Insurance Woes - A Not So Simple Repair

[Henz]

Buy a new merc.

And learn to use a jack.

[ronburgundy]

I managed to put a hole in a tyre and crack a rim in my wife's Passat - $900ish to replace a single rim + tyre but definitely claimed it on insurance, alignment too

[Shyfrd]

No good mate. I'd be chasing the council myself if you were charged for repairs.

Freeze put up a good idea of checking the balance. For your sake, hope they're still buggered and get newies. As bad as that may sound :/

Sounds like an insurance company keen to take your money each month/year but not give back to their customers. I'd be telling them where to go if I was you..

Good luck and keep us posted

[JET50T]

Two weeks is actually pretty fair when you consider the big picture. The car has to be quoted by two repairers, then reviewed by the assessor and then the job will be won by whoever's quote is correct/cheapest. They then need to organise another tow to have the car taking to the workshop, who then has to slot the car into the production.

Here even if they are quiet and can pull the wheels off straight away, they still need to find two spares to fit your car because having a car immovable is a big cost to most panel/mechanical shops. Then as a general guide we allow 5 working days on all wheel repairs(at our shop) as they to can not drop what there doing and repair your wheels. Then new tires then have to be organised and delivered to either the wheel repairer or dropped to the new tyre fitter. After that they return to the shop, and hopefully are fitted within a reasonable time. The car then needs to be wheel aligned and checked for further suspension damage and more then likely road tested. Hopefully then detailed and given back to you.

If one person drops the ball, it can snowball and end up reflecting bad on the repairer whose out date is generally just trying to be realistic and not get your hopes up. Trust me when I say they dont want your car sitting there any longer then it needs to be.

Yes, most insurance companies will always choose to repair over replace if cheaper and safe. Id say your AMG wheels are very expensive new and as a general guide most repaired wheels only cost around $350-500. However if they are beyond repairing they will be the first to say so and give the repairer with a written report saying so. Imagine the problems that would arise if you had another accident and it was found to be due to buckled wheels. If in the end your really not happy with them, they will bend over backwards to make you happy.

There are now 8-9 major insurance companies that all fall under Suncorp insurance and Vero is just one. Shannons, AAMI, just car, Vero, CGU are all under the same name.

Sorry if I sound harsh, but working in the industry and doing/quoting jobs like these, I know all the hassles involved. Your best bet is getting in contact with where ever the car is as insurance companies can be slow to update customers. We often have customers coming in a huff saying they havent been updated when we have written documents confirming that the insurance companies have been updated.

[PookeyMaster]

Sounds like the insurance company are trying their best to weasel out of doing a proper job.

What model Merc do you have?

[CJF077]

What a ba$tard to happen to a new Merc. The insurance Co sound like a buch of tossers. I had a crack in the rear bumper of mine, bent the mesh and also cracked the insert. With QBE they gave an OK for an almost 10k repair and replaced the lot without raising an eyebrow. When I asked the assessor if they repair or replace he gave me an indignant look and said we only replace with new parts, personally I thought $500 worth of plastic welding would have made it good as new, but who am I to argue. Didn't lose my no claim bonus either.

I will look at that, because I still do not have the car back. The repairer rang me today and said to me Chris I am suprised they didn't want to replace the wheels but have chosen to repair. He said if that was the case you would have had your car back last week, and yes they are original AMG wheels.

I appreciate all the responses and to you JET50T for helping me understand the process in depth. Makes it a bit easier to digest.

In regards to using the jack, I will have to learn. I rang roadside due to the fact that the first thing I thought was to at least have it documented somewhere that i had in fact damaged the car via the pothole and to have record of my calls. In regards to the jack, it is in several pieces and was extremely confusing to use, unlike the Ford jacks so go figure. I will probably go into the dealership and get them to show me how to use it. No instructions either that i could find.

It is a 2012 C250 CDI with all the options including, panoramic sunroof, vision package, stereo upgrade (12 speakers + Dolby Digital 5.1) and bi xenon headlights, safety package, the AMG pack, bodykit, wheels, AMG trim. I shied away from the C63 AMG due to the cost, and fuel consumption. I wanted a fuel friendly (4.6L/100kms), luxury, sub 100k car and got that with my employer discount being in the top 100 worldwide companies I saved around 10k off the price. I think onroad was around the 92k mark (with the discount).

[TER80D]

If I was you I'd be pissed too. The premium on that vehicle would take into account the higher cost of repairs and replacement. I'm not sure about Mercedes but BMW include roadside assistance as part of the vehicle purchase price so as far as I would be concerned I've paid for a service then I should damn well be able to use it without feeling like I'm asking if I can go out and shoot someone.

It surprises me that AAMI comes under the same banner as the other insurers as I have had nothing but good dealings with AAMI whether it was replacing a windscreen to when our home got broken into. Fair enough that there is a claims process to follow but at the end of the day they chose the cheap option to repair instead of replace which then causes a flow on effect of inconvenience to their customer. If I was them I would be bending over backwards to keep said customer as there has already been a payout so I now need to keep that customer as long as possible to recoup the costs I've just incurred.

Fair enough too if the repairer has informed the insurance company of changes to any schedules but obviously the insurance company is failing in it's communication procedures by not giving you a call. If there is one thing I know it's that a customer would prefer to be called and told bad news than to be not called at all.

A change in insurance companies would certainly send the message that their performance in this case has been pretty poor and that maybe they should change their policies and procedures to retain their customers.

Just my 2c on the matter