Help Please :( Car Damaged Whilst at Hi Q Garage

[Sinth]

Alright guys/girls need some advice on this matter.

 

on the 17th of May I took my car to the local Hi Q centre who were doing the Hunter alignment for £30. Whilst on the ramps the guying doing my alignment managed to dig one of the clamps into my rear arch when he was pushing my car back and forth, this caused an indentation on the inside arch and a ripple on the arch body.

 

They have admitted liability but I thought ill take my car for a quotation to a local BMW repairer who turned around and said it will be £150 to repair it and repray the rear quarter. I took the quotation and spoke with the manager but he has turned around and said that the quote is far too much and he will do it at his own bodyshop. Basically im not happy about leaving my car in the hands of his so called bodyshop especially after the incident before.

 

So I said ill go through insurance to which he gladly agreed but having spoken to my car insurance company , they have said they wont deal with such an issue and that i have to deal with the garage themselves. Fair enough i thought ill call Hi Q headoffice and report this garage to them, today morning i get a letter saying that its a franchise and to deal with the garage directly but mentioned that they sent a letter to the garage to deal with the issue. Personally I dont see this being sorted out anytime soon so what course of action can i take because this damage altho not great is ****ing me off.

 

Bit of an essay but advice needed

 

thanks

 

Sinth

[Sinth]

Also i would like to add i have written a letter 1 week later threatening legal action which was sent on recorded delivery to Hi Q headoffice and Hi Q seven kings, ive still had no response and the letter was sent on the 24th of May.

What can i do now as obviously they think i will just sit down and let this die off. Anyhelp appreciated as i have never ever taken anyone to a small claims court and how do people reckon ill fare??

[Conniff]

What are you threatening legal action about??

Edited June 15, 2010 by Conniff

[Conniff]

As you went off line without responding, as I see it.

 

You have had minor damage done to your car by a garage who have admitted it and offered to repair it but you want don't want them to, you want it done at the BMW garage.

 

You won't get them to pay for that. They have the first oportunity to do the repair and then if you are not satisfied with the quality of the repair, you can tell them you are taking it to BMW to be done properly and will expect them to reimburse you.

 

The quote you have been given will be a retail price. They may even take it to BMW themselves, but will get it done cheaper than you can.

[Sinth]

As you went off line without responding, as I see it.

 

You have had minor damage done to your car by a garage who have admitted it and offered to repair it but you want don't want them to, you want it done at the BMW garage.

 

You won't get them to pay for that. They have the first oportunity to do the repair and then if you are not satisfied with the quality of the repair, you can tell them you are taking it to BMW to be done properly and will expect them to reimburse you.

 

The quote you have been given will be a retail price. They may even take it to BMW themselves, but will get it done cheaper than you can.

 

the thing is this isnt actually BMW but an approved garage who repair BMW's and the price he gave me was a cash price . I am not happy about leaving an expensive car in the hands of an incompetant garage, ive heard from other sources it is my choice to get it repaired wherever i like ....

 

is it possible to get the details of the insurance company the Hi Q garage is with as no doubt they will not give it to me if i go in person.

[Conniff]

I think you are going nowhere with this unless you let them repair themselves or take it where they usually do as I said above.

 

What are you thinking of issuing a summons for?

[Sinth]

I think you are going nowhere with this unless you let them repair themselves or take it where they usually do as I said above.

 

What are you thinking of issuing a summons for?

 

yep i did ask where they would repair it and also mentioned that ill take it there myself but even then he was hesistant of giving me the details.

tbh he cant have it both ways since i did ask where he was going to repair the vehicle .

 

like i said earlier ive had previous experiences of garages not treating my car right and i dont feel comfortable in just leaving an expensive car outside in a dodgy area.

 

i was thinking of issuing a summons for failure to repair. i will be getting a further 2 quotations and hopefully take him to small claims court and get him to pay up the average of the 3 quotes as he feels that £150 is too much .

[Conniff]

They wont let you take it there as the trade price for the repair will be less than the retail.

 

You can't issue a summons for that as they have not failed to repair, you haven't given them the chance. They have made the offer and you should accept. You could say that you would like it taken to xx bodyshop for the repair and see if they agree.

 

Everyone makes mistakes, they are not always caused by incompence, I saw a Mercedes in for it's first 1,000 mile service at a big Mercedes dealership roll off the hoist which was six feet in the air, so no one garage is any more competant that another. You felt confident enough to take it to Hi Q to get the tracking done, you should give them the first chance at a repair which may be even better than what you would get where you want it done.

 

If you are not happy with the repair, then you can take it elswhere and expect them to foot the bill.

[Sinth]

heres a quote from a person who deals with these sorta issues

 

"

Sinth this is a civil matter between you and Hi Q... I deal with this stuff a lot...

 

You need to get at least three quotes from different body shops, this can be BMW or anywhere you are happy getting the work done...

 

Then discuss these quotes with Hi Q and they should then pay the average of the three quotes.... If this then cannot be agreed between you both at this point you will have to request a hearing at the local small claims court... This doesn’t cost much at all £100 ish and you can represent yourself within the hearing...

 

The district judge will then decide on the matter which will more than likely go in your favour as the garage has already admitted liability.... The judge will then make an order for payment to you and probably award you costs (Your £100 back)

 

Obviously this matter is best of being sorted between you and Hi Q but at least you have options.... You can also inform them that you would be looking at taking them to small claims court if you are not happy with their financial offer....

 

The citizen’s advice bureau is also very useful and they can help and advise you on small claims court procedure....."

 

"They damaged your car, you have the right to decide where it gets repaired (I am 99% sure on this).... All the courts want to see is that the cost is fair, hence the reason for three quotes!"

 

any truth in this??

[Sinth]

ok i had to swallow my pride and fone the ****** at hi Q , told him to repair my car. he replies with " i thought you were going to go thru insurance ....."

 

i just said " yeh my insurance company told me to let you repair it first.."

 

well he said he will give me a call back in 2mins and lets see what he says. i got a feeling this isnt going to end well

Edited June 15, 2010 by Sinth

[Conniff]

It will end well. When you take it in, tell him you retain the right to take it elswhere if it isn't done to your satisfaction.

You must view the car in daylight and in dry conditions when he has finished it. The repair shouldn't be obvious as the whole panel up to any natural breaks ie trim, should be sprayed and not just the local area of the damage.

 

If you aren't happy with the repair, just tell him that it is not how it was originally and you will now take it to a bodyshop of your choice and present him with the bill.

 

What is the year and value of the car?

[Sinth]

its a BMW M3 03 plate , in my eyes a prestige car.

 

Ok a little update he said he will call me in 2 mins, waited for 30 mins and decided to call him back and guess what voicemail........

 

he prob thinks i aint got insurance hence the reason why i want him to repair it now. Personally i think hes trying to be clever by thinking if he just runs away from the situation it will die down. I will be contacting my solicitor tomorow and seeking damages as it seems he doesnt want to deal with me.

[heliosuk]

With respect sinth I don't think you're being very reasonable at the moment as he's been quite open with you. Further, I'm pretty sure the repair will be a smart repair you have been quoted for which is probably the route he is going down as well. This probably means the quotes you are getting will be subcontracted out anyway and are done on the premesis. So why shouldn't he do that as well? My only concern is that there is a smart repairer operating in that area who's work Conniff and I have come across before and it wasn't up to scratch(pardon the pun) but then he was acting on a dealers instructions and couldn't possibly have repaired the damage by smart repair. Any chance of a pic of the damage to asses?

[Sinth]

With respect sinth I don't think you're being very reasonable at the moment as he's been quite open with you. Further, I'm pretty sure the repair will be a smart repair you have been quoted for which is probably the route he is going down as well. This probably means the quotes you are getting will be subcontracted out anyway and are done on the premesis. So why shouldn't he do that as well? My only concern is that there is a smart repairer operating in that area who's work Conniff and I have come across before and it wasn't up to scratch(pardon the pun) but then he was acting on a dealers instructions and couldn't possibly have repaired the damage by smart repair. Any chance of a pic of the damage to asses?

 

the price i have been quoted is for a full rear quarter respray and also getting rid of a huge crease on the rear arch. A smart repair wont fix this. I will not entertain smart repairs and also underneath the arch there is a chunk of mental missing where the clamp dug into it. dont think a smart repair can magically make a piece of metal return

[heliosuk]

I would say perhaps you're over reacting here or exagerating the damage sinth as Hi Q will know what the repair costs. If you can get a crease on an arch repaired and a chunk of missing 1.5mm thick metal replaced together with a full 1/4 repaint for £150 in east London then either it's a scratch or a mickey mouse repair.

 

I've had a look at our workshops Hunter today and I can't see how the set up can cause this amount of damage.

 

Perhaps you could upload a photo as requested earlier?

 

How did you get on with your solicitor?

 

I'm also interested why the insurance company referred it back to them. Is the M3 not comprehensively insured?

[Sinth]

ok case is closed , got the insurance company involved and took it to a insurance approved garage as directed by my insurance company. they are going to send an estimate and they have told me to repair the damage is between 350-600 since they cant tell if theres internal damage.

[Sinth]

ok regarding the damage, my car is on coilovers and if your car is lowered you have to use a different type of clamp. not the normal clamp which goes around the tyre which was used in my case. when they were rocking my car back and forth one of the clamps decided to get really stuck inside the arch causing the big crease.

[heliosuk]

Ah!! That makes a lot of sense and would explain the type of damage well.

Good that the insurance co have decided to cover it. Let's hope you've declared the lowered suspension so they can't bounce the claim!!

As a matter of interest, did you have the geometry set to standard settings?

[Sinth]

all my modifications are declared including the coilovers so i dont have nothing to fear

 

regarding my geometry the muppets at hi-q after damaging my car said they cant do the geo cos its been lowered......

nevertheless i took my car to a well respected company and they did a fast road setup on the car and now it handles brilliantly

[Sinth]

heres a pic of my car and as you can see i like to keep it mint, the manager at hi q said my original quote of £150 was too expensive and he couldve got it fixed for £75. Guess hes in for a surprise now .......

 

[heliosuk]

From the pic I'm surprised they attempted it without using the adaptors!!

 

This fast road geometry set up, what do they do to get it and I thought M3's on an E46 were on a CVD set up??

[Sinth]

mate i shouldve heard alarm bells ringing when the moron on the hunter machine asked if it was a coupe or cab............ anyhow i let them continue at my peril, serves me right thinking i got a bargain getting the hunter alignment for £30. I guess end of the day you pay peanuts you get monkeys.

 

I finally took my car to elite who set the car up for fast road use which is custom. If you want i can post up a pic of the geo settings im using.

[heliosuk]

Actually sinth he was quite right to ask the question as the weights and set up are usually very different. I'd be interested in seeing the set up you have now compared to standard and whether or not the spring rate has changed along with the wheel offset.

 

Perhaps you could PM these details as we are now outside of the original thread.

 

What worries me a bit is that people have these suspension mods done not realising the full implications in that for example, you might find you are changing tyres every 3000 miles but yes it handles great!!

 

So any change from original spec, which is pretty damm good anyway will involve a trade off often not fully explained as they don't understand the dynamics of it all anyway. They sell a kit and then try to walk away leaving you guys forking out shed loads on tyres, suspension bushes etc!!

[Sinth]

the guy didnt know the difference between a covertible and a coupe mate, thats how stupid he was and second of all he was going to put the settings to factory , not custom like i expected.

 

i know the tyres will wear out a quicker plus the more stress i put on bushes etc etc but im a car enthusiast and did a lot of research before taking the plunge. I am only running 2.2 degree camber where as before i was running 1.5 degrees. so in terms of tyre wear it wont be that much more.

[BlueRu]

Hello it is 7th June 2011 I took my car into HIQ and paid £323 for work. When I collected it found that it had been backed into a wall. HIQ said they would repair at my convenience and no charge to me. I took it back for repair today and asked them to look at tracking. My husband collected the car and drove it home. I looked to find repair had not been done and car now has a dent at the front over the wheel arch and tracking also not sorted out. What can I do spoke to them they say that they will ask their manager to look into it?