Budget direct - you get what you pay for!

[MikesCalais]

last year my vt was hit by a truck, there are pictures on here somewhere, its from about a year and half back... anyway!!

at the time, i was without a car for almost 2 months while they fixed it - that was no problem at all, i was happy to wait and i told them i would wait as long as it was done properly.

after taking it back for a number of reasons on several occaisions (i actually took it back to them 5 times) only for them to give it back to me and say "theres nothing wrong with it"

- They put in the WRONG back window so the demister DIDNT... PLUS the window wasnt fitted properly, and it SHATTERED when some idiot bricked it (they bricked the front window too and that didnt shatter)

- The boot was full of water (believed to be due to the window not being put in properly coz after I (OUT OF MY OWN POCKET) replaced the back window its stopped.

-My badges (after being put on for the second time.. ) are crooked and in the wrong spot...

- they kept telling me my CD player was 'in perfect working order' when it only played 3 out of 10 CD's - turned out it was completly faulty and needed to be replaced all together - they only replaced it when i told them that if they didnt fix it i'd be taking the matter further

- the rear parcel shelf wasnt put in properly

- the little plastic bit where the rear seat belt comes out of the middle broke

- the rear lights for whatever reason have gone out about 6 times (brake lights and normal lights) in the past year and a half when i never had any problems with them before hand - they said 'that was a common problem in the vt' .. yes it was... in the series 1... but it wasnt THAT bad... anyone, once again, out of my own pocket i had to pay to get the problem fixed...

and to think... over two years ive paid about $4500-$5000 for my insurance, and thats what i get for it...

and then when my windows were smashed they said they would replace them.... after i pay the excess and they raise my primium and take my rating from 4 to 6.... same thing now that i need my roof resprayed... youd think after all that they would give me a break... fair enough about that though, if thats how it works thats how it works, but all the stuff that happend when my car was in the accident... i wont be giving them my money next year...

so just remember - you get what you pay for... think twice about budget direct

[1vngal]

Mike!!!!!

Are you still having trouble with Sapphire? (And I see you still can't remember your password )

A mate of mine also had a bad experience with Budget Direct after his wife totalled the car. I think they're still battling it now and this happened a good 4 months ago.

Has Sapphire been properly fixed now? Or are you still having trouble?

[Lumps of cheese]

Where have you been all this time mike?
Sounds like you've been having fun!

[STEALTHY™]

Is it Budget thats the problem, or the repairer who did the repairs?

I saw ads for them, but havn't decided who want to insure with. I'm with Just cars for now, but thats definitely not a long term plan as their pretty crap aswell.

[MikesCalais]

Manda: Maaanndddaaa

Juzo: I been around, wouldnt say having fun though lol

Stealthy: It was the repairer who didnt do the job properly in the first place (even the paint was pretty dodgy) but then it was the guy at the assessment centre who was the problem, refusing that it was their problem... so the reparier they sent it too is pretty dodgy, but budget direct dont really want to know about any problems you have afterwards

[VZTHUNDER]

mike, long time no see
still troubles with the vt

[Scooter79]

Much of the responsibility falls on the repairer. I know after being rear ended two years ago I had to take the car back 4 times to get it right. But the repairer said from the start if anything wasn't quite right then to take it back. A couple of faults were poor wiring in the boot, failed to notice broken engine mounts (I was hit pretty hard), forgot to replace a few badges etc but the repairer was fantastic about it and in the end did a great job. Paint work was great too.

In your situation there is options you can take such as insurance disputes commission of whatever it's called. If you aren't happy with the insurer then take your case up with them. I can't remember the exact name but look it up. Might be in the insurers PDS.

[MikesCalais]

VZTHUNDER : all that car is is problems on wheels, but i still love her haha

Scooter79: yeahh i told the insurance that if they didnt fix the cd player i would be taking it to the disputes thing, i cant remember what its called either, but its true, the repairers didnt want anything to do with the car after they 'fixed' it the first time, and neither did the assessor, even though i took it to him personally to show him all the problems.. thats depsite the life time gaurentee on the work... if i really had the time and the patience i could just keep taking it back again and again, but its just a pain, and every time they would treat me like crap.. he even said to me (the assessor) " if i knew it would be this much trouble i would have written it off " < direct quote

[And_ROOS]

"And if your mother knew you would be this lousy at work she would have had an abortion..."

[PaulSV6]

Remember when u see the word, "budget" don't expect a high quality of repairs.

In all seriousness, tats hard luck mate.

[Reaper]

Sounds like a bad experience

Do I have it right that you are bitching at the repairer because the window broke when somebody hurled a brick at it though???

Reaper

[minux]

Sounds like a bad experience

Do I have it right that you are bitching at the repairer because the window broke when somebody hurled a brick at it though???

Reaper

LOL, i am still trying to work out how a cd player would be effected in an accident where the car wasn't a write off?

[Scooter79]

"And if your mother knew you would be this lousy at work she would have had an abortion..."

Lol... Great quote. I can think of some good variations

VZTHUNDER : all that car is is problems on wheels, but i still love her haha

Scooter79: yeahh i told the insurance that if they didnt fix the cd player i would be taking it to the disputes thing, i cant remember what its called either, but its true, the repairers didnt want anything to do with the car after they 'fixed' it the first time, and neither did the assessor, even though i took it to him personally to show him all the problems.. thats depsite the life time guarantee on the work... if i really had the time and the patience i could just keep taking it back again and again, but its just a pain, and every time they would treat me like crap.. he even said to me (the assessor) " if i knew it would be this much trouble i would have written it off " < direct quote

Get a copy of your insurance policy disclosure statement and point out to the assessor that part where is says 'lifetime guarantee'. Also nearly every PDS states something like 'we guarantee you vehicle will be repaired to it's original condition' .

LOL, i am still trying to work out how a cd player would be effected in an accident where the car wasn't a write off?

If you remember the pics that Mike posted of the acco it showed the CD player was dislodged from its mounting in the dash.

[Grennan]

Sounds like a bad experience

Do I have it right that you are bitching at the repairer because the window broke when somebody hurled a brick at it though???

Reaper

Nah what he is saying is that it shattered, when you chuck a brick through a windscreen it doesnt shatter...shouldnt shatter.

[Scooter79]

Nah what he is saying is that it shattered, when you chuck a brick through a windscreen it doesnt shatter...shouldnt shatter.

The repairers haven't done anything wrong in this case. The windscreen and rear window are made from two different types of glass. The windscreen is made from 'tempered' glass if I remember correctly. It's designed not to shatter. However they don't use the same glass in the side or rear windows. How do I know this? A few weeks ago on Mythbusters they tried to see if pushing on a window from the inside would stop it from shattering when hit with something from the outside. They fired ball bearings into the windscreen but it only cracked. They then had the bright idea to turn the car around and fire just one ball bearing into the rear window and glass sprayed everywhere. As they said, modern cars only have the windscreen reinforced, not the rear window.

[Reaper]

Nah what he is saying is that it shattered, when you chuck a brick through a windscreen it doesnt shatter...shouldnt shatter.

Because the windscreen is laminated glass. Rear and side windows are toughened. Go break all that windows in your car and suss it out.

Reaper

[MikesCalais]

LOL, i am still trying to work out how a cd player would be effected in an accident where the car wasn't a write off?

the hit was from behind and the cd player is in the boot, on the side that was hit, so they had to replace the cd player

andd as for the windscreen shattering, im not really complaining about it.. but if it was a proper windscreen it shouldnt have shattered the way it did (the whole window broke when the brick was dropped onto the side of it)

and when i had the window replaced properly they told me that the window that was in there was not installed properly (and like i said before it was also the wrong one that they used)

the window that the repairer put in was also buckled in the middle (the window actually dipped inwards right in the middle and down the bottom, you could easily see it and feel it), which would have made it significantly weaker, and i think thats why it broke the way it did

my bad, i didnt really explain it that way :P

[Flat_White]

did you catch the mongrel who did the brick jobb?

[MikesCalais]

haha i know who it was, but thats a wholee 'nother story

[voney]

haha i know who it was, but thats a wholee 'nother story

Do tell....

After all, what better way to express your anger at a person than create a permanent record of it on the internet?

[padrickz88]

bad news mike, i remember last time you told me about the wanker who smashed your windows..

note to self: stay with aami (they do an alright job and dont bust my balls)

[MikesCalais]

rickyy! im back!! haha

yeahh im thinking bout calling aami when i have to renew mine, either aami of just car, but from what ive heard i think i should go for aami

[Sabbath']

If you're over 25, AAMI would be a good option. If you're under 25 then they only allow you i think it's two modifications.

Rims are a modification
Catback Exhaust is a modification
Extractors are a modification
Sound system is a modification

etc. etc.

So if you have any more than one of those things and are with AAMI, you've gone over your modification limit and i dont know what kind of tricky **** they would try to pull.

[MikesCalais]

nahh im only 21, but my car is completly stock, if anything ONE DAY it might get an exhaust and lowered lol but thats IF that happens, so really im only worried about insuring the car completly stock

[ashbox]

shannons aren't too bad and before you tell me they don't insure people under 30 i already know its a load of crap.

i was insured with them at the age of 20.