Do claim or not to claim ?

Mar4ix

My wife run in to my car, i no bother with damage on my car(just slight rear bumper damage), but her car has both lights broken, bonnet damaged. what you suggest, call wifes insurance and claim, or try fix her car myself. vw polo , 10 d.

Mar4ix

also do i have to inform my insurance company .... i know , you goin laugh , but it is same company. :eek: and i not feel funny.

keithclancy

If you have NCB Protection and your willing to stay with the same insurer then maybe.

If you dont have NCB Protection then probably better to sort it yourself, if its too much cash maybe get a loan to pay it, your insurance company rape you in the following year.

I'd check behind that bumper too, they can get pushed in, do a load of damage behind them and then pop back out.

Saw an Octavia that looked fine after a crash, looked behind the bumper and the thing was f&cked, boot was leaking becuase the chassis had buckled.

djimi

I wouldnt claim if it was me. Its going to hurt your wifes policy if you claim and will end up costing you money in the long run over the next few years with increased premiums and potential loss of NCB, so youre better off sorting it yourself. Get a credit union loan or something if needs be; itll be less painful in the long run than dealing with the consequences of an insurance claim.

Mr Benevolent

Ouch. My GF's mum had my GF's car run into hers, a hefty smack too. Thing is they were trying to free a rusted handbrake on the steep drive, GF's mums car parked at the bottom. No-one in the the GF's car, handbrake released, smack. GF wasn't even there.

Who's at fault? Can't really claim on the GF's insurance, wouldn't be fair.

Anan1

First off, find out how much damage has been done. My initial response is that the damage to your wife's car sounds extensive enough to make claiming cheaper.

Mar4ix

anyone know where to get car checked, ? Garage which dealing with new ish VW cars, and know what they doing ?
Rang to insurance, they said, to check with garage estimates, and then if we want proceed to claim, than we can go , or not claim. exces 500 euro though.

Big Nasty

If you're going to claim you may as well get a quote from a VW dealer then get the job done by an indy once you get the cheque. Extra few bob should help cover the increased premiums.

keithclancy

MCMLXXV wrote: »

If you're going to claim you may as well get a quote from a VW dealer then get the job done by an indy once you get the cheque. Extra few bob should help cover the increased premiums.

f*ck sake, and people wonder why insurance is so expensive.

Erra I suppose everyone is doing it so that makes it ok :rolleyes:

Anan1

MCMLXXV wrote: »

If you're going to claim you may as well get a quote from a VW dealer then get the job done by an indy once you get the cheque. Extra few bob should help cover the increased premiums.

That's not how it works, OP chooses which garage to use and ins co agrees a price with them directly.

L-M

Anan1 wrote: »

That's not how it works, OP chooses which garage to use and ins co agrees a price with them directly.

i know plenty of people that have gotten X amount of the insurance company and got the car fixed for Y amount and pocketed the rest.

CiniO

keithclancy wrote: »

f*ck sake, and people wonder why insurance is so expensive.

Erra I suppose everyone is doing it so that makes it ok :rolleyes:

It's not exactly that.

OP suffered a damage to his vehicle. He was insured against it, so he is eligible to be refunded value of the damage.
Say Car was worth 20k, damage is worth 3k to fix properly, so he is eligible for this 3k.
It's his choice if he is going to fix it properly for this 3k, or maybe fix it at some indy for quarter the price, and keep the rest in cash. Because that way (fixing it cheap way) he is lowering the value of his vehicle, so that's what extra money is coming from.

I can't see anything wrong with it·

CiniO

Anan1 wrote: »

That's not how it works, OP chooses which garage to use and ins co agrees a price with them directly.

Or OP goes to garage for estimate, insurance company assess the car and if they agree with estimate, they send him a check.

keithclancy

CiniO wrote: »

It's not exactly that.

OP suffered a damage to his vehicle. He was insured against it, so he is eligible to be refunded value of the damage.
Say Car was worth 20k, damage is worth 3k to fix properly, so he is eligible for this 3k.
It's his choice if he is going to fix it properly for this 3k, or maybe fix it at some indy for quarter the price, and keep the rest in cash. Because that way (fixing it cheap way) he is lowering the value of his vehicle, so that's what extra money is coming from.

I can't see anything wrong with it·

The point of Insurance is to put you in the position you were in before you had to make a claim.

I couldn't see the repair being carried out by a VW Garage or a non VW Garage having any effect on the value. If anything it being 'repaired' would effect the value.

E.G. I go to Dentist, get a quote and then get the money, go to another Dentist and pocket the difference ?

Big Nasty

keithclancy wrote: »

f*ck sake, and people wonder why insurance is so expensive.

Erra I suppose everyone is doing it so that makes it ok :rolleyes:

Hold on a second here lads.

The OP is entitled to get a quote whereever he likes, his insurance company are entitled to agree (or not) on same. It's then entirely up to the OP how to spend that money. They could pocket the whole lot and never get the car fixed if they so wished. It's not fraud in any shape or form and nor would I condone same.

L-M

keithclancy wrote: »

The point of Insurance is to put you in the position you were in before you had to make a claim.

I couldn't see the repair being carried out by a VW Garage or a non VW Garage having any effect on the value. If anything it being 'repaired' would effect the value.

E.G. I go to Dentist, get a quote and then get the money, go to another Dentist and pocket the difference ?

Vw garage - Brand new OEM parts

Non Vw garage - Parts sourced from breakers, sprayed to suit and maybe some parts bought from a Motor factors.

keithclancy

Limerick man wrote: »

Vw garage - Brand new OEM parts

Non Vw garage - Parts sourced from breakers, sprayed to suit and maybe some parts bought from a Motor factors.

Problem is there your assuming that all non VW Garages use non OEM parts.

It whatever is on the Invoice.

But besides the point, I believe its the reason the Insurance companies settle the bill with the company directly, surely if your scenario was 'ok' then they wouldn't do it.

L-M

keithclancy wrote: »

Problem is there your assuming that all non VW Garages use non OEM parts.

It whatever is on the Invoice.

But besides the point, I believe its the reason the Insurance companies settle the bill with the company directly, surely if your scenario was 'ok' then they wouldn't do it.

i'm not assuming anything, i'm saying the OP is entitled to have have his car repaired back to factory standard. That would be the higher price. if he wants to save money he can then go to a non Vw garage and get them to order and fit all non OEM parts, most of which are cheaper and thus saving money, but knowing his car is not repaired to Vw specification parts.

keithclancy

Limerick man wrote: »

i'm not assuming anything, i'm saying the OP is entitled to have have his car repaired back to factory standard. That would be the higher price. if he wants to save money he can then go to a non Vw garage and get them to order and fit all non OEM parts, most of which are cheaper and thus saving money, but knowing his car is not repaired to Vw specification parts.

And then would declare this to the insurance company since your saying it would affect the value of the car.

CiniO

keithclancy wrote: »

And then would declare this to the insurance company since your saying it would affect the value of the car.

Insurance companies never ask about exact car value.
They ask what you think your car is worth. You can give them any random value in reality and they don't care.
If you give higher value than real - you will pay extra premium for nothing, as they would pay only for a real value of the car.
If you give lower value than real - in case of claim, they will only pay-out what you declared, even if car was worth more.

L-M

keithclancy wrote: »

And then would declare this to the insurance company since your saying it would affect the value of the car.

That value you put down on your insurance means that in the event of a claim, the absolute max amount they will pay out for the car is that. Why anyone lowers this is beyond. You're not defrauding the insurance by saying you think your 2005 Golf is worth ten grand.

keithclancy

CiniO wrote: »

Insurance companies never ask about exact car value.
They ask what you think your car is worth. You can give them any random value in reality and they don't care.
If you give higher value than real - you will pay extra premium for nothing, as they would pay only for a real value of the car.
If you give lower value than real - in case of claim, they will only pay-out what you declared, even if car was worth more.

Exactly, as far as your Insurance company is aware, you have an OEM repaired car, in reality you don't.

Indricotherium

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Hold on a second here lads.

The OP is entitled to get a quote whereever he likes, his insurance company are entitled to agree (or not) on same. It's then entirely up to the OP how to spend that money. They could pocket the whole lot and never get the car fixed if they so wished. It's not fraud in any shape or form and nor would I condone same.

I don't think it is fraud, but it is one of the reasons that Insurance is expensive.

Mar4ix

Some update here .. went to body shop, recommended by friends.
At the end it not so bad, but still will cost some money. labour 150 euro + left side headlight. (dont know yet how much goin to cost).
Guy said it had pretty hard impact(well city driving speed), but at the end wont cost my leg and hand and some other body parts... maybe just a hand or leg...
They goin take of front parts, and simply relocate, as they not damaged, just slipped within bolt hole.

There i some pics before repair.

Big Nasty

Very little damage done to the car by the looks of things. Surely not enough to cause any chassis damage. I say pay for it yourself OP and hold on to your NCB.

Mar4ix

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Very little damage done to the car by the looks of things. Surely not enough to cause any chassis damage. I say pay for it yourself OP and hold on to your NCB.

Yes, i thought same, repair shop guy said to me same also, so wont involve insurance company , as roughly assessed.... price wont exceed 400 euro. Insurance excess is 500 euro.

anyway... another week hard work for wifes privilege crash car...

have no idea what the story with my punto... but i am not really care of that... bumper will have to be go off, heat up with heat gun probably and bend back.

CiniO

Mar4ix wrote: »

anyway... another week hard work for wifes privilege crash car...

Heh you are saying that even winter tyres didn't help her

Mar4ix

CiniO wrote: »

Heh you are saying that even winter tyres didn't help her

well.. any way it wouldn't help even if there would be supper duper tyres on it. it have two braking assistance systems... abs and something else... she react way too late ... should be this advance braking system what is in other new cars installed, might would help ...

ford has not bad feature ... wonder would vw would implement something like that ...

http://youtu.be/nB6Gx_aIhWw

by the way, those are not winter tyres... kinda universal.. M+S... second year on now, no hassle at all, good grip in cold time, fast speeds and rain/wet time.

CiniO

Mar4ix wrote: »

well.. any way it wouldn't help even if there would be supper duper tyres on it. it have two braking assistance systems... abs and something else... she react way too late ... should be this advance braking system what is in other new cars installed, might would help ...

ford has not bad feature ... wonder would vw would implement something like that ...

http://youtu.be/nB6Gx_aIhWw

Heh I love to have as many features in my car as possible provided you can always turn them off if you want.
I'm getting a bit scared, that driving a vehicle in 20 years time will be totally different than now, which I don't want to happen.
First we got ABS which is for a while now mounted on every car and nearly impossible to turn off, even though in the beginning cars which had ABS also had a button for turning it off.
The same is happening with ESP now, as more and more cars which are equipped with it, are unable to turn it off.
I hate this happening.

by the way, those are not winter tyres... kinda universal.. M+S... second year on now, no hassle at all, good grip in cold time, fast speeds and rain/wet time.

Heh so my guess wasn't right.
Tread looks nearly the same as for winter tyres

Mar4ix

CiniO wrote: »

Heh I love to have as many features in my car as possible provided you can always turn them off if you want.
I'm getting a bit scared, that driving a vehicle in 20 years time will be totally different than now, which I don't want to happen.
First we got ABS which is for a while now mounted on every car and nearly impossible to turn off, even though in the beginning cars which had ABS also had a button for turning it off.
The same is happening with ESP now, as more and more cars which are equipped with it, are unable to turn it off.
I hate this happening.


Heh so my guess wasn't right.
Tread looks nearly the same as for winter tyres

well , it have no esp, something different... along abs system, kinda braking assistance thing.. cant remember exact name...

if you wonder about tyres , here we go , where i got from- http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Ordern&cart_id=53069500.124.6553&typ=R-200873&ranzahl=4&Breite=185&Quer=65&Felge=14&Speed=H&weiter=0&kategorie=6&Ang_pro_Seite=20&Transport=P&dsco=124&sowigan=Wi

p.s. just looked on my old order... that time when i was buying them, was 48.50 delivered(ordered 12 october 2010), these days 66.80 (discaunt from price of 71.00).

CiniO

Mar4ix wrote: »

well , it have no esp, something different... along abs system, kinda braking assistance thing.. cant remember exact name...

if you wonder about tyres , here we go , where i got from- http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Ordern&cart_id=53069500.124.6553&typ=R-200873&ranzahl=4&Breite=185&Quer=65&Felge=14&Speed=H&weiter=0&kategorie=6&Ang_pro_Seite=20&Transport=P&dsco=124&sowigan=Wi

p.s. just looked on my old order... that time when i was buying them, was 48.50 delivered(ordered 12 october 2010), these days 66.80 (discaunt from price of 71.00).

:eek::eek::eek:
They are not all season tyres.
Sava eskimo S3 are typical winter tyres (M+S with a little snowflake).
Believe me or not, but they must behave way worse at current temperatures (12 degrees at my thermometre) than even the most basic chineese summer tyre.
I'm not saying it's illegal to use them during the summer, but I think by using this tyres you are lowering your grip significently during the warm days.

Probably what you wife did, also was not affected by tyres, as at that low speeds, it's just a fact she was not looking where she was going, instead of increased braking distance that could affect it.

But believe me or not. If you are doing 100km/h on this tyres during warm day, and something will come up in front of you (a child will run into the road, or sth) your emergency braking distance will be significently increased.
As I said I would prefer to have cheapest chineese summer tyres than winter tyres for summer.
I took my winter tyres off after 1 week of driving in Ireland at temperatures of 8 to 10 degrees, as they were just sliding all over. Bends which I can do at 100km/h on mid-range summer tyres, my car was already skidding at 60km/h on winter tyres.

Mar4ix

Those tyres are good enough, put them on in the end of 2010, was using all last year , something 20 k . km done on them, (32 k km on clocks), front tyres looks a bit worn, can see difference in rear and front tyre thred depth, but still ok to drive. now i am thinking about swap over rears to front, ... if ill wont find reasonably priced standard VW 15 inch alloy wheels, ..... at the moment trying find set.want keep those metal wheels for winter session. with mileage what we are doing now, i think, would go another two years.

CiniO

Mar4ix wrote: »

Those tyres are good enough, put them on in the end of 2010, was using all last year , something 20 k . km done on them, (32 k km on clocks), front tyres looks a bit worn, can see difference in rear and front tyre thred depth, but still ok to drive. now i am thinking about swap over rears to front, ... if ill wont find reasonably priced standard VW 15 inch alloy wheels, ..... at the moment trying find set.want keep those metal wheels for winter session. with mileage what we are doing now, i think, would go another two years.

If you (or your wife) is not driving it to the limit you won't feel a difference if you have good summer tyres, cheap chineese crap or winter tyres.
However trust me - at current temperatures and all through the summer your grip with that tyres is greatly decreased, and therefore driving with them during summer is dangerous, as in case of emergency your braking and handling capabilities will suffer. There is a reason why they are called "winter tyres".

Even the tyre industry marketing guys are trying to tell us, that we should put winter tyres whenever outside temperatures start falling below 7 degrees, the truth is that summer tyres keep their grip pretty well even below that, and only start to loose under freezing temperatures.
While winter tyres, surely great on snow and ice, whenever driven above 7 degrees have greatly reduced grip.

Mar4ix

CiniO wrote: »

If you (or your wife) is not driving it to the limit you won't feel a difference if you have good summer tyres, cheap chineese crap or winter tyres.
However trust me - at current temperatures and all through the summer your grip with that tyres is greatly decreased, and therefore driving with them during summer is dangerous, as in case of emergency your braking and handling capabilities will suffer. There is a reason why they are called "winter tyres".

Even the tyre industry marketing guys are trying to tell us, that we should put winter tyres whenever outside temperatures start falling below 7 degrees, the truth is that summer tyres keep their grip pretty well even below that, and only start to loose under freezing temperatures.
While winter tyres, surely great on snow and ice, whenever driven above 7 degrees have greatly reduced grip.

yes , i know that, I heard, summer tyres loose their grip below 4 degrees, winter tyres are too soft for warm whether, causing bad grip and quicker wearing.
As I said, looking for 15 inch alloy VW wheels by now, but seems to be not really many them around.there http://www.adverts.ie/1473247 is steel wheels with good tyres in adverts, will try get them. presume my vw polo 6r wheel patern is 5x112, hope those steel wheels will be right , i think profile bit too high, will fit first, see it is ok. (i think there was on petrol cover sticker - max size 195/55 r 15)