Accident repair advice requested

M

Mr 9mm

Member
 Lancashire
Hi all

Looking for some advice re repair of my Z4.

IMG_0209.jpg


I was driving down a 'main road' on the housing estate and a Ford Ka ignored a give way line at a side road and ran into the passenger side of my car - see photo for damage. Both cars were travelling at ~20mph (local limit).

Damage appears to be limited to door, wing, sill, alloy (minor) + whatever lies behind!

The driver admitted liability and I've contacted my insurance company, Aviva.

So, I've got the choice of using their preferred repair shop (HB Panelcraft in Preston, Lancs) or paying an excess of £200 + cost of courtesy car to go to local BMW dealer (Lloyds of Blackpool).

To me the most important thing is to get the car back to its original state with no concerns regarding quality of repair, especially if there is underlying damage to car chassis (door is raised ~10mm when closed now).

I called into HB Panelcraft yesterday morning and the guy I spoke with appeared to know & understand what needs to be checked and their facilities are comprehensive. They had a number of premium cars in for repair, so maybe they are highly regarded?

Anyway, I'm just looking for the advice of the forum to help me decide what to do.

TIA,

Andy
 
You're within your rights to get it repaired wherever you want as the accident was not your fault. Do NOT be fobbed off by an insurer wanting you to use their preferred repairers. If the car was new this would be particularly relevant, maybe less so in this case.

It's interesting that as soon as it becomes an insurance job, the costs sky rocket and all our premiums shoot up. If you want to prove the point, go into a body shop and tell them it was hit while parked and you have to pay yourself.

My S-max got hit in the company car park. Non insurance repair, £350 inc vat. Insurance claim included new door and total respray of the side of the car. The bill was thousands. I did it out of my own pocket as the excess was £200 and the insurance rise after a claim as going to be eye watering.

And no, our CCTV didn't capture the culprit...


Tapatalking...
 
My z4 got rear ended last month and they accepted liability immediately. My insurance told me that I would need to pay £450 excess to use my local bmw dealer. I decided to go trough an accident management company (Europa consultants). They handled the claim directly with the driver's insurance, paid £0 excess and free courtesy car delivered the next day (Porsche Cayman S !!).
 
stef787 said:
...and free courtesy car delivered the next day (Porsche Cayman S !!).
Click to expand...
Free to you, but £350/day added to the insurance claim, to which you may be liable if the other party doesn't cough up (especially if it goes to court and they can prove you had a way of hiring a car for less cost yourself).
 
mmm-five said:
stef787 said:
...and free courtesy car delivered the next day (Porsche Cayman S !!).
Click to expand...
Free to you, but £350/day added to the insurance claim, to which you may be liable if the other party doesn't cough up (especially if it goes to court and they can prove you had a way of hiring a car for less cost yourself).
Click to expand...


The hire charge added on the claim is actually £150/day, which I think is reasonable for a like for like replacement car.
 
stef787 said:
The hire charge added on the claim is actually £150/day, which I think is reasonable for a like for like replacement car.
Click to expand...
That's definitely better than some charge :thumbsup:
 
stef787 said:
My z4 got rear ended last month and they accepted liability immediately. My insurance told me that I would need to pay £450 excess to use my local bmw dealer. I decided to go trough an accident management company (Europa consultants). They handled the claim directly with the driver's insurance, paid £0 excess and free courtesy car delivered the next day (Porsche Cayman S !!).
Click to expand...
was it the blue one 09 plate I had from them defo recommend Europa after my z4 write-off I had the porsche for two months before I got a paid.
 
phill_thompson said:
was it the blue one 09 plate I had from them defo recommend Europa after my z4 write-off I had the porsche for two months before I got a paid.
Click to expand...

yes blue Cayman S, 59 plate, I had it only for two weeks..
 
9mm, there's no 'BMWness' about this sort of repair. And BMW dealers can be weak on customer service. Most importantly, you need to be comfortable using the shop doing the repair. If you found the Preston outfit suspect, it may be worth paying the excess. If you think they're a good outfit, then use them, you're money ahead.
 
Just checked with the local BMW dealer (Bowker Preston) and they use HB Panelcraft for their repairs so will probably let the insurance company use HB...
 
I have never heard of you having to pay an excess to use your bodyshop of choice when it was someone elses fault for an accident.

BMW will change the wing sill and door.... an outside place would prob just fix the sill.
 
aquazi said:
I have never heard of you having to pay an excess to use your bodyshop of choice when it was someone elses fault for an accident.

BMW will change the wing sill and door.... an outside place would prob just fix the sill.
Click to expand...

I'd find that a bit hard to believe, the damage looks like replacing the door and wing is a given.

re: excess - some policies do have conditions that stipulate that if you don't use their own/recommended bodyshop you may have to pay additional costs/not be eligible for a free courtesy car.
 
Dev said:
I'd find that a bit hard to believe, the damage looks like replacing the door and wing is a given.
Click to expand...

I meant the side skirt. Its only scratches and cosmetic, but a BMW bodyshop would still replace it.

I had a minor cut into my side skirt after someone did a hit and run in the car park on my car... BMW wanted to replace the entire skirt... most bodyshops said they would simple fix it.
 
Checked with Lloyds in Blackpool and they are approved repairers for Aviva and so the car's on it's way there. So no charge for using my preferred garage. Still need to figure out how I can avoid claiming on my insurance to avoid premium hike...
 
Stuart Truman said:
You shouldn't get a premium hike if your insurers recover their losses from the other driver's insurers.


Tapatalking...
Click to expand...

Unfortunately this is a major problem with insurance....

When renewing its very likely you will get a hike... most companies ask for number of "accidents regardless of fault".

The grey area here is if you have an accident and dont claim it on anyone's insurance, so repair it out of pocket do you still declare it?
 
aquazi said:
Dev said:
I'd find that a bit hard to believe, the damage looks like replacing the door and wing is a given.
Click to expand...

I meant the side skirt. Its only scratches and cosmetic, but a BMW bodyshop would still replace it.

I had a minor cut into my side skirt after someone did a hit and run in the car park on my car... BMW wanted to replace the entire skirt... most bodyshops said they would simple fix it.
Click to expand...

Sorry! It makes a bit more sense now, reading it back! :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom