Mechanic Crashed My Car, Anything to Claim?

LMattbeard03 on 10/05/2022 - 22:17
Last edited 11/05/2022 - 15:45 by 1 other user

Hey guys,

Technician in a large dealership/service centre crashed my car causing damage to passenger side during "test drive". Car is a Ford Focus RS, so test drive, maybe joy ride who knows?

They've had it for a month now waiting for an insurance rep to look over to approve repairs, have been given a s*** loaner car in mean time.

Can I claim anything for the inconvenience or time taken?

Also, I only bought the car in Jan, so it had 1 month stat warranty when it went in, which is now expired.

Thanks team

Edit: Got a good call from them today, insurance assessors came today (coincidence?), and repairs have started.

Automotive Car Ford

Comments

  • oscargamer on 10/05/2022 - 22:26
    +1

    I know you are claiming on their insurance, but what insurance do you have yourself?

    • Mattbeard03 on 10/05/2022 - 22:34
      +2

      Claiming on their insurance, I have full comp.

      • AdosHouse on 10/05/2022 - 23:07
        +15

        No no, claim on your insurance and let your insurance get the repairs done. It will be done faster.

        • oscargamer on 11/05/2022 - 07:28
          +1

          Which is why I asked

        • USER DC on 11/05/2022 - 10:23

          Why would OP want to have a "Claim under his name"

          putting a claim will increase his premium, and also increase any other future Insurance providers quotes too, since they factor into account all claims made by policy holder whether be AT fault or NOT AT fault claims

          • pharkurnell on 11/05/2022 - 10:31
            +2

            @USER DC: Its a not at fault accident. the insurance will chase the dealer for the $. why bother with insurance if you wont use it?

            • USER DC on 11/05/2022 - 10:33
              -5

              @pharkurnell:

              why bother with insurance if you wont use it?

              Exactly why i dont pay for it,

              someone in my family really like to donate money to them, I have clearly told them I ain't paying the insurance company a single cent, they keep forcing there need to insurance blah blah blah, I tell them if so you pay it.

              • Quantumcat on 11/05/2022 - 10:58
                +2

                @USER DC: If you don't have insurance you have to do all the chasing and claiming through courts yourself. The mechanics here could tell OP to get lost and it would be a hard road ahead for OP to get money out of them and meanwhile have no car to drive.

                • USER DC on 11/05/2022 - 11:41
                  -1

                  @Quantumcat: Last and first time I bothered to make on comprehensive insurance, Was told by BINGLE They dont cover in comprehensive insurance, damage caused by mechanic, (mechanic worked on radiator and his improper work blew it up)

                  Since then never wanted to pay a single cent to these looters

                  • Quantumcat on 11/05/2022 - 12:29
                    +3

                    @USER DC: Damage while driving is different to mechanical damage. No insurance will cover you for mechanical problems. OP's case is damage while being driven.

  • sjj89 on 10/05/2022 - 22:26
    +1

    If they’ve had it for a month, then it was outside its 90 day dealer warranty when you took it in…

    Still a trash situation, but sadly I don’t see much recourse without taking the legal route

    • Mattbeard03 on 10/05/2022 - 22:35

      Very trash unfortunately I guess!

      • sjj89 on 10/05/2022 - 22:37

        I’m sure they’re also getting messed around by their insurer

        • Mattbeard03 on 10/05/2022 - 22:39

          Yeh, it's getting to the point where it's taking so so long to make anything happen, plus parts arent easy to get.

        • EightImmortals on 11/05/2022 - 06:51

          Wonder if they've paid their premiums?

  • aoeueoa on 10/05/2022 - 23:00
    +1

    There's no reason why you can't name the dealership as long as you are factual with your account.

    • Mattbeard03 on 10/05/2022 - 23:51
      +2

      Once I've got my car back 👍

    • AustriaBargain on 11/05/2022 - 00:28
      -1

      Actually mods will probably delete it if he names it here.

      • Moderatorhamza23 on 11/05/2022 - 15:52

        That is not true, there are regular posts naming businesses that users have had issues with. The user is welcome to mention the business if they wish/decide that is best for their circumstances.

  • Emerald Owl on 11/05/2022 - 00:49
    +2

    Tell them you are very upset and want a new, top of the line loaner car and a couple complimentary log book services.

    • fullmetal on 11/05/2022 - 08:44
      +2

      Is it still wise to go back there fro log book services?

      • Emerald Owl on 11/05/2022 - 09:07

        It’s going to be easier than getting equivalent value in cash.

        • USER DC on 11/05/2022 - 10:26
          +1

          Or getting scammed by them ?

          aka them charging for service while either not doing it fully, or not doing it at all, or even worse- they make situation worse, e.g. put wrong grade engine oil than recommended oil grade.

          I personally would never ever wanna go back to that place, and since it's dealership OP can simply go to another dealership (more like stealership honestly) if he wants to stick to service from dealers.

          You are best to get it serviced at a local independent trustworthy mechanic (most are not honest and trustworthy)

          • Mattbeard03 on 11/05/2022 - 15:42

            @USER DC: Only had to go to them as it was under warranty and had a little computer issue with the car (need special Ford scanners or something I'm assuming). Local mechanic is my go to for regular services, to many wrong oil stories from Ford dealers all over NSW.

            • USER DC on 11/05/2022 - 17:17

              @Mattbeard03: Once your car is out of warranty, try doing the service yourself, You'll get to know a lot more about your car, and ofcourse you'll take a better care of it than any mechanic (who just cares about getting job done and charging customers)

              • Mattbeard03 on 12/05/2022 - 09:15
                +1

                @USER DC: Not a bad idea! I do the performance parts myself on my previous car, only do the oil changes at the mechanic to get them to have a look over and deal with the oil. Been going there a long time and have worked with them before so trust their work.

    • pharkurnell on 11/05/2022 - 10:31

      They will laugh at him.

  • Brodo Faggins on 11/05/2022 - 01:10
    +1

    How bad is the damage? A panel or 2, or structural like A-frame?

    If latter, tell them to lodge at fault claim through their insurance to write off the car?

    Have to suck up the inconvenience though.

    • Mattbeard03 on 11/05/2022 - 15:43

      Non-Structural, not worried about it being fixed, just annoyed at the time its taken. Guess its time to start sucking!

  • Muzeeb on 11/05/2022 - 07:06
    +3

    My guess is drift mode was accidentally enabled prior to test drive.

    • Brian McGee on 11/05/2022 - 07:41

      D1ckhead drift mode, FIFY.

  • 87percent on 11/05/2022 - 08:13
    +1

    Happened to me a few years ago. Took ages for them to do anything (on their insurance). Ended up lodging on mine, and got it sorted in a couple of weeks.

    Some insurance companies, like aami, get you a rental if you have a not at fault accident until your car is back

    • Mattbeard03 on 11/05/2022 - 15:40

      Got a good call from them today, insurance assessors came today (coincidence?), and repairs have started.

  • GordonD on 11/05/2022 - 11:05

    Was this the orange Focus RS that was in the media reports a few weeks ago as being crashed by the mechanic on a test drive? I can't remember the details, but I remember that the circumstances were newsworthy enough to rate the news.

    • Mattbeard03 on 11/05/2022 - 15:39

      It was not no, luckily for me. Focus RS Mk3 in Blue.

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