Collision this morning - any tips on getting best quality repairs?

Lewis · Jun 6, 2017

Unfortunately a car drove into our Cali this morning - a low speed collision and no harm done to me or my fellow passenger but totally gutting as I've never been involved in any collisions before and I just can see £££ signs all around. Damage is to the rear passenger side, big crack on the side of the bumper and not clear on any further damage yet as the rain is so bad it's hard to get a proper look. We're insured with Safeguard and despite the best efforts of the other party to do it 'off book' we'll call our insurer this morning but just wanted to ask if anyone has any advice on how to make sure our Cali is repaired to a high standard? Anyone have any experience of claims with Safeguard and whether we can push for a VW approved bodyshop?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

WelshGas · Jun 6, 2017

Lewis said:
Unfortunately a car drove into our Cali this morning - a low speed collision and no harm done to me or my fellow passenger but totally gutting as I've never been involved in any collisions before and I just can see £££ signs all around. Damage is to the rear passenger side, big crack on the side of the bumper and not clear on any further damage yet as the rain is so bad it's hard to get a proper look. We're insured with Safeguard and despite the best efforts of the other party to do it 'off book' we'll call our insurer this morning but just wanted to ask if anyone has any advice on how to make sure our Cali is repaired to a high standard? Anyone have any experience of claims with Safeguard and whether we can push for a VW approved bodyshop?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

If you want the 3 year warranty to remain intact then it must be done at a VW Approved Body Repair shop. You must communicate this to Safeguard when you submit your claim. I would suggest you get a quote from your Dealerships recommended VW Approved Body Shop so that you know what your dealing with. It may just be the Bumper or could be structural damage beneath.

andyinluton · Jun 6, 2017

I would be contacting the other partys insurance company direct & claiming straight from them.

Ive just been through this with my other vehicle, you should find that they are so relieved that you are not going through an accident management company that they will bend over backwards to help.

You should insist on a VW repairer, a like for like hire car & obviously no excess to pay.

The company I dealt with provided me with a Porsche 911 Turbo convertible - it cost them about £75/ day from their specialist provider, a 3rd party management company would have charged them £500+
If I had gone through my own insurers I would have got a sign written Micra & paid the insurance excess which I would have tried to recover later.

Loz · Jun 6, 2017

Give VW Ensurance a call they are VW's own claims management business who will make sure its repaired properly.

briwy · Jun 8, 2017

Our rear bumper was damaged while the van was parked by some fool in France. Drivers side was hanging off and it looked terrible. I managed to bodge it with self tappers and duck tape to get home and told the insurance. I then took it to our local body shop and he fixed it good as new for £320. As the excess was £250 I didn't bother to pursue it through the insurance so might be worth having a chat locally before going through the insurance with all the consequent hassle.

ChrisB · Jul 9, 2017

My apologies,
I misread the date of the original post si I have deleted my comments.
I hope you have sorted out your problem

Regards

Chris

Lewis · Jul 9, 2017

An update on this and a positive experience.

We were concerned about getting our insurer to use a local VW body shop and so went along to begin with to get an estimate from VW Wooburn Green. Whilst there we were persuaded to use their preferred claims handler (Easidrive) rather than go through our insurance in order to guarantee they would repair it where we wanted and we'd have a replacement vehicle whilst it was being repaired

I was slightly anxious and sceptical about this but the other party had been very uncooperative (aggressive and withholding details) despite being clearly at fault so I was even more determined to make sure we got everything sorted as well as we could for us. I notified our insurer for information only and was reassured that they would take over at any point if we became dissatisfied with the claims management company.

Process was very straightforward, 15min conversation on the phone followed by a very standard looking form (including sketch) and a request for photos via email or text. What followed can only be described as exceptional service and communication including follow up calls to inform us of progress and email notifications at each stage (paperwork received, other party accepting liability, assessor visit pending, ready to book in). When booked in the replacement car process was handled efficiently and we were happy with the vehicle provided and the fact it was delivered and collected smoothly (they offered to source us a California but I thought this was unnecessary for a week).

All dealt with in just under a month and we have a new looking Cali again with a brand new bumper. Very happy. VW can charge some crazy prices though, invoice was for nearly £1500 and that doesn't include the replacement car. Thankfully we didn't even have to pay an excess.

Would recommend this process to anyone else involved in a similar situation