Crash..?

[welshstyles]

Hi basically my car was involved in a accident which was not my fault last thursday..its a 2 month old toyota yaris hybrid t-spirit from what i can see it will need a new front bumper, headlight, wing also the fog light is smashed and alloy damaged with a chuck missing out of the tyre...the car is on finance with toyoyta also..they rang me today to say they will be repairing the car and i told them i do not want to car back because its a brand new car and im paying monthly for a new car not a damaged one and it will never be the same..they just said there is nothing you can do?. Is this right can i contest it? Because im peed off that im paying just shy of 270 a month for it

Any replies will be appreciated

Thanks

[FROSTYBALLS]

Most insurance companies will only replace a damaged car with a new car, if the damaged car is less than 1 year old (in some cases 2 years), and if the damage exceeds 50% of the value of the car. Check your insurance policy. Really the fact that the car is financed with Toyota is a red herring - it is the insurance company who is responsible for repairing the damage. Presumably you've submitted a claim, and, if the third party has admitted liability, your insurance company will claim the repair costs off the third party's insurance company.

Best thing you can do is to get the repairs done by a Toyota dealer/bodyshop, rather than use the insurance company's own repairer.

[Cyker]

Hmm, not sure - Many insurance companies will replace the car with a new one if it is owned from new and less than a year old, but I'm not sure how it works if the car is on finance?

Edit: Aha, Frosty got in there while I was typing

[welshstyles]

Hi thanks for the reply...the car is at the body shop the insurers have chosen and think i am going to tell them i want it going to toyota as it is a new car and see what the toyota bodyshop say..i dont want non original panels put back on etc and want bumper replaced and not fillerd and heated up and pulled etc

[FROSTYBALLS]

There is a further proviso to the new car clause in insurance policies - my insurance company (LV) will only replace a car under the new car clause if the owner is the first registered keeper (a fairly recent change to the policy conditions). You can bet that other insurance companies will follow suit. So if a car is pre-registered, it won't be eligible for replacement under this clause.

[welshstyles]

I am the first owner was only picked up from the toyota garage just over 2 months ago so really gutted especially when accident was not my fault :(

[FROSTYBALLS]

Know how you feel - back in 2001 I had a person run into the back of my 2 month old Nissan Primera. New boot floor needed as original was buckled at the sides of the spare wheel well

[don21]

I completely understand how you feel. I would be gutted to get the car back after a repair. It would just never feel the same to me.

Let us know how you get on.

If the insurance company will not back down go into the repair shop speak to the manager and tell him you will not accept the vehicle back unless genuine toyota parts have been used. Thats what the insurance company will be getting billed for anyway.

Ask to see the invoices from toyota for all parts fitted to your car and refuse to accept it if he does not agree.

They will not be happy and will no doubt waffle you. Do not back down and you may get some peace of mind.

[Lorna2]

Are there any terms and conditions written into your finance that say that repairs must be carried out by Toyota? Just a thought seeing as they still 'own' the car until the final payment is made. What about insurance companies approved repairers using non genuine parts and the effect of this on warranty.

[Opifex]

Not sure if the financial arrangements here change things, but the normal situation is that you have the right to insist that repairs are carried out at a repairer of your choice. Insurance companies will try to get you to use their recommended repairer but the choice is yours whether you accept this or not. My preference would be to use a Toyota dealer so that you have a Toyota approved repair and there will be no questions in future about whether the warranty conditions have been broken.

[don21]

The problem is that accident repair is now such a specialist job that most dealerships ( I am not saying all) are just not set up for it.

The investment in equipment and specialist skills now reqiured for this work does not make it viable for most dealerships to take it on.

Another consideration is just how hard the insurance companies are nailing the labour rates. It is just not worth it for main dealers who rely on high profit service and repairs along with low margin warranty work to make any money.

Consequently you may book your car into your local Toyota dealer for accident work but it will almost certainly be farmed out to a specialist repair workshop.

[welshstyles]

I have just emailed the insurance company to basically tell them i do not want the car repaired etc as it will not be the same again and highlighted that in a email they sent to me that synter accident repair is doing the work but 1st accident repair cardiff ended up picking up vehicle? So guess the om they mentioned is not repairing it now

[FROSTYBALLS]

You can always use the 'Find a dealer' facility on the Toyota website to determine whether there is a Toyota dealer nearby who also does body repairs. I'm fortunate as the dealer I use does have full bodyshop facilities adjacent to the showroom/service workshop.

[FROSTYBALLS]

I would go back to your insurance company to clarify who is doing the repairs.

[Opifex]

I have just emailed the insurance company to basically tell them i do not want the car repaired etc as it will not be the same again and highlighted that in a email they sent to me that synter accident repair is doing the work but 1st accident repair cardiff ended up picking up vehicle? So guess the om they mentioned is not repairing it now

What does your insurance policy say about replacing the car?

You can always use the 'Find a dealer' facility on the Toyota website to determine whether there is a Toyota dealer nearby who also does body repairs. I'm fortunate as the dealer I use does have full bodyshop facilities adjacent to the showroom/service workshop.

When I needed a repair last year I chose a Toyota dealer which doesn't have an in-house bodyshop but uses a facility at another dealer in the group. The car was picked-up and returned to home so it made no difference to me except that I had a slightly longer journey to the workshop to get an estimate for the insurance company.

[Whitewagon]

As outlined by Opifex you can have the car repaired where ever you want provided the insurance company accepts the estimate provided by the repairer. Speak to your Toyota Dealer about the repair, they will probably use a repairer who has been approved by Toyota, this is essential as the repair has to be carried out correctly in order to maintain the corrosion and paint warranty.

You will not be entitled to a new car for the relatively minor damage caused. The fact it is on a finance agreement is irrelevant. However the the value of the car may be affected because of the accident repair. Speak to your insurer about this as it may be you can claim the expected loss in value from the other insurer.