Cost of insurance work

canhefixit

How da hell can garages justify the prices they charge when repairs or being paid by the insurance company?
Is it just the thing to do when it's insurance work just milk it altogether?
Dropped a mate to collect his car this evening in garage after someone tipped his car from behind, it wasn't that badly damaged a dent on boot door and bumper pushed in was was all, the garage is charging the insurance 3570 for the repair! I mentioned it saying that was a lot of money for all the damage was and he said ah sure don't worry it's the other lads insurance that pays it!!!
Isn't it any wonder premiums are on the up with this going on is this really common in the industry? Is insurance work just there to be abused by garages

Stheno

It could well be there was hidden damage behind the bumper

What car and year?

mickdw

I think they have toughened up alot on this. Repair quotes are now more realistic in general.
I saw a repair through a main dealer and insurance on a new Audi that only cost 2700 for bumper, one headlight, spotlight, washer and new wing together with door repair and new arch liner and various bits.
I thought it would be 5k to be honest.

canhefixit

mickdw wrote: »

I think they have toughened up alot on this. Repair quotes are now more realistic in general.
I saw a repair through a main dealer and insurance on a new Audi that only cost 2700 for bumper, one headlight, spotlight, washer and new wing together with door repair and new arch liner and various bits.
I thought it would be 5k to be honest.

Car is 131 avensis, dent was taken out if boot door and filled over and painted and the bumper popped out without any paint work damage the panel behind bumper was grand, garage kept saying the price of the paint is crazy, it fooking must be!!!

I know of a few incidents like this over the past few years and it just seems like a pure money maker for the garages, there is a garage not to far from me and he heavily advertises he does insurance work for all the companies and is flat out god knows what he's making working the insurance system

Pov06

I remember standing outside a local garage and a taxi driver came in to enquire about a small scrape on his car.

The garage quoted 200 euro for the repair if paid by cash. The taxi driver said insurance will be paying and the mechanic's response was "tell them it's 500 euro and we'll split the 300 in half". Jaw dropping moment...

CiniO

Not only in Ireland.

I had a small damage in Poland this winter - hit a small dog at about 90km/h.
Front bumper slightly cracked, and A/C condenser damaged. Possibly a condenser housing bit bent.

Went to rather big garage, they said to do it through insurance, and estimated a cost at around 4000 PLN (950 EUR).
Went to another smaller garage, and I got sorted with new condenser and drier, A/C refilled, housing straightened and bumper plastic welded for 550 PLN (130 EUR).

canhefixit

How do they get away with it?
Surely it's classed as insurance fraud?
It's normal folk who end up paying it through hiked up premiums

CiniO

canhefixit wrote: »

How do they get away with it?
Surely it's classed as insurance fraud?
It's normal folk who end up paying it through hiked up premiums

I assume in most cases it's not the insurers which are being cheated on by garages, but car owners.

I can't imagine garage could come up with astronomical claim and get away with it.
What they possibly do though, is price everything based on brand new original part, nothing to be fixed, everything to be changed for new. And charge labour on rather higher end of the scale.
In the end they end up fixing a car the cheap way, and customer never even realises.

That seems to be the case what OP described, where probably price garage charged was based on all elements exchanged for new originals, but in fact boot door were filled and painted.

Desolation Of Smug

Imagine setting up a garage just to make money! Crazy stuff!

goz83

Desolation Of Smug wrote: »

Imagine setting up a garage just to make money! Crazy stuff!

Imagine earning an honest living

Del2005

canhefixit wrote: »

How do they get away with it?
Surely it's classed as insurance fraud?
It's normal folk who end up paying it through hiked up premiums

Insurance companies want cars repaired with new OEM parts in authorised garages, neither of these are cheap, the reason is they are only putting themselves at more risk by not using these as people could claim in the next crash that the substandard parts the insurance company used caused the crash.

If Joe public crashes and doesn't go through insurance he goes to the lad with a shed and 2nd hand parts which will always be cheaper.

The real issue is why it costs many multiples of the new price to make a car from parts when in almost every other industry it's cheaper to make the product from parts.

canhefixit

How bout this one, last winter I broke down just outside dundalk bout 5 Klms, I was blocking the road on a bend so friend called guards just to be safe, guards gave number of garage for recovery so called them and got recovered, so back the following day to get car and ask how much for recovery and because it's through insurance it's 220!!!! If it were privately it would of been 70!!! Talk about milking it! I had a heated argument with garage man who said because I called them directly and not through insurance the insurance wouldn't pay but price still 220 I said that was a complete rip off and that I would contact insurance company and tell them exactly what he said, after much debate he took 100, crowd of conmen in my opinion fleecing people and the insurance