On Saturday I managed to reverse my car into a metal post.Having nearly got over my self loathing for such a stupid unforced error I need to sort out a repair (OR DO I?)
The car is a corolla and only 5 months old.I admit to being a bit of 'a polisher' and I intend to keep the car long term.I guess this means I want to get it repaired.I am happy to pay the excess but worried about getting a poor quality repair
Can I insist to my Insurer (TESCO) that the repair is done at my local Toyota Garage? I have checked that they do bodywork.Basically there is at dent at the angle of the bumper and some paint scuufs/loss.
The toyata outlet says to bring it along for an estimate. Should I do this before contacting my insurer??
Cheers for any advice
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Do you know the dealer ? or are you just presuming that beacause it is a Toyota dealer it will do the best job.
This is not always the case.
Sounds like a SMART repairer could sort that for you, I could name a very good company, but I do have links to them so won't.
(Glass-Tech)
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You might even find that the dealer would use a smart repairer!
I too am less than convinced that a main dealer is always the best place for bodywork.
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I presume (in my ignorance) that a toyota dealer would be more incline to replace with a new bumper (if needed) rather than patch it up. I may be wrong but this uncertainty is partly the reason I have posted.
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Tesco just sells direct line insurance. Direct line have a policy of doing the repairs thro a chain of body shops approved by them. YOu phone them up, and they either collect the car or send an inspection engineer round who will arrange for the repair to be done. No qoutes no hasstle and you cant demand where it is fixed.
I am with the "just because it a toyota garage does not mean its best to fix bodywork brigade" An independent body shop probably has more experience and facilities.
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Renault family - you can demand to have your car repaired at whichever garage you choose. An insurance company cannot force you to go to their preferred bodyshop - they can refuse to offer courtesy cars etc but where it's repaired is up to you. As an owner of a smart car I know the importance of getting any repairs carried out by a bodyshop who knows what they are doing. A friend was told they had to use a Direct Line approved repairer for work on a smart - after 6 months of messing about and basically doing nothing because the car was too complicated it was eventually written off. If it had gone to a smart centre it would have been fixed within a couple of weeks.
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Show me where in your insurance policy (basically a contract) where it states you - the insured - have prefrence over where it is fixed?
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From Direct Line :-
uk.directline.com/motor/claim01.htm?vName=subNav6#...3
What happens if I want to use my own repairer?
You can use a repairer of your own choice but doing so means that we can't guarantee the work and you will need to obtain an estimate for us to approve before work can commence.
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my policy - you may arrange for reasonable and necessary repairs to be started if you send an estimate first and we have details of the cause of the damage.
No mention of having to use an approved repairer anywhere in the policy, but if I use their repairer I get a courtesy car.
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If it is just the bumper that has been damaged then I wouldn't even bother telling your insurance company.
I would take the car to a good local bodyshop and they will probably be able to sort it out to a far better standard than the Toyota garage.
Personally I wouldn't take my car to a main dealers for accident repairs, I heard from someone in our local Ford garage that the sales department doesn't even use the dealer's own bodyshop as the work is so bad...
Where in the country are you? I can recommend a great place if you are in the North East, they fixed the door on my dad's BMW and my old Fiesta far more cheaply and effectively than a main dealers.
Blue
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Direct line may let you use your choice of insurer but Tesco's do not. I found this out the hard way and soon got insurance from someone else.
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I believe many 'main dealers' don't have a serious bodyshop, and subcontract the work to their preferred local specialist. So go direct and save the dealer's mark-up. If you are on good terms with a local independent garage, ask them for their recommendation.
My local indie supports touring-car racing, so he has a regular arrangement with a bodyshop which I am happy to have patronised last year.
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Well I am "lucky" enough to have experienced both points here. A few years back my two week old Corolla was damaged in an accident and it went back to the supplying Toyota dealer to be repaired. SIX (!)returns to the body shop later , (they "fixed" it so that everytime it rained the car sported an in-boot swimming pool ) and it was fixed with the rear offside door obviously not hanging correctly and also the paint match was rubbish.
My mondeo was hit just before Easter this year, and I used a Direct Line approved repairer. Top notch , car picked up from my work car park , and returned 2 days later having been valeted. Colour match (metallic) is exact.
So , just because you send it to Toyota it doesn't mean it'll be repaired properly and even then don't try escalating it to their head office because they will just refer you back to the dealer each and every time.
Personally I am very happy with Direct Line and their repairer.
Good luck!
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On which note, Currie Motors in Watford were, until about a month ago, a Toyota approved dealer. They're not now, although they still carry out all the same work.
Extremely highly recommended.
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I am with Direct Line and once had a rear end shunt. The car went to their approved shop but took two return visits to get it right. However, DL were very good and made sure that the company eventually did the job right, and I had a courtesy car.
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I'm also with Direct Line. Their nearest approved repairer was some 25 to 30 miles away. They said that they wouldn't be a problem to get the car there, repair it, and then deliver back to me.
However, if I knew of a local repairer, they were just as happy for me to use them instead. So the local bodyshop 3 miles down the road got the job and also supplied me with a courtesy car.
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Insurers may well give you the impression that they only use their approved repairers, but you can go elsewhere. This is also the case with the supermarket branded policies. Lets just say there are a number of cases being considered by the appropriate ombudsman where the insurer's "preference" has come across as being compulsory, leading to unsatisfactory repairs and excessive delays/costs.
I won't elaborate as the cases are still at adjudication, but I don't expect the insurers to win based on the evidence offered by all parties.
ND
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Just a thought,
but you mention you are insured by Tesco Motor Insurance, meaning Direct Line are the underwriters.
Its quite probable that policy details with Tesco are going to be different than if you had insurance direct from Direct Line (if you get what i mean).
I only mention this as when i was with Tesco, although cheaper, some of the benefits were not as good.
Dave.
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OK heres an update
Visited 3 different repair centres one small ,one medium and one large (which I dealt with a few years ago).
Mr Small says he will heat treat and respray.quote in the post.Will be 98%perfect
Mr Medium (lomg established business says 'thats a nice new car,needs a new bumper'. I point out I am worried Insurance company will insist I go where they say. He says 'no problem I'll supply you with 2 quotes'!
Says he will get bumper,spray it and I can come down on a saturday morning and have it fitted 'while I wait!Qoutes in the post tomorrow.
Mr large gave me a printed qoute on the spot(£608) and said shouldn't be a problem with Tesco but I may need some other quotes .(Didn't tell him I will have)Said a repair would be dubious and may not last well long term
So a new bumper sounds best? Mr small annd Mr medium admitted a reheat/spray job would not be perfect especially the rolled edge.
I presume a new bumper carries the best chance of a perfect repair??Just need to see how Tessco play it
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