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Insurance repair


Rikz2004

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Hi all,

 

I had a car accident in March (the 3rd party went through a red light at a crossroad). Following the accident (due to covid), I only had my car repaired recently. It required a new bumper + paint, a small bit of the bonnet painting and a bit of the wing painting to colour match.

 

I've received my car back and it looks like their are some parts on the wing that were sanded down but haven't been polished properly, some orange peel and holograms on the front bumper that was brand new and painted by them, and the bumper doesn't align properly with the wings (it's slightly "in" compared with the wings). There's also what I can only describe as a slight bend? on part of the bumper that fixes to the front slam panel underneath the bonnet.

 

I have contacted the repairer to give them the opportunity to fix the above issues. 

 

I guess my question is, what sort of quality of repair should I expect from the insurance? Obviously alignment of the bumper, random bits that haven't been polished and look flat and orange peel are obvious and need to be fixed by anyone's standards really. Is expecting the front bumper to be free of holograms reasonable? 

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As far as I see it you pay insurance to get your car back the way it should be, so what you’re asking for is not unreasonable. It shouldn’t come back with flaws, it should come back with those areas essentially like brand new but blended in to match the rest of the car. 
 

If you’re not happy with it you’re well within your rights to ask for it to be corrected.

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Similar thing happened to me back in February. Insurance repairs should be guaranteed for life buddy. The car should return to you as it was before the accident. If you're not happy with anything, you have every right to call your repairer or your insurance to have it seen to again.

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Regardless of whether you're paying for it or someone else is, you should always be happy with the end result. If you're not take it back and ask them to correct the issues.

 

The only problem comes when you're not happy but they won't do anything further, it's then down to the insurance company to apply that pressure to the repairer but if they think the repair is adequate it's up to you to convince them otherwise before they'll do anything else about it; sometimes it's just not worth that battle but that's your call.

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Totally agree, you should be happy with the repair. I'd try if possible to let them know in writing (email) with pictures of the problems and the detail.

 

Sometimes I feel that with cosmetic issues they think we're just being picky. (do they know how much we spend on detailing products alone?  B))  I'd also make a general pain in the butt of myself of chasing it through, it's true that the "squeaky wheel gets the oil". But as I tell "him indoors" try and keep it calm.

 

Good luck

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As what already has been said, however it may be a battle or it may not.

 

Speak to the bodyshop manager in a calm and civilised manner and walk him round the car pointing out all the unacceptable issues and get him to agree to fix it to your complete satisfaction.

They do not like having to do a job twice, however they even more dislike having to do it a 3rd time so politely make your point crystal clear.

If you are still not happy with the 2nd remedial repair, just leave the car with them until it is repaired to your satisfaction.

 

The problem with insurance recommended repairers is that they do the work at a reduced rate and some shops no longer find it viable to do insurance work.

 

One thing worth noting is that originally you did not have to go to the insurance recommended repairer as you are free to obtain estimates from others and choose which one you are comfortable with to carry out the work.

 

 

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Thanks for all the replies.

 

I've alreeady spoken to the bodyshop and they're picking the car up on Tuesday, it all seemed civil on the phone. I will definitely be pointing out the areas I have noticed so they know exactly what the issues are. I'm hoping it won't have to get to a 3rd time, or devolve into a battle to try and get it up to standard so crossing my fingers for now.

 

I did originally enquire about taking it to somewhere of my choice, but the insurance made the point that if you take it to a place of your choice and they don't do a good job, it then becomes your problem to sort out with the bodyshop (insurance won't get involved).

 

I'll have to see how it goes but hopefully it will all be rectified without having to escalate things. From my perspective, if the issues are rectified then it will be a positive experience. No-ones perfect, and everyone/every company makes mistakes - it's how they deal with them and put things right that matters.

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From experience a bodyshop will never finish the paint up properly. They use old skool techniques and don’t have the right lighting to see what they need to see. Saying that there is a base standard that you do expect from a bodyshop and unfortunately these days to find a place that does do a good job is like finding a needle in a hay stack. If I was you I would see if there is a trusted detailer in your county to have the car in their studio to check over and ‘finesse’ the paintwork afterwards, i.e take out any sanding marks, buffer trails ect. that have been left over. Clearly the bodyshop you have used that’s the normal standard of work for them so to expect anything more is naive in my point of view. I’ve never ever had a car come to me that’s been painted badly, it go back to the bodyshop and them get it perfect. 

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The car was just picked up now. The guy picking it up was really friendly and agreed that it shouldn't have gone out like this. He confirmed they will address the bumper fitment issue and go over all the paint work they have done and polish any flat spots.

 

I'm not sure he knew what I meant by holograms, but I guess many people wouldn't. If it comes back with everything else sorted and only holograms remaining, I'll be happy. I'll attempt addressing the holograms myself as was planning to polish the paintwork to try and get rid of any small swirl marks at some point anyway.

 

Fingers crossed that it's all sorted!

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Update on this.

 

Just got my car back from the repair place. The bumper fitment is 100% better. Whilst it's probably not factory perfect, it's certainly much better and good enough (aka isn't noticeable/doesn't annoy me when I look at the car). 

 

Having had a quick look in the sun, the paintwork on the bonnet and wing are now free of flat spots from what I can see. The bumper has a couple of light flat spots near the bottom of the bumper but these aren't noticeable and can only be seen if you start looking for them.

 

I'm planning to polish my car in the next couple of months so not too bothered about the couple of unnoticeable flat spots left as I can probably polish them out.

 

Certainly glad I sent it back and has definitely made a difference to the quality of the job/was definitely worthwhile. Whilst it isn't perfect, I'm fairly happy with the result, and definitely happy I got them to do some remedial repairs :thumbs:

Edited by Rikz2004
Grammar
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