EdwardH

Scooby got a broken nose at the weekend, thanks to bloke at petrol pump in front of me failing to see me before engaging reverse.

Insurance company wants to send scoob to 'an appointed repair centre.'

Do I have to do this or can I insist on a Subaru dealer?

It is non-fault (phew!!!) therefore we will be pursuing the other party.

Ed

ChrisG

EdwardH,
Although you might have to stand your ground with your insurance company, you do not have to take your car to the recommended repairer. The choice is up to you whether you want to use a main dealer or even a completely independant body shop.
IMHO Recommended repairers are not always the best option or the best quality available.
Chris

The Zohan

A lot of dealer do not do their own repairs and put the work out to 'approved' bodyshops - worth checking with your dealer as you may loose the body warranty - your insurance company shouold comply with your wishes - eventually.

Stef

Stand your ground!!!!
I let an 'approved repairer' do repairs to my car after it was broken into and it spent 12 weeks in their bodyshop!!!
Most of this was waiting for the correct parts to come from Japan as they ordered the wrong ones.
If it's just bodywork then it's not so bad I guess, but you are able to take the car wherever you want. The insurance company may ask for a couple of quotes, that's all.
Also, you may not get as long a warranty on the repairs if you use someone else, so it's worth checking the small print.
I will always give it to a Scooby dealer if it ever needs anything else though.
Oh, and you may not get a courtesy car from the insurers either, but I think most Scooby dealers will give you one anyway, mine did.

Stef.
Stef.

[This message has been edited by Stef (edited 07 August 2000).]

Chris L

You are perfectly entitled to use the repairer of your choice. Normally insurance companies will ask for a couple of quotes to compare with your dealer's price.

I had a door skin replaced last month and I was keen that my dealer (Cheam Motors) did the work. Their quote was actually the cheapest (and the quality of the work was excellent). Insurer (Bell Direct) had no problem with this.

Chris

firefox

After a previous subie of mine was erm... re-arranged.. I chose the approved repairer.... which was a Ford main dealer...

Biggest mistake ever!! The car went back that many times it was unreal... poor paint finish..panels not right..seals not right...blown alarm... it went on and on..

The only benefit of going to an "approved repairer" is that you can gett he insurers to deal with the garage if you arent happy.. and hopefully they carry more clout.

Personally... I would take it to a repairs of your own choice.. that has been recommended to you....

The insurance company should give you the choice.. but will try and talk you out of it... as they get a better rate with the approved repairers...

J.

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Check the small print - initial discounts may be based on approved repairers.

I am not sure of the legal position, but the main direct writers will try and maximise their approved repairer utilisation (although one insurer I worked with had HIGHER average costs inside their own network!).

Try standing your ground - the agents are told what to say - ask to speak to the claims manager!
R

RichS

I agree - stand your ground!

The last time we (my company) used an approved repairer to fix one of our company vans, it was because our insurance company insisted that we did not have a choice.

Ten weeks later, following an angry phone call, the insurance company admitted that they would originally have accepted our own choice of repairer provided we had obtained a minimum of two quotes.




Rich

Rum*

In the event of a claim ALL our clients are given the option of either using an approved repairer or a repairer of their choice.

Most customers end up using the approved repairers for the following reasons...

1. No need to obtain further estimates.
2. Insurers do not need to inspect the vehicle prior to repairs being authorised.
3. Courtesy cars
4. Approved repairs will normally pick up/return damaged car.

However, customers with newer cars, specialist and/or high performance vehicles, vans, trucks buses etc tend (rightly IMHO) to choose a garage/repairer of their choice (usually the dealer that they had purchased the vehicle from in the 1st place).

Often the repairer of their choice will still provide a courtesy car, pick up/deliver etc and more often than not manage to have the vehicle repaired as quickly as the insurer approved repairer.

I am not aware of any insurer that requires you to have your vehicle repaired at a garage of THEIR choice, and I think you could successfully argue the case in your favour.

At the end of the day do you really want your beloved Scoob going to any garage/dealer/bodyshop other than one approved by a Subaru registered dealer??...I think not....hold your ground, get your dealer to submit a written quote asap to you (email, fax or mail) and forward that to your broker, agent or insurer. Advise when the vehicle is to be booked in (giving at least 4 days notice) and request that the insurers send an engineer to see it asap to approve repairs.

Any queries...give me a ring...0113 250 0377

Cheers Tom

Rum*

....sorry, one more thing...in that instance we would probably persue the guilty party direct....or at least his/her insurance company...thus not having to notify your insurers, and saving all the hassle of dragging the claim on for months afterwards....

Thats it now, honest...I'm off for a cuppa!

sunilp

You dont have to, but it will take longer as authorisation will take time etc, which wouldnt be required in the same way with an approved bodyshop. You may also have to pay for your own courtesy car (unless the independent offers one anyhow)

My suggestion and personal experience is that you find your own bodyshop. Large "authorised" repairs are just interested in getting the job done with the least amount of effort and quality is usually always an issue (bonus system applies!) from my own experience over a few years. A main dealer is no guarantee of satisfaction either (approved or not). I say this for two reasons - one the **** B&C have done on my car and 2) The **** a friend had done to his BMW M3 E30 when it went into Cronks BMW of Banstead (no BMW slagging on this thread please)

However, Cheam Subarus bodyshop is contracted but is excellent - 020-8394-2262 ask for Steve Lawson.

Be patient and good luck.

[This message has been edited by sunilp (edited 08 August 2000).]

Imran

sorry to hear about the car Ed.

You are well within your rights to chose your own repairer, and if things get hairy, your insurance company will still step in and sort it all out.

Failing that, you could always claim yourself.

I have been driven into 4 times (not once in the Scooby thank God). In each case I have not wanted to go through my own insurance. I always went through the third parties insurance, got my own estimates (from the most expensive places ofcourse), submitted them. Agreed a price, and was sent a cheque. I did this because in the first two cases I didn't want to keep the cars, side damage can be very hard to repair properly and I didn't want the hassle. So I traded the cars in, in their damaged state, and the cash more than made up for the difference.

You have to do the legwork, but if the damage is bad and you don't want the car, then it's good. Or in the case of the other two times with myslef, the damage was at the back of the car, and virtually un-noticable, so I just kept the cash!

Just another view.

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Guys,

I repeat that you should check the small print...

...the actual discount you recieve may not be based on using an approved repairer, however the overall pricing is based on an expected level of approved repairer use.

Therefore Insurers will do their damndest to make sure you do - Rum is correct to say that you don't have too..

however you will potentially (and this is the small print bit) lose benefits such as courtesy car, repair warranty, uninsured loss recovery - the latter is interesting as courtesy car costs are normally covered by ULRS, however if you do not take the one offered it will be more difficult to claim it back.

In practice it all comes down to how much effort you put into arguing with the claims manager. If you have an import and use an approved repairer you can wait forever as they try and source parts, rather than go to a regular parts importer like Park Lane!


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