Been member of this forum for a while, but I don't post very often through a combination of being a one finger typist and just down right lazy. But what's happened to my poor coupe over the last few months has got me so angry I need a rant, it's going to be a long one so make yourself comfortable.

In January on way home, on the Chiswick round about, when an Italian women in her Hertz hire car, decides that she is in the wrong lane and pulls into my lane across chevrons into the side of me. Luckily I was going slow and nobody was hurt, but my coupe didn't get off so lightly.
Before
(sorry mods if I mess up the pics, it's my first time )

After,
Side View
Close up 1
Close up 2
Close up 3
Wheel

She denied it being her fault (in Italy if some one indicates to pull out in front of you it's their right of way apparently). She went back to Italy and Hertz insurers are contesting it stating that they are waiting to get her statement.

I not happy about all this but at the end of he day these things happen and it wasn't quite the end of the world.

My insurers finally decided it wasn't a right off and their approved Repairer A.Grover in Walton Upon Thames were going to fix it.

Got the phone call yesterday and it's all ready
Went to pick it up straight away, gladly paid my excess just to get back in it and it went all down hill from there.

They had sprayed the car down the damaged part a much darker grey!! Even to my untrained eye it was obvious. They had also reurbed my alloys on the damaged side of the car, Azev Ls's, but instead of polishing the outer rim and just lacquering it they had sprayed the whole wheel one colour! I now had one colour on one side of the car and another on the other side. While they went to get the manager, i check the rest of the car.

I found the front bonnet stay in the passenger foot well instead of holding up the bonnet.
The undamaged side of the cars rear wheel had a chunk taken out of it and a dangerously deep gouge in the tyre wall.
A dent in the bottom of the drivers door.
A large nick taken out of the inside of the same door where it looks like it was shut on something.

I was livid and I think the manager got this . I know the old girls getting on but as you can see fom my first pic she's in excelant condition and I keep it that way.

To be fair the manager was very apologetic and said he would see everything was rectified.

Well rant over, my finger now hurts, yet I'm feeling strangly better already.

i think they have been driving it. i would disable the engine myself knowing how bad some of these places are really

I REALLY feel for you, I have a similar issue at the moment, polish artic run into the rear of my coupe and then someone did a hit & run on the bonnet.

What a nightmare with the bodyshop, just go mad and demand its sorted A1 to your standard.

That is not good mate! I think your car is the best looking I have seen. Love the wheels and the kit and the colour and the.......

That is truly shocking

How on earth can these places survive in business? Must admit I'd be in touch with insurance company straight away to flag this up. Had a similar experience with a garage in Cumbria (won't name them yet......) who left paint runs on the largest part of Mrs Stan's Leon and didn't spray obvious bits
Insurer later ditched the workshop, nice result!

Hope you get this sorted and some sort of compensation as well?

OMG

Am shocked and feel really bad for you Chase the insurance company and the arage on the phone to them everda until it is all done again properly. If they have botched it that badly then demand a complete respray at a garage of your choosing!

Fccukers

Sit on the buggers until this is resolved.

Unfortunately, silver has to be about the worst colour to match as there isn't actually a lot of colour in it!

You may have to have more of the car sprayed to get it to look right.

The wheel thing is unforgivable and as for the door damage, I had the same problem with a garage when they pushed my open door into a gearbox that was lying around. I didn't notice the damage on the lower part of the inner door shut until I went to wash it.

It is disgraceful, but they are obliged to put it right. Inform your insurers as the garage will not want to loose their approved status with the insurance company.

Don't worry, it will get sorted, but you will have to give the garage another opportunity of putting it right first.

What a nightmare.

I remember years ago with by Met Black Uno Turbo, the gimps at the garage had been taking the car for long drives. Grrr. My car, not there's!!

Goin forward, is there somewhere on this forum that we could have a single page for recommended garages. Bodyshops, Mechanics, and other types of specialists that we've had good experiences with and want to pass on those experience to others?

We all know Powerfiat are excellent
We all know Motortech are excellent
We all know Alternative Autos are excellent

But a complete list of companies might be really useful?

Or maybe this has already been done?

Do you know what does my head in is they seem to get away with it. Insurance companies must pay out a fortune on dodgy repairs that then cost hundreds if not thousands in putting right - legal issues, loss of customer etc.

And then we end up paying higher premiums because of it!!!

Anyway really sorry to hear this mate, make sure you get a resolution your happy with

Insurance approved only body shops are all slapstick masters with no standards.

All YTS people working on the cars and they dont care.

Just like the typical driver, KA for a little wing and lamp, hand it back cleaner, new tax tisk holder and a couple of stickers and job done.


I have to laugh im afraid when people say there going to an approved repairer as i know it will be a shite job.

i had a few scuffs and scratches about a year ago which needed sorting. was recommended a local bodyshop on a mini industrial estate. turned up and the place was a mess, damaged cars all over the shop and the polish guy who owned it didn't really speak much english and wanted to be paid in cash. for some reason i left them the keys and took away the L reg corsa courtesy car. came back a couple of days later and they had truly done a fantastic job and i was utterly stunned. just goes to show first hand recommendation goes a long way. am sure these guys were not approved repairers.

Carlt, daft question,do you take insurance work or private only? if the time comes i have to claim!

Yep of course, not too much of i just pick the jobs i want and only usually coupe work.

Then its on my terms and prices, which is why ill never be approved.

What happened to me today is nothing in comparison to your's Fett, sorry to see your damage and to the best colour coupe aswell..

Best colour???

Now I am used to Sprint and Broom boys saying that even the odd Red LE and of course Vinci

But silver?

Thats a good idea and I was thinking of something along similar lines the other day, but more of a product review. I guess that the forum has to be careful that they dont end up libeling someone so not sure how that would work.

Yes, here . second sticky in FAQs, but not yet bodyshops.



Hit the nail on the head.

Pete

Shall we start a "Cheesed Off With The Bodyshop Who's Just Messed Up My Pride & Joy Club"?? I'm member number 2!!

Thanks for all the sympathetic replies.

Spoke to my insurers this morning, they said they were going to make a note of it on my file and if all the repairs were not carried out to my satisfaction they would get involved.

It’s not even the fact that the spray job they done was bad, it’s all the other damage. As with most people of this forum I’m quite fastidious when it comes to my car, but what would have happened if the average person had just picked up their car and driven away. There was a fair chunk of side wall missing out of the tyre. They obviously knew about it, as somebody had put that wet look tyre cleaner on the walls and left the rest of the car dirty inside and out, my once clean engine bay covered in white body shop dust.

The car has been driven as well, 2 miles. I have no problem with this as the back wheel was hit and I suppose they have to check it still drives straight. The problem is you just know the warming up and cooling down rules aren’t going to apply.

As I said the manager was pretty apologetic and said he would sort it out, I’ll just have to wait and see.

BE VERY insistent that any more bollox from them & trading standards WILL be involved, including a letter of complaint to the Insurance company ( make sure it's someone in authority, not the silly bint on the phone ).

I would probably open a can of "fook-up" on the whole place if they did that to my mota.

But then again, I ALWAYS insist on MY bodyshop, always go by word of mouth if possible from others who have had work done & ask to see examples of their work if you are unsure.

Remember, a shiny paintjob doesn't mean a good job, it's th things like lack of overspray, nibbing of the paint to remove surface debris, masking up lines, the general reassembly of the car & IT SHOULD always be presented back cleaned & polished..

if not, then you need to get

I did that and it's come back to bite me royally on the aris...ironically my neighbour has just got her Rover 25 back from the very same 'approved' bodyshop I turned down when suggested by Norwich Union and it's spot-on. I took my Coupe to a place recommended by several people and the rear-quarter looks like a patch-work quilt...there's just no rhyme nor reason to it

Taz, I agree and would have gone for a bodyshop I knew if I was back home, but don't know any up here in London. Went with the insurers approved because I can always go back to them and say I'm not accepting the car as it is + you'd be suprised how many places don't give a courtesy car, this wasn't an option for me.

Luck of the draw I suppose at the end of the day, though it does make me wonder if things would have been different if it was a newer car and not a P reg Fiat, no excuse I know but...

Take a look at some new cars that get done, doesn't matter what it is to be honest.

Well, finally got a call the other day to come and check the work done before it was finished.

Paint work is so much better; it would seem they have done the whole side of the car this time. New tyre as well.

BUT, the wheels have a groove all the way around the outer edge; it runs from a smooth polished surface to a step at the edge just about a cm from the tyre and it has what I can only explain as the grooves like a vinyl LP all the way around the wheel in this 1cm area.

Spoke to the manager, he said he sent them away to be done and that’s they way the company did them. Gave up at this point and decided to just have my car back, was told it would be ready Monday.

Saturday morning decided to go back and take a friend for a second opinion. Garage was closed but my car was on the forecourt. This is when I noticed the shut line on the drivers door is way out, my first thought was the door was open, it wasn’t, although the car was unlocked and didn’t have its alarm on!

Called my insurance company again, the person I spoke to was very helpful and said don’t accept the car if it has not been put back to its original condition and that they would make some enquiries and call me back Monday.

At this point I’m ready to give up, my car is a very well looked after example, but if its not going to be in the same condition as it was before not sure I want it back. Am I being to picky?

Any help on what my next step should be would be appreciated.

The groove on the wheels sounds like the tyre machine marking the alloys when they fitted new tyres.
I wouldn't except it back and would point out every detail that was incorrect.

No the grooves are deeper and are where the wheel has been machined to take out the scratches on the outer edge, i just expected them to polish them so they were less visable and more like the rest of the rim.

Very shabby repair Fett, Your picture shows that it should be polished so my advice is to insist on them being done again.

Do NOT except it mate.

Fight for it to be done properly they are a business do not take it back unless it is as good as new.

Look at Nigels example fight them and you could get the whole car resprayed at a place of your choosing and done properly too same for the alloys if not new ones. Oh and they replaced one tyre not both??

Well I spent pretty much all day yesterday on the phone to my insurance company. They are going to send out an independant engineer to look at my car and assess it. This could take upto a week.

Haven't driven my car since Jan somehow the courtesy car (Toyota Aygo) doesn't quite replace the driving experience.

sedicivalvole, the tyres weren't damaged in the accident, the damage was done to one of the tyres after the car was taken off for repairs (not even on he same side of the car where the accident damage is). It's obviously been driven and somebody not realising how wide the car actually is coupled with the coupes excellent turning circle, have clipped a kerb with the rear wheel. Quite hard by the state of the tyre!

I'd sell it and get a fast car !