Garage refusing to give completion date for repairs

Keep_Her_Lit

My daughter's car was involved in a collision 7 weeks ago. Her car was taken to a garage approved by her insurer. A preliminary estimate of the cost of repairs was provided to the insurer and they authorised the repairs. Upon enquiring as to when she would get her car back, my daughter was told that it would be a month worst case.

Now, seven weeks later, the garage is telling her that they need to order more parts to comlete the repair and they don't know how long that will take. She has pressed them for a date but they have refused to give one; they just don't know, they can't tell and they're not sure. She has also contacted her insurer and is having difficulty finding anyone who is remotely interested in following this up for her.

It seems pretty clear that she is being given the runaround here and I'd appreciate advice from anyone with prior experience of these antics. She owns that car, a garage has had it in their possession for nearly two months and is refusing to tell her when she can have it back. We intend to escalate this matter if it continues but what is the best way to go about doing that.

Thanks for any advice.

kdevitt

You can have the car moved to another approved bodyshop if you're that unhappy with them. Have you called in to the current bodyshop first though? If they've started any work on it, its unlikely another place will touch the car - and the current place will want payment for any work done, which would make it a mess from the insurance point of view. There are potentially parts on back order which are causing the delay, which isn't uncommon.

Electric Nitwit

Obviously I don't know who you're dealing with, but we've been waiting some post-crash repairs too. Our garage (who I trust) ordered a door and wing, he said it normally takes a week but it took five, supply chain issues etc. Not saying this is what's happening here, but I think there is a general issue out there at the moment

adgib

Been waiting 7 weeks for a replacement door for a van, definitely supply issues out there

tabby aspreme

Neighbours waited from January to August this year, to get a 21 reg Tiguan back from an approved repair shop, minor damage to the drivers side but air bags went out, they had to buy a car to get around as insurance would only supply a hire car for a few weeks

Manta400r

Your problem is simply the supply chain issues I'd imagine. I have a golf in the yard that the start stop button is faulty on and VW's words were "oh yeah can't get them because of the war in Ukraine" so had to disassemble it and make do while I try find a 2nd hand replacement. This is common at the moment on all brands- it's a nightmare for the trade, especially the independent garages!

galwaytt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058316852/garage-refusing-to-give-completion-date-for-repairs

to be fair, supply chain issues for parts are still a big problem.

I just spent 3 months waiting on one sensor for my Merc as Mercedes themselves in Germany had them on backorder from their own suppliers.

It just isn't feasible to fix dates on stuff like that atmo.

Keep_Her_Lit

Thanks for all the replies, they provide useful context and make it clear that this experience is common, unfortunately. We've just been down there for a chat and I'm satisfied that delays with parts are to blame for the hold up. They seem to be doing what they can and would like to get rid of the car as much as we would like to get it back.