**** sake :(

[b0rn2sk8]

Fox - you say just to inform your insurers, if i were to have an accident i always thought call your insurers and leave it all to them

What is the process you are suggesting?

Call theirs and make them deal with it.

As Fox said, if you call yours they will repair the damage the same and reclaim the expense off the 3rd party. It will remain a fault claim until all expense is recovered.

If all is not recovered then you have a fault claim and loose your NCB. If you have to renew while your claim is still in progress, you loose your NCB until it is resolved (higher premium) and if the 3d party contests the claim then theese things can take months or even years to sort out if you have to go to court.

You will also get cheapest hire car they can get away with, not like for like which you can get off a 3rd party if they are paying. You can also choose the body shop of your choice, not theirs.

 

[naefeart]

Hope you enjoy having filler on your car. Its this exact reason i ended up parting ways with my new Clio 200 Cup prematurely, its just never the same again

A bit of filler makes no difference if the repair is 1st class. No-one will ever know unless they go around the car with a magnet. If the damage was structural I would agree with your comment, for the op its purely cosmetic. Wouldn't make sense to change the car for another afterwards and be out of pocket.

Hope it all gets sorted out with little fuss. I'm dreading when the snow comes, it creates carnage around here with lots of silly accidents that could easily be avoided if people understood how to drive to the conditions.

 

[Conscript]

If you were turning right at a T, and he was turning right out the T, and the impact is on the back side of your car, I don't see what indicators have to do with anything, surely your well past the indication stage in to completing the manoeuvre. Did you cut the T at all?

I am pretty sure my admiral insurance says you must not admit fault anyways. :/

I didn't cut the corner, no. When I arrived at the junction, the RR was already sitting almost right on the give way line waiting to pull out. Given how big they are, I actually remember making a conscious effort to make my turn wider than usual because he was quite far forward.

A bit of filler makes no difference if the repair is 1st class. No-one will ever know unless they go around the car with a magnet. If the damage was structural I would agree with your comment, for the op its purely cosmetic. Wouldn't make sense to change the car for another afterwards and be out of pocket.

That makes me feel better. Unfortunately, the rear wing isn't a separate panel, it's part of the roof member and the side skirt as one piece. As long as it looks as it did before the accident, I will be content.

 

[[TW]Fox]

I have done mine through Honda Accident Management as my car is under warranty and this doesn't effect my insurance and excess. Ever heard of it or a similar service? I know you aren't a Honda driver but just curious.

This sort of service is very common, they will sort everything and then aim to recover the costs from the third party insurer.

 

[Matt82]

Rocket bunny time, amazing

Just had to educate myself

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=r...ms7Qbem4DoAg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=677

 

[Muffin`]

?

 

[Matt82]

Just lol That has to be a photochop?

 

[SarGara]

A bit of filler makes no difference if the repair is 1st class. No-one will ever know unless they go around the car with a magnet. If the damage was structural I would agree with your comment, for the op its purely cosmetic. Wouldn't make sense to change the car for another afterwards and be out of pocket.

It doesnt matter that other people will never know, you know and its in the back of your mind. The expensive brand new car is now no longer perfect regardless of how well you have looked after it until this point, its proper gutting. That for me was the reason to change after I had similiar rear quarter panel damage on the Clio and why i mentioned it.

Have to wait and see how OP feels following the work.

 

[rodenal]

Eh? They'll pull most of it out and skim over with filler - complete non issue, only difficult bit of that will be the line running up tje rear quarter and ensuring it looks right. As said above you'd never even know if done right.

What else are they going to do, cut out and weld whole new panel sections in for what is relatively minor damage?

 

[Conscript]

What else are they going to do, cut out and weld whole new panel sections in for what is relatively minor damage?

That's exactly what they've said they will do.

 

[rodenal]

Really?? Very surprised but that's a good result nonetheless

 

[Muffin`]

A Porsche bodyshop (best, innit) wanted to do the same on my 16 year old DC2s rear quaters but as they weren't confident with lead times for parts they couldn't commit to the work. Coincidentally I've been waiting over a year for the rear bumper to arrive from Japan from the same claim......

 

[MOOGLEYS]

That's exactly what they've said they will do.

I think I would rather a bit of filler than having weld points where they have cut the car. My mind would be more worried about the welds failing than a bit of filler tbh.

 

[Havana_UK]

That's exactly what they've said they will do.

Very common on modern cars to replace damaged panels in this way. The repairers say that the metalwork used these days is so thin that it's very hard work and time consuming to get a good quality repair, so it's often cheaper (because it's so much quicker) to replace the damaged panel with a new one.

 

[Dogbreath]

I think I would rather a bit of filler than having weld points where they have cut the car. My mind would be more worried about the welds failing than a bit of filler tbh.

Why would welds fail? Unless it's been done by someone with literally no welding experience this is so unlikely it's not even worth considering.

The worst aspect, by far, of having major panels replaced is the increased likelihood of having rust problems in the future.

 

[Conscript]

I think I would rather a bit of filler than having weld points where they have cut the car. My mind would be more worried about the welds failing than a bit of filler tbh.

Very common on modern cars to replace damaged panels in this way. The repairers say that the metalwork used these days is so thin that it's very hard work and time consuming to get a good quality repair, so it's often cheaper (because it's so much quicker) to replace the damaged panel with a new one.

When the damage was assessed, the technician actually told me that in general, repairs are "better" (although I suspect he meant 'easier'). He was telling me they have machines which can pull the panels back to within 1mm of their original shape - as opposed to panel replacement which means cutting out the old panel, welding in a replacement and reinstating window trim, etc.

However, he seemed to think panel replacement was the best option in this case (perhaps the pictures don't show it that well, but it was quite heavily dented). There's also the fact that the car is less than a year old with barely 6K on the clock, so I imagine that the extra labour and cost is justified.

Personally I'm happy with that - it seems the more complete solution, as it should only be the weld points across the C-pillar and door sill (where the old one will be cut away) where I should have to worry too much about finish.

As for welds failing - I've never heard of this happening on body panels, so it bothers me a lot less than worrying about the quality of a pulled/filled repair.

 

[MOOGLEYS]

I just do not trust welders to do a perfect job, Just me I suppose. I have seen quite large dents pulled and fixed without any welding or even filler but it is very specialist and takes a long time.

 

[Conscript]

Update:

After expecting to be without the car for a while yet, I got a call yesterday afternoon that it was ready. Went down this morning and it was sitting in the carpark, so I started looking it over. You wouldn't know that it's been involved in an accident - the panel looked brand new again.

As I was checking the C-pillar and the door sill seeing if I could spot any cut lines, the guy came out. I asked him if they'd replaced the panel. "Oh no....we were able to pull it back to shape". I was impressed - it looks immaculate, and there has been no filler used. The only sign that there has been any work done is evident only if you get on your hands and knees and look into the arch; where the panel is bent inwards to connect with the arch liner, there was a very slight 'kink', but it's not noticeable unless you either look for it or run a hand around the inside of the arch.

I'm well chuffed to be honest - I honestly thought they'd cut a new panel in. In fact, I wouldn't of known if he hadn't told me it was repaired. So, if I may, I'll give a big recommendation to GL Coachworks, Sidcup. They were friendly and courteous throughout, very accommodating and able to have the car back to it's former glory in just over a week at an understandably busy time of year.

As for their workmanship, I'll let the pictures do the talking - they even gave the car a good clean and polish and valeted the interior nicely

Side profile has been restored;

Not a great shot of the refurbed wheel, but it has been properly recut. I can't remember the name of the refurb company - the bodyshop gave me their brochure and it's in the car. I know the place is based in Sheerness, so I'll update the thread later. Great job by them too, and slightly cheaper than Lepsons, so I might approach them later for my remaining wheels.

 

[wingman]

Chuffed for you mate!