Not at fault accident

[BLACK 346]

Had some misfortune last week when a young lad left his 4WD DC Hilux parked with the hand brake disengaged and out of gear, which ended up rolling about 40 metres through the carpark and ploughing into my wifes car (thank fkcu no one was in this things path). The car has now sat at a local crash repairers for nearly 10 days and still has not been quoted for repairs. What do people consider a reasonable time for these things to progress? I ring Shannons and the crash repairs for updates and neither seem to give a toss, which surprises me with Shannons as they have been great for the 12 years that I have been with them. Have also spoken to RAA (his insurer) to see if they will give us a loan car and they are also very unhelpful. The lady in RAA claims advised me that the young fella has reported the accident to them but has not fulfilled the requirement that they expect of him (not sure what this means). She also advised me that my insurer will pay for the repairs to our car and then come to RAA for the money, which they will decline to pay if this bloke does not pony up his excess. WTF, surely RAA has to pay out regardless of what his actions are???? Some photos of the damage below, noting that the car was shunted 5 feet sideways and now has hand brake and TC lights permanently lit and also minor damage to the front spoiler. Pretty pissed off that this bloke can drive his car away and we are without one of our vehicles for nearly 2 weeks already and repairs have not even been quoted yet.

[whitels1ss]

Rod...


Go pick up your car, take it to another repairer like "Silvers" at Windsor Gardens & claim through your own insurance.

Silvers are one of the best repairers around IMHO & they really look after their customers.

(Check out some reviews from customers) https://www.facebook.com/Silvers-Mot...7607671960896/

The other guy's insurance doesn't have to & will not do anything unless their client puts in a claim & pays excess
Your insurance can chase the other guy afterwards, that's what we pay insurance for.

If this repairer is stuffing you around before he has even quoted the job, how long do you expect he will take to fix it?

Get it out of there!


You must have a much higher tolerance to being farked around than I do!

[whitels1ss]

Rod...


Go pick up your car, take it to another repairer like "Silvers" at Windsor Gardens & claim through your own insurance.

Silvers are one of the best repairers around IMHO & they really look after their customers.

The other guy's insurance doesn't have to & will not do anything unless their client puts in a claim & pays excess
Your insurance can chase the other guy afterwards, that's what we pay insurance for.

If this repairer is stuffing you around before he has even quoted the job, how long do you expect he will take to fix it?

Get it out of there!


You must have a much higher tolerance to being farked around than I do!

Hey, don't talk to them, don't give them any more chances, just front up & get it out of there!

[BLACK 346]

Hey Ed, I have zero patience, but they have you over a barrel when they have your car and it is not driveable. I trusted Shannons to do the right thing and send it to a trusted repairer, but in my opinion they have let me down.

[whitels1ss]

Hey Ed, I have zero patience, but they have you over a barrel when they have your car and it is not driveable. I trusted Shannons to do the right thing and send it to a trusted repairer, but in my opinion they have let me down.

Sorry Rod, just looking at the picture I thought it looked driveable.

I would phone Silvers & talk to them, have dealt with them a few times over the last 25 years & Tony & his wife are fantastic people.

I know their repairs are second to none & if it was me the repair would be more important than the price,
they could possibly arrange a trade tow for you at a small price.

There is no way on earth I would put up with the crap that other repairer is giving you.

[BLACK 346]

Sorry Rod, just looking at the picture I thought it looked driveable.

I would phone Silvers & talk to them, have dealt with them a few times over the last 25 years & Tony & his wife are fantastic people.

I know their repairs are second to none & if it was me the repair would be more important than the price,
they could possibly arrange a trade tow for you at a small price.

There is no way on earth I would put up with the crap that other repairer is giving you.

Ed. Agree with you, the repairs will need to be perfect as the car has only done 25k and is like brand new (was anyway). It is currently sitting at Smithfield Crash Repairs, which is Carisbrook's major collision centre. I just got off the phone with Shannons and they say it is still within their 10 working day quotation window and that all they can do is keep asking them for updates. If I move the car of my own accord I am pretty sure I would run the risk of voiding my insurance and leaving me with a very hefty repair bill?

[whitels1ss]

Ed. Agree with you, the repairs will need to be perfect as the car has only done 25k and is like brand new (was anyway). It is currently sitting at Smithfield Crash Repairs, which is Carisbrook's major collision centre. I just got off the phone with Shannons and they say it is still within their 10 working day quotation window and that all they can do is keep asking them for updates. If I move the car of my own accord I am pretty sure I would run the risk of voiding my insurance and leaving me with a very hefty repair bill?

I can't see how you can void your insurance claim by moving the car to another repairer if you are not happy with their service?

Especially if you have it towed.

As if you say it's not driveable get Silvers to arrange a trade tow, it's not very expensive & well worth getting away from a poor service repairer.


Hey give Silvers a phone call & discuss it with them.

My last insurance claim was with RAA (girlfriend's Mazda 3)

Old guy came out in front of her at 7.30pm one Tuesday evening, she could not stop, massive damage. (Not her fault.)
Car was towed to Caddle Crash repairs from accident scene.
We were at RAA office (girlfriend's own insurance company) at 9.00am Wednesday morning filling out claim form.
At 2.00pm the same day RAA was on the phone to her they had been out & seen the car,
told her the car was a write off & offered to pay out immediately. (Very generous payout IMHO also)
First thing next morning the money was seen to be in her bank account.
They had actually paid out less than 24 hours after the accident!

This is just one of the reasons I have RAA insurance on all my cars, house & contents.

[R8HSVHRT]

Mate if you have your own repairer go pickup the car or get it towed there ,, stop mucking around with people you don't know, you can only imagine what problems you can have with them after repairs get done and there not to your satisfaction

[Micks]

Just changed over to Shannons & not liking what I'm hearing!
I thought you had choice of repairer with them Rod?

[BLACK 346]

Just changed over to Shannons & not liking what I'm hearing!
I thought you had choice of repairer with them Rod?

Yes you do Mick, but when they send you somewhere and they are the supposedly experts you trust them to do the right thing. I have had 3 not at fault claims with Shannons over the period I have been with them and all have been sorted with minimal fuss and with repairs to a high standard. I had no reason to doubt their choice of repairer this time. I will give them until the end of the week and if no quote received by then will demand the car is taken elsewhere.

On a side note, what are the chances it is a write off? I am thinking not, but I know that rear quarter panels are an expensive fix (welding etc) and what about the chassis?

[BLACK 346]

Mate if you have your own repairer go pickup the car or get it towed there ,, stop mucking around with people you don't know, you can only imagine what problems you can have with them after repairs get done and there not to your satisfaction

I don't have my own repairer mate so wouldn't know if I was taking it somewhere worse. They are an RAA approved collision repairer FWIW.

Cheers

[whitels1ss]

It could be a write off Rod, can't see much from the pictures.
If the roof is bent, rails, the floor, side twisted... so many other things ?

There are so many things that they don't repair these days. Need them to quote it up.

[whitels1ss]

They are an RAA approved collision repairer FWIW.

I can name plenty of RAA (or other state motoring club) approved workshops that have rubbish reputation.

You could start with a few "famous tuners" we have all heard of!

[Smitty]

.. if Shannons allow choice of repairer... move it!

[BLACK 346]

Went in and spoke with the head of their assessment team this morning. Kept my temper in check (mainly because I was in uniform) and let them know that I was extremely pissed at how long the process was taking. He promised me that it would be quoted today as a priority. Got a phone call 10 minutes ago from same bloke and the quote has been done and repairs are about to start. They are replacing a heap of damaged rear suspension components, repainting front bar and spoiler and obviously the panel work in above photos. Hopefully smooth sailing from here in.