Insurance repair - part on back order

NQManchester

gambleruk said:

This happens quite often and could be down to various problems including covid of course but it as always happened, worse case I ever dealt with was an exhaust for a Mercedes which took 8 months to finally arrive, bonnets, bumpers, wings etc usually worst case around 3 months but this was pre covid and now there could be transport issues along with all the things. 

If there is a major delay then the insurance company would normally ask the repairer if it is possible to do a temporary repair, we have done it many a time, the hire car company not so keen because obviously they are making money out of the hire car. I would ring the repairer back and ask very nicely to speak to one of the managers and explain your situation and ask if they can do temporary repairs until the bonnet arrives in stock.

Thank you, this is interesting to know.
I guess I just want to be comfortable that the bonnet definitely can’t be reused temporarily because of the level of damage and not just because they’d prefer not to. 

gambleruk

NQManchester said:

Thank you, this is interesting to know.
I guess I just want to be comfortable that the bonnet definitely can’t be reused temporarily because of the level of damage and not just because they’d prefer not to. 

The only thing I will add to that is that if they have already stripped down the car then I can imagine they will not be to keen building it back up as they would not get paid for it, if they are a decent repairer then they should do but if there are any sharp edges, headlamp misaligned, radiator damaged etc then it would not be legal/safe to put back on the road. The bonnet by the sounds of it will be able to be used again even if they have to fit a new catch to it, like I said before speak to a manager or call in and see someone and explain your situation, we always tried to help people like yourselves when we could even if it meant a couple of hours of putting a car back together which had been stripped.

BOWFER

I thought garages and insurance companies were supposed to be open to using 'used' parts these days?
Would the bonnet come ready painted from VW, or bare?
If bare and needing painted anyway, why not source one from a breaker off a car that's had rear damage only?
From the customer's point of view it seems like a lack of effort.

*order part*
*see part is on back order*
*shrug shoulders and move on*

gambleruk

BOWFER said:

I thought garages and insurance companies were supposed to be open to using 'used' parts these days?
Would the bonnet come ready painted from VW, or bare?
If bare and needing painted anyway, why not source one from a breaker off a car that's had rear damage only?
From the customer's point of view it seems like a lack of effort.

*order part*
*see part is on back order*
*shrug shoulders and move on*

Only certain bumpers come pre painted, all other panels bare, problem with using any second hand part is the guarantee of the repairs, who would be responsible if that bonnet started rusting, also the work involved in using a second hand bonnet is a lot more as would have to be stripped down and re primed and painted even it was the same colour as otherwise would not match. 

BOWFER

Only certain bumpers come pre painted, all other panels bare, problem with using any second hand part is the guarantee of the repairs, who would be responsible if that bonnet started rusting, also the work involved in using a second hand bonnet is a lot more as would have to be stripped down and re primed and painted even it was the same colour as otherwise would not match. 

Wouldn't the extra cost in rubbing down to accept the new colour be offset by the reduced cost of the part itself?

gambleruk

BOWFER said:

Only certain bumpers come pre painted, all other panels bare, problem with using any second hand part is the guarantee of the repairs, who would be responsible if that bonnet started rusting, also the work involved in using a second hand bonnet is a lot more as would have to be stripped down and re primed and painted even it was the same colour as otherwise would not match. 

Wouldn't the extra cost in rubbing down to accept the new colour be offset by the reduced cost of the part itself?

Can of worms springs to mind, first of all the insurance company will not pay for the time of locating a decent bonnet, once you have located one and it comes undamaged then say you paid £100 then most contracts say you can add 10% onto that, then your estimator as to go back to the engineer who authorised the repairs and try and get the time and materials to strip the bonnet back, some engineers will give you very little if anything, others more generous but it always ends up costing the repairer. The only time this would be cost efficient is if you had one of your own courtesy cars lent out on the claim so you would end up with getting it back a lot sooner which is not the case on this occasion.

Grumpy_chap

NQManchester said:

Ebe_Scrooge said:

NQManchester said:

We don’t have car hire cover on our insurance but is there any obligation for them to provide one if it’s going to be months?

I can't add anything to the good advice you've already been given about the parts issue.  But in answer to the hire car question, the answer is "no".  Unfortunately this is one of those cases where "in hindsight, I wish we'd have paid the extra to have courtesy car cover".

You could ask the repair shop whether they could do you a deal on hiring one of their courtesy cars.  Normally, they'd just give you one and bill the insurance company directly, but obviously that's not an option here.  There's no harm in asking whether they could hire you one at a decent rate.

Otherwise, if you absolutely need a car it'll be a case of looking around at any of the standard car hire firms and seeing what's available.  If you have any local independent hire places, they may possibly be cheaper than the well-known names like Hertz, Avis or whatever.

Thank you, I hadn’t actually looked at more local hire car companies and I’ve now found one potentially a lot cheaper than the big companies

Another alternative to consider, instead of long term "daily rental" would be short term lease.
One example https://www.apexrental.co.uk/long_term_rental/cars/

BOWFER

gambleruk said:

BOWFER said:

Only certain bumpers come pre painted, all other panels bare, problem with using any second hand part is the guarantee of the repairs, who would be responsible if that bonnet started rusting, also the work involved in using a second hand bonnet is a lot more as would have to be stripped down and re primed and painted even it was the same colour as otherwise would not match. 

Wouldn't the extra cost in rubbing down to accept the new colour be offset by the reduced cost of the part itself?

Can of worms springs to mind, first of all the insurance company will not pay for the time of locating a decent bonnet, once you have located one and it comes undamaged then say you paid £100 then most contracts say you can add 10% onto that, then your estimator as to go back to the engineer who authorised the repairs and try and get the time and materials to strip the bonnet back, some engineers will give you very little if anything, others more generous but it always ends up costing the repairer. The only time this would be cost efficient is if you had one of your own courtesy cars lent out on the claim so you would end up with getting it back a lot sooner which is not the case on this occasion.

Oh well, looks like it's the age-old procedure of 'order part and don't care when it arrives' then.

NQManchester

Grumpy_chap said:

NQManchester said:

Ebe_Scrooge said:

NQManchester said:

We don’t have car hire cover on our insurance but is there any obligation for them to provide one if it’s going to be months?

I can't add anything to the good advice you've already been given about the parts issue.  But in answer to the hire car question, the answer is "no".  Unfortunately this is one of those cases where "in hindsight, I wish we'd have paid the extra to have courtesy car cover".

You could ask the repair shop whether they could do you a deal on hiring one of their courtesy cars.  Normally, they'd just give you one and bill the insurance company directly, but obviously that's not an option here.  There's no harm in asking whether they could hire you one at a decent rate.

Otherwise, if you absolutely need a car it'll be a case of looking around at any of the standard car hire firms and seeing what's available.  If you have any local independent hire places, they may possibly be cheaper than the well-known names like Hertz, Avis or whatever.

Thank you, I hadn’t actually looked at more local hire car companies and I’ve now found one potentially a lot cheaper than the big companies

Another alternative to consider, instead of long term "daily rental" would be short term lease.
One example https://www.apexrental.co.uk/long_term_rental/cars/

I didn’t know this sort of thing existed so this might be a cheaper solution if they do confirm it’ll be months. Thanks a lot!

NQManchester

Thank you everyone for your replies, it’s been helpful