Non fault accident 01/02/25 Aviva still haven't repaired my car

mazda3monstrousity

Good afternoon,

I'm a 20 year old currently serving in the royal air force, and this is about my 2023 Mazda 3 Which I have had from new as I wanted to keep this car for the next 20 years or longer if possible. But after this ordeal I'd I get it back I will probably end up selling.

I'm running out of options as the title suggests I have been struggling with this issue for over 10 months and I am still far from the end.

On 01/02/25 I was in a accident that was quickly declared that the fault belonged with the third party. The car was picked up and taken to what I was told was a Mazda approved repairer. The repairs kept getting delayed and their seemed to be known issues with my car, when I finally got through as they had a fake answering machine that would put you on hold for 5mins 10secs then end the call. I managed to find the old number on the web. Called The accident repair centre and they new the car was a problem child and said it'd be ready the next week obviously it was delayed.

Eventually it was returned to me at the end of April, as they reversed the car down my drive they swung the front of the car over a large rock lining a neighbours garden, ripping of the front bumper and causing damage to the underside of the car. They then tried to return the car without fixing it when my parents told them no as I was away with work. They drove the car back causing more damage and then returned the car back to my house and posted the keys before my parents could decline.

I came back home that weekend to see my car still damaged, the valet they had promised had been done with a mechanics oily rag and a horrendous vibration when driving the car. It then took two weeks for them to pick up the car as Aviva wanted nothing to do with it and said it needs to be rectified by the original repairer. Who would just not turn up. So I had to keep ringing the old number to get something to happen that's when they let slip they'd gone bust and were shutting down and have been for some time. Aviva said the car still had to go to them. This raises further questions about the quality of the repairs.

It then sat there in the car park of this accident repair centre and took weeks for Aviva to even accept that nothings been happening to the car then they couldn't figure out where or what has been done to the car. My car was effectively lost/stolen that's all I knew at the time.

I raised formal complaints which were then not resolved so I could pass it on to the financial ombudsman who's official wording was "they're doing the job poorly, but still doing the minimum required" which is a horrific thing to hear when you've been dealing with this for over 5/6 months.

The car was then moved to a different accident repairer they called me immediately saying my car was fixed because no one had told them the work needing doing this took a further month for it to even be worked on. When it was finally fixed an engineer turned up and said he wanted the alignment redone and then said it could be wheel bearing when I've spoken to other specialists they say a noise like that a wheel bearing would be pretty obvious from the slop and play in the wheel if it wasn't under load. So I asked for a second opinion.

This was then agreed with the financial ombudsman and Aviva that this would be the next step. Maddingly enough the engineer called me and said over the phone he doesn't really understand what the issue is but he can hear the noise and there's grinding in the gearbox so could be an issue then he went on to say either way Mazda or Aviva will sort it before it's returned to you.

That is not what happened Aviva took that as an opportunity to rid themselves of the car and put it on me and told me to take it to Mazda to repair under warranty which they said no it's been in a accident it's probably accident related so wanted to charge me to drain the oil and then even more further diagnostics. When I asked Aviva to foot the bill I was told to get lost they think it's a warranty issue what has it got to do with them.

The car has sat at Mazda since waiting to be worked on by someone I have finally made progress with them no saying the chassis may be bent, aswell as other issues caused front the poor quality of repairs.

Currently all I have been given is £950 new brake pads and discs which was a battle in itself.

This has been an ordeal my anxiety is at a constant high I'm struggling to plan things as there's a massive looming threat of getting a car that cannot be driven due to a significant gearbox issue and having to return the hire car and dealing with the aftermath of that.

Currently I think the car was assessed poorly originally and things were missed, the repairs that have been carried out have been done so poorly and that the car should have been written off if it had been assessed properly but I'm having to take the fall for their incompetence. Stopping me to use my GAP insurance to be in the same situation I would be if it was resolved back in February.

I have been treated appallingly shouted and talked over when I'm trying to resolve it on the phone so I have gone purely to emails now. I feel like I'm being discriminated against due to my age and being made to deal with the mistakes a massive company made.

I have spent nearly £4000 if not more on my insurance throughout this ordeal and this is the treatment I get after all time.

Any help would be greatly appreciated I feel lost and this is all consuming. 

Cheers all.

Mildly_Miffed

mazda3monstrousity said:

On 01/02/25 I was in a accident that was quickly declared that the fault belonged with the third party.
...
Eventually it was returned to me at the end of April

So that was the original collision damage, the insurer's responsibility, finished.

as they reversed the car down my drive they swung the front of the car over a large rock lining a neighbours garden, ripping of the front bumper and causing damage to the underside of the car.

And that's where the bodyshop's own responsibility starts... This is now between you and them...

Aviva wanted nothing to do with it and said it needs to be rectified by the original repairer.

The insurer are right. The bodyshop caused the damage, and need to fix it. This is not part of the original collision.

It's a horrible situation, especially if that bodyshop are being gits about it. But it is between you and them, and not Aviva's problem.

You mentioned gap insurance. What's the score with finance? Who actually owns the car? I presume it's not leased, given your plan to have it long term, but is it on a PCP that you were planning to pay the balloon?

mazda3monstrousity

So the original damage wasn't even repaired completely, the body shop who crashed the car went bust but that was the body shop that Aviva chose as part of their network. They didn't even finish the original repairs let alone the damage they caused. 

Mildly_Miffed

mazda3monstrousity said:

So the original damage wasn't even repaired completely

Aviva should still sort that.

the body shop who crashed the car went bust

Ah, now that's information that would have been useful to know from the start. THERE you get into fun and games...

You're simply an unsecured creditor of that business. You need to be talking to the administrator, and finding out who their insurance company was at the time they damaged your car - they should still uphold the claim. But the bodyshop will probably have had a large excess, maybe even larger than the damage to your car...

So you're back to a fresh claim against your insurer, which will be regarded as "at-fault", since there's nobody but them to pick the tab up.

Baldytyke88

Mildly_Miffed said:

And that's where the bodyshop's own responsibility starts... This is now between you and them...

AI Overview - If your car gets damaged during an ongoing insurance claim (e.g., while waiting for repairs or assessment), it's crucial to report it immediately to your insurer, as it's a new incident; your policy generally covers this under its terms, potentially adding to the existing claim or starting a new one