Insurance Problem

Just got my 1996 850 estate back from the garage after repairs resulting from a non-fault accident.

Basically a sleepy driver in a BMW 530 decided not to stop at a crossroads and rammed me at 90 degrees with the area of impact being my front wheel/wing.

Amongst other things most of the front suspension and steering was replaced - the car now handles fine but this isnt wherethe problem lies.

The fron wing was replaced and the side of the bumper repaired and repainted.

When I look at the car from the front, on the good side the wing runs down to meet the bumper and is pretty much flush. On the repaired side the bumper stands about 2cm proud of the wing.

It went back for rectification but the garage say "Tried our best but cant get it to align" Spoke to the insurance engineers who are saying that "they dont know why it wont align but it is probably cos there is other damage which may not be form this incident"

They have delivered my car back to me and say as far as they are concerned this matter is closed and no further work will be carried out on my car.

I have spoken to my local independedent volvo specialist who seem to think that it is the positioning of the wing that may be incorrect or what the wing fastens to !!!

Given the size and force of the impact how can the engineer make the decision that this damage, whatever it is was not caused by this incident

Sorry for such a long post but im beginning to get really *&^ed off.

The alignement was perfect prior to the accident - but as the engineers said "your bound to say that"

[liuleichan]

>Just got my 1996 850 estate back from the garage after
>repairs resulting from a non-fault accident.
>
>Basically a sleepy driver in a BMW 530 decided not to stop at
>a crossroads and rammed me at 90 degrees with the area of
>impact being my front wheel/wing.
>
>Amongst other things most of the front suspension and steering
>was replaced - the car now handles fine but this isnt wherethe
>problem lies.
>
>The fron wing was replaced and the side of the bumper repaired
>and repainted.
>
>When I look at the car from the front, on the good side the
>wing runs down to meet the bumper and is pretty much flush.
>On the repaired side the bumper stands about 2cm proud of the
>wing.
>
>It went back for rectification but the garage say "Tried our
>best but cant get it to align" Spoke to the insurance
>engineers who are saying that "they dont know why it wont
>align but it is probably cos there is other damage which may
>not be form this incident"
>
>They have delivered my car back to me and say as far as they
>are concerned this matter is closed and no further work will
>be carried out on my car.
>
>I have spoken to my local independedent volvo specialist who
>seem to think that it is the positioning of the wing that may
>be incorrect or what the wing fastens to !!!
>
>Given the size and force of the impact how can the engineer
>make the decision that this damage, whatever it is was not
>caused by this incident
>
>Sorry for such a long post but im beginning to get really
>*&^ed off.
>
>The alignement was perfect prior to the accident - but as the
>engineers said "your bound to say that"

Complain to the insurance company, in writing, to the highest level you can find.

If they give you no joy, threaten them, and follow through with the insurance ombudsman.

If all that comes to nothing, then get an independent engineer (the sort used to appraise accident damage) to produce a report and what it would take to put it right. Then go to small claims to recover your costs from the insurance company.

At all times refer to anything you have in writing about complaints procedure, quality of repair and that sort of thing.

Don't accept it - they should put you in a position before the damage, and if they haven't, just because it's a bit difficult, or their current choice of repairer can't sort it, that's not your fault.

Thanks for that

I am in the process of arranging for an inspection and have contacted the FSO. They tell me they cannot proceed until I have it in writing from the insurance that they will not fix.

I have just written to them to request their position

Fingers crossed

It seems strange to me that after a non-fault incident I am left with a car worth a lot less (due to being on HPI etc) and in a much worse condition than before.

Just for info the insurance companies is one of the big ones !!!

i would suggest it is quite likely that the frame is bent/damaged. what is the bonnet alignment like? it it further away on one side than t'other? i would agree with the insurance ombudsman, phone up your local CAB as well, see what they say.

[sarge]

There is quite a lot happening at the front corner with bonnet, wing, bumper, indicator light and headlight all coming together. If the problem is solely with the bumper protruding, could it be that the bumper repair is defective? Or are other bits not fitting properly?
Perhaps you could post some pics.

Sarge
'99 V70 AWD

The panel alignment is perfect everywhere - bonnet to wing, wing to door.

Not sure where the mounting points for the wing are but it is as if the where the wing meets the top edge of the bumper, the wing is too far in.

The car had been on a jig and didnt need any work - was straight. Also been 4 wheel lazer aligned - as i said it seems to drive spot on

Hi c13tay,

For the time being at least, your best point of contact as far as regulatory bodies go is probably the General Insurance Standards Council ( www.gisc.co.uk ). They may refer you to the Financial Ombudsman.

The FSA won't be regulating General Insurers until January 14th 2005.

Either way, you do not appear to have been treated fairly. You have a right to expect your car to be returned to you in the condition it was before the accident. Therefore, if your bodywork was straight and everything lined up, a perfect repair would show no evidence of your vehicle ever having been involved in an accident.

As far as the whole HPI thing goes, providing your car was not deemed a write off then it won't show up on the HPI register. Only cars that have been declared a write off are listed. Cat D is not really anything to worry about anyway because it only means it's been written off as an uneconomical repair - i.e. the cost of the repair is more than 66% of the market value of the vehicle. If a car was scratched on every panel and needed a full respray it's perfectly possible for it to be declared a write off.

Your main issue is therefore getting the car back to pre-accident condition.

Good luck. Keep us updated.

Regards

Andy

The alignment with lights, indicators etc is perfect also - these were not damaged in the crash

the initial estimate was for around £2500 to repair (parts and labour)

Apart from the wing and the repair to the bumper, this was all steering/ suspension including hub, steering knuckle, control rod, wheel, tyre etc etc

I think the issue here is that basically the isurance engineers do not believe me when I say the car was not like that before.

I had only bought the car 2 weeks before the crash and had spent a long time looking for the right example. Ifthe car had looked like this at that time I wouldnt have bought it because I would have suspected a front end bump !!!

Can you contact the person who sold it to you and ask them to provide a statement to the effect that when they sold it to you the vehicle did not have this defect?

Obviously it doesn't account for the two weeks before the incident but at least it would be better than nothing.

Regards

Andy

[liuleichan]

>Can you contact the person who sold it to you and ask them to
>provide a statement to the effect that when they sold it to
>you the vehicle did not have this defect?
>
>Obviously it doesn't account for the two weeks before the
>incident but at least it would be better than nothing.

He shouldn't need to do any of that.

This is (I assume) meant to be a proper, warranted repair of accident damage.

To do so, doesn't mean a part repair to a hypothetical point before they *assume* the accident happened. But to put that part of the car back to factory spec.

That's why they use jigs, that's why they have spec for panel alignment and such.

Were it some possible damage on another area of the car, and I could understand it - them saying it's not related - but as it's actual damage in the area that needs repair, it should be repaired back to factory spec.

It's unacceptable - he shouldn't have to tolerate it, and they shouldn't be able to get away with it.

Take photos, and write *letter* - not phone calls, but letters, to people high up in the food chain - perhaps to the garage that did the repair if they have somebody suitable, and somebody at the insurance company.

But don't just go for managers - you want somebody high up, and important, who realises the significance of an unhappy customer, rather than feeling aggrieved at a complaint.

Write to people high-up enough in the food chain, and insist on prompt reply(s), and let them know where else you're going to complain if it doesn't get sorted.

But you need to do it in writing, because phone calls get forgotten, mis-remembered, or details muddied.