I thought parking on a driveway would keep my car safe!

[monkeyhanger]

Heard back from the VW approved bodyshop today and they've said it is repairable. Because the damage was higher up it hasn't affected the chassis, and they will get VW to check the gearbox as it's an auto and was in park when it was moved about 2 metres. Price has gone to insurers now so waiting on their decision.

Maybe if the shunt buggered the gearbox you might get into a write-off situation?

I had a bus shunt my 2 week old Golf 170TDI 12 foot when it was 2 weeks old back in 2007. I was hoping that it would get written off, but it didn't. The repairing garage made a piss poor job of the repair too (A VW approved bodyshop in the Benfield group - now Lookers). I hated the car thereafter. Does the bodyshop its going to have a good reputation? Just being VW approved is no guarantee of a good repair.

[Guzzle]

Using a VW approved repair centre isn't a guarantee of a good job, but you should have more comeback in the event of a dispute with VW later down the line e.g. a warranty claim.

Should be ok to use a non-approved bodyshop as long as you trust them to do a good job, but if they don't do a good job and aren't VW approved you'll get nowhere in any dispute with VW.

[AmbushReality]

I'd still prefer a write-off but looking less likely as it's not a low value car obviously. The bodyshop did have all good reviews as well, and they guarantee their work for life. The insurer's did say their normal bodyshop would also guarantee the work for life and that guarantee wouldn't be valid if I went with the VW approved bodyshop as they weren't on their system but like you say, if it is VW approved I'm likely to get less hassle from VW themselves if I have any issues.

To be honest it's coming to the end of its finance so if it isn't written off it will probably be going back to them anyway.

[Lordie]

Hello!

Sorry to see and hear about the damage. Funnily enough I could've posted my last thread with the same title as yours. The tree outside my house fell onto the roof of my GTi a few months back when it was parked on my drive

It just so happens that I live in Gloucestershire too so can hopefully be a big help to you . My roof was quite badly dented, I took it to about 5 places for a quote and most screwed their faces up at it as it wasn't an easy repair (like paintless dent removal). Everyone said it needed the roof panel chopped off and replaced at the price of about £3,500. I found a place to get mine repaired which was excellent and they fixed it for under £600, to roof looks like new again. The owner said the other garages told me the roof needed replacing not because the damage was unrepairable, but because they didn't have the correct machine/tools to do so. They have a machine from Japan which fixes itself to the roof and pulls the dent out, then an extremely thin later of filler about the thickness of 2 sheets of paper, and a respray. They're a great professional bodywork shop and excellent at what they do. Couldn't recommended them enough and if I ever needed any repairs done I'll go straight back there

I'll PM you the details

Edit:// First time sending a PM on here. I think it sent but when I check my sent folder under messages it says nothing is there. If it didn't send then let me know

[AmbushReality]

Just a quick update, the total cost of repairs did not exceed value of the car and there was no structural damage so I will be getting the car back, eventually. Not my preferred outcome but I will withhold judgement until it is back in my hands. My neighbours car was written off so they already have a new car 4 years newer than their previous so a bit jealous.

[Exonian]

A bit unfortunate that the cost to repair didn’t trigger a write off going from those photos.
Maybe you should’ve used a more expensive body shop to push the cost over the line!!
I hope the repair is a good one though.

[AmbushReality]

The cost to repair was just over half the value of the car, and the repair bill was not small!

Using a different bodyshop wouldn't make a difference because the price has to be independently verified by the insurer anyway and the bodyshop had to agree to what the insurer would pay with regards to hourly rates etc.

The bodyshop rang today to say it isn't likely I'll get the car back by Christmas as VW took their time to supply some of the parts.

[P6GTD]

Just a quick update, the total cost of repairs did not exceed value of the car and there was no structural damage so I will be getting the car back, eventually. Not my preferred outcome but I will withhold judgement until it is back in my hands. My neighbours car was written off so they already have a new car 4 years newer than their previous so a bit jealous.

Just bear in mind that insurers will only pay fir a new replacement if the write-off claim occurs in the first 12m of a car’s life. So that new car on your neighbour’s drive was not bought 100% by their insurer.

[fredgroves]

Maybe they had gap insurance....

[AmbushReality]

No they absolutely forked out some extra, I was more jealous about them being back with a newer car of their choosing whilst I'm still sat waiting. I realise when I used the word new that was very misleading, it was 'new' to them. It's a used car just 4 years younger than their previous of the same model.

Also I have GAP insurance which was why I had no issues with mine being written off.