phatbloke74 Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Hi all, Just been hit up the arse damaging my rear bumper and light clusters. Insurance company want to send me to one of their accredited garages but I'm wondering whether I should push to use someone else. They said that the only difference is that I won't have to pay the excess if I go to theirs but will have to pay and claim back if I go to someone else. So, should I go to the one of the garages from the insurance company, go to a Nissan Stealer or I've used TGM in Fleet before and know that their work is top notch. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioneabee Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 I've had to use one of their "recommended" garages before and ended sending the car back 3 times before i was even remotely happy. personally I'd go with a local whom you know and trust Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 I'd always send the car to somewhere I trust over generic place. Always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HassanZ Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Insurance companies sometimes use really shocking bodyshops that have really low standards. I would not trust the recommended bodyshop at all and take it to a bodyshop you or a friend knows personally. Insurance companies dictate really low labour, parts and paint rates which bodyshops have no choice but to accept due to the potential volume of work they will receive from insurance companies. Although bodyshops have to meet strict requirements, that does not necessarily mean they're good. I would personally take your car to the dealership to ensure the work is up to scratch. But beware, some insurance companies only authorise non-genuine parts to be used which dealers won't do! You have a legal right to choose where you want your car to be repaired. I am sorry to hear this happen to you and I hope everything is sorted quickly with minimum hassle and to back to it's original state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vik54 Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 I'd always send the car to somewhere I trust over generic place. Always. +1!!! You do not have to use the insurer's preferred repairer. They can however require you to provide two quotes and will deny you a courtesy car if you choose your own garage - but I think its worth it to know that the quality of the work is going to be good. Is it Admiral by any chance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Agreed with the other guys, but be aware there is no time limit on holw long it will take to get your excess back ....... Im at 2 monthsd and counting and apparently the legal intermediary still havent acknowledged receipt of the claim information ......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chesterfield Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 What they said ^^ Insurers have "approved" bodyshops and the quality of the repair will not feature highly on the list of things which they rank in order to decide on which bodyshops should be approved. Volume of repairs that can be undertaken (dont need to worry about having too many approved places then), Time to repair (dont need to pay for hire cars for as long) Price of repairs (obvious) Insurers want to take as much money as they can and spend as little in order to maximise profits. If its not your fault, then you should be able to take your car to wherever you like to get it repaird to your satisfaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatbloke74 Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 I'd always send the car to somewhere I trust over generic place. Always. +1!!! You do not have to use the insurer's preferred repairer. They can however require you to provide two quotes and will deny you a courtesy car if you choose your own garage - but I think its worth it to know that the quality of the work is going to be good. Is it Admiral by any chance? Erm, yes - it's Admiral - you don't work for them do you? Thanks for all of the advice, I'm going to go and get some independant prices. If anyone can recommend any other bodyshops in the Farnborough, Aldershot or Guildford area then it would be welcomed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sasha@lazytrips Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 As this is not a fault claim, the third party's insurance cannot dictate where you take your car. You have to be very concise and clear about what you want. I had exactly the same issue before and you have to let them know that you are adamant that the car has to be returned in at least as good condition as it was in prior to the accident as otherwise they are not remediating appropriately. What I would do if you haven't done already is: 1. Find out who their "approved garage" is. 2. Check that this isn't some pretty decent high performance garage or some place you actually WOULD want to go. 3. Contact garage(s) of your choice and see whether they are prepared to/able to take on insurance jobs. Not all garages will as it is a lot of messing about with paperwork. 4. Contact the insurance company and say that you refuse your car to be repaired by a substandard garage as you have a high performance and relatively rare car and prefer a specialist garage/body shop to be involved instead. Ask them for their recommendation on a high performance specialist with expertise in your car type in your area. *** Note that you can refuse even a Nissan garage if you want to as you can claim that it is not one of the Nissan High Performance garages which specifically deal with Nissan sports cars and would therefore not have appropriate expertise - I did this successfully as my local Nissan garage is awful. 5. When they come back with "we don't have one", state clearly and concisely that in that case the only viable option is for you to provide the details of a garage you deem appropriate and insist that an arrangement is made for your car to be repaired there as the company has failed to provide an appropriately qualified repairer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sasha@lazytrips Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 I'd always send the car to somewhere I trust over generic place. Always. +1!!! You do not have to use the insurer's preferred repairer. They can however require you to provide two quotes and will deny you a courtesy car if you choose your own garage - but I think its worth it to know that the quality of the work is going to be good. Is it Admiral by any chance? Erm, yes - it's Admiral - you don't work for them do you? Thanks for all of the advice, I'm going to go and get some independant prices. If anyone can recommend any other bodyshops in the Farnborough, Aldershot or Guildford area then it would be welcomed. They can refuse a courtesy car, but this is not a good reason for you to not get one. When the other company refused to provide a courtesy car in my case, I calmly said that I will then happily sue them for loss of earnings and any other related damages as I require a car to get to work and their client was at fault for me being unable to do so. At this point, a car was very quickly (within 1 hour) provided. I immediately phoned them back and explained that I believe that I am at right not to be significantly disadvantaged due to the actions and fault of the at fault driver. As a result, I'd like them to take back the Peugeot 3008 or whatever it was and provide a suitable replacement. You have to be very clear, yet courteous with these conversations. A convertible brand new TTS was driven across the country that very day, so don't take what they tell you as gospel. Hope it all works out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatbloke74 Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 Thanks all for your quick responses. You are all a credit to this most excellent forum!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Just out of interest what colour is your car, some colours are a lot harder to match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatbloke74 Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 It's a GM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vik54 Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 I'd always send the car to somewhere I trust over generic place. Always. +1!!! You do not have to use the insurer's preferred repairer. They can however require you to provide two quotes and will deny you a courtesy car if you choose your own garage - but I think its worth it to know that the quality of the work is going to be good. Is it Admiral by any chance? Erm, yes - it's Admiral - you don't work for them do you? Thanks for all of the advice, I'm going to go and get some independant prices. If anyone can recommend any other bodyshops in the Farnborough, Aldershot or Guildford area then it would be welcomed. No I do not I'm insured with them and have had two bodywork claims in the last year. Neither of them my fault. Both times they gave me the "well we would like you to use so & so" and I told them very clearly that I would not be using their approved repairer due to the difficulty colour matching and that I had my own preferred bodyshop who I knew would do a good job. They asked for two quotes the first time - one came form my preferred bodyshop - the other Nissan - significantly more expensive - they instructed Nissan! Only thing is the bodyshop I wanted to use does all the work for the local Nissan place anyway so ultimately I got my own way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatbloke74 Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 Update: insurance company agreed to get my car fixed at TGM Sport in Fleet. Nice once as they'll do a great job and have come recommended on this forum. Goes in tomorrow and should have it back in a week or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Let us know how it goes - Tom and Co love the Zed. From the work I saw on Adrians car the paint job looked good so you shouldnt have a problem. Perhaps an opportunity to swap to an aftermarket bumper? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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