Damaged new car! Opinions please

TinyMe

TinyMe

TinyMe

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9 Sep 2021
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Location
London
My cousin is getting his first car on finance, it will be brand new and fitted with a black box. (He’s just passed his test)

It was on its way to be delivered today when he got a call to say his car had been damaged during transport so they need to take it back and fix it. (It was being transported with 2 or 3 other cars)

Turns out this ‘damage’ meant that the back of the car was completely smashed up.

The car company is going to provide him with a hire car then give him his car once it’s been fixed. They will also refund him some money and pay for insurance etc. for the hire car.

This is supposed to be a brand new car and now it’s damaged and probably won’t be the same as it was before, but my cousin is still happy to take it even though it’s been significantly damaged. The company have told him that the accident won’t show up under his name, but it will obviously show up with the car.

What is everyone’s opinions on this? Would you still accept the car once fixed? Or would you ask for a new one? What are the pros and cons of still accepting it?

TIA!
 
I'd ask for a completely new one.
The damage has to be declared on the car and it will forever have a Category attached to it that lowers the value of the car.
 
Once a car has been in a crash and repaired, it's never the same as it was (e.g. as good as new)... panels don't line up perfectly, respray colors look different in the sun light, with probable over spray on other areas of the car, strange rattles and squeaks that weren't there before, the list goes on... Repair companies and insurance companies always hire the lowest bidder, and it shows in the quality of their work. I once had to send my car back 3 times after a supposed "repair", and you could spot the issues within about 5 seconds of looking at it.

It is true that you would have to declare its been in a crash and repaired when you come to sell it.

Definitely ask for a new car. If he hadn't even taken delivery of it and signed for it's receipt, was it even his car yet?
 
They want to delivery a category damaged car as new and not offering a substantial discount.

I’d only accept if they were knocking 1/3 of value off otherwise refuse.
 
When I claimed on the insurance for a car park incident I had with my old 107 it came back looking better than it did before, mind you they used a very reputable repairer and most definitely not the cheapest.
 
Absolutely not, if the backend has been smashed in that badly new car or GTFO.

Maybe if it was a parking dent or a transport scratch in the paint sure, but a caved in back end. Nope.
 
I would reject the car without question and insist on a new one.

I have no doubt the repairs will be done properly, but in a few months to a few years time he may start to notice things like colour mismatches, rattles, leaks, slight panel misalignment and of course there could be issues when selling it.

The company should ideally provide a hire car until such time a new replacement can be provided.
 
TinyMe said:
The company have told him that the accident won’t show up under his name, but it will obviously show up with the car.
Click to expand...

Have they literally told him the car will have an insurance write off marker on it before he even collects it?

Absolutely no chance i'd be accepting that unless they were offering it for 50% off or something.

Forget whether it'll be repaired correctly or not etc. etc. nobody in their right mind should be paying new car money for something that's a registered write off.
 
I'd want half the value in a refund or a new car. Simple as that.

He's currently got new car excitement blinkers on at the moment. Don't let him be a noob.
 
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