Hey all,

I have recently (about 4 weeks ago) received my BINI back from the crash repair shop as a result of 2 months of the road - i got hit from behind resulting in being sandwhiched between two commodores!!

The hit was pretty hard and the VT commodore that hit me would have definitley been a write off.

Anyway, when i received the car back from the crash repair shop, i realised a day or two later that they had given the car back to me without the rear spoiler, and i was very unhappy with the way the plastic trims and flares around the car matched up, as much as a 1cm out in spots from the bonet plastic to the remainder of the flairs.

anyway after not having the car for two months i havent had the time to take it back, i notified the shop and they said to bring it in, but since then i have discovered that the tail lights get condensation in both of them, the plastic trim underneath the front bumper was hanging off the car and is now broken off, and today while driving on the southern expressway a one way highway where you cant stop the bodywork between my bonnet and roof just aside of the windscreen flew off the car!!

All up the things that im not happy with are
- no spoiler
- quality of work in terms of fitting of the flares
- the front spoiler plastic trim was hanging and has caused the plastic to snap.
- tail lights getting condesation.
- bodywork between the bonnet and roof blown off the car while driving at 90km/h - i didnt realise what had happend at the time and there is no way i could stop on the expressway to retrieve said part.
- over two months in repair time, very poor communication
- the car went in with a full tank of fuel, i had just filled the car up about 20kms before i got hit, and when i retrieved the car the fuel light was on!

Basically I am wondering if their is any organisation out there that i can take the car to so that they can check over the rest of the car, im not confident at all that the work was done properly!

Also, if i take it back to the repair shop, what action do i take if they dont want to fix the above problems, obviously i want to avoid getting lawyers etc involved, but if it comes to it i wont hesitate!

thanks guys, sorry for the rant, just very very angry, the crash wasnt even my fault and now im stuck with a car thats literally falling apart!

ps i want to refrain from posting the crash shops name, it wasnt my first choice, however the first repair shop said that a mini is to fiddly and put me on to this crash repair shop who claim to be BMW/Mini specialists in SA.

I think the complaint should be made to the insurer and let them handle talking to the repairer. Try not to involve solicitors and court cases as it will cost you money for nothing, you will loose. Did you sign anything when you collected the car after the repairs ? You might have signed on a paper where it said you are satisfied with the work. If so you will have no say against shoddy work yo did not find out about till now. Panel shops do cover their arse. Speak with your insurer.

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DID I MENTION THAT I AM THE BEST SUPPLIER FOR MINI ELECTRICAL PARTS AND REPAIRS?
"Let us remove your "SHORTS"

Agreed. Having worked for a mv insurer you need t contact them asap

I would highly recommend you first speak to the Ombudsman, place a complaint with them (which doesn't need to go any further).
And then go back to the repairer, ask to speak to the manager (not the actual workers), and explain that you were so upset you discussed the issue with the Ombudsman.
You will have a much better outcome.

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Cool stuff!!

Always go back to the insurer first and give the panelshop the chance to correct the issues. Ask for the insurer's assessor to look at the car before you speak to the panelshop again. That's what I did when I wasn't happy with repair on a classic car.
KB

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Yep this is the correct course you should take,and you will find that even Insurance Companies sometimes do not take vehicles back to the original Smash Repairer,they also would like nothing better than you being a happy customer.

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there was a post recently about a similar thing, do a search there was a lot of good advice. basically raise the issues with the company as well as your insurer, and getting an assessment would also be a very good idea. try steer clear of threatening getting your lawyers involved - that will only end badly. there is an ombudsman if you feel you have been treated wrongly and they tend to listen when they get involved as their licence can be revoked in extreme cases of negligence

[edit] http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=68177

Take the car back to the repairer and give them the opportunity to correct the problems. Do not dob them in to the insurer at this stage. If, after the vehicle has been seen to by the original repairer and is sill unsatisfactory, get your insurer involved. Last resort is private litigation, but my bet is a restrained but firm approach to the repairer will lead to a good result. Panel shops occasionally get it wrong and sometimes 5hit just happens. If they were cowboys, they wouldn't be on the insurers list of repairers.

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No decision is incorrect when made - but it does become apparent in retrospect...

Yep, start with the panel shop and put all your concerns in writing. Then if you are still not happy you can go back to the insurer and advise that you want a different panel shop to rectify the damage (the original panel shop will be billed for the rectification work). You can also go to the state accreditation council (differs from state to state) also and report the problem. If it is a RACSA accredited panel shop, you can get them to inspect the repairs and provide an independant report, but you will have to pay for the inspection.
As for the fuel, it is was hit from behind, they often remove the fuel tank and ditch the fuel, the insurance company may cover this but the panel shop will not usually refill the tank....

I would go to the insurance company and not the repairer.
The repairer is working for the insurance company, he is not working for you.

thanks for the advice:
when i first seen the things initially i rang Shannons my insurance company and the guy on the phone basically said that it was my problem to sort out with the crash repairer and they dont want to get invovled- this is the only reason why i was contemplating if need be seeking legal help if they dont want to fix the damage.

ill let you know how i go.

If you made the claim with Shannons I would say it is their business as their website even states: "The quality of workmanship and material authorised by Shannons in the repair of your vehicle are guaranteed for the life of the car - even if you sell it." The condensation issue alone would not have been obvious when you picked the car up.

Check your policy wording and call them back - sometimes the first customer service person you speak to isn't fully aware of their obligations to customers I've had an experience in the past where I made a claim and I had to remind my insurer of a clause in my insurance policy, which they then remedied.

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yeah the guy i spoke to sounded like he was on drugs or something, a young guy who wasnt really interested in helping, ill give them a call on Wednesday.

When you call anyone make sure you take notes. Write down names and times.
When you finish the call try and write a summary of the call for future reference.