My Fabia has been damaged on the near side, both doors scratched and dented and the front door now catches on the sill + front tyre damage. No sign of whoever caused the damage.

I have advised my insurance company and they are heading me towards their preferred repairer (not a Skoda outfit).

 

The question is, will any work they do e.g. replacing panels cause difficulties with my warranty which still has 2 years to go?  Please give me your thoughts on this and thank you in advance.

I think, by law, you can insist its done at a Skoda approved body shop. Certainly, with such a new car. Read this first. Phone them and ask, some insurers will organise it for you.

 

https://www.gocompare.com/car-insurance/approved-repairers/

 

 

Edited 22 October, 20187 yr by xman

Thanks for the link, I had seen the article earlier and it suggested that

 

"Most insurers will remove your right to use a courtesy car if you decide not to use their approved repairers"

 

Yet no right appears to exist for the supply of a courtesy car?   My insurance sells it as a stand alone addition for £20+ and then only if you use their preferred repairer.

 

The main problem is that if the repair costs more from a Skoda approved dealer then I would most likely be expected to pay the difference myself.

 

I can imagine Skoda would not deal with any warranty claims where they could show a third party had replaced a wing with a copy part.

The repairs have to be to Factory Specification for the sake of Paint & Corrosion Warranty.  (Better than Factory is good, because their finish can be **** IMO.)

 

So a VW Approved Repairer.  Even though they can be sh!t as well.

9 minutes ago, jonboy77 said:

The main problem is that if the repair costs more from a Skoda approved dealer then I would most likely be expected to pay the difference myself.

 

No. That would be illegal as it breaks the insurance contract terms. You only have to pay any excess specified in the policy schedule. The only unknown is your renewal premium which may or may not be increased based on the cost of the repair.  But you can shop around come renewal time and cost of repair will be irrelevant to a new insurer. Phone them and ask away. 

 

Edited 22 October, 20187 yr by xman

Hi Offski,

see that the repairer Rye street group are not a VW approved repair shop.

If you own the car and are keeping it or do not want issues but are using a repairer of your choice then be sure they are using original parts.

No need for a copy wing on a 1 year old car.

I own the car and it is hoped for the long run.  I will query the VW approval issue with the insurance co. Original parts I will insist on.

 

Thank you Xman and Offski, you have given me some questions to pose to both the garage and the Insurance co.

When this is done I will get a dash cam!

Who are the insurers? Check / ask about how long the repair would have a warranty and get it in writing if you want to be certain. Some insurers offer long warranties.

Edited 22 October, 20187 yr by xman

Insurers are Liverpool Victoria, LV=.  I'm beginning to wonder if they are being a bit too clever.

https://www.lv.com/itp/repair

You have picked upon an interesting point.. On picking up my new Roomster I read the the info about Skoda Ensure where if you are involved in a collision they act as a go-between between your insurance company and an approved Skoda workshop. I phoned up my insurance company and they had not heard of this arrangement and only repair damaged vehicles at their own approved workshops.

Ensure are third party, not really Skoda, ambulance chasers of the car insurance world. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accident_management

6 minutes ago, xman said:

https://www.lv.com/itp/repair

That was well spotted, cheers.

Someone wrecked the door on my wife's last Citigo. The insurers wanted her to use a non approved Skoda dealer but she argued against it and won without a fight..

Her insurers were Aviva at the time.

8 hours ago, xman said:

Who are the insurers? Check / ask about how long the repair would have a warranty and get it in writing if you want to be certain. Some insurers offer long warranties.

 

Which are worth essentially bugger all.

Some repairers use third party body panels.  Many moons ago my Son crashed his Fiat Panda 100. His Insurance company insisted it went to there Approved Body shop  inLeeds.

 

The panels didn't fit properly and my 4 year old Granddaughter could have a done a better paint job.  I also think Insurance Companies get back handers for sending them to " There " approved centres.

 

 

 

Edited 23 October, 20187 yr by Auric Goldfinger

20 hours ago, xman said:

Ensure are third party, not really Skoda, ambulance chasers of the car insurance world. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accident_management

But do they actually do the job by getting a Skoda approved dealer to do the repair?

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/50989/what-s-the-catch-with-volkswagen-s-ensurance-accident-management-

 

Your insurance company will hate you if you go with a third party accident management company and probably will be reflected in next years premium.

 

They milk money out of your claim in all sorts of ways, imflating the cost greatly, some goes to VW finance, most goes to the underlying companies and hire car companies.

 

 

WHO PROVIDES ENSURANCE?
ŠKODA Financial Services is a trading name of Volkswagen Financial 
Services (UK) Limited (“VWFS UK”), registered in England and Wales 
with company number 2835230. Registered office: Brunswick Court, 
Yeomans Drive, Blakelands, Milton Keynes, MK14 5LR.
Ensurance from ŠKODA Financial Services is sold and administered 
by Lawshield UK Limited, registered in England and Wales with 
company number 3360532. Registered office: Lawshield House, 
850 Ibis Court, Lakeside Drive, Centre Park, Warrington, Cheshire, 
WA1 1RL. Underwritten by UK General Insurance Limited on behalf 
of Great Lakes Insurance SE. Great Lakes Insurance SE is a German 
insurance company with its headquarters at Königinstrasse 107, 
80802 Munich. UK Branch office: Plantation Place, 30 Fenchurch 
Street, London, EC3M 3AJ.
VWFS UK, LawShield UK Limited, UK General Insurance Limited and 
Great Lakes Insurance SE are not part of the same corporate group.

 

https://insurewithskoda.co.uk/media/1092/32440_skoda-ensurance-coverbook-nav.pdf

Edited 23 October, 20187 yr by xman

40 minutes ago, RickW said:

But do they actually do the job by getting a Skoda approved dealer to do the repair?

 

You can ask your own insurance to use a Skoda approved repairer, note that very few Skoda dealers do body repairs, if you ask a dealer, they will also add extra cost to your claim.

On 23/10/2018 at 08:31, Auric Goldfinger said:

Some repairers use third party body panels.  Many moons ago my Son crashed his Fiat Panda 100. His Insurance company insisted it went to there Approved Body shop  inLeeds.

 

The panels didn't fit properly and my 4 year old Granddaughter could have a done a better paint job.  I also think Insurance Companies get back handers for sending them to " There " approved centres.

 

 

 

 

^ this.

 

My Octavia was repaired by my insurer's body shop and they did more damage than the truck that hit me. Some minor damage to the drivers door and wing mirror ended up needing two half body resprays, full replacement of all rubber seals on drivers side and and two alloys being refurbished.

 

So make sure you're happy with the shop it's going to VW approved or not.

22 minutes ago, Aspman said:

 

^ this.

 

My Octavia was repaired by my insurer's body shop and they did more damage than the truck that hit me. Some minor damage to the drivers door and wing mirror ended up needing two half body resprays, full replacement of all rubber seals on drivers side and and two alloys being refurbished.

 

So make sure you're happy with the shop it's going to VW approved or not.

 

And the insurer was? And body shop? (To warn others)

Some use Refurbished or just used parts.

On a year old car or even a 2 or near 3 year old car under manufacturers warranty it is for the insured to say on your bike.

Factory parts please.  Manufacturers Warranty to Factory Standard.

6 hours ago, xman said:

 

And the insurer was? And body shop? (To warn others)

 

It was ESure can't remember the bodyshop some big industrial unit in Fife. Clearly all they did was Insurance stuff. Quite a while ago now.

Edited 26 October, 20187 yr by Aspman