dicky ticker

hi peeps

dad had his new car (Jag) parked outside some shops. whilst in the shops someone hit his car taking out the wing mirror and scratchin all the way down the side of the car and drove off. a passer by got the number and the perp has been traced and is fully insured - phew

anyhows he takes it to the designated insurance repair garage who say they will do a fill in and respray to the wings and door panels. dad was not happy with this as he wants his new car back to "new" as it was before it was hit.a month later his insurance company have sent out an assessor who echoed what the garage said as it is usual to do the cheapest/economical repair possible. dad told asessor that he would not accept this and that it wasn't what he paid his fully comp fully protected insurance for. the assessor took great umbridge at this and said that people pay insurance for what he thinks is best not for what they think.

my dad has recieved a letter saying he is "officially in dispute" with his company and that they will contact him within four weeks.

has anybody got any experience/knowledge with disputes like this?
is dad right to stand his ground?
why is his insurance company trying to reduce the cost for the perps insurance?

any help greatly appreciated

cheers

colin