Advice - shonky work through insurance

[Raynman]

Not the insurance companies fault, but I got my car back from the suggested repairer for a steering complaint related to a claimed accident.

They didn't address the main fault (crazy power steering - is actually quite dangerous), but instead had the car for 7 working days and only checked the bushings and bearings - no more than a few hours work.

The thing that is peeing me off more though is that I believe they stuffed my gear knob (wasn't perfect, but now is completely scuffed on top) and they got and left engine oil on the roof from parking it under a car on a hoist (it was still there when I picked it up).


My first instinct is to ring up the company and bitch, but if the assessors want to send the car back (which I don't want to do) I will be stuffed.

Any suggestions?

[Nick D]

Get on it. No way is that good enough. Tell them you want the car detailed, the gear knob replaced and the actual problem fixed.

When they laugh, tell them that you will not be couintuing your policy with the company. Only then will you actually get anywhere.

Oh, and it is the insurance companies fault if you have to take it to their suggested repairer, and the repairers are lazy shits who take 7 days to do 2 hours work on your car. :twisted: Need to get mean

[rony]

I'd ring up the insurance company and explain to them quietly and politely of your situation and that your not happy with the outcome, tell them everything you can.
Maybe suggest you would prefer not to go back to that repairer, this way the insurance co might put a boot up the repairers back end and get them to pull theyre heads in a bit.
I can't stress enough when talking with the consultant at the other end of the phone to not yell or get angry with them, they didn't cause the problem and it will get you no where!

[m@w8]

amen to that rony!! :-)

[Raynman]

I'll take the Rony route for starters.

Getting it checked out by Ray on Saturday morning. I get the feeling they have seen this sort of damage before from talking to them. And I will gently explain to the assessors what actually is wrong, why I am unhappy with the work that has been been done and the lack of care taken (on Monday).


Personally I think if a steering rack end is damaged enough to be bent, then the whole rack needs full reconditioning or replacing (which I believe has not happened).

The amount of stuffing around that has been done they should have just written it off. I would have bought the "wreck", got a half cut (minus engine), swapped all the stuff over and pocketed the rest. Would have taken less time too.

[Manaz]

I had a 6-month battle with the NRMA over shonky repairs.

Someone ran up the back of me. I took the car to the NRMA's recommended repairer.

In the next 6 months, the car was back at the repairer every time it rained - quite simply, they didn't seal the rear windscreen in properly, and every time it rained, the inside of my car got wet.

In the end, I threatened the NRMA that I'd take them to court and claim damages for undue stress and worry on top of the write-off value of the car unless they let me take it to the insurer of MY choice to have it fixed once and for all. They finally agreed.

Took the car to my insurer, and they couldn't believe the poor job that had been done. The boot floor was still warped, there was overspray on the glass, the edges of the glass were chipped due to careless work practise (I'd seen the first repairer attack the join with a screwdriver), they'd just bogged up part of the metalwork that should have been hammered out straight, they'd filled the gap between the glass and the car body with a filler, the list went on and on. They had the car for two weeks, and when it got back, everything was fine.

I got my revenge (quite accidently, and in fact because of their own dodginess) on the original repairer. NRMA made them supply me with a courtesy car while the other repairer fixed the problems they'd caused. I got an "insult" car rather than a courtesy - a formerly written off wide-body camry. It barely went, which was good, because it barely stopped. When I picked it up, the owner of the first shop whinged that I was costing him a lot of money - he stopped when I told him that his shitty work was what was costing him money, and he was lucky the NRMA had agreed to have the car fixed, or he would have been sued as well.

In fact, it didn't stop. I parked it at the top of my driveway (which slopes down towards the road). Put it in park, pulled on the handbrake, turned the car off, took my foot off the brake. The car sat. My sister got out of the car, I got out of the car, and was locking the door when the car started to roll back down the driveway. I tried to get the door open and get into the car to hit the brakes, but it rolled too fast - down the driveway.

With the drivers door open. At the bottom of the driveway (on either side) is a low wall. The open drivers door caught on this, and almost ripped it off the hinges. The car turned to the right, but still kept rolling - across the road, and coming to a halt hanging 1/2 way off the retaining wall in the garden of the house across the road - the car only stopped because it ground to a halt on the chassis once the rear wheels ran off the retaining wall into thin air.

Whilst trying to open the door and get into the car, and then realising that I couldn't do so safely (without risking being crushed between the wall and the car body), I somehow managed to drop the key in the garden. To this day, I can't find it.

I called for a towtruck. The towie came, and sent for a flatbed, and they winched the car out of the garden - with the handbrake still on, and the gearbox still firmly in park.

The owner called me the next day, asking for the key, and when I told him I'd lost it, he lost it. Until I lost it back, telling him that I was REALLY pissed off that he'd put my life, and my family's life, at risk with such a shitbox car. He kept yelling, so I asked him to come down and sort it out in person if he was man enough. He wasn't.

In the end, it was only because I couldn't be bothered going through the effort that the police didn't press charges relating to the condition the car was in. It was trashed, I had my car back shortly thereafter, and as far as I was concerned, I'd had enough of dealing with the idiot.

Back to the topic - push your insurer. Tell them you're not confident with the workshop, nor happy with their work, and want to take the car to another repairer. As long as your preferred repairer is on their approved list, they should (grudgingly) accept this.

Good luck!

[Marty]

especially oil on the roof... that would piss me off so very much!

chosing your own repairer i think is a pretty important part of an insurance policy if you can somehow manage that

i had a similar (but not so drastic) experience with an insurer chosen repairer which to this day has not been completely fixed