**** sake :(

I would be almost certain they would have used some filler.

Its almost impossible to pull out that sort of damage to a perfectly smooth panel finish.

The only way that they wouldnt have used at least a small skim of filler is if they welded metal to fill the bits that couldnt be perfectly pulled and ground down.

I only really hear of that being done on classic cars that have much thicker sheet body panels than the thinner modern ones.
 
Trigger_Happy said:
I would be almost certain they would have used some filler.

Its almost impossible to pull out that sort of damage to a perfectly smooth panel finish.

The only way that they wouldnt have used at least a small skim of filler is if they welded metal to fill the bits that couldnt be perfectly pulled and ground down.

I only really hear of that being done on classic cars that have much thicker sheet body panels than the thinner modern ones.
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Well, I had a quick tap around the affected area, and if they have used filler, I can't detect it. Either way, the repair is top notch.
 
They used filler, 100%. Don't worry about that though.

One thing I will say, is check the inside of the panel. My S15 has had a bit of work on the rear quarter, they used those weld on dent pullers. I guess the heat from welding must have burned away the coating on the inside and now there are plenty of tiny little spots of rust in there. This annoys me.
 
Looks like a great result :) will take note of the repair place, have struggled to find a decent one around here so will give them a shout in future if (unfortunately) needed.
 
Update 2:

So, the car was repaired to excellent standard as per the last update. A few weeks after I had the car back, I phoned up my insurance company to see what the status of the claim was. Apparently, the other party was disputing liability for the claim.

Here we go, I thought :/ The other party apparently disputed the claim on the basis that I had failed to indicate. I pretty much laughed down the phone. I did indicate, and even if I hadn't it was a lame defence and doesn't justify driving into someone. My insurer asked me to send over all my photographs so they could fight my case; they agreed liability was clearly with the other party.

I went one step further and not only sent my photos, but a full diagram of the accident, and a written statement of exactly what had happened, time of day, conditions, all that stuff, and sent it off to my insurer so that they can forward it to the claims handler working for the other party's insurance.

Another couple of weeks go by, and I phone up again to check what's happening. "Oh, we have received your statement and photos, but haven't sent them to the other party's insurer yet...we'll do that now". Not sure why the delay, but OK.

Another couple of weeks go by and I phone again. "We are just waiting for the other party to respond. We'll chase them now". Fine.

About a month goes by and I phone again to check what's going on. Claim is still "on-going". I ask how often they chase the other insurer for updates, "Oh, we chase them every two weeks". I ask them to keep my updated as to the progress of the claim and leave it at that.

Another few months go by and I hear nothing. Being busy with work and moving house, I don't bother to chase them up much. About a month ago I ring them again on a Sunday and ask for an update. "We still haven't heard back from the other insurer....I cant ring them now as they will be closed, but I will do so first thing on Monday and give you a call back". Great.

Another month goes by and I've heard nothing - not even a call back to say nothings happened. Last week, I receive a renewal notification, which is due mid September. They've already halved my NCB and added about £300 to my premium, even though the claim was still "Pending".

Not happy, as the last time I phoned I stressed that my renewal was due and I wanted an update on the claim in case it affected that. Phoned them up today and sounded off a bit about the situation. Got promised that the other insurer would be contacted today and I would receive a call back before the end of the day.

Finally got a call back a couple of hours ago. The other insurer has finally realised that despite the protestations of their customer, they don't have a case, and admitted full liability. As a result of me lodging a complaint for the poor response and feedback I've been getting from my own insurer, they are sending me a cheque for the excess + £50 compensation as a gesture of goodwill. They have also notified their renewals team that my full NCB is to be reinstated, so I can phone them up later after getting some comparative quotes and sort out renewal/switching as necessary :D

Quite a long and drawn out procedure for what should have been a simple case, however I'm pleased with the outcome. I should have claimed directly with the other party's insurer. It would at least mean less hassle with my own insurer come renewal time.

Glad it's sorted now though - lesson definitely learnt.

tl;dr - Other party ended up disputing, claiming I didn't indicate, as though that somehow justifies driving into me. I send off evidence. Insurance companies twiddle their thumbs for nine months before settling in my favour and giving me £50 for not bothering to get back to me. Win.
 
I had a similarly infuriating time sorting out my claim from March this year, including an extra £50 "goodwill" oddly enough - only mine was settled as a split liability despite my initial protest (quickly realised there would be no way to prove it)

Every time I phoned the insurer I felt like they weren't interested, they seemed to want to give the other side infinite time to respond despite only needing a simple response or information - in fact I only found out it was actually settled and that half my excess was on its way back to me by phoning to chase yet again.

The whole process was crap quite frankly, it wasn't a difficult claim to resolve yet has taken 5 months. I feel for anyone who has a complicated claim. This is the total opposite to the only other one I've ever had, near enough 10 years ago now where it was all sorted within a few weeks.
 
glad it's finally settled :D had a look at the google maps again and if you click down the road a bit it changes from green green grass to snow xD little google map time warp hehe :p tbu that is a hell of a long time to be chasing up the other company... you'd think they'd be on their case weekly at least as it's their money they are trying to get back... not yours :p

to be fair after my accident I had a letter from the insurance saying they were chasing up the claim from the other insurers. never got any other correspondence. come renewal time I mentioned this and they just shrugged it off and said nothing on their system so must have been sorted :p insurance was cheaper and still had what little NCB I had before :p
 
Conscript said:
Update 2:

So, the car was repaired to excellent standard as per the last update. A few weeks after I had the car back, I phoned up my insurance company to see what the status of the claim was. Apparently, the other party was disputing liability for the claim.

Here we go, I thought :/ The other party apparently disputed the claim on the basis that I had failed to indicate. I pretty much laughed down the phone. I did indicate, and even if I hadn't it was a lame defence and doesn't justify driving into someone. My insurer asked me to send over all my photographs so they could fight my case; they agreed liability was clearly with the other party.

I went one step further and not only sent my photos, but a full diagram of the accident, and a written statement of exactly what had happened, time of day, conditions, all that stuff, and sent it off to my insurer so that they can forward it to the claims handler working for the other party's insurance.

Another couple of weeks go by, and I phone up again to check what's happening. "Oh, we have received your statement and photos, but haven't sent them to the other party's insurer yet...we'll do that now". Not sure why the delay, but OK.

Another couple of weeks go by and I phone again. "We are just waiting for the other party to respond. We'll chase them now". Fine.

About a month goes by and I phone again to check what's going on. Claim is still "on-going". I ask how often they chase the other insurer for updates, "Oh, we chase them every two weeks". I ask them to keep my updated as to the progress of the claim and leave it at that.

Another few months go by and I hear nothing. Being busy with work and moving house, I don't bother to chase them up much. About a month ago I ring them again on a Sunday and ask for an update. "We still haven't heard back from the other insurer....I cant ring them now as they will be closed, but I will do so first thing on Monday and give you a call back". Great.

Another month goes by and I've heard nothing - not even a call back to say nothings happened. Last week, I receive a renewal notification, which is due mid September. They've already halved my NCB and added about £300 to my premium, even though the claim was still "Pending".

Not happy, as the last time I phoned I stressed that my renewal was due and I wanted an update on the claim in case it affected that. Phoned them up today and sounded off a bit about the situation. Got promised that the other insurer would be contacted today and I would receive a call back before the end of the day.

Finally got a call back a couple of hours ago. The other insurer has finally realised that despite the protestations of their customer, they don't have a case, and admitted full liability. As a result of me lodging a complaint for the poor response and feedback I've been getting from my own insurer, they are sending me a cheque for the excess + £50 compensation as a gesture of goodwill. They have also notified their renewals team that my full NCB is to be reinstated, so I can phone them up later after getting some comparative quotes and sort out renewal/switching as necessary :D

Quite a long and drawn out procedure for what should have been a simple case, however I'm pleased with the outcome. I should have claimed directly with the other party's insurer. It would at least mean less hassle with my own insurer come renewal time.

Glad it's sorted now though - lesson definitely learnt.

tl;dr - Other party ended up disputing, claiming I didn't indicate, as though that somehow justifies driving into me. I send off evidence. Insurance companies twiddle their thumbs for nine months before settling in my favour and giving me £50 for not bothering to get back to me. Win.
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Just think how much inconvenience and stress could have been avoided by being a little more considerate and "Flashing" the RR driver out as you approached the junction! ;)
 
Pretty shocking how long this has taken, the guy had to give way whether you was going straight or right don't know how they can entertain a counter claim.
 
Orionaut said:
Just think how much inconvenience and stress could have been avoided by being a little more considerate and "Flashing" the RR driver out as you approached the junction! ;)
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I was the last in the line of traffic, that's why he pulled out. So I wouldn't of thought it was inconsiderate to not let him out just to save him half a second of further waiting. Also, if you take a moment to look at the map of the junction, if I had stopped, I may have been blocking the other side of the cross roads.

Gaygle said:
Another "dash cam would have saved a lot of hassle" moment too!
Click to expand...

I guess, but only if recorded enough sound detail to make out my indicators being active, over the sound of my Girls Aloud megamix.
 
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Conscript said:
Well, I had a quick tap around the affected area, and if they have used filler, I can't detect it. Either way, the repair is top notch.
Click to expand...

Did you ask the body shop what they did?

If that was an insurance job coming into our place we'd have just fitted a new wing rather than faffing about with panel pulling and filler.
 
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