HELP!!! my tyre blew up and...

madfrenchgirl

now i am in big trouble...

Was in my company;'s multi storey car park, turning into the ramp, my front right tyre blew off, i lost control and my car went bang into the ramp. I think the steering wheel went off my hands cos one of my arm got burnt by it.

I thought it was only a tyre blown off so someone, who assured me my tyre blew off first, lent me his mobile and I called breakdown cover. i am with greenflag and they were really helpful in the past. this time they were awkward b@stards. After 50 minutes they did not turn up but BF did (called him to tell him after calling breakdown) along with one of our friends.

I called Breakdown cover and told them not to bother turning up anymore. After taking the wheel off, it turned out the steering rod was snapped. So called breakdown cover again and they told me I had to pay an extra 100 quid for them to come to come round into the multi storey car aprk because of special equipement required. i told them to stuff it up their !!!!!! and went back into my company's building and ask security for help. they wewre very helpful, we managed to roll the car out using handbrake and kicking the tyres into place.

Then called breakdown cover who were completely arsy about everything... the bloke finally turned up and we left the car at vauxhall.

now, one thing you have to know is: my car was serviced by the same leadership in June, they never told me anything about my spare tyre but told me about my oil sump (please see previous post). Point is: they did not do their service properly because my tyre was in an illegal state and they did not tell me.

Q1: am I entitled to claim anything from them?

Q2: is it legal that Greenflag was aksing for that extra money for special equipement? They say "Anywhere in the UK" on their policy.

I just got a call from Vauxhall (rude guy would not slo down on the phone, was too busy to talk to me). The full quote for fixing the mechanical damage and the dent in the wing as well as the bumper (which was already damaged by someone else) would be:

1,351.48 with VAT

That break downs:

Parts (needs new steering rod, wheel, tyre, bumper, and they said the suspension was damaged but did not give me any details)
590.20

Labour
450

Paint
110

My car is only worth about 1600-1700, I am on fully comp with Tesco, my excess is 100 and i was going to get a years no claim. My quote for changing to AA was 320, now gone up to 600 if I make a claim. So if I claim i theoretically lose 380 pounds.

Now, this quote was a full-on quote. I have asked the guy to build a quote just for the bare necessities, and just to put a new spare on it so I could get the wheels fixed somewhere else.

Q3: how mush the bare quote should be (i ll only find out tonight)?

Q4: If I claim, is Tesco likely to write my baby off?

Q5: I am in shock, what do I do?

And yes, I have asked BF to phone Vauxhall and have a word with them. We found out that a guy phoning gets a better treatment than a girl.

PLEASE HELP ME!!!

Dee123_2

This is also posted in Motoring. Could someone link the threads please?

deemy2004

I think the people would only be liable if they had worked on the steering rod - which they had not..

Or if they had put on a defective tyre which they had not.

SO I can't see how the 'leadership' in this case would be liable.

Green Flag.. They should have come out ... maybe if you complain they will give you 12 months free ?

madfrenchgirl

I did not mean that Vauxhall was liable for the accident itself... I meant they neglected my service by not checking the spare tyre in the boot.

Apparently, this crap with Green Flag happens all the time. A lot of people got done for being in a multi-storey car park. I ll complain to them though. Their service was very good the first time I broke down, asked me about a contact number, sent me a text to tell me which company was on its way and how long it would take etc. Yesterday, they were just awkward. Even once we got the car out of the multi-storey, it took me 20 minutes to get the guy to acknowledge that I was out of the multi-storey car park and that someone would come within the hour.

Even if it is true they do not cover multi-storey car park (even though it is not written anywhere), they still advertise the average call is fulfilled in 40 minutes and that they will pay for alternative transport while waiting for completion of repairs. DOH, when I called them this morning they told me they would only pay for me to finish my journey. And the first time I called them they did not turn up after 50 minutes, BF turned up first! and when they actually turned up it took them 50 minutes. So their average stuff is rubbish.

Now I think I am going to claim. BUT i dont want to scrap my car. And I need to review my premium for next year.

robnye

how long ago was your car serviced....?
are you saying your spare tyre was illegal? I dont think this would be checked as part of a service/mot.
I know mine wasnt, and i had the same problem...... only found out when I got a puncture and had to put the spare on

IvanOpinion

MFG
I would sell this car and get yourself something else .. with all the wiring trouble and now this ... tell the boyfriend you fancy an MGF for Christmas (or if he is feeling plush maybe a Z4)

The onus is on the driver to check their tyres every day before they get in the car .. I know nobody ever does. Also on the day of the service the tyre may have looked OK .. I have had a tread separate on me on the motorway (first and only time I trusted a retread .. save a couple of quid over safety .. not worth it).

With most cars there are 2 ways of fixing it .. original parts and pattern parts (where pattern parts are often exactly the same only they cost half the price). Get another quote from a bodywork specialist (i.e. not Vauxhall) - it could come out significantly lower (e.g. after a prang in my Rover it cost £1150 to fix with genuine Rover parts or £675 with pattern parts).

Ivan

Fran

I don't think you can drive with a broken steering rod, you'd be dangerous even if you could control the car and stand to get in even more trouble.

Re bald tyres on car, it's the driver's responsibility to make sure car is roadworthy every time you get in it.

Sounds like a nightmare car day.

I would give your local trading standards a ring re Green Flag and see what they say.

Altarf

Fran wrote:

I would give your local trading standards a ring re Green Flag and see what they say.(

I would read Green Flag's T&Cs

"15. If the vehicle is in a position where it cannot be worked on or towed, the wheels have been removed or where specialist equipment is required for its recovery, we can arrange to rectify this but you will be responsible for any costs involved."

http://www.greenflag.co.uk/downloads/gf_breakdown_cover_policy.pdf

italiastar

they never told me anything about my spare tyre but told me about my oil sump

Have I missed something - what was wrong with the spare?

scheming_gypsy

if your car is only worth £1600ish then get it out of the vauxhall garage and take it to a normal mechanic. Instead of costing an arm and a leg it might just cos an arm and a few toes.

get a wheel and bumper from the scrap yard, and put the bumper on yourself. Seeing as they'll be painting some of the car they can do your new bumper too. Then get a tyre done at a normal place instead of vauxhall and let the mechanic do the rest.

MarkyMarkD

A reputable garage would check the tread on all 5 tyres at the service, and report the depths to you - so you can get the spare replaced if necessary. But it sounds like you fitted the spare to the car, with no tread on, and are then blaming the dealer for it being illegal/dangerous. Did you fit it with your eyes shut?

I don't see why your insurer would write off the car if there's a £500 gap between the repair cost and your assessment of its value. If they do, you can always buy back the salvage and get the repair done somewhere cheaper and you'll actually be in profit.

It may be that the insurer considers the mechanical fault (steering rod) occurred to cause the accident, rather than as a consequence of the accident. If that's the case, they won't pay up for the mechanical repairs at all as they aren't insured.

Good luck!