.
If that is not satisfactory, take it up with the insurer and, if necessary, the Financial Ombudsman Service.0 -
Hi Radek - you say you looked into legal requirements for the VIN - who with? Can you get it in writing? If so, I would write to the insurer's (in fact I'd do it all in writing from now on & keep copies of everything!) with the "evidence" and inform them of the other problems with the car. I'd then warn them that you're considering getting an independent engineers report, and that you will claim the cost of this back from them unless they resolve your complaint to your satisfaction. (This way, you may not actually need to get one done!)
Then see what happens. I have to say that given insurance companies' reputations, you may be in for a long bumpy ride (no pun intended!) Good luck!0 -
Thanks all for your replies.
The insurer has been informed about the requirements (Road Vehicles (construction and use) Regulation 1986 art. 67):
"67. Vehicle identification numbers
(...)
(3) The vehicle identification number of every vehicle to which this regulation applies shall be marked on the chassis, frame or other similar structure, on the off side of the vehicle, in a clearly visible and accessible position, and by a method such as hammering or stamping, in such a way that it cannot be obliterated or deteriorate."
They replied that they are waiting for the garage to "look into this". The garage offered the trick with eBay stamping tools but that's silly.
The problem with this is that I don't know how it can be fixed now. Whatever I do - leave it without VIN hoping that next buyer will not notice (as suggested by the garage, charming people I know
) or have it hand stamped it will look bad. And it's a GTI and we all know how criminals like them... GTI with a dodgy VIN? Thanks but not thanks.
There may be a way to re-stamp it by the book by VW but they are not interested (5 VW dealers and VW UK - "if that was our repairs we would come up with something but as it's not ours....").
I think they've ruined it now. Besides it shouldn't have been repaired in the first place. The insurer made a bad call based on the garage's quote which I'm sure was tailored to be low enough to get the job.
On the independent engineers report - would they be able to look at the functionality of the vehicle or just safety aspects? Would I be able to find someone who knows VW tech for example? The car is mechanically sound (less than 1.5 years) but the interior for example is now in much worse state.
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Hi. I would imagine that the engineer would be able to look at and report on the functionality aswell as safety aspects. However, I'm not sure how you would be able to prove that these problems were not present before the accident.
Can you ask VW if they know an independent VW engineer? Do you have any photos prior to the accident/repairs to show how the car looked beforehand? As you've probably guessed, it's a bit of a minefield and not at all cut & dried. The problem with the car is that now it's been "repaired" it will never be of the same value - it's now an accident damaged repaired car and consequently will have lost resale value anyway. And do you really want to fork out more (engineer's report) on something which may go nowhere anyway? But I'd still go for it with the insurer's - before getting a report - if you don't ask, you don't get! Hope this helps.0 -
at 13 months old I'd be getting a report from VW0
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I suspect the report is likely to tell the OP most of these faults are in his head along with the valuation of what buying a golf GTI now costs.0
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Base price £26.925 + options £7.205 = £34.130MrRedundant wrote: »I suspect the report is likely to tell the OP most of these faults are in his head along with the valuation of what buying a golf GTI now costs.
Can't possibly comment on the first part.0
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