So to continue the story, I dropped the car off at the repairer today and they were taking the side of the insurance company with repairing the bar and not replacing it after I talked about the strength of the alloy bar being compromised due to the accident and that I drive in remote areas quite often and would rather have the bar replaced instead of repaired. I tried to get them on side but they too just like the insurance company assessment centre were only interested in repairing the bar.
I then mentioned the possibility of having my insurance company pay me out for the repair cost, so I could use it towards purchasing a new bull bar. That was when the repairer showed me the quote they submitted to my insurance company to the value of $280 for the repair. I couldn't believe it. They obviously went in with the cheapest quote to win the job. My bull bar was bent at both the wings, the centre tube was slightly bent out of alignment and new steel brackets were needed. They said the bar would be sand blasted and polished, the guard was dislodged and the white panel above the front left tyre was slightly kinked. All that fixed for $280?? I don't think so. He did mention that if they did find more damage after pulling things off then the bill goes up obviously, and if upon further inspection the bull bar needed to be replaced then they'd do that too. But for the time being he was only focused on repairing it for next to nothing (even though the accident wasn't my fault). I gave him a quote I received from a 4wd store for a cheap steel bull bar in black should they want to replace it as it was half the cost of an alloy bar. He took it just in case but still said it's not likely they'll replace the bar. And not likely the insurance company would pay me the repair cost towards purchasing a new bar.
I also pointed out the fact that the front 3 bolts holding in the bash plate were stripped out from the impact of the collision. The left and middle ones were stripped almost all the way out and the right hand one had fallen out. He was quick to jump on that too and blame it on corrosion as the bolts don’t strip out of bash plates from collisions. I know that they did because they’ve always been in there tight for all the years I’ve owned the car and then they were loose and one was missing after the collision. But he knew best obviously and the only corrosion on those bolts was a light orange coloured surface to the thread and that’s it.
I’ve decided that if they choose to the repair the bar and not replace it then I’m cancelling my insurance policy asap afterwards and opening up a new one with someone else as this isn’t how you should treat someone who’s had a 15 year insurance policy with the one company. I was involved in 4 accidents I think prior to 2003 and only one of which was my fault. The insurance company never knew about that one because I paid the $2,300 for the repairs myself. Of the two accidents I was involved in since 6 months ago, I had to pay the excess for one because my rear bumper was damaged after being parked in a shopping centre carpark. I didn’t have any details of who did it. And now this one where I was hit by another car on a roundabout where they had turned across from the outside lane into my lane in front of me.
I then mentioned the possibility of having my insurance company pay me out for the repair cost, so I could use it towards purchasing a new bull bar. That was when the repairer showed me the quote they submitted to my insurance company to the value of $280 for the repair. I couldn't believe it. They obviously went in with the cheapest quote to win the job. My bull bar was bent at both the wings, the centre tube was slightly bent out of alignment and new steel brackets were needed. They said the bar would be sand blasted and polished, the guard was dislodged and the white panel above the front left tyre was slightly kinked. All that fixed for $280?? I don't think so. He did mention that if they did find more damage after pulling things off then the bill goes up obviously, and if upon further inspection the bull bar needed to be replaced then they'd do that too. But for the time being he was only focused on repairing it for next to nothing (even though the accident wasn't my fault). I gave him a quote I received from a 4wd store for a cheap steel bull bar in black should they want to replace it as it was half the cost of an alloy bar. He took it just in case but still said it's not likely they'll replace the bar. And not likely the insurance company would pay me the repair cost towards purchasing a new bar.
I also pointed out the fact that the front 3 bolts holding in the bash plate were stripped out from the impact of the collision. The left and middle ones were stripped almost all the way out and the right hand one had fallen out. He was quick to jump on that too and blame it on corrosion as the bolts don’t strip out of bash plates from collisions. I know that they did because they’ve always been in there tight for all the years I’ve owned the car and then they were loose and one was missing after the collision. But he knew best obviously and the only corrosion on those bolts was a light orange coloured surface to the thread and that’s it.
I’ve decided that if they choose to the repair the bar and not replace it then I’m cancelling my insurance policy asap afterwards and opening up a new one with someone else as this isn’t how you should treat someone who’s had a 15 year insurance policy with the one company. I was involved in 4 accidents I think prior to 2003 and only one of which was my fault. The insurance company never knew about that one because I paid the $2,300 for the repairs myself. Of the two accidents I was involved in since 6 months ago, I had to pay the excess for one because my rear bumper was damaged after being parked in a shopping centre carpark. I didn’t have any details of who did it. And now this one where I was hit by another car on a roundabout where they had turned across from the outside lane into my lane in front of me.
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