cost of a repair

[BrokenBiker]

as you may know, I was involved in a car crash a few months ago.

the inspectors have been out, and an engineers report was sent.

the damage is quoted as light rear end damage, only requiring minor repairs and paint to match.

the total cost of this is £600!!!!

after reading through the report, £540 of this is labour costs. meaning the paint and filler that they will use costs £60...and I have to release the car for up to 14 days!!!

even though I don't have to pay a penny as the other insurance are funding this, I am still disgusted at how much they are charging for what is a very small and simple job that should only take a few hours, not a fortnight.

even to buy a new colour coded bumper from Renault and have it fitted by them would only cost £280 with a fitted while you wait service taking around 2 hours (quoted)

no wonder insurance prices are so high when they are paying over double what they need to for a small claim like mine

 

[AndyStobbs]

Well knock the VAT off and you're down to £500 for a start. That brings your labour Ex. VAT down to £450, and £50 in materials.

It still sounds dear but spray booths don't heat themselves in the middle of a UK winter.
Is it just bumper damage or will there be a bent pannel behind?

 

[J_K]

And labour will be AT LEAST £50/hr..

 

[the snooper]

even the paint and filler wont come to £60 for a bumper especially if they have their own mixing scheme, but their will be sundries like abrasives, panel wipe, tacky rags, masking for the rest of the car assuming the bumper will remain attached, gas for the booth electricity, disposable overalls,a fraction towards rent & rates someones wages for the duration of the repair and then proffit.
i got an insurance quote for a rear ended mondeo i had, the bumper was wrecked and the rear panel pushed in slightly the average of the 2 quotes i got was £1100 but as i used a solicitor to sort out my claim against the plank that ran into me i got the cash in my hand , bought a used bumper stuck a ram in the boot and pushed it back out re-sealed it and painted it all for less then £100

 

[BrokenBiker]

just a spray on the bumper. no other damage at all.

strangely, I have been given the details of the garage that is repairing it, and have used them before for various things. however they do not have any spraying facilities at all.

 

[the snooper]

i find it strange that your insurance are using a garage without the right facilities, they usually work from a list they have in order to cut out middle men like that

 

[BrokenBiker]

according to my solicitor, this garage is approved by the insurance for light to medium panel damage including paint and panel repair. the last few times I have been there though (most recent was a fortnight ago) they only have space for 2 cars, have a lift and a pit and a small room for tools and parts.

but, as long as the car comes back repaired I don't care

 

[the snooper]

you should have got a written quote from renault instructed the solicitor that you wanted the cash, then get the bumper fitted and have cash in your hand aswell

 

[rikrobson]

there is a guy in the arch next to me who does this sort of work for local garages. He has no booth and does most of it in the arch or outside!!!
and it gets frikkin cold up here!!!

 

[wheresmejumper]

was doing a job in a spraypainters a few months back.just the boss and two guys working there,electricity bill is €1000 per week.

 

[Paul99]

As soon as insurance is involved everyones out to make a quick buck - after all no one has to pay for it do they .

Sadly not confined to motor insurance.... A customer told us last week of a break in at one of their works warehouses - nothing of any value at all stolen - they had picked the wrong warehouse full of crap but more of an inconvenience of having to replace hasps and staples as bricks were smashed around the existing fixings.

The local engineers (fabricators at best) who rent their yard / and part of their building from customer is given the job to make the warehouse doors secure. It took them all of 20mins to straighten out the old hasp and weld on an extension (50 x 4mm ms plate or so) containing two new / extra fixing holes for shield anchors (as apparently specified by the insurance company) they didn't even give it a coat of enamel to keep the rust away. Anyway job all sorted and everyone happy enough until the invoice turns up from engineers - £1700 . A few words were exchanged along the lines of "jog on" where upon a new invoice for £500 was produced instead - still far in excess of what it should have been but at least partly defensible.

 

[BrokenBiker]

well I couldn't resist, so I phoned them up to make sure they could do the job, and you know what the reply was?

we do all our painting under a canvas tent in the yard...

at least the paint is away from the elements I suppose but I wouldn't like to be spraying a car in the middle of december with nothing but a bit of canvas to keep the cold out lol

 

[lshigham]

I'd be on to the insurance company to send it somewhere else, they can't force you to send it where they want

 

[the snooper]

well I couldn't resist, so I phoned them up to make sure they could do the job, and you know what the reply was?

we do all our painting under a canvas tent in the yard...

at least the paint is away from the elements I suppose but I wouldn't like to be spraying a car in the middle of december with nothing but a bit of canvas to keep the cold out lol

And for a tent that is expensive I too would be on to the insurer about bodge it and scarper ltd

 

[BrokenBiker]

will be phoning them in the morning and asking for the cash to have the repairs done myself. I know a good sprayer in Newport that will do it for £100, I get most of my paint off him and the stuff he turns out is brilliant

 

[CompoSimmonite]

well I couldn't resist, so I phoned them up to make sure they could do the job, and you know what the reply was?

we do all our painting under a canvas tent in the yard...

at least the paint is away from the elements I suppose but I wouldn't like to be spraying a car in the middle of december with nothing but a bit of canvas to keep the cold out lol

I went behind the local Citroen / Peugeot main dealer and there was a mobile body repair company van with chap spraying a repair to a car in the rain under a golf umbrella !

Paul H

 

[BrokenBiker]

I went behind the local Citroen / Peugeot main dealer and there was a mobile body repair company van with chap spraying a repair to a car in the rain under a golf umbrella !

Paul H

sounds about right. my father used to be a sprayer but mainly did airbrush murals and fancy stuff, but every now and then he would get a customer that needed a resprayed panel sprayed again because it had started raining halfway through the last coat and they had nothing to cover it up with