Help With My Insurance Claim!!!

petzke · 23-11-2006, 03:08 PM

hey guys a bit longer than a month ago my car was hit by a woman in the student car park. my car was stationary and she took full responsibility but it took her a month to get the insurance claim number and it was all finnaly sorted out early last week and it had had the dint repaired and the bonnet freshly painted. now the problem is the bonnet looks amazing like it came out of the shop and the rest of the car is slightly faded. i believed the idea of insurance was to compensate the wronged party until they are back to the position they were in before the incedent, and if this is not possible to put them in a better position. i need help of what steps to take now as im sure i shouldnt leave it too long.. does anyone have any ideas or has been through this before? i need to know if its possible to make them spray my whole car and what i have to do from here.

thankyou all in advance.
chris petzke

mitch_lx · 23-11-2006, 03:15 PM

Tell em some ***** keyed your car.

pay you're excess.

new paint all round YO

Focussed · 23-11-2006, 03:22 PM

mate your chances of getting your insurer to respray the entire is zero to nothing.
they only agree to repair the damage and the fact that the paint has faded, is not the insurer's fault.
however, all insurance companies have whats called a dispute resolution process. yuor first step to get this going is to speak with a claims officer that handled your claim and if you don't get any help from them, escalate the complaint to a dispute & see how you go.
what mitch lx said is actually fraud...enough said!

pb02 · 23-11-2006, 03:22 PM

Cut and polish the rest of your car!!!

Did you expect the repaired to paint your bonnet in a slightly faded paint???
The insurance company and repairer are not responsible for the condition you keep your car in.

23-11-2006, 03:25 PM

Any good panel beater should blend the paint in with the rest of the car. If theres a noticable difference with 1 panel, take it back.

pecker73 · 23-11-2006, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by petzke

.... i need to know if its possible to make them spray my whole car and what i have to do from here.

If you find an insurance co that will re-spray the whole car.... Be sure to post there name on here... I will change IMMEDIATELY...

More to the point, the repair should have been able to color match provided the existing paint job was not totally rooted.... Go have a chat with them.

Cheers

MrEL · 23-11-2006, 03:37 PM

There is zero chance they will respray the car. BUT the repaier should have eye matched the paint to what was on the car. If there is a problem talk to the repairer and the insurance company. You may be able to come to a deal with them for the repairer to professionally buff the car and go halves with you on the costs. Only problem is you probably had to sign a form stating you were happy with the repairs when you picked the car up.

XR8putts · 23-11-2006, 04:15 PM

You can't expect the insurer to paint the whole car. However as it has been said above, the repairer shoud've done a better match job.

One question, how old is you car, namely what year, and hos about posting a photo..........

Scott · 23-11-2006, 04:28 PM

Going from other posts it's a ZL.

BENT_8 · 23-11-2006, 04:34 PM

What type, age color car are we talking here?
Red or silver im thinking.
One of the questions you get asked when you take out a policy is if the car is in good repair and has no existing damage.
If you polish your car every 6 mths then the other panels should not be faded, if they are faded then its your fault.

I am facing a similar drama at the moment.
I was hit last Saturday by a 'P' plater of ONE day, whilst he was out test driving cars to get his first.
Did he have insurance, NO!
It became apparent that he needed to reverse across an intersection on a main arterial road and i clipped him as i turned onto the main road whilst looking right to give way.
I was able to get his name and address and liscence no but due to the owner of the car being 100mtrs up the road and heading my way with about 7/8 of his oriental mates, i decided to get out quick forgetting the car rego number.
Coppers seen it my way and reported REVERSE WITH UNDUE CARE.
My insurance see's me at fault and now im paying an excess of $300.

Now back on topic, i occasionally take my car through a car wash, and so the paint has minor swirl marks.
Before i take it to get it assessed for repair i will be giving the paint a light clean and lift the shine so when they match it it will be as close to original as possible, why, because its my duty to maintain my car in such a way that your problem doesnt arise should the unthinkable happen.

BAFalconXT · 23-11-2006, 06:35 PM

They have to colour match the paint to your car, I guess if the rest of the car is too faded they would have to paint the whole car. Insurance companies have a department for damage that was not repaired properly, just call your or their insurance company and explain. I just had half my front suspension replaced because it was not fixed properly to begin with, I was suprised how quick and easy it was. The insurance company was actually helpful!

Jason[98.EL] · 23-11-2006, 06:49 PM

im going through an insurance claim at the moment

a woman backed into my car in a shopping centre

my insurance co looked at the color and said to me that if there is any paint differance to contact them as soon as i notice it

i asked why they said that being the alaskin frost being silver it is a real hard color to match they will hit the other person for a total respray if it comes to that

getting back on topic

contact your insuance company and see what they can do for you

petzke · 23-11-2006, 09:13 PM

heljas has the most pleasing answer for me lol. the car is a 1986 ZL fairlane. the color is metallic blue ( i think its called arctic or antlantic or something ) but they did their best matching but its still noticeable. they told me noone can match faded paint but we can get as good and close to the color as possible. so i mite give my insurance company a call tmrw and see wat happens. no harm in trying i guess.

AUXRVIII · 23-11-2006, 09:21 PM

So basically because you failed to maintain the appearance of your car you want me & everyone else to pay for its apperance to be fixed by increasing my premium? ****** off.

petzke · 23-11-2006, 09:56 PM

i bought it faded thankyou very much. its a 20 year old car. i dont know about anyone else but keeping a cars paint immaculate for 20 years is easy?? good one.... and sorry if this is just my incompetance but how does it increase your premium ., doesnt it just make her excess go up , which it already has for the claim as she has fully comprehensive. and i just want it back to either the condition it was in before the accident or better.. thats wat insurance and compensation is meant to be for. dont know about u but just out there wat if u needed panels fixed and they matched it wrong and u wanted it properly. your a idiot auxrviii. think about it if it happened to u

AUXRVIII · 23-11-2006, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by petzke

i bought it faded thankyou very much. its a 20 year old car. i dont know about anyone else but keeping a cars paint immaculate for 20 years is easy?? good one.... and sorry if this is just my incompetance but how does it increase your premium ., doesnt it just make her excess go up , which it already has for the claim as she has fully comprehensive. and i just want it back to either the condition it was in before the accident or better.. thats wat insurance and compensation is meant to be for. dont know about u but just out there wat if u needed panels fixed and they matched it wrong and u wanted it properly. your a idiot auxrviii. think about it if it happened to u

It did happen to me, when I was 18 I had a '73 Escort pvan that some woman ran into & the van was repaired by a friend who was a panel beater. I asked the same questions regarding condition of the car compared to the repaired panels & got laughed at.
Insurance claims do increase premiums, how do you thing the repairs get paid for? You pay x amount in premiums, repairs or replacements cost thousands more where do you think the money comes from? A money tree?
I also take offence to being called an idiot.

XR8putts · 23-11-2006, 10:11 PM

Sounds like you want a complete respray to make your 20 year old car look new to me, taking advantage of being hit.

I mean serioulsy, is your car worth about 2 grand? A complete respray costs about 3 grand..

Shouldn't you be asking for the bonnet to be resprayed with a dull paint? In your first post in this thread you're asking us how to get the whole car resprayed, paid for by insurance. If all you wanted was the car like it was, then you'd just want the bonnet paint dulled.

ltd · 23-11-2006, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by petzke

i bought it faded thankyou very much. its a 20 year old car. i dont know about anyone else but keeping a cars paint immaculate for 20 years is easy?? good one.... and sorry if this is just my incompetance but how does it increase your premium ., doesnt it just make her excess go up , which it already has for the claim as she has fully comprehensive. and i just want it back to either the condition it was in before the accident or better.. thats wat insurance and compensation is meant to be for. dont know about u but just out there wat if u needed panels fixed and they matched it wrong and u wanted it properly. your a idiot auxrviii. think about it if it happened to u

Actually, keeping a cars paint immaculate for 20 years is pretty easy. Look at all the old corona's and corolla's that the elderly drive. I even saw a Datsun 200B the other day in immaculate condition, complimented the elderly gentleman driving it and he said that he just kept it clean and waxed it every 6 months from new.
I on the other hand have always kept my cars immaculate, and I have never had a respray. I am a little more fastidious than most and wax my cars once a month, and I just don't leave them sitting in the sun all day either.
As for your plight, the best you can hope for is for the insurance company to pay to have your cars paint professionally cut and detailed in the hope of bringing the faded colour back. Additionally, you might want to consider the fact that being a 20 year old ZL, the insurance company are not going to jump through hoops because the market value is only a few grand; cheaper to replace the car.

I hope it all goes well for you mate, if you can post a pic of the car.

BENT_8 · 24-11-2006, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by petzke

i bought it faded thankyou very much. its a 20 year old car. i dont know about anyone else but keeping a cars paint immaculate for 20 years is easy?? good one.... and sorry if this is just my incompetance but how does it increase your premium ., doesnt it just make her excess go up , which it already has for the claim as she has fully comprehensive. and i just want it back to either the condition it was in before the accident or better.. thats wat insurance and compensation is meant to be for. dont know about u but just out there wat if u needed panels fixed and they matched it wrong and u wanted it properly. your a idiot auxrviii. think about it if it happened to u

You may have bought it faded but i think the faded paint would have been a bargaining point for the purchase, in any case the car would have been cheaper with the faded paint.
Now you are whinging that the new paint is too new.
Funny how the old paint would have saved you money then but is terrible now.
As a wise man once told me "Swings and Roundabouts" my friend.
If you spent a bit more money when you bought it and got one with tidy paint you wouldn't have a problem now.

070mstg · 24-11-2006, 01:00 AM

you got a free bonnet paint job, now slowly save up and get the rest done to match the bonnet

LTDHO · 24-11-2006, 08:13 AM

Older paint is very easy to maintain and keep looking deep and glossy. If you chose not to do this, you can not expect your insurer to respray your car. No one is liablee for the paint on the rest of the vehicle except you.

However, your insurer should have provided you with a vehicle that was the same as the one damaged, so they should have paited it in the faded colour.

Moral of this is, look after ya car and then you will avoid situations like this!

Scott · 24-11-2006, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AUXRVIII

So basically because you failed to maintain the appearance of your car you want me & everyone else to pay for its apperance to be fixed by increasing my premium? ****** off.

Quote:

Originally Posted by petzke

dont know about u but just out there wat if u needed panels fixed and they matched it wrong and u wanted it properly. your a idiot auxrviii. think about it if it happened to u

Quote:

Originally Posted by AUXRVIII

I also take offence to being called an idiot.

Harden up ya sook, you started it.

As for your ZL petzke, it sounds like yuo need to give the rest of the car a good polish or go to the painter and get the rest done at your expense. If the insurance co has to cough up for the whole respray they will more likely write the car off and pay your insured or market value which is likely to be not much.

BAFalconXT · 24-11-2006, 11:12 AM

Why should anyone settle for less, he didnt cause the accident. If anyone thinks so, your are as bad as all the women(or men) who think, "its just a scratch", "it can be buffed out", "its an old car anyway", "its only a car", whatever....

BAFalconXT · 24-11-2006, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GMH8TR

If the insurance co has to cough up for the whole respray they will more likely write the car off and pay your insured or market value which is likely to be not much.

The insurance company paid the repairer to fix the car to a minimum of the standard before the accident, the repairer has been paid to do a job and if they want future insurance work there they will fix it, insurance will not have to pay anymore than they already have. As soon as people start accepting a lower standard, insurance companies will f0ck us all over.

I_Con · 24-11-2006, 11:18 AM

Im a bit confused.

Is the colour off?? If so the the repairer should fix it.

If its glossy where as the existing paint is dull then wouldn't a cut'n'polish do the job, of better yet a buff?? Something you can work out with insurance/repairer.

GXL078 · 24-11-2006, 11:56 AM

You should have slipped the repairer some cash at the time and had the whole lot done.

GXL078 · 24-11-2006, 11:59 AM

delete

petzke · 24-11-2006, 12:18 PM

yeah sorry if this has ppl a bit annoyed. all i was asking is if it was possible to get my whole car resprayed as the insurance and premiums have already been done because of the original repair. the bonnet looks amazing i couldnt be happier with it. but it now does not look like the rest of my car and i dont know if anyone replying is a painter or nething but the majority of panel beaters were only going to respray a fraction of the bonnet leaving it looking totally innacurate but i was fortunate enuf to get the whole bonnet done, but as they all told me, it is impossible to match faded paint but they did the best they could. the thread was asking if anyone had had a previous experience of this and wat steps to take if it was possible. and i dont think it is too much to want my car either in the condition it was or better . yes the bonnet looks amazing but i am not in a better or equal position as i was before the incedent as it looks different from the rest of my car.

BAFalconXT · 24-11-2006, 12:23 PM

If it was anyone elses car that has post here and the paint was not colour matched properly, they would complain... The insurance company has paid them for the job, so they should back you up.

pb02 · 24-11-2006, 01:22 PM

You can't accurately colour match faded paint... Lets assume the repairer can match your faded paint perfectly.. What would happen when you actually polished the rest of the car??? The colour on the respray would be way off!!!

As I said in my previous post, cut and polish a panel and see how it looks before you do anything further.