Car body work advice

[Peteski]

[QUOTE=SaneAdam;1162240]As i said, Merc did some shocking work on my car. So just using the main dealer won't mean it will be better work.
[/QUOTE]

All swings and roundabouts really. Going direct to a bodyshop will undoubtedly be cheaper, but I'd rather be ranting at main dealer customer service than an indy bodyshop if things went badly or the repair needed a warranty claim a year later. I would imagine they sorted your Merc out eventually? But hopefully you've picked a good shop and they will do a great job and treat you nicely.

[SaneAdam]

[QUOTE=Peteski;1162317]All swings and roundabouts really. Going direct to a bodyshop will undoubtedly be cheaper, but I'd rather be ranting at main dealer customer service than an indy bodyshop if things went badly or the repair needed a warranty claim a year later. I would imagine they sorted your Merc out eventually? But hopefully you've picked a good shop and they will do a great job and treat you nicely.[/QUOTE]


I certainly understand what you are saying about the comfort of being able to rant at customer service of a main dealer. But as i say, Subaru use 3rd party body shops anyway. So it wouldn't actually be their work. Although you would like to think they would act to make sure it is right on your behalf… but in that situation i would be paying the money to Alton Cars rather than Subaru.

Hopefully as you say their work will be good, they have already been the most professional and approachable out of all the places i went to. Plus their quote came through e mail an hour after my visit just as he said it would. I had to chase the other places to get the quotes which i didn't like so much

It is all swings and roundabouts as you say. Its a lottery regardless of who fixes it and if its through insurance or not. I had a minor bump that went through insurance and Evans H did the work. They had my car for nearly 3 months!!!! Despite repeated phone calls to the insurance company and the body shop they kept fobbing me off. In the end i had to walk in and demand they give me my car back. They said give us 30 mins…. at which point i saw what must have 6 or 7 blokes all suddenly standing round it working on. They had it that long and all it need was a new front bumper, bonnet and head lights. It was a total farce.

[Peteski]

Insurance is another story altogether! In that case it depends a lot on your policy in terms of the quality of repair and service. A minefield all on its own I'm afraid.

[SaneAdam]

[QUOTE=Peteski;1162353]Insurance is another story altogether! In that case it depends a lot on your policy in terms of the quality of repair and service. A minefield all on its own I'm afraid.[/QUOTE]

Exactly. I like to avoid minefields where ever possible lol :)

Especially as my policy has always been top notch fully comp cover that i have had to pay a ridiculous amount for due to being in the entertainment industry (not many places insure musicians full stop) Yet they still managed to f**k it up. Regardless of the level or quality of cover, the work will always be done by some bloke in a body shop anyway. Thats where the margin for error is.

[SaneAdam]

Might as well close the thread now the issue is resolved :)