Reposted from another forum (ie, not me):
Just received the renewal notice for my car insurance. Pleasantly surprised by the premium - down about 20% on last years premium.
However, they have added a new clause to the excess that I have never seen before. Excess £250 as before but an additional excess of £200 if I do not use their approved repairer.
Car is a 3 year old Audi so would obviously prefer to have any work done by a VAG approved shop.
Insurance company not named for obvious reasons.
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good move by the insurance co imo.
On the other hand, some of the so-called 'approved repairers' for certain ins cos are total BS
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I have the same clause in mine :) (Directline). Didn't really think anything of it.
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gosh, i better check my ins - but on the other hand, will check the next time i renew.
i do not go for the cheapest but a well known brand as they usally take better care of you as i founf out about 14 years ago when we were victims of a hit and run s bag.
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This is becoming increasingly common.
"Approved repairers" are outfits who have negotiated cheap contracts with the ins co.
The price the consumer may pay could be substandard repairs, maybe using non genuine parts because they still have to make a profit.
Some approved repairers are good, others are poo, most are variable.
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This is interesting because we have just been helping one of our customers rectify a car that was repaired by a so-called 'approved repairer'.
The car was hit o/s front corner and needed a new healight, bumper, grill, wing. Plus wishbone, strut and track rod.
The body repair was fine.
The strut, wishbone and track rod were non-genuine.
The track rod was the wrong one for the model of car and too small for the rack gaiter, so the gaiter didn't fit and was half full of water.
The wrong bush was fitted to the rear of the wishbone!!
The abs cable was wrongly routed and the old cable support bracket had been broken during dismantling and put on backwards so the abs cable was loose and nearly touching the tyre.
The car would have failed an MoT.
This was on a VW Polo. The bill to the ins company for this work was £2200 !!!!
The customer went back to the repairer and complained, and complained to the ins company, but everyone insisted the job had been done properly.
We took photos, fitted correct parts and charged 4 hours labour. Customer now trying to claim back from repairer. A complete shambles.
There are some good approved repairers but a lot are bodgers. All insurance companies are interested in is the money and there are some dodgy deals being negotiated.
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This is becoming increasingly common. "Approved repairers" are outfits who have negotiated cheap contracts with the ins co.
>>>>>> Have to correct you here,its the other way round the bodyshops have been ground down and down by the insurers and then some big boys had an idea to buy strategic bodyshops up and get them up to pas125 at the expense of all the other bodyshops which are smaller and cannot or more usually feel its not worth the costs to meet this accreditation
What happens then is the smaller bodyshops lose the contracts from the insurers obviously and usually close down and the land used for houses,the skilled men go get jobs in other industries and so their skills are lost for ever,meanwhile these big names keep advertising for body staff but its a demoralising place to work if you have the passion and so they go through staff quicker than you can wet grit a flying bumper
At the end of the day you the consumer have no choice over repairs in the longer term picture and its coming to the state that insurers are still considering having s/h panels etc fitted to cars,not here yet but it soon will be
Sad times ahead for the british repair industry
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I asked whether the use of an insurance 'approved' body shop would invalidate the VW 10 year body work warranty. Take it to VW then was the answer- so I did. A lovely job as well.
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A gloomy view. I'm with Direct Line & insisted on my car being repaired by a shop of my choosing, it didn't cost me any extra. I wouldn't dream of taking it to an unknown garage, just like how I wouldn't choose a plumber out of the yellow pages, you have to go on experience & recomendation
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I would never take any car I owned anywhere near an approved repairer. Work is frequently substandard as it is done down to a price insisted upon by tight fisted insurers. Also there are plenty of cases of car owners with 'nice' cars having them written off suspiciously and the approved repairer whisks the car off to a salvage yard miles away before the real owner can get the car back.
Any car still under warranty should only be fixed at a franchise bodywork dealer or an approved repairer that has their workmanship accredited by a manufacturer so that it doesn't invalidate any bodywork warranties.
Any classic or specialist cars should always be taken to a specialist of that marque not a bucket shop of a bodyshop.
If you have a mass market low value car that's out of warranty then approved repairer standard is probably sufficient providing they follow all the safety standards for replacement of airbags etc.
The one time I took a car of mine to a repairer they left tape marks all over the car. I insisted they polished them all out. They weren't happy! Rest of their workmanship and paintwork was ok though. I did learn they were being paid about £20 an hour or so and that was nearly 10 years ago and that was underpaid compared to dealer prices.
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Ref Workshop tech's comment - happens here too, although not many make it to the courts. One was a new Honda-Rover that was rear-ended. The repair was done by cutting the rear off a scrapped car and welding it on to the new one in place of the bent bits. Badly done, but somehow sneaked it through MoT. Owners complained about the workmanship and demanded a new car, but neither the Insurance co. nor the repairer would budge. A Rover Engineer condemned the car as unsafe, and the court took his word, so the owners got their new car. { And full costs, as I recall.}
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