Car repair after accident- found damage 2 years after...

tony_23

Hi,

My car was involved in an accident in Sept 2011. The whole front was damaged and was close to been written off. The third party insurance paid out and all the claims finalised.

I have recently enquired about getting my air con fixed- didnt really need it last summer did we... I was informed that the air conditioning compressor has been damaged and will need to be repaired at a cost of £330 all in with regas, labour etc. The guy at the garage asked if it had had a front end collision and said it was highly likely that they did not repair it at the time of the accident.

Is it worth contacting my insurance company and seeing if they will reinburse me for the repair or a portion of the bill or is it going to be more hassle than it is worth?

Thank you for your help!

arcon5

Worth trying, but you'll find it difficult to have them belief it hasn't been damaged since then

colino

Haven't you used your a/c in two and a half years? Just as likely to be recent stone damage than a long ago shunt. He's maybe fishing for work as he will be able to see it's had a partial rebuild.

InsideInsurance

Assuming there was no injury involved then legally you have 6 years from the date of knowing (in this case the date of the accident) to initiate a claim in court, any time after this it would be statute barred and so the TP/ TPI would just tell you to go away knowing you cant take them to court.

As others have said however, the challenge is certainly going to be proving that this was actually accident related damage and not something that has happened subsequently.

Your going to have to come up with a good reason why the damage hadnt been noticed within the 2.5 years!

Iceweasel

I would find it difficult to be without air-con for a week never mind 2.5 years LOL

I believe you - but I don't think you will be believed by your insurance company, as it's an air-conditioner system - not just an air cooler.

It must be cold and rainy and foggy sometimes - wherever you live - and your windows must steam up a bit at times. All situations to use the air-con albeit along with some heat.

Mine is on all the time.

If you write claiming to not have switched it on for that length of time, be prepared for some severe questioning, as it's not just needed on warm summer days, as you suggest by saying 'we didn't really need it last summer did we'.

rosierosierosie

tony_23 wrote: »

Hi,

My car was involved in an accident in Sept 2011. The whole front was damaged and was close to been written off. The third party insurance paid out and all the claims finalised.

I have recently enquired about getting my air con fixed- didnt really need it last summer did we... I was informed that the air conditioning compressor has been damaged and will need to be repaired at a cost of £330 all in with regas, labour etc. The guy at the garage asked if it had had a front end collision and said it was highly likely that they did not repair it at the time of the accident.

Is it worth contacting my insurance company and seeing if they will reinburse me for the repair or a portion of the bill or is it going to be more hassle than it is worth?

Thank you for your help!

Possibly more hassle than it's worth.. But one good tip when it comes to repairing on the cheap is to take it to your local college that teach mechanics. You'll only pay for the parts and they will be learning- everybody wins!