Smash repairers blew up girlfriend's engine!

[Febs]

Hi guys.

My girlfriend's mum's Astra was reversed into at a petrol station last week, and taken to an NRMA-specified smash repairer to get fixed up. The damage was enough to puncture the radiator, so the car couldn't be driven (needed a new front bar, new bonnet and radiator/pipework).

9 days later (today) her brother went to pick it up. Drove about half an hour before it broke down. NRMA came out to have a look. Diagnosis: Engine stuffed. No coolant. :eek: :eek: :eek:

I'm not going to post too many details because I don't know them all yet...but bloody hell, talk about shonky. She's calling up the smash repairers and NRMA tomorrow to work it all out, but I hope they don't bloody try to deny responsibility (hmmm... :rolleyes: ).

Anyone know what happens in this situation? Obviously worst case scenario - the NRMA will foot the bill because the problem occured at their "recommended" repairer...but still, I'd hate to see these guys try to wriggle their way out of it.

Anyone been in a similar situation before? Any estimates on how long it'll take to get the car back? (Weeks? Months? :rolleyes: )

I told her to get on the phone to the repair place and demand a loaner tomorrow. One week without a car was bad enough...several would be bloody difficult for her.

Cheers,
- Febs.

Edit: Moral of the story - go with an insurer who allows you choice of repairer (and doesn't charge the earth for it). I know an excellent repairer in the area who's manager is a member on this forum. Bloody NRMA... :mad:

[SSBarney]

Hi guys.

My girlfriend's mum's Astra was reversed into at a petrol station last week, and taken to an NRMA-specified smash repairer to get fixed up. The damage was enough to puncture the radiator, so the car couldn't be driven (needed a new front bar, new bonnet and radiator/pipework).

9 days later (today) her brother went to pick it up. Drove about half an hour before it broke down. NRMA came out to have a look. Diagnosis: Engine stuffed. No coolant. :eek: :eek: :eek:

I'm not going to post too many details because I don't know them all yet...but bloody hell, talk about shonky. She's calling up the smash repairers and NRMA tomorrow to work it all out, but I hope they don't bloody try to deny responsibility (hmmm... :rolleyes: ).

Anyone know what happens in this situation? Obviously worst case scenario - the NRMA will foot the bill because the problem occured at their "recommended" repairer...but still, I'd hate to see these guys try to wriggle their way out of it.

Anyone been in a similar situation before? Any estimates on how long it'll take to get the car back? (Weeks? Months? :rolleyes: )

I told her to get on the phone to the repair place and demand a loaner tomorrow. One week without a car was bad enough...several would be bloody difficult for her.

Cheers,
- Febs.

Edit: Moral of the story - go with an insurer who allows you choice of repairer (and doesn't charge the earth for it). I know an excellent repairer in the area who's manager is a member on this forum. Bloody NRMA... :mad:

You have the right to choose your repairer, its just a bluff. I have been thru the same bullsh*t auctioning of repair process with AAMI.
I learnt afterwards that yes you can choose your own repairer so long as they can do it within the quote.
Barney

[Febs]

You have the right to choose your repairer, its just a bluff. I have been thru the same bullsh*t auctioning of repair process with AAMI.
I learnt afterwards that yes you can choose your own repairer so long as they can do it within the quote.
Barney

Never knew that, thanks mate.
Is it the same with AAMI, and JCI? I'm not with NRMA, but I rang them for a quote on my other car (VS V6) and they wanted to charge $60/year more for choice of repairer.

Off topic, but NRMA wanted $1,280 to insure my '95 stock VS V6 for $9.5k.
JCI are charging me $23 more to insure my '01 VX Calais LS1, modified, for $23k. :lol:

(Probably going with AAMI for the VS - $730/year full comp. I'm 22.)

Cheers,
- Febs.

[markone2]

:eek: Good thing your not in Queensland..NRMA is NOT the flavour of the month with panel-beaters up this neck of the woods atm........seems the odd customer has been having a spot of bother of late finding a tradesman who will accept any insurance work off the above mentioned .......

[Ryzz]

:eek: Good thing your not in Queensland..NRMA is NOT the flavour of the month with panel-beaters up this neck of the woods atm........seems the odd customer has been having a spot of bother of late finding a tradesman who will accept any insurance work off the above mentioned .......
Its not limited to QLD mate, a lot of verrry pissed of panel-beaters down here as well. A number of places that used to have "NRMA Approved" signs have pulled them down and replaced them with CGI/FAI/AAMI/ETC, everywhere u go people have signs up complaining about NRMA's new idea.

[NickS]

You have the right to choose your repairer, its just a bluff. I have been thru the same bullsh*t auctioning of repair process with AAMI.
I learnt afterwards that yes you can choose your own repairer so long as they can do it within the quote.
Barney
Problem is that the new system with NRMA ensures the lowest quote gets the job. So basically the guy that is willing to cut the most corners will win the work. I know the company we have used for years won't take anything from the NRMA anymore because they refuse to operate that way, as Ryzz said, they know have big anti-NRMA signs up and basically have nothing to do with them.

Sorry to hear about the troubles Febs, hopefully it's all sorted soon. I don't think this will be a one off though :mad:

[XLR8 V8]

9 days later (today) her brother went to pick it up. Drove about half an hour before it broke down. NRMA came out to have a look. Diagnosis: Engine stuffed. No coolant. :eek: :eek: :eek:



Didn't the temp guage go into the red and a warning light come on? :confused:
I'm not sure of the Astra's dash so I don't know what visual indicators it has, but surely a temp guage would be there at least (half an hour driving is a long time to not look at the dash guages). Her brother noticing it wouldn't have fixed the repairers incompetence, but would have meant $30 in coolant rather than a stuffed engine.
Not trying to shift blame, I just don't understand a driver not noticing a guage in the red for that long.

[bpm]

if there is no water in the system, the temp gauge wont move off cold.

[Febs]

Not trying to shift blame, I just don't understand a driver not noticing a guage in the red for that long.

Neither do I...but not all drivers are as attentive as we are.
Not sure if the Astra's have a warning light. It's a ~2000 model.


if there is no water in the system, the temp gauge wont move off cold.

Hmm never thought about that...but yeah that sounds reasonable.

[XLR8 V8]

if there is no water in the system, the temp gauge wont move off cold.


Really?? :eek: :eek: That's a worry!

[bpm]

yep, cant tell you how many times ive had people tell me "oh, it got a little hot on the freeway, but then it went back down to cold, and then stopped 5 mins later". blown bottom hose and no water.

[seldo]

It seems that the NRMA are quite happy to take your premiums but not so good to pay claims. Some of you might recall my post a while ago about my son's stolen boat which still remains unpaid by the NRMA who have simply declined to pay and said "Sue us".
http://www.ls1.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=43673&highlight=avon

[karter42]

:eek: Good thing your not in Queensland..NRMA is NOT the flavour of the month with panel-beaters up this neck of the woods atm........seems the odd customer has been having a spot of bother of late finding a tradesman who will accept any insurance work off the above mentioned .......

Same seems to be for NSW. A mate owns a very reputable smah repair workshop and has just told above mentioned Insurance company that he does not want to do bussines with them any more. I wont go any further into details, but I went straight home and changed all the cars insurance. I consolidated all insurances (house, content, cars etc) with GIO and saved $400 a year in doing so.

[vh-holden]

I just don't understand a driver not noticing a guage in the red for that long.

brain fade causes it ;)

the vh sprung a leak and went to the red. i saw it but didn't click that it was the engine temperature.

[scraps]

actually the new astras dont even have a temp guage. i had an astra as a hire car when i was over in germany a month ago. flogged it around the nurburgring a few times. but as there was no temp guage, i couldnt tell if it was gettin hot under the bonnet or not, it was getting pretty warm in the tyres and brakes tho! the only thing that ended up breaking it was grabbing a wrong gear at redline, ie 2nd to 1st instead of 3rd, and 2nd instead of 4th, from 3rd, at 6500rpm. the check engine light comes on, and you lose most of the power until you turn off and restart the thing. check engine light goes off after a while.

[Dacious]

actually the new astras dont even have a temp guage. i had an astra as a hire car when i was over in germany a month ago. flogged it around the nurburgring a few times. but as there was no temp guage, i couldnt tell if it was gettin hot under the bonnet or not, it was getting pretty warm in the tyres and brakes tho! the only thing that ended up breaking it was grabbing a wrong gear at redline, ie 2nd to 1st instead of 3rd, and 2nd instead of 4th, from 3rd, at 6500rpm. the check engine light comes on, and you lose most of the power until you turn off and restart the thing. check engine light goes off after a while.


Err, incorrect for Australia. We are on the second of two ('97 and '02) and I assure you they absoltuely do. The engine check light would also come on. if coolant is even low in the plastic reservoir you will get it.

[Angeldust]

i once putt my vr ss for minor left hand front guard ding damage repairs, and it came back with a blocked oil pickup...i only found out while driving home, where there was no oil in the head and all tyhe valves/lifters were making a terrible noise. i pulled in the 1st servo panicky not knowing whats wrong with it.. a few days later and a $500 labour bill to pull out the sump and clean out the crap ( silicon wtf guy rekons someone previusly used it to stop the sump from leaking ) and everything was fine....

[Ron]

Another moral mate,

If you have had your car in for repairs at a shop you dont frequent , always check oil and water before driving off, you cant always trust the person before you has done the right thing.

Hope everthing turns out alright Febs

Another point , temperature gauges cant measure the temperature when there is only steam in the system , only measures water temperature

[TUNDV8]

Seldo, why dont you take your problem up with a current affair or another program like that. Im sure they would be more than willing to have such a big company like NRMA featured on their show. Plus it would scare NRMA into maybe paying up. I dunno your choice i spose!

[EvillBill]

actually the new astras dont even have a temp guage. i had an astra as a hire car when i was over in germany a month ago. flogged it around the nurburgring a few times. but as there was no temp guage, i couldnt tell if it was gettin hot under the bonnet or not, it was getting pretty warm in the tyres and brakes tho! the only thing that ended up breaking it was grabbing a wrong gear at redline, ie 2nd to 1st instead of 3rd, and 2nd instead of 4th, from 3rd, at 6500rpm. the check engine light comes on, and you lose most of the power until you turn off and restart the thing. check engine light goes off after a while.

Sorry for the OT thread hijack, but is the PS2 GT4 Nurburgring anything like the real thing visually? Love to do it and that's why it's on my list of "10 things to do before death", just after twins...

[Febs]

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Now I'm f*cking furious!

The car was towed back to the repair mob in question, who flat-out denied that it was a coolant problem, instead blaming it on a snapped timing belt.

Hmm..a timing belt that was replaced by Holden only four months earlier.

Does the Astra have an interface engine design?

I KNEW this would happen. I wouldn't put it past these dodgy pricks to fill the engine with coolant, snap the timing belt, then deny any responsibility.

Worst part is - a mate of mine told me NOT to let the car go back to the smash repairers, as they would do exactly this. :mad: :mad: :mad:

Now the fun begins...

Edit: The car's going to a mechanical repair shop to be fixed. Surely it would be possible to tell the different between an engine stuffed by lack of coolant, and an engine stuffed by a valve dropping into the cylinder, right? I don't trust the mechanical repair shop, but if my gf can get the car back before it gets to them, we should be able to assess exactly what caused the damage right?

[NinetySix]

if it has a snapped cam belt but no bent valves (regardless of the design) a cracked head with pistons seized in the bore but full of fresh coolant then its pretty obvious they would have pulled a dodgy on it

[Deano T]

ios@insuranceombudsman.com.au

Mate, that sucks, the above link is to the Australian insurance ombudsman, that should be your next port of call if you don't get any satisfaction from your insurance company.

Try and stay on good terms with your insurer, concentrate on them, you are thier client and they had the work done on your behalf. There should be no interaction between you and the panel beater.

To the dodgy panel beater you are one person but if the insurance company gets pissed with them then that's a lot of work that will go somewhere else.

If the insurance company won't help you, you have the right to appeal to the ombudsman and the insurance company must comply with any findings made.

[Febs]

Try and stay on good terms with your insurer, concentrate on them, you are thier client and they had the work done on your behalf. There should be no interaction between you and the panel beater.

I agree there has to be constant communication with the NRMA on her part, but apparently repairers under operating under NRMA's dodgy "Care and Repair" system are liable for any damage they cause, not the NRMA.

Hence their weasling out of it with a pissweak bullsh*t excuse.

[NinetySix]

so are NRMA going to assist in the slightest? fair enough they wont be responsible, but maybe to help flex a little muscle?

[Febs]

Will find out tomorrow.

[Elite SS]

Martin I have a good friend that works for Consumer Affairs, I'll give her a call and find out what you can do about it, or PM me your number and I get her to call you..
Regards

Goran

[Rt!]

ouch.. keep me notified of this please.

[scraps]

Sorry for the OT thread hijack, but is the PS2 GT4 Nurburgring anything like the real thing visually? Love to do it and that's why it's on my list of "10 things to do before death", just after twins...

its almost exactly the same on the ps2, you just dont get an appreciation for the steepness of the hills until you go there. i wasnt expecting to know the place so well, but i recognized all the corners, and knew the right lines to be on, all from playing the playstation. i actually went there twice when i was over in the uk, first time in an astra WAGON, and then again in a Mini One. if you wanna know what they felt like to drive, drive them in gt4, but with n1 tyres. the mini is in the game, but pick something like a corsa(barina) 1.4 instead of the astra.

[Elite SS]

ouch.. keep me notified of this please.

Gday all
As I said earlier I spoke to a friend of mine at Consumer affairs, due to a confidentiality clause I can't give out her personel work No, but I was told this.
If a Insurer recomends a repairer of any kind and the repairer cause damage or or unforseen amount of Financial loss, the Insurer is 100 % liable for any damage or loss.
The best I could do legally was get a phone number that can possibly help anyone in this situation if it ever happens to them..so log it down you never know when you might need it...
INSURANCE COMPANY'S HATE THIS DEPARTMENT.... :D :D :D :D :D :D

Insurance Ombudsman
1300 780 808

Hope it works out for you "Febs"

[shepp0]

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Now I'm f*cking furious!

The car was towed back to the repair mob in question, who flat-out denied that it was a coolant problem, instead blaming it on a snapped timing belt.

Hmm..a timing belt that was replaced by Holden only four months earlier.

Does the Astra have an interface engine design?

I KNEW this would happen. I wouldn't put it past these dodgy pricks to fill the engine with coolant, snap the timing belt, then deny any responsibility.

Worst part is - a mate of mine told me NOT to let the car go back to the smash repairers, as they would do exactly this. :mad: :mad: :mad:

Now the fun begins...

Edit: The car's going to a mechanical repair shop to be fixed. Surely it would be possible to tell the different between an engine stuffed by lack of coolant, and an engine stuffed by a valve dropping into the cylinder, right? I don't trust the mechanical repair shop, but if my gf can get the car back before it gets to them, we should be able to assess exactly what caused the damage right?


i just noticed your location febs and i also am from the shire, one of my best mates yesterday got his car back form a smash repairer in the area, only to find on starting it the thing was only firing on 2 cylinders, and they had put 5k's on the odometer(why would they need to drive this far?) could you name the shop in question?

[Febs]

Update: The car went to a local mechanic (who my girlfriend's family has used before). They confirmed the engine died due to a lack of coolant, and that the smash repairers were at fault.

I gave a list of things they should mention to the mechanic (ie: "We would like photographic proof of snapped timing belt - ie: bent valves"), and made notes to the effect of "We know the differences between an engine stuffed due to a snapped timing belt and one stuffed due to lack of coolant"...so maybe that had something to do with it. Or preferably - the mechanic was an honest bloke. :)

Regardless, it looks like it's being sorted. Won't hold my breath until the car's back and fixed though.


could you name the shop in question?

I'd rather not just yet...but I'll tell you it wasn't in the Shire.

Cheers,
- Febs.

[XR8Chic]

Damn some smash repairers are dodgy!!

Hope it all works out well for you. I had issues with an NRMA repairer in 98, and my complaints were ignored. 2 years later, a mate of mine found the issue and took all of 5 mins to fix it. (I complained the front end wasnt put back right, and I couldnt close the bonnet properly.. they had put the bracket for the bumper bar on upside down)

Good luck!!

[Elite SS]

The way I look at it if they're good enough to take your money they should be good enough to honour your claim, it's their recommendation it's their responsability....

[muvro]

This new sceam that NRMA has started is nothing but crap!!!

I run/own a medium sized panel shop and have not signed with NRMA. The new system is absolutely rediculous!!!!!

Unfortunately, one of the clauses in the contract that has to be signed to do NRMA work is that the repairer takes full responsability of all warranty work...

Now some of the shops that have signed in my area are absolute crap!!!!!! NRMA would never have even known they had existed prior to this new sceam. One shop in particular doesn't even have an aligning machine. Let alone a compitent panel beater....

Unfortunately those insured with NRMA that choose to stay are left with problems such as this. If you had choise of repairer you could go to someone you either know or have been recommended to and these thigs wouldn't happen. If they did I am sure they could be rectified accordingly.

We have repaired two cars from NRMA since the new sceam, those two customers had policies with them proir to the new and on the phone said "when I signed up with you I had choice of repairer!!!! I AM taking my car to XXXX!!!!!!" We did teh job and got paid as we would have and didn't have to go online.

However another customer was flat out told he could not bring the car to my shop. Instead he had to take it to X, Y or Z. He took it to the shop that I knew was the best of the bunch listed. It was meant to get a new bar and it didn't, I don't even think it was removed from the car.... I wasn't happy, the owner was really pissed off. He rang NRMA and they said contact your repairer and sort it out with him.... He is now waiting a rediculous length of time to have it rectified.....

Not only is it hurting panel shops, it's also hurting thier suppliers and other industries. I know of a couple of businesses that rely on repairers for work (pinstripers etc) and one has gone bust and closed up and another is about to... It's peoples lives and families that are gettign effected too. Like Febs GF is stuck without a car for a fair while... Who's going to foot the bill???

I sincerly hope that it works out for you!!!

I hope everyone else heads this warning.....

Change from NRMA!!!!

GIO are doing great deals as has been mentioned. I am getting at the minimum 1 call a day from customers wanting to change insurer. Where do you recommend???

Here's where I'd take my car if I were swapping.

-GIO
-Allianz
-Shannons (although underwritten by AAMI, they still offer a great service over hte phone and all choice of repairer etc is retained. Also no need to go to AAMI assessing center)

I know alot of you have no choice, but AAMI and Just cars are just as bad.... Although they don't send quotes over the net they do put the cars up for tender. So cheapest quote gets it. So long as repairer is in thier circle of prefered repairers. I have seen cuctomers cars come from AAMI repairers and they were destroyed! They would require total rectification. Re-repair the enitre job....

Doi yourselves a favour! Look after your pride and joy! Pay a bit extra and have peace of mind....

Good luck Febs!! and to anyone else in the same position!

Tark :D

[5 point 7]

From my experiences with car insurance, i have concluded that -

All insurance companies are scum.

Plain and simple.

My advice regarding insurance is -

Know your policy, know your repairer, and know how to carefully fill out a claim form so you dont get ripped.

This is my most recent car insurance experience -

Last year I had a car stolen, it got found completely trashed and was deemed a write off.
Policy value of car was $18,700 as given by QBE when signed 4 months prior.
QBE offers me a pay out of $13,700.
I get pissed off and tell them to stick their $13,700.
"16 grand or fix it" i said.

Their response was, and i quote -
"I dont understand why you are getting so angry and being so un-cooperative sir?"

I replied, "You dont understand do you? Please let me explain.....*@##*@**!"

I try not to lose the plot completely, then all of a sudden, they tell me the claim has been "placed under investigation" due to suspicious circumstances.

During this investigation the QBE appointed investigator tries to interrogate me in my own house and asks all sorts of funny questions attempting to coerce me into saying something I didnt mean that perhaps could be used against me so they wouldnt have to pay out.
The crap keeps coming until I end up losing it and had to threaten to kick him out if he didnt stop the bullshit.
The interview was recorded as well btw.

After almost 3 months of being told "its still under investigation" the bastards wear me down and I had to settle for $15,750. They then took 2 more weeks to send out the cheque. Imagine how many times i got wild during this period!
3 1/2 months inconvenience of having no car plus the time wasted with the rest of the stress for a measly $250.00 more.

In hindight I should have taken the $15,500.

The only positive that came out of all this is that I took the insurance cheque the day i received it and slapped it down at the car dealer and drove away in a Munro!

Cheers QBE..... u pack of wankers!
:mad: :mad: :mad:

[seedyrom]

ahhhh QBE.
A guy in a 500SL slammed into the back of me. No worries. open and shut case, he admitted full fault (and did about $80,000 worth of damage as my towball punched straight through his radiator and beyond :) ).
QBE wouldn't fix my car as they 'couldn't start the claim' unless I had 2 quotes to fix it. I informed them that no repairer would give me one as they weren't assured of the job, but it didn't register with them. They refused to fix my car. After much argueing i gave in and went through his insurance (Revo?) as they were really helpful and nice over the phone.

Thanks QBE.

I'm starting to think that cheapest isn't bestand may change. Im thinking an extra grand a year is worth it, if it ever comes to crunch time

[OscarTheGrouch]

I know alot of you have no choice, but AAMI and Just cars are just as bad.... Although they don't send quotes over the net they do put the cars up for tender. So cheapest quote gets it. So long as repairer is in thier circle of prefered repairers.

Hrm, I dunno. Must admit I've just had to make my first ever insurance claim and Just Cars have been pretty excellent to deal with.

Rang them up, they're all smiley and happy, explained the procedure - you have to to get 2 quotes but only one of them has to be a preferred repairer. So I got them (both bodyworks I've dealt with locally are preferred repairers anyway) and they were within $60 of each other.

Rang up, went and got the car assessed - assessor looked at the car for about 30 seconds and asked me which repairer I'd prefer, I asked for the one with the dearer quote as they're going to do some other work on the car while it's in, he said no worries. I was surprised as the bodyworks were expecting them to quibble over the cost (they are replacing the rear quarter and passenger side doorskin as they couldn't guarantee a perfect repair especially being black).

Not only that... but thank goodness I bought NCB protection as my insurance premium this year has actually dropped over $400 even with the claim :D

The only sad part about this story is that the work hasn't been done yet, it's been 2 weeks since the claim was approved and the bodyworks is still waiting on parts to arrive... guess that's what I get for living in Tassie.

Sorry for the thread hijack Febs! I hope that everything is sorted soon...

[NinetySix]

apparently 98% of people who have made a claim through APIA would recommend them to somebody else, that kinda says something

wish i was 55 :lol:


i beleive they are owned by the same mob as shannons tho... im doing some work in a building APIA occupy and there are shannons adds in the same reception area

[jaskel]

I had a claim with Shannons when my mrs car got hit up the ass by a truck and then he drove off...we got his rego and he got nailed with reckless driving and leaving the scene of an acco...shannons processed the claim and within 2 weeks the car was fixed and back on the road.


They are good to deal with.

[Febs]

I've heard nothing but good reports about Shannon's. They quoted me on my 2nd car but unfortunately were $400 more than AAMI (and I just don't care about my 2nd car that much :lol: ).

I just renewed with JCI but I'm going to call Shannons for a quote for my Calais. Happy to pay a little bit more for them. (OT, but did anyone know they're now doing home and contents too? I didn't!)

Girlfriend's car is still at the shop. Was supposed to be ready yesterday. Hmm..yeah, here we go... :rolleyes:

[NinetySix]

home and contents for "enthusiasts" ? :lol:

[muvro]

Hrm, I dunno. Must admit I've just had to make my first ever insurance claim and Just Cars have been pretty excellent to deal with.

Rang them up, they're all smiley and happy, explained the procedure - you have to to get 2 quotes but only one of them has to be a preferred repairer. So I got them (both bodyworks I've dealt with locally are preferred repairers anyway) and they were within $60 of each other.

Rang up, went and got the car assessed - assessor looked at the car for about 30 seconds and asked me which repairer I'd prefer, I asked for the one with the dearer quote as they're going to do some other work on the car while it's in, he said no worries. I was surprised as the bodyworks were expecting them to quibble over the cost (they are replacing the rear quarter and passenger side doorskin as they couldn't guarantee a perfect repair especially being black).

Not only that... but thank goodness I bought NCB protection as my insurance premium this year has actually dropped over $400 even with the claim :D

The only sad part about this story is that the work hasn't been done yet, it's been 2 weeks since the claim was approved and the bodyworks is still waiting on parts to arrive... guess that's what I get for living in Tassie.

Sorry for the thread hijack Febs! I hope that everything is sorted soon...


You must have gotten a extremely nice assessor. We have never been successful in winning a JC claim. Not that I am complaining as they pay a rediculously low hourly rate.... LOL

Shannons are great!!!!

Unfortunately the assessor that we deal with for them is a real A hole... Every job we end up in an argument. We specialise in Jags and older marque cars. Through this we do alot of E types. If anyone has seen the bonnet on an E, you'd know that they are literally half the car. They have 27 panels in them and god knows how many screws and bolts. Cut a long story short, he tried to give us 10 hrs to dissmantle and assemble. The job in real time is over 25 hrs. I told him, that's fine. We'll bill the customer and he can contact you and enquire as to why he is being charged for something that the insurance should have covered.

We alerted the customer of the goings on, we recieved a fax from the assessor with in a couple of hours saying our original quote was approved....

This happens every time he comes around... We have had the top brass come from the assessing company where he works, and have come to the agreement that we'll put down real time and it will be approved... So for soo good... lol

Yeah APIA is owned my AAMI. As with Shannons they have kept their great service on the phone. Great to deal with. It's just the assessing...

It just frustrates me when I hear of stories like Febs and others. They make soo much money from premiums etc, yet they make some peoples lives a living nightmare!

Also check out GIO. They have really picked up thier game of late and dropped premiums and improved customer relations. Assessments are no problem and have never had a problem where a quote has been reemed.

Again, good luck with your car Febs!

[Falchoon]

I run/own a medium sized panel shop...

A bit off topic here but I'm curious about something, hoping you may shed some light on the subject for me (and other forum members).

I have a good friend that is a spare parts delivery driver for a major car dealer. He delivers parts daily to dozens of panel shops (and mechanical workshops) that are regular customers. Some days my friend collects more parts for credit than what he takes out! I understand some panels may be damaged in transit or the wrong ones but most of these parts are sent back for no apparent reason. Why? It's not just one or two "shonky" shops doing it, it's all of them, some of them fairly upmarket shops too. My friend and I have our theory on why this occurs but would like to hear from someone that owns/works at a panel shop to hear their reason/theory.

[muvro]

Yeah it's fairly common to send a part back.

Here's a few reasons,

-Wrong part ordered,
-Wrong part supllied,
-Damaged part,
-Not required, sometimes we order parts like bar reinforcments etc that would/could/should be damaged but aren't. So we just send them back and alert the asessor of the change,
-Sometimes we order parts prior to the car being assessed possibly due to time constraints. So we need to start work as soo as it's been approved. The assessor doesn't allow use of the part and a repair to the damaged part is implimented,
-Sometimes once we pull the car apart we realise that a part can be repaired rather than replace it with a new one. So we put through a adjustment on the quote to the assessor and the quote is altered to suit. This doesn't happen very often, not with me anyway. But it has and will continue to happen as it's often better to try and fix a panel than replace pending damage of course. But on the whole the more the car is untouched the better. Also if we replace say a guard with a new one we only get a few dollars to do so. The R&R times we get are pretty hard to make money off, especially considering the hourly rate we get. NRMA is $30.70 an hour. That is emant to cover all fixed over heads and material costs.. I reckon over 50% of the people on this forum recieve more than that and that's just thier salary/wage.

So in saying that if you are in business you are generally doing so to make money??? We have to act in our best interests, as well as the customers. Fortunately for us though we can run our smash work so we can break even/lose a bit. As most of our work is through restorations and classic car repairs. about 80% of our smash work is from our restoration customers. Thier daily drivers, thier families cars and friends. So we do the best job possible as it's definately in our best interest to do so. That's not to say we don't make money off smash work. But in order to do the right thing we are willing to sacrifice. We also do race car preperation, CAMS approved roll cages, mechanical repairs to Jags. So we have enough side line ventures/skills to keep us on top.

Unfortunately for the general public though, the majority of smash repairers do not have this luxury, due to this the result is poorer quality repairs and panels being repaired when they really shouldn't be. Whether it's a structural repair or purely a aesthetic repair.

Don;t get me wrong though, there are alot of other shops sililar to us. But generally they will do anything to survive (Make the costs).

Hope that enlightens you a bit.

Tark :D

[Elite SS]

To Muvro
Just in query, on returning parts, couldn't a panel shop also quote on certain panels that need to be repaired, get the full price of the quote and them return the parts for a refund, then bogey up the job, does any insurance company oversee the completed work before it goes back to the customer or is all the work valued at face value, Years ago I had a car stolen besides smashing the car they tore up the dash and seats, I was told that new seats will be replaced when I got the car the front seats were relaced but they were now different to the back ones, the dash appeared second had, polished with armourall, and a few things that weren't right hear and there, I put in acomplaint and it never got fixed, it took them 3 months before they work shop even started work on it and the job wasn't a %100 to proffessional std at all...
Unfortunately there are too many bogey dealers and workshops out there, unless people complain about them they will be in business for a long time ripping off other poor suckers....

I am very interested in your honest reply...

Regards
Goran

[Falchoon]

To Muvro
Just in query, on returning parts, couldn't a panel shop also quote on certain panels that need to be repaired, get the full price of the quote and them return the parts for a refund, then bogey up the job, does any insurance company oversee the completed work before it goes back to the customer or is all the work valued at face value


What Muvro says makes sense but unfortunately so does the above scenario....I guess it depends on how honest the shop is.

I spoke to a guy at one of the more repuatble shops today about if he thought it was a good idea to move my insurance from NRMA. He said it was up to me but did confirm that NRMA allow second-hand and/or aftermarket (cheap Taiwanese) panrls and parts. I said what about GIO, heard they were good. He said better than NRMA but still allow second-hand and/or aftermarket parts. He suggested AAMI as they only use new parts.

[Ryzz]

Yeah it's fairly common to send a part back.

We also do race car preperation, CAMS approved roll cages, mechanical repairs to Jags. So we have enough side line ventures/skills to keep us on top.


And just to backup Tark here, if you have ever seen the quality of the restoration work they do, you would be amazed. Even the job they did on my GTS was better than anything ive ever had done anywhere before!!

Tark, put up a couple of pics of some of the Resto work your doing here, it think people would find it very interesting!!! Even if it doesnt come with a LS1 shoe horned between the struts :rolleyes:

[HRT]

He suggested AAMI as they only use new parts.
I was under the impression that AAMI is just as unethical as NRMA. AAMI was the insurance company that started the whole assessment centre scheme, where damaged vehicles were to be taken there so AAMI could take pictures and tender the repair job online. The cheapest quote gets the repair job.

[NinetySix]

jesus H christ, running a business for $30.70 an hour :eek: there would have to be some rediculous markup on the parts or you would want to be installing some very sexy roll cages to stay afloat!

now i hate insurance companies even more... didnt think it was possible

[VYSHSV8]

Really?? :eek: :eek: That's a worry! its very very true, temp guages dont work on steam very well, sorry if this has been posted already,

[VYSHSV8]

WQBE have been good to me on 5 cars I have owned and 5 claims still have 60% NCB and only pay 800 a yr for 48k insured value

[Elite SS]

I suppose at the end of the day if a insurance company starts loosing clients they tend to bend a bit to satisfy certain clients , like the ones that arn't a high risk and the ones that stay loyal, not like a mojority of drivers that have full insurance for a while and then go down to third party, the insurance companies loose out and don't want to pay, imagine this secenerio,
Young bloke drives a $ 2000 heap has it on third party and then goes out and buys a "VS GTS" (No it's not you Ryzz) insures it for the market value and then the car gets smashed collects his dough, and goes back to third party..
I don't like insurance compan'y because they prey on people that appreciate their cars,so they have to have full insurance because of other peoples stupidity and they know it so they hit you with the max price or don't insure you at all...
I'm with GIO, they know my car is lowered and it has an aftermarket exhaust,
I pay that little extra but I know my car is fully covered if the situation ever occured of a major accident or write-off...they even know my driving history even though it's not the best they still insured me...
Iwill never deal with NRMA again they promise every thing but never deliver, like my last post...3 months before they allowed the work to begin and then they wouldn't warranty the work...
When Igot the new quote for the next policy, they wanted $5000 to insure it for $15000 what a joke of a company..

[commodore mad]

i would say air lock in the cooling system caused it alot of cars get airlocks these days, a temp gauge needs water in most cases too work them as stream and heat alone wont do it.... ps i found this out in a few engines

[V8MiKeY]

yer the 2000 model astras dont have a temp gauge on the dash, which wasnt very smart :bash:

[Febs]

Just realised I didn't update this thread...

Car came back about a week late, but has been fine since. Didn't cost my girlfriend's family a cent - it was worked out between the mechanic doing the work and the smash repairer who stuffed up (and no doubt the insurance co).

Cheers,
- Febs.