They dropped my car!!

[GrahamGKD]

I took my Skoda Octavia for an MOT today to what I (still) consider to be a reputable garage. Fortunately it passed but when I went to settle up the guy said that they had had an 'unfortunate incident' with it. At first I thought he was winding me up but it transpires one of their ramps (the one with my car on it) collapsed and my car rolled off with the ramp still some way (I'm not sure how far) off the ground. They reckon they checked the car over and had found damage to the front under spoiler and the reservoir for the windscreen washer was cracked. I notice a dent in the bonnet caused by the inner frame of the bonnet pushing into the outer skin when the car was jolted with the bonnet up. They are undertaking to sort all of these things out but I'm left with an uneasy feeling over any other damage that may be lurking, as yet undetected! Any thoughts on things I should check? I think this was a genuine unfortunate incident so I'm not in a frame of mind to milk it. I think they are honourable enough to cover anything which comes to light later as long as it can be proved to be a consequence of the incident, but proving it might be tricky depending on what it is and when it shows up.

Edit - looking again - should this go in the brew room?

 

[Blurk99]

you ought to take it to the main dealer, their 'body repair guy' ought to know the construction of the car intimately and ought to know where to look given the impact it received, they'll also have data regarding specific measurements to make sure the body shell is still 'square' - you may of course have to bear the cost of this yourself unless you can get the MOT place to contribute, at least you'll have peace of mind if it all measures up properly

jim

 

[rikrobson]

oops!!

looks like its independent assessor time or a trip for the vosa guy to their premises.

only a jig check will be able to confirm that there is no real damage.
spot welds could be weakened etc. etc and that the integrity of the car.
at least they owned up at the start.

what's the value of the car to you, not the book value? finance etc. if it starts rusting from now it could be on the scrap heap next mot.

don't forget that today's cars are designed to crumple and absorb impacts protecting the occupants.

an older car would probably be more likely to have only minor damage, but a newer car be critically wounded structurally for the sake of the safety zone where you sit.

where on the car is the washer bottle? what caused the damage? i.e. another part hitting it, which part?

do you have legal on you insurance?

 

[stormin]

I assume it has rolled backwards off the ramp and the damage is to the nose of the car as it's got hung up on it's way off.

I think I'd be contacting my insurance company and getting them to organize repairs then claim back off the garage. Afterall you pay them huge premiums every year and it shouldn't affect your no claims as it's not your fault.

My experience of having a car repaired after a bump is that it's never as good as before.

I would be getting rid of the car as soon as it's repaired but then I'm biased due to bad recent experience of Octavias and their faults.

 

[mike os]

sounds like it was dropped fairly hard.... I would want a proper inspection by someone specialising in structural repairs.

Needs full suspension inspecting, components, mounts, bolts, bearings, axles, hubs, wheels, alignment, body alignment... to which I would personally add engine mounts too.

 

[stormin]

sounds like it was dropped fairly hard.... I would want a proper inspection by someone specialising in structural repairs.

Needs full suspension inspecting, components, mounts, bolts, bearings, axles, hubs, wheels, alignment, body alignment... to which I would personally add engine mounts too.

Got to agree with that. Recently did a lot of work on my old Octavia and nearly every bolt is a stretchy single use type. Any that have been overstressed are a liability.

 

[Hitch]

Not good. As suggested, id be looking at either a check over at a specialist VAG bodyshop, and or an independant motor engineer inspector type.
Nothing to say the garage is only sorting out anything thats clearly obvious.

Did it pass MOT, or fail on the handbrake?



You might suggest they have some of these made up too....

I made and fitted 3 sets of these for a garage after they had a very similar problem.
All are fitted with M12 Antiluce fasteners.

 

[gavuk]

"their ramp collapsed?".....hse involved?.....I would contact your insurance company ......not sure i would trust a garage that dropped my car to carry out the repairs anyway

 

[GrahamGKD]

Thanks for the replies folks - I'm now thinking along the lines of the advice from most of you - I need to get it independently checked. Every time I have had work done by the Skoda dealers around here (back when the car was under warranty) they have managed to mess something up so taking it to them is not an attractive option - I have no confidence in them! I'm going to contact my insurer (as suggested) as a first port of call (I do have the legal cover).

To answer some of the other questions - the ramp failed and ended up at a jaunty angle - I'm told the car went off forwards (I was not there at the time). The washer bottle is quite low down under the front offside corner. I think it was hit by the part of the ramp that is supposed to stop the car rolling off. The car is a 2005 1.9 TDI Octavia estate with over 100K on the clock so it can't be worth that much? I was planning on running it for a year or two yet though - it has been a good car so far.

Thanks Again - I'll report back but it might be a while!

Edit: Hitch - there's nowt wrong with my handbrake - they cant have had it on!! There was some kind of device to stop the car rolling off the ramp but because the ramp ended up at such an ange I think it was overcome.

 

[Hitch]

A lot of them have flap things that automatically drop down. The place i did them plates for remove them, theyre always in the way when working on lwb vans.

ramps have failsafes to stop this happening do they not? Unless it was a 2 poster being used improperly. 4 Posters for MOTs though isnt it?

As Gav suggested, Riddor covers that, they should have reported it to the HSE.

 

[awemawson]

OK you have no idea what faults will appear over time due to this accident and nor do the garage. Get them to buy it from you at whatever price a new to you same model will cost, then they pick up the ongoing liability when they sell it.

 

[rtbcomp]

......

As Gav suggested, Riddor covers that, they should have reported it to the HSE.

Absolutely, from the HSE website:-

"Reportable dangerous occurrences are:

collapse, overturning or failure of load-bearing parts of lifts and lifting equipment;"

 

[Mr J Morton]

Do they not have to be check yearly if they have anybody employed?

I'm sure I saw it on a TV documentary.

A garage in the village dropped a neighbours car off a ramp and straight through the garage back wall. Not sure how it happened, but the garage repaired it and then the car got swiftly sold. Ironically the owner was the mechanics dentist... I'm sure he got his own back!

jonnym

 

[GrahamGKD]

Not really sure but I believe the ramps do have to be checked annually, and yes, it is a four poster - apparently they have had to cancel all their scheduled MOTs until they get it fixed. I thought the ramps had a failsafe as well? Looking very briefly at the offending ramp, still twisted at a jaunty angle, I noticed some cables hanging out and a strip of metal with a lot of square holes in it (could have been part of a ratchet failsafe mechanism?) all bent and twisted. It will take a bit of nerve to walk under a vehicle on it when it is fixed!

Getting an independent assessment would seem to be easier said than done - I have spent half the morning on the phone/internet when I should have been doing other stuff. AA/RAC don't seem to be that helpful for this specific issue –my local VW main dealer has the kit to do a full body alignment but won’t get involved for 'liability reasons'. Insurance company recommended a garage that would 'quote for work' but not do an inspection of the type I need. Not ideal but I think I might settle for a four wheel alignment check and if that is OK assume that everything else is still roughly as it should be!

I don't want to cause the guys at the garage any unnecessary strife with the HSE - I don't think it was their fault that the thing failed. As far as I can see they are just decent guys scratching a living like the rest of us. I might feel differently if it was a faceless main dealer type company. As far as I know they may well have reported it anyway.

 

[Kafer_meister]

The ramp should have a ratchet safety system and should only drop a max of about 6 inches in the event of a hydraulic or cable failure. Did the ramp fail as they were lowering it? It's the only thing I can thing of that would prevent the safety system being effective. It sounds like a cable may have snapped as it was being lowered. I'd want to see their Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) certificate for it's last inspection.

With regards to the damage, I'd put a little more pressure on your insurance company to get involved. It's their job . I would want all of the damage inspected and rectified at an approved bodyshop and the bill sent to the garage/their insurers.

 

[GrahamGKD]

The ramp should have a ratchet safety system and should only drop a max of about 6 inches in the event of a hydraulic or cable failure. Did the ramp fail as they were lowering it? It's the only thing I can thing of that would prevent the safety system being effective.

Yes, I was thinking about that after my last post - it did happen as they were lowering it so I guess the safety mechanism was ineffective?

 

[cardiffrob]

Like this?????? (Not Mine.)


Stiff drink required after this one!

 

[the snooper]

i wouldnt think the insurance will will get involved as its not part of the insurance policy.
when you take the car to a garage for work to be carried out it becomes a private arrangement between you and the garage and i would think therefore a civil matter.
i would want to know how high the lift was when the car fell off, i would also be checking all the gaps between pannels as these are a good indicator of accident damage as they alter as the car bends also look at the chassis rails in the engine bay for and stress in them it usually shows up as cracks in the paint, as metal can streatch where as paint doesnt.
depending on the suspension type some parts may not be designed to travel upwards beyond normal use lots of possibilites all of which will have increaed if the suspention bottomed out as it landed

 

[slim_boy_fat]

...when you take the car to a garage for work to be carried out it becomes a private arrangement between you and the garage and i would think therefore a civil matter....

Does that also apply when it's 'compulsory', as in for the MOT?

To the OP: nice guys or not, I'd make sure your position is protected - for all we know they may have been cutting corners on inspection costs/certification etc.

 

[rtbcomp]

I would have thought a fail-safe would still work as the lift is lowered, it should trip in when tension/pressure is lost on the lifting system. Like passenger lifts in a building.

If you have comprehensive cover I don't see why your insurance company shouldn't help, it was an accident after all. They could claim their money back off the garage or their insurers.

You NCB may be at risk though.