Roof Vandals

[BOOTHY]

Hello, I am new to this forum as I have only had my new MR2 roadster for 6 weeks, up until now it has been love but last thursday I found some kid had stolen the MR2 Badge off the rear leaving me with nice scratches into the plastic where the Badge once sat.

If finding that on your nice new car is not bad enough he then decided to push his (what looks like electricians blade screwdriver) through the hood! twice on the top and once in the side! :ffs:

The holes are only tiny slits and as its vinal they seem to have re sealed as they are not leaking yet.

Toyota rekon its a new roof job at well over £1000 had a quote for an aftermarket at £550 but as its new and I moved into a new house at the same time I dont even have that

Just wondered if anybody has had a repair done on theirs? I know they can do plastic dash repairs and things? got a guy coming from chips away on friday to look if he can do anything?

does anybody know any specialists in this sort of thing??

I am from Bolton by the way!

Thanks Andy

[Bibbs]

Sorry to hear that fella .. I spent a weekend waxing my car only to have some :censor: decide it would look better with a 3 foot scratch up the door and rear arch.

I don't know of any way to repair it .. suggest you phone around and see what the experst suggest.

P.S. welcome to the club .. hope this is the low point in your membership ..

[GSB]

Sounds pretty bad, and at over £1000 to have a new hood (minus the frame!) fitted by Mr T it's not cheap.

I do however have a solution for you...

The glass in the hood of the MR2 is not as yet available as a seperate part, although you should phone your dealer to confirm this. In theory this would mean that in order for your windscreen insurance cover to work they'd have to replace the whole soft top cover. Are you getting this yet or do I have to spell it out?

On the other hand, the MR2's hood is made entirely of man made materials, any sailmaker or convertible top maker will be able to glue two small holes for you, and make them almost invisible...

[Jimlad]

what a bummer mate.. sorry to hear !

Some people just have no respect for other peoples property !!

[John R]

I park my car in the station in the daytime, and in a different station round the corner from my house at night..... not very likely to get nicked there..... lower insurance too :D

[dj_davo]

sorry to hear your news fella, why are there so many jealous, ignorant, selfish :censor: out there?!

kill 'em all, fu :censor: s

that windscreen scam sounds good. insurance companies are a disgrace and are very happy stealing our money and not wanting to do anything in return (but i will be posting a new thread to this end very soon).

scam 'em, get 'em to pay for it all,..........try and get a respray too whilst your at it!

[Dame]

Actually insurance companies charge premiums for a reason, and unfortunately it is to pay for claims arising from cars that are hit by drivers without insurance. Normally the insurance company has to pay out for these. Yes the drivers premium increases, but the repair costs can be much higher, add to that costs of any legal proceedings.

I work in insurance, and I agree that high premiums suck, but what sucks more are the number of careless, wreckless, uninsured drivers out there. Without them and the car vandals, insurance would be cheaper.

Take for example, someone front ending an MR2 - cost of the repair £4000. Insurance premium collected say £1000. The insurance company is £3000 short. The money has to be recouped from somewhere, and the company has to make a profit for future investments, shareholders etc.

[dj_davo]

ok dame help me out here then.

why is it when i pay an extortionate premium and get into a bump that wasnt my fault do insurance companies like mine

1. constantly refuse to send out an assessor even though the damage evidence clearly proves the other persons claim - (if i had nitrous or any reason for them to think my car was dodgy, they wouldnt hesitate to send an assessor).

2. even when i have prepared an 8 page photographic evidence pack, do they not inform me for over a week that it is infact in another office and that i have to send it again!

3. when quizzed why they wont do various things like send assessors they reply that it is too expensive and is a cost they are not prepared to incur! (oh, but its ok for me to incur costs like accept a 50/50 claim thus losing my no-claim entitlement and paying my excess).

4. never phone me once, not even last week when they had had correspondence from the other persons insurance that they are now prepared to pay for the damage, due to the witness statement that i eventually managed to source and forward to them. the correspondence had been with them for 6 days when i phoned.

5. and why is my claim handler NEVER at his desk???

sorry dame but ALL insurance companies are robbing, useless, fu :censor: ers, the staff are shi :censor: e, and the system is set up so that we all go 50/50 thus making your job much easier, both parties lose their no claims bumping up both premiums, and both companies just pay a little bit instead of 1 paying it all because you are all in each others pockets and too lazy to investigate genuine claims like mine!

dont reply if u dont want, there is nothing you can say to appease me.

p.s i havent had any correspondence from my brokers - THE ILLUSTRIOUS DORSET INSURANCE either.

[Dame]

Well, you've laid the gauntlet now, so I will reply.

Unfortunately not all insurance comapnies are made equal, some will mess you around like this. Sometimes it is the price you pay for going with someone who offers 'apparently' the cheapest quote. Cost isn't everything, always try to find an insurer who is well known with a good reputation - the following spring to mind - Cornhill, Zurich, Elephant, Admiral.... I hope none of theseunderwrite your policy already!

1. The cost of sending out an assessor out is often considered too high to be worth it. When two vehicles are involved, unless you have withnesses, or the case is very clear cut i.e. the other driver drove straight in to you from a junction, it is very difficult to prove who is responsible. There are always two sides to every argument, and unfortunately analysing both sides stories' (when blame is denied by both) is very expensive and the conclusion often lays blame on both sides. More often than not, collisions involving two vehicles are settled on a 50/50 basis. It's a bummer I know, it's happened to me in the past, but I'm afraid that's life.

2. This is down to bad management. If you continue to get no joy, you should send in a letter of complaint. If after a few weeks you haven't heard anything back, or the complaint has not been resolved to you satisfaction, you can bring in the arbitrator (this costs you nothing!), but costs the company you are complaing about around £200 a throw. If you want compensation it's always a good idea to ask for around the £150 mark whilst threatening arbitration. The company will go with what costs them less (unless they're muppets - even if your complaint is invalid - they still have to pay for the arbitrator)

3. This is why it's a good idea to protect your no claims bonus. It may cost a little extra - but clearly from your incident, worth it.

4. See 1. You have an independent withness statement. This is the most valuable evidence. As for their inability to get back to you, again incompetance, you should consider complaining.

5. Because the company in question probably has too few staff to do the job. Again another sign of hard times in the insurance industry. Or a shoddy company trying to maximise income by reducing operational overhead.

All I can say is that at our company we strive to provide good customer service, and we consider feedback from the public a valuable asset in achieveing this goal. This is why it is important that you complain about what has happened. You could tell them that unless improvements are made, (maybe suggerst something in the way of compensation for the inconvenience you have had to endure) you will be looking elsewhere for you insurance when it comes to renewal.

Anyway, hope this helps,

We're not all bad eggs you know :)

[dj_davo]

thanks for your reply dame.

i appreciate your comments, but i have acted on most of these comments already though.

i do have protected no claims insurance, and i went with nig skandia (thru the revered DORSET INSURANCE mr2 specialists). i am paying £800 a year which for a 31 yr old bloke with FULL PROTECTED no-claims, and a clean licence i certainly dont think this is cheap. tesco were a lot cheaper but i went this route because of the high regard for Dorset (which i dont have anymore).

Nig are underwritten by Churchill! so you would have thought better service at least.

my main gripe other than the previous essay is:

you buy a tv - it packs up. you dont get told by the tv manufacturer "oh well we wont repair this cos it costs too much and we arent prepared to pay the costs, but we'll mend it a bit and you can pay the rest!

if this is the system that insurance companies apprently use, then we shouldnt just say - THAT'S LIFE.

the system needs changing!

[BOOTHY]

Thanks guys,

My mate from chips away has had a look and thinks he can do the job but wants to test on an unseen area first, i'm gonna have a look in auto trader first for anyone advertising a similar service.

Thanxs for your welcome to :D I hope things can only get better too, got the roof off on the weekend too, it was cold outside but the heaters work great!!! I love open top driving its half the fun and I'm suprised at how well the thing handles, I'v driven a few things but for shear fun to drive I'v only ever driven one better, an for the price I dont think you could buy better???

After the roof thing I was almost tempted to sell for a tin top but after this weekend you could'nt prise the keys from my grubby palm! :P

I really like the updated styling too and it looks pretty mean in grey, i'm not sure it will look as good in 12 years as the mk2 still does today though.

Boothy