Righty . . . here goes. . .
So if I read that correctly, if when driving along in a straight line, on a flat road, and you were to take your hands off the steering wheel - the car would veer to the right - and you need to correct it by applying a small amount of left hand lock? If so, you first need to check a few easy things yourself, before rattling some larger cages:
- Firstly, check your tyre pressures - COLD, first thing in the morning, before the sun is able to heat up one side of the car. Use your own personal tyre pressure guage (rather than relying on the inaccurate garage forcourt tyre inflators), and set them to the correct pressures (with no variation at all between sides).
- Tyre make & type - are both the tyres on each axle of identical make and tread pattern? ie, both front tyres say Dunlop SportMaxx, rather than one side being a SportMaxx and the other being a SportMaxx GT. If not, therin could be your problem.
- Tyre batch and tread depth - using a proper tyre tread depth gauge, are both tyres on an axle identical tread depth (to within ½mm)? Are both tyres from the same manufacturing batch? All tyres must have a four digit date code on the sidewall, sommat "1906", which indicates they were made the 19th week of 2006. If you have Dunlops, then this wont be easy, as they only put the date code on one sidewall (so for directional Dunlops, it may be on the outer sidewall of the left tyre, but the inner sidewall of the right tyre). Most other tyre manufacturers put the date code on both sidewalls.
- Tyre general condition - you said the car was kerbed, so do a "general" check of the tyre. Look and feel with your hands for any cuts, lumps, bulges, or any other irregularities on all areas of the outer surface (tread and both sidewalls). Ideally, jack the car to raise the wheel clear of the ground so you can rotate the wheel. Before jacking, if its the left wheel which needs checking, turn the steering to a full left lock so you can get an eaiser view of the inner sidewall without having to grovel under the car.
- If you can jack the car, also check for any runout, or buckling of the wheel and tyre
If all the above have been carried out and found to be all A-OK, then you need to take the matter further, and take two specific paths of action.
Firstly, the garage who carried out the repairs. Ask for written copies of all the work they carried out. This includes the initial estimate to the insurance company, workshop job sheets, the fully itemised invoice to the ins co - and crucially for your specific instance - the printouts from the laser geometery check. These MUST include the "before" AND "after" printouts. If they refuse, write to the Dealer Principal, requesting that they have a legal obligation to provide this info, and state the "Freedom of Information Act" (FoI). Copy the letter to Volkswagen UK and also your local Trading Standards, and if they still refuse, then ask Trading Standards to help to enforce the FoI request. If the garage still fails, Trading Standards have the power to prosecute the garage for non-compliance with UK legislation. If/when you get this paperwork, scan it and post the detail here (make sure you cover up your reg no and VIN if you post such info on a public forum) - then we can check if the alignment looks OK, or see if anything else is amiss.
Secondly, whilst your are taking it up with the garage per above, you must also inform your insurance company. WRITE to them, and categorically state that the repair is not of a statisfactory quality. Explain to them the car did NOT pull to one side before the accident, and you simply want the car restored to the identical condition before the prang. Explain to them that the current pulling to one side is dangerous, and could potentially cause another accident. Inform them that if they fail to fully repair the car to a satisfactory standard, then you will seek an alternative independent vehicle examination (an RAC inspection or similar), and they will be liable for all costs involved (the bill for the report, petrol money, half a day's hol from work, etc) in the event of an outstanding problem being found which should have been rectified as part of the accident damage repair. Furthermore, advise them that should they fail to fully resolve the outstanding problems, you will (a) lodge a formal complaint with the Insurance Ombudsman, and (b) make the problems "public", using internet forums, car magazines, Which mag, etc - so that others can be advised to avoid using your particular insurance company.
All the above is the formal, "nitty-gritty" way to deal with this - and it may seem a bit of a ball-ache to persue. However, if you are sure that there is a definate unresolved problem with your car, it really shouldn't cost you a penny, though it may drag on for two or three months. The quicker alternative would be to find a respected independent specialist workshop or tyre fitters (don't use ThickFit, sorry, KwikFit) - but this will cost you money.
At the end of the day, whilst you may be pointing the finger of discontent at the dealer, in cases like these, 95% of the time it is actually the fault of the insurance company who try their hardest to minimise the cost of the claim, by cutting corners and not authorising alignment checks and the like.
HTH, keep us updated.
