Storm Damage - Picture added

[vornwend 0]

Was in Watford for a meeting today and had my first ever RTA (in 28 years of driving) - courtesy of Hertsmere County Council.

 

Was stood stock still at red traffic lights when felt and heard an almighty thump from behind. A council van had ploughed into the back of my Storm! Really dreaded the short walk to the rear to see what the damage was - bumper deformed and badly cracked , rear panel above dented and deformed and torn at the weld as it went in) , and slight deformation of rear quarter panel. Ouch!!! Not as bad as I expected but a real sinking feeling. :(

 

Driver was really quick to apologise and admit it was his fault and we exchanged details so as its no fault and its a council I'm not expecting there to be any quibble about getting it sorted. Stopped off at a local body shop on the way home and have got them to prepare a quote - won't be cheap as the guy said I needed a new bumper and rear panel (I'm presuming they are still available from the stealers?) They also said they'd arrange an equivalent vehicle hire for the week that this will take to sort out. Not sure what they will deem to be an equivalent to a VR6 though:?

 

Life - don't ya luv it!

 

PS. Just got the quote through - £1800!! :shock:

[VR6 South 0]

Sorry to hear what happend. I suppose the price is reasonable considering the price of Corrado parts and labour. My Polo has just had £1200 worth of work after a paper boy rode into it!

[dr_mat 0]

That's surprisingly cheap. The bumper alone is ~ £700 and that's plain and unfinished.

[vornwend 0]

That's surprisingly cheap. The bumper alone is ~ £700 and that's plain and unfinished.

 

Just hope Hertsmere County Council think that's cheap too! The quote does say "estimated" against the parts which come to £740 before tax.

[ziderapple 0]

Sorry to hear that, was looking super minty when I saw it.

[vr6storm 0]

That's surprisingly cheap. The bumper alone is ~ £700 and that's plain and unfinished.

 

Just hope Hertsmere County Council think that's cheap too! The quote does say "estimated" against the parts which come to £740 before tax.

 

tbh and speaking from experience they'll pass it on to their public liability insurers......chances are they will be Zurich Municipal..........who will then make your life difficult......they made it hard for me when I claimed for stone damage caused by a council grass cutter cutting the grass right next to my parked car(the grasscutter didn't have any sort of stone guard so you can imagine the pebbledashing it did),to add insult to injury apart from the local Council being my employer they also suggested that I shouldn't park outside my house

[Goldie 2]

Nightmere, id be devastated..

 

I hope it all gets sorted out..

[mattnorgrove 0]

Gutting, at least its not a write off though!

 

Good luck getting it sorted...

[vornwend 0]

Thanx for messages of support. Trying not to get depressed about it. It could have been worse, can be fixed and hopefully will be as good as new. Trouble is I'm a really impatient sod and the worst thing is not being able to get it sorted right away. :mad:

 

At least the council customer services (am I a customer now?) rang to acknowledge my calls and e-mails. Now into the process of waiting for forms and then being handed over to their insurers - just feels like it'll take a long time :(

 

What shall I get as my hire car for the week its under repair? Consoling myself with the hope that I'll get something fun to drive. :lol:

[Rob Heath 0]

Sorry to hear about that!.

[BigTartanJudge 0]

Sorry to hear about the damage to the rado mate, however, you'll have a problem getting a new rear bumper for it, as there are not available / discontinued / obsolete anymore.

 

I had a similar claim to you about 10 months ago now and found out after a few months of investigation that they were no longer available. The insurance company sent me a cash-in-lieu payment so I could get a secondhand one and have it stripped, prepped and painted, and keep the difference. The new rear panel is still available AFAIK, at about £450+VAT, rear bumper (not available) £460+VAT, the rear light panel to hold lights is also required at £250+VAT, rear quarter not sure if available, but something stupid like £800+VAT, so quote not bad really.

 

Good luck with getting claim sorted out, I had a major headache with mine though...........read about it here:

 

http://www.the-corrado.net/.archive/forum/viewto ... highlight=

[vornwend 0]

Just read your thread BTJ. Wow that was an epic! Well done for perservering through it all. Trust its all sorted now?

 

Guess I'm gonna struggle with getting a new rear bumper then? Might give the body shop a ring tomorrow and see if they actually checked on availability otherwise I'm in the market for a second hand one. I'm gonna use a bodyshop near here (Colour Tech) who have done work for me in the past and seem really really good.

 

Not even thought about contacting my own insurance company just yet but might read through the piles of bumpf with the insurance certificate to see what they advise me to do.

 

Day 2 and counting!

Some say patience is a virtue - I say its a bloody waste of time!

 

PS. A glint of light - Just discovered that the boot light now works after having spent absolutely ages in the past trying to work out why it wouldn't - a drastic solution to sorting that particular problem and not recommended!

[CazzaVR 0]

Vaughan, sounds like a mare :( Any pics?

 

That's a good quote- was that ColourTech?

 

Hate to say it, but you may be in for quite a wait from the Council. Glos council are still processing our claim. Just keep badgering them.

 

See you Sunday!

[vornwend 0]

I'm very new to this insurance game. Rang my insurers today and I think I have may another option which, because its no fault and appears straightforward, is basically to use their recommended garage and they will pursue the claim with the council. If I want to use Colour Tech I will have to pay £350 excess which my insurers will try and claim back from the council. The risk being that they don't get it back.

 

The recommended garage is SJ Curtis at North Common - Anybody know of them?

 

Following BTJs experience I Googled "Corrado rear bumper" and can only find after market fibre glass ones at around £220 which might also be an option?

[dukest 0]

i'm always nervous about "recommended garages" - often means "cheapest we could find"....

[dinkus 10]

Yeah, as duke_st says.

 

I'd get in touch with Colour Tech to see if they do anything with independant claims companies that will give you an equivalent courtesy car, chase the claim for you and not cost you a penny.

[vornwend 0]

I'd get in touch with Colour Tech to see if they do anything with independant claims companies that will give you an equivalent courtesy car, chase the claim for you and not cost you a penny.

 

That's probably good advice Dinkus. Colour Tech do indeed use an independant company called Accident Exchange will provide a replacement vehicle and will chase up the excess.

 

SJ Curtis have a very fancy web site and an annoying call holding system neither of which inspires me to use them. :roll:

 

Back on the phone to the insurers....

[vornwend 0]

Getting there - I think - decided to use Colour Tech and probably arrange a hire car through them. They will take the risk that they can recover the charges. Might leave it to my insurers to get the excess back.

 

Have to provide 2 quotes as its not a recommended repair shop but that's not a problem. An insurance company engineer needs to give them the once over and agree which to use

 

Also checked with Colour Tech about the availablity of a bumper and they reckon they have a supplier in Bristol (Bristol car parts?) I think they said the cost was around £320 with all the bits and bobs. Seems quite a bit different than others experience??

 

I know its early days and it could yet go pear shaped but I have to say my insurance company (Admiral) have been dead easy to deal with on this - back to counting eggs :lol:

[Goldie 2]

That looks nasty... Look forward to seeing a photo of it all sorted out..

[vornwend 0]

Some positive movement on the insurance front today:

 

Insurance have now given authority to proceed with repairs :) - bad news is that I will have to wait until 11th June to get it booked in :(

 

The "equivalent" car for the week its in the bodyshop will be a BMW Z4 - so that might be fun, depending on variant :) - the alternatives, politely declined, were a Passat or a Focus 8)

[dukest 0]

result on the z4! not sure how that matches with a passat or a focus but no complaints from you i'm sure!

[CazzaVR 0]

That's good news, matey- apart from waiting sooooo long!

 

Have seen their Z4- not sure what varient it is though. Got big 'Colour Tech' stickers on the side ;)

[vornwend 0]

Have seen their Z4- not sure what varient it is though. Got big 'Colour Tech' stickers on the side

 

Perhaps I ought to carry some brochures around with me! :multi:

[CazzaVR 0]

:)

[vornwend 0]

At long last I got my Storm back today :D

 

Very, very pleased with the work Colour Tech (Wotton Under Edge) did on it this week- new rear bumper and new panel above. Their work is really excellent and it looks superb - all shiny and new :D

 

I would thoroughly recommend them to anyone who needs body work/paint doing. The owner said she might think about advertising on here. I had the added bonus of a BMW Z4 for the week as well! When I handed it back I said I'd quite enjoyed driving it and one of their staff replied he'd rather have the Storm :)

 

BTW I happened to have some of the blue grommet thingys that hold the rear badges on the rear panel (ordered them from ARZ Tuning as an add on to another order @ 0.19 euros each) . Colour Tech said they are not available anymore so bear that in mind if you are ordering from ARZ - worth salting away for a rainy day.

 

I'll post some pictures up if it ever stops raining.

 

Vaughan