Car accident - other driver paid for repairs but their garage wrecked the car

[Guest Guest]

I've had a look around the internet to see if I can find information but without knowing what to look for I'm finding it hard;

 

What happens if you have an accident, allow the over driver to pay for repairs in a garage of their choosing, and then your car comes back in a worse state than it left?

The insurance company wasn't involved, what will their stance be now?

 

 

 

The story.

 

My sister was involved in an accident 2 weeks ago. The other driver admitted fault and offered to pay for the damages. The other driver immediately phoned her husband, whos brother/cousin/friend owns a garage, and pretty much bullied my sister into taking it to that garage. Being nieve she accepted this arrangement and left the car with them.

 

On receiving the car back we have found that not only have they done a terrible job of repairing a simple dent in the door (filler all over the place, paint isnt even the same colour, orangepeel over the entire door, drip and water marks...), they have covered the car in overspray. The over spray is all over the windows, bonnet, wings, roof, everywhere. The window being of particular concern as you can hardly see out of one half of it!

 

We told the other driver about this and they agreed to phone the garage up and we were to drop the car off for them to correct the problems. We took the car but were turned away with the garage saying "they don't have the equipment to repair it, they will have to buy it, come back in another week". We have since found out that the garage is only a tyre and oil place, and is certainly not set up to respray cars. Obviously we do not want to take the car back there again.

 

We have had a quote from a proper body shop to fix the door to a satasfactory standard and remove the overspray. Due to the amount of overspray the bodyshop is estimating the best part of a day for this alone. He has also advised not to take the car back as they will probably cause more damage trying to take the overspray off.

 

We have passed a letter to the other driver with a copy of an independant garages report of the current damage to the car, asking them to either pay for the cost of the repairs or we will take the matter to the insurers. Whether she looks for compensation from her garage is up to her. She immidiatly refused to pay but we will give her until tomorrow to think about it before we request her insurance details.

 

 

Where do we stand?

 

Where do we find out more information on what our rights are?

 

 

Cheers

Edited October 26, 2010 by Guest

[powdarrmonkey]

The insurance company wasn't involved, what will their stance be now?

 

Nobody can speak for them, you must ask them what their stance will be.

[Disease]

I would say you are probably screwed, always go through insurance as you get so much protection, the chancesare the guy who hit your sister was uninsured. Did you get a receipt for te work that was done? If not then you are screwed I am afraid.

[gl3nnym]

If I remember rightly, everything needs to be reported to the insurance company regardless of if you are going to use them to claim or not. Failure to disclose any information could invalidate the cover and the car would then be used illegally (depends on how nice the insurer is feeling I guess). I don't think the insurance company would agree to pay for the damage but it might be worth calling them, explaining what has happened and seeing what they say.

 

Either way the insurance companies like the know EVERYTHING.

 

Sounds like a dodgy garage set up to me.

[Guest Guest]

Yep I realise it doesn't look good but it would be nice if there were a website which has more information. Obviously this is a long shot but otherwise my sister will have to fit the bill.

[GeeHubb]

How awful for your sister. Not bad enough to be involved in an accident but now this as well.

 

As was said above - I don't think your sister's insurers will be too impressed. The other driver was probably uninsured otherwise they would have given their insurance details in the first place - be interesting to hear if you do get them. I suspect that your sister will have to make a claim against the garage that did the work, rather than the other driver. One things for certain, don't let that garage have the car again. Don't think I'd trust them pumping up the tyres on my bicycle!

[rad]

First things first.

Age of vehicle/value to your sister?

Does she have pictures of accident, drivers details reg etc? There is a simple website - askmid.co.uk stuff the reg into there and then find out what it says for insurance.

 

I would speak to the insurance company or stuff this onto a car related website, ie pistonheads and i am sure someone more in the know will be able to help. Surely our sister dropped the car off at said garage, so would she not of seen that is was a tyre and oil place then? I think they went to halfords and ratted it (ie cans) from what you are saying and stuffed it right up getting their apprentice to do it.

[SteveBentley]

The other driver was probably uninsured otherwise they would have given their insurance details in the first place - be interesting to hear if you do get them.

 

Not always the case - if it's an inexperienced driver the excess and subsequent loss of no claims can cost more than the work to put it right.

[chrbb]

Second Pistonheads website. Also no matter whether you intend to claim or not the insurance company still needs to know the details of the accident, if the other party is uninsured your sister's insurance company should be able to check.

[american_psycho]

If the other driver is uninsured, and wont pay the damages, get the police involved? afterall thats why we pay crappy taxes. hope you resolve everything tho.

[Tech1]

If the other driver is uninsured, and wont pay the damages, get the police involved? afterall thats why we pay crappy taxes. hope you resolve everything tho.

 

I'd hope that he would have had it sorted by now as this was 6 months ago.

[american_psycho]

woops. some1 get me some EduCoffee, im half asleep xD

[korifugi]

woops. some1 get me some EduCoffee, im half asleep xD

 

Here you go

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]9940[/ATTACH]

 

 

 

 

Not the best photoshop in the world - but what can you do with a silly idea and only 30 seconds?