Insurance claim - preferred garage disagreement

[LordLee]

Hi all. Motor insurance claim question for ya!

 

I drive a mini Cooper S in a special limited edition colour. Someone scraped along the side of it whilst i was parked. It was a neighbour and they owned up.

 

Set the ball rolling with my insurers. M&S on behalf of Minster Law. I asked them to use my certified Mini Garage if possible due to the nature of the ltd edition paintwork.

 

Insurers got back stating they could not agree a fee. So they would like to proceed through their preferred repairer. I've contacted this repairer and made them aware of my concerns over the colour. They are getting back to me as to whether it is an issue. But seemed wary.

 

Where do I stand? Can I insist my insurer uses certain garages? I have legal cover (gotta check what up to) so could i get it dome myself and claim it back?

 

Sorry I have no idea about insurance. Any advice would be most helpful.

 

Thanks in advance!

[unclebulgaria67]

The Insurers have a responsibility to ensure that the cost of the repairs are reasonable and that they are also respecting the rights of their policyholder. So the repair must be to the correct standard and ensure that you do not suffer from any loss as a result of not using your preferred garage.

 

I would expect the Insurers authorised repairers to purchase the paint from BMW Mini and to follow exactly the same processes. The only difference should be the labour cost.

 

If you use the insurers authorised repairs, you have 100% rights over the insurers to have the car put back in exactly the same position as it was pre accident. If the repair they authorised was not done properly by the garage, the insurers would have to pay any extra amount for any additional work needed.

 

Think you will have to do abit of digging. Ask for a breakdown in the quotes provided, as to what materials will be used. Plus details of the experience of the garage to carry out specialist paint work

 

At the end of the day Minister Law should have realised that this type of car will often have limited edition paintwork and they should have underwritten the policy accordingly. By this I mean they should have charged a premium relevant to the risk.

[Slimm]

Bear in mind if at any stage you're not happy with the way your insurers are handling the claim you could always make a call to the fault insurers and ask whether they'd be able to assist - after all they'll be the ones picking up the bill at the end. Often at-fault insurers are happy to take over management of repairs as it gives them a degree of control over the process, especially in relation to the costs of a courtesy/hire vehicle if one is required while your car is in the shop. You might find they'd be more inclined to agree for you to use a the garage you prefer. Naturally it varies from firm to firm but would only take a 5m call to find out.

[scaniaman]

If you use your own garage and there are future problems the insurance will not stand good, that's why it may be safer to use insurance company's garage.

[Billy's mate]

There are thousands of car paint sprayers out there. What makes you think that the ones employed by the main dealer are going to be better than an independent ?. The painters buy the paint then spray it on - it's not rocket science. The Insurers have their own panel of repairers because they get good labour rates from them. I had a Vauxhall van which had bodywork repairs done at a Ford main dealer. Work that one out !

[renegadeimp]

A proper paint job takes a whole lot of effort and preperation.

 

Saying that its simply spray on and forget shows you dont really have any knowledge of this area. Especially if it has limited edition paintwork Colouring/motifs etc.

[Billy's mate]

A proper paint job takes a whole lot of effort and preperation.

 

Saying that its simply spray on and forget shows you dont really have any knowledge of this area. Especially if it has limited edition paintwork Colouring/motifs etc.

 

I disagree with your post. What I'm getting at is why a paint sprayer in a main dealer should be better than one in an independent bodyshop ? Of course I appreciate the effort required in the preparation - I've worked in the motor trade for 40 years. Have you not seen the paintwork on custom cars ? The pearlescent paints, airbrushing, metalflakes etc ?, were these done by ' main dealers ' ?. There's some very talented bodyshop guys out there who are able to repair the OP's Mini just as well as a Mini dealer.

[unclebulgaria67]

I disagree with your post. What I'm getting at is why a paint sprayer in a main dealer should be better than one in an independent bodyshop ? Of course I appreciate the effort required in the preparation - I've worked in the motor trade for 40 years. Have you not seen the paintwork on custom cars ? The pearlescent paints' date=' airbrushing, metalflakes etc ?, were these done by ' main dealers ' ?. There's some very talented bodyshop guys out there who are able to repair the OP's Mini just as well as a Mini dealer.[/quote']

 

I think you agree really. It was this comment in your post, which gave the impression of a cheap job being done in some non dealer bodyshop.

 

"The painters buy the paint then spray it on - it's not rocket science"

 

Of course it depends on the work of the individual doing the work, whether they are doing the job in the right workshop and using the correct materials etc. I suspect that BMW Mini would send the car out to a bodyshop anyway, rather than use their own people. But main dealers will charge a lot more, as they want to share in the profit.

[jackkemp]

You are well within your rights to choose a garage to have the work done at, providing it is for a legitimate reason and not because your mate owns the garage or anything. I have a Renaultsport Clio that is also in a very rare colour and had the same issue after the car was hit in a car park.

 

It was a lot of hassle, but eventually my insurance agreed t have the work done at a specialist garage. It is just a case of proving that the garage you have chosen is the only option that is suitable for the type of work. If you could get the garage themselves to admit that they cannot do the work then you are on to a winner.

[Slimm]

If the OP is expecting their insurance to pay for the repairs they almost certainly don't have the right to choose the garage - policy docs will confirm this one way or the other. If my car is damaged and my favourite garage wants to charge me £1000 for a job that the insurers preferred garage is quoting £500 for then the jobs not going to get authorised by the insurer - the one's paying the bill. In fact, if they did authorise an unreasonably expensive job and then expected the at-fault insurer to refund them then the at-fault insurer would be well within their rights to only pay them £500 back.

 

 

In a less extreme example if a specialist is quoting £1000 and the preferred supplier is quoting £900 then it's possible OP could convince them to use the specialist on the basis that its less likely to result in a problem afterwards. However the operative word is convince. If there is anything in the cars paperwork suggesting paintwork is only handled by specialists, and the car is under 3yrs old you would be in a better position. Most general motor insurance policies don't even guarantee original manufacturer parts for cars over 3-5yrs old let alone a guarantee of specialist labour. This may be an argument best made to the at-fault insurer as per my previous suggestion.

 

 

If getting the job done by BMW/Mini is important then OP may be able to ask for a 'cash in lieu of repairs' settlement, then put that money together with your own to make up the difference and pay for whomever you choose to do the work. If all else fails its something to consider.