Gutted had a bump in the s3

[S3-Andy]

well guys as the title says had a bit of a bump in the s3, i was sat behind another driver waiting at a roundabout, she moved off, i moved off to and glanced to my right to check for traffic and as i turned back round the dam woman had stopped?? Nothin i could do i braked but hit her, scuffed the bumper on her suzuki swift, unfortunately i hit her with the corner of the front end, its so light, but split the bumper, damage to wing and bonnet corners and very slight crack to headlight.
No doubt she will be claiming against me so i may as well get mine sorted through my insurance too, what do u guys think cost wise for the bits n paint from audi or decent body shop?, my mate owns a body shop and said he would give the car a full paint and the wheels done anthracite too, and bill the insurance company provide they let me take it there, can i choose who does the repair? so it looks like i may come out ok, just gutted i will be loosing my no claims

 

[s3dave]

well guys as the title says had a bit of a bump in the s3, i was sat behind another driver waiting at a roundabout, she moved off, i moved off to and glanced to my right to check for traffic and as i turned back round the dam woman had stopped?? Nothin i could do i braked but hit her, scuffed the bumper on her suzuki swift, unfortunately i hit her with the corner of the front end, its so light, but split the bumper, damage to wing and bonnet corners and very slight crack to headlight.
No doubt she will be claiming against me so i may as well get mine sorted through my insurance too, what do u guys think cost wise for the bits n paint from audi or decent body shop?, my mate owns a body shop and said he would give the car a full paint and the wheels done anthracite too, and bill the insurance company provide they let me take it there, can i choose who does the repair? so it looks like i may come out ok, just gutted i will be loosing my no claims

nearly happend to me a few times..(progressive driving).classic...
i think the insurance will have their own places, just hopeit does not go to the car clinic

 

[Sandip]

Sorry to hear that Andy, i'm sure it won't be too expensive if your mate fixes it up for you. Headlight could be the expensive one though.

I think your insurer will recommend the bodyshop approved by themselves but if you wish to take it to a bodyshop of your choice they may void warranty stuff

 

[golf]

The S3 bumpers are not very robust at all, I had a low speed impact in mine and it slpit the top of the bumper. Was told that you can get it plastic welded or something like that if it's not too bad? Also make sure the tabs on top of the headlights are still intact, as they also break very, very easily. I had to get all 4 of mine replaced at a cost of £45.

 

[sportquattro]

You can choose where you take your car, previously I've always insisted that repairs under insurance are done by the manufacturers dealer network bodyshops on the grounds that they made the car they know how to repair it. Insurers sometimes grumble but stand firm and you can use who you like in my experience.

 

[gcs3]

You can by law choose who you want to do the repairs. I had my s3 repaired by Direct lines own repairers and they were a disgrace. It had to go back 3 time to get it right, i considered going to the financial services ombudsman it took so nlong to sort out. So from my experience try and find a audi approved repairer

 

[Keefy]

You can by law choose who you want to do the repairs. I had my s3 repaired by Direct lines own repairers and they were a disgrace. It had to go back 3 time to get it right, i considered going to the financial services ombudsman it took so nlong to sort out. So from my experience try and find a audi approved repairer

I had the same issue with Direct Line's approved repairer - seriously shoddy work. I had to send the car back twice before the bodywork was anywhere near satisfactory. Even then, they'd mysteriously changed my perfectly good wipers with some crappy ones. I lost patience in the end and sorted it myself. If you can persuade your insurance co to let you repair it at a garage of your choosing - do it!

 

[JD09]

Ah, gutted lad. Classic incident as most have said. Hope you get it fixed soon. Did she say anything about it (insurance or cash in hand job etc)?

 

[Welly]

Ah, gutted lad. Classic incident as most have said. Hope you get it fixed soon. Did she say anything about it (insurance or cash in hand job etc)?

Cash in hand would be the best option IMO.

That's the way I've always tried to handle it.

 

[Gops]

Sorry to hear andy! What insurance company are you with? Sometimes some insurances will be very picky and start to become annoying. I had an accident with my mondeo and with that it needed 2 new wings and another thingy replaced. I went to a garage and they said this is not a write off. Bare in mind that they were a ford body specialist, and my insurance would not let me go to them. After everything i gave into them and they sent it to some bluddy bodyshop with btw may i just add, it stank of cow poo in the whole building :| They deemed it a write off. So i argued that i wanted to take some stuff off the car and ended up taking my rims, stereo, sub, amp, air filter.. then i thought, im gonna be cheeky.. i then took my spark plugs off, only left one nut in the wheels, this breather pipe i bought just before the accident, my mats, and a few other things! haha sold it all and got £500 for it! But that wont happen to you. You argue that you want then to take it to who you trust! You pay the money, so they should listen to you!

 

[AARON77]

i had bicycle hit my ca and didnt want to jus paint 1 panel so i ended up having the whole car painted and my insurance company stumped up the bill for the damage and i paid the rest, aftre some serious arguing they even let me take it to my choice of paintshop??? good luck

 

[tompearson]

I thought that they are legally obliged to let you get the repair work carried out where you want. This doesn't mean they have to accept what a garage states the scope of the repair work is though, you normally need 3 quotes or let their accessors see it.

You can also normally still agree to pay the costs even if insurance companies get involved, this does obviously then get recorded, but means you can avoid having a claim against you.

 

[S3-Andy]

Right, the woman insisted on having a hire car and going through the insurance route so cash settlement is out of the window, made a quick phone call to my insurance people and they seemed great told me to take mine to audi, but then she said i could take it anywhere i like, just need some estimates, but could not guarantee the work or give me a car unless its one of there listed garages.
So it looks like it might be going to my mates bodyshop for a nice new full paint job! I am still undicided though i would like a full paint job as i have some very small corrosion issues but if audi can sort this along with the repairs i would be happy with that. I know the girl that works at audi body shop so i am going to give her a ring see if she can have a word with one of the lads and what they could do for me.

 

[s3dave]

every cloud.....:icon_thumright:

 

[MartayMcFly]

Happened to me the other way round my second driving lesson, stalled onto a roundabout and a guy driving a caravan shunted into the back of me. Not the best early experience, and my instructor made the guy feel so bad that I tend to leave too much time at roundabouts now.

Insurance wise, I think it'll depend on who your cover is with. They'll want to see the car unless you take it somewhere they know of. They should let you take it wherever you like though, but look for a clause stating the max rates they'll pay and whether there's a discount for taking it to an approved shop (I know Admiral have a network of garages they prefer to use).