Oh great, some idiot rear ended my gti!...... help needed

[Phil mcavity]

i need some advise,a prat in a minibus went up the back of me stationary at a roundabout, about £500-£600 worth of damage, ie rear bumper top/bottom and rear light lens damage, My insurance company are sorting this out no probs, but have told me to give it to a local bodyshop for them to fix. How do i stand with regards to vw warranty, would this be best to take it and get it sorted by a vw stealer , would i nulify my 3 yr paint warranty if it goes elsewhere. anyone can give me sound advise plz, cheers guys

[illyun]

Have they specified the bodyshop?  If not then I would take it to your local bodyshop i.e. the VW Dealer.  If they have specified the bodyshop, then I would fight tooth and nail to get it done at the Stealers... its a £22k+ car and brand new so I wouldn't take it anywhere but the main dealer - even though they may pass it onto a local bodyshop themselves 

[Cass]

Sorry to hear this. I would only use a VW approved bodyshop to ensure that you get OE parts and a fully warranted repair in line with VAG body/paint warranties. I am sure you can specify this even though your insurer may have ties to local bodyshops, which may well be cheaper but may not necessarily use OE parts. You may lose out on other insured benefits though, eg. courtesy car, collect/delivery but check with your insurer and insist on having the work done at an approved VW bodyshop. You could of course claim on the other guy's insurance for the other benefits.

Cass

[wantmygti]

Hard Luck fella.

Someone hit my car earlier this year. Basically it's your car, you pay the insurance and you therefore choose where it is fixed. I think that by law VW can no longer invalidate warranties when non VW people work on your car but in reality it may cause a fight.

If you are recovering costs from a 3rd party the insurance won't object (mine didn't when i did the same).

[The Doc]