Car damaged by recovery agent-advice required!
 

Hi all, my Volvo was recently damaged by the recovery service provided by the manufacturer as the car was still in its 12 month warranty (approved used). Anyway the company they used to recover the car drove it off the side of the ramps when unloading it at the dealership , damaging the front end of the car. They have accepted liability for the damage and it is currently at the approved bodywork centre being repaired. They have provided me with a hire car while mine is being repaired, however they have offered no compensation of any description other that repairing the damage through their negligence . Financially I am out of pocket , I commute 80miles a day for work and the hire car provided does half the MPG (30 on average) that my car does, the original problem was I did not have a locking wheel nut when I got a flat tyre-( the dealership told me I needed to get the car recovered to them) , I needed a new front tyre which the body shop are doing (I asked them to change the front 2 as they were worn anyway) but I have to pay £92.50 per tyre (£185) in total. I have no option not to replace the tyres. Also I had airport parking arranged as I go away on Thursday , which I have had to change and also had the hire car changed as the hire company sold it! So it's been going on for a couple of weeks, been a complete nightmare and I have been offered no compensation of any kind!
Couple of questions...

1) do I have to accept the car back once it has been repaired? I am dubious about accepting it back to be honest!

2) what's people's opinions on where I Stand for asking for some compensation? Honestly if they offered to pay for the cost of one tyre I would be happy with that!

Ultimately they have damaged my car through negligence , and no fault of my own. I have had change working days/hours around transport before /after the hire car, and has consumed a lot of my time and energy making phone calls to find out what's going on!

Thanks in advance for any replies and sorry for the essay!

Pete

Some dilemma but it costs nothing to ask.

They may just point out that if you had a locking wheel nut key in the first instance then none of this would be happening.

Was a looking wheel nut provided?

If not then I would account for everything and pass it on to your insurance company to sort out. Don't hold your breath thought.

I know its an absolute joke! Apparently the dealerships do hav emastwr keys but not kept on site? Either way they were not letting me borrow it to change the wheel even though I was only 20 miles or so away. I guess I can see why they wouldn't want to lose the master key but it isn't like I spend thousands of pounds with them a few months ago!

I think the lesson for all of us here is to make sure you do everything you possibly can to ensure you avoid any interactions with recovery/dealer/tyre replacing/windscreen replacing muppets as possible. Not sure the OP had any choice here from what he posted.

On many occasions I have thought I must just check blah.....only to find I had averted a major disaster just in time.

It pays to be over-protective about your car :)

Quite shocking at how a paltry flat tyre escalated into this just because of a wheel nut.

Bane of my life at work; Contantly thinking where the customer has "hidden it" in a MPV full of cubby holes and boot full of crap to sift through. :cry: And the receptionist, after working here for ten years still doesn't ask where the damn thing is :rolleyes:

So, every "wheel off" job requires a little prayer before opening the glove box in hope that's where it'll be and not nestled under the boot floor currently containing a pushchair, sack of dry dog food (opened and loose), a gazillion of kids toys, mouldy towel that smells of wet Labrador that's rolled in shyte), used nappies (yes used) right next to the wet wipes stored in a potty that has some dubious fluid still sloshing in there, and after removing said health hazards only to find the locking key isn't there either :mad::cry:


https://pics.me.me/Facebook-893ef1.png

So, let's get this straight...the dealer sold you a car with no locking wheelnut key?

I'm kind of hoping you're making most of that up, but I have a funny feeling you'll be back posting to tell me you're not.

So, let's get this straight...the dealer sold you a car with no locking wheelnut key?


I woudnt even entertain the idea


the tyres however are his lookout as far as I can see ?!


compensation ? goodness only knows

Sadly not :lol1:. I wear nitrile gloves for this very reason, and whilst I have a very poor sense of smell, I still get overpowered. I didn't realise I had a gag reflex until I rummaged through a Citroen Picasso :freak3:

Gong back to the OP, I would have expected it to be in the hands of the relevant insurer to deal with, so unless they write off the car, you will end up with the car back. But what compensation would be be open to negotiation; Whatever you do argue, make sure it can be proven; like loss of earning, receipts of extra fuel cost vs usual fuel costs, accompanied by documented travel/mileages to show your normal commute hasn't changed (I know it's an arse, but these are insurers we're talking about). Simply put, erroneous claims will just be thrown out.

BMW sold me a used car without the locking wheel nut key. They also sold it to me without any spare keys. I went back once to collect the spare keys, 30 mile round trip. I noticed the locking wheel nut key was missing and they told me to pop back again. I told them there was no way I was driving another 30 mile round trip to do that. I said either post it or I'll pop in to my nearest BMW showroom to pick it up.

I went to the nearest showroom and to the spares department. He came out with a special pack which had one of every wheel nut key they do. We found the right one and he told me to take that one and he'd order a replacement for his pack.

Same setup for Ford, Merc etc. Whereby they have "master key sets"

You can buy the kits yourself (for example: https://lasertools.co.uk/product/6767 ).

I think Volvo is an exception though, same with their steering lock barrels. Although some do use the same nuts as Fords (made by McGard)

I tend to use my "universal" removal tools though, which includes a lump hammer, and if extreme; an air chisel ;)

I believe so, I have had the car serviced at another Volvo dealership since I have had it but other than that- haven't even thought about looking to see if the locking wheel but was present- I guess it's easy to just presume that everything is well when purchasing from a dealership! The dealership which serviced it hasdid tell me on the phone though that they didn't take the wheels off for the service , which I find hard to believe , but who knows they weren't interested when I was 40 miles from home with a flat tyre so I'm pretty sure they won't be anymore interested now!

Can you not ask for a hire car with better mpg