I'm just about to get in touch with the insurance company in question to ask them how the f$%k can they claim the car is a write off for so little damage (Polo Gti 2001), see pic below. The car was hit on the side by an old geriatric who pulled out of a junction and drove right into the side of my brother car hitting him at low speed, it was 100% the fault of the old guy and he said at the time of the accident that it was all his fault but it appears his daughter works for an insurance company and when she heard about it the accident she advised him to admit to nothing, he told my brother this two days later. I guess the car is worth maybe 2000? or thereabouts. Anyone got an idea of how i can get the insurance company to deal with this rather than write the car off for what seems like nothing more than a minor bodywork fix.
I think the problem is what you see as minor damage the insurance company would say that the quarter panel and door would need replacing and with parts,paint and labour would be very close to what the car is worth. Replacing the quarter panel alone is not a small job and does take time. a decent bodyshop should be able to repair that without having to replace too much but insurance companys dont look at it like that.
I've just spoke to someone at the insurance company and they did say the entire quarter panel and door would be replaced and the estimate from the bodyshop was 2500, to me that sounds like someone in the bodyshop is bumping the price up so the car is written off and they can buy it, spend a few hundred fixing it and then either run it or sell it on. It's just had 1000 spent on it at the start of the summer, new shocks/springs, catalytic convertor + exhaust, full service, rear wheel bearings. The trouble is the car was collected from here in Dumfries & Galloway without my knowledge and driven by a spotty 20yr old down to a bodyshop in Morecambe, 150 miles away so it's a hassle to get any independent quotes for repair with the car being down there, my mate works for a bodyshop in Dumfries and i'm 100% convinced he could repair it for less than 500 so how could i get the insurance company to agree to that?. Am i within my rights to ask for the car to be brought back up here so i can get three independent quotes from local VBRA bodyshops that i know and trust?. There is no other damage apart from what you see in the pic above, surely the damage could be pulled out and filled or repaired to a decent standard. I'm pretty fecked off!, but not as fecked off as my bro and his gf.
If it was me i would be mega pi**ed off and i dont think anyone would blame you for being upset. Im sure if you said to the insurance company that you think the bodyshops quote is excessive and you would like to get some private quotes they should agree. I also think 2500 is excessive to repair that damage and im sure a really good bodyshop could easily repair that for a lot less than that. i hope you get a result from them.
Yeah, I've just emailed the pic to my mate who's worked in various VBRA approved bodyshops for the past 20 odd years and he say's that someone in the Bodyshop in Morecambe or perhaps the 20yr old spaz who redlined it away from my bro's house has their eyes on the car without any doubt in his mind that's why the quote is so high, i've to contact the insurance company and get the car brought back up here on a car transporter (150miles) to the VBRA approved bodyshop where he works and it'll cost less than 500 to repair. I'm looking forward to making this phonecall t'morn.
You should be entitled to insist on where you want it fixed, so long as the place can comply with the insurance company's minimum standards/qualifications. However, at 500 that's not going to be a cut out and weld in a new quarter panel i doubt. Speaking from experience of someone reversing into my mk2's quarter panel and foolishly (with hindsight) the bodyshop just pulled it out and obviously used some filler, seemed a great enough job at the time but several years down the line i'm now seeing cracks in it and wish i'd pushed to have a proper new panel done tbh. So i'd seriously consider how you get it repaired.
Cheers for the replies folks, i'm going to get in touch wi the insurance company later and arrange for the car to be brought back up - imagine writing off a Polo GTI for a scrape along the side? - no wonder our bloody insurance premiums are so high if the estimate to repair that is over 2500.
As mentioned above despite it being possible to make it look right for a lot less than that quote, insurance companies just get a quote to get the car properly back as new, genuine parts etc, and they might also be including cost of providing you a courtesy car etc.
