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Is my VE Calais a write-off?

mr calais 5.0

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Do you know who done it or have a good idea who? Keep up the good work mate I know its a tuff job.. Few of my mates are in the job..
 

Drakul

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with racv i can almost guarantee it wont be a write off. the problem is theres a reason for that, theres going to be body shops bidding for the job and it will be going to the lowest bidder. hopefully it goes to a shop that knows what there doing and one that has a conscience... otherwise your going to have an even worse time. my shop does 80-90% racv jobs and i can tell you first hand the remove/refit, repair and paint times are all going to be low. that translates to a rush job to make a profit.

the work will have a lifetime guarantee and anything thats not right, just make them fix it...

How much do you reckon (roughly) the repairs SHOULD cost all up? I know it's hard to say without looking at it in person just as a guesstimate?

I don't want RACV turning around saying it's $3k repair bill just because they've shopped around for a cheap job and it comes back looking like a train wreck.

So what would the cost of a decent repair job be?
 

ChewieSV6

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Even if you are insured with RACV (I am also) you don't have to use their repairer. If you have a repairer that you know and trust to do a good job, you can get a quote from him and pass it onto RACV. They wont make it easy for you, every time you ring up, you'll get a different girl, and they'll all tell you different versions of their bullshit.....and they'll try and discourage you from using your own repairer. After you are totally fed up with delays and getting the runaround, you'll ask to speak to a supervisor, and then you will start to get somewhere. They'll arrange for an assessor to look at the car and approve (or adjust) your quote, and then you'll be able to proceed with the repair. Ask me how I know this. I have been through this process twice, both times the other drivers insurance companies were paying for the work, but RACV still made the process difficult. Only downside to this is RACV wont give you a lifetime warranty on the repairs. This was not a problem for me as my repairer will look after any problems I have.

Now, if you decide to go with RACV's process, you will hand over the car to their repairer, and you won't see it again until it is fixed. This could take a long time. My daughter decided to go this route after a minor accident (about $2800 of repairs). After about 4 weeks she rang the repairer to see how the car was going. The hadn't started the repairs...waiting on parts they said! FFS...its a holden, and they were common enough parts. She got the car back after 6 weeks. They couldn't give a ****. I asked my panel beater mate how long it would take him, from start to finish. He said he could have it done inside a week, and he didn't believe there would be any delay on the supply of the parts that were required. My daughter had decided to trust RACV....never again she says.

Good luck which ever way you decide to go.
 

hi_ryder

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How much do you reckon (roughly) the repairs SHOULD cost all up? I know it's hard to say without looking at it in person just as a guesstimate?

I don't want RACV turning around saying it's $3k repair bill just because they've shopped around for a cheap job and it comes back looking like a train wreck.

So what would the cost of a decent repair job be?

your scratches could have been hard enough to dent the panel as well as scratch the paint, this could change the quote significantly. means the panels will have to be physically repaired with dent pullers and filler, not just sanding out scratches. without seeing the panels in person id guesstimate its an 8k give or take. racv goes second hand parts on any car thats more than 2 years old (if you need any panels replaced do to dent damage).

Even if you are insured with RACV (I am also) you don't have to use their repairer. If you have a repairer that you know and trust to do a good job, you can get a quote from him and pass it onto RACV. They wont make it easy for you, every time you ring up, you'll get a different girl, and they'll all tell you different versions of their bullshit.....and they'll try and discourage you from using your own repairer. After you are totally fed up with delays and getting the runaround, you'll ask to speak to a supervisor, and then you will start to get somewhere. They'll arrange for an assessor to look at the car and approve (or adjust) your quote, and then you'll be able to proceed with the repair. Ask me how I know this. I have been through this process twice, both times the other drivers insurance companies were paying for the work, but RACV still made the process difficult. Only downside to this is RACV wont give you a lifetime warranty on the repairs. This was not a problem for me as my repairer will look after any problems I have.

Now, if you decide to go with RACV's process, you will hand over the car to their repairer, and you won't see it again until it is fixed. This could take a long time. My daughter decided to go this route after a minor accident (about $2800 of repairs). After about 4 weeks she rang the repairer to see how the car was going. The hadn't started the repairs...waiting on parts they said! FFS...its a holden, and they were common enough parts. She got the car back after 6 weeks. They couldn't give a ****. I asked my panel beater mate how long it would take him, from start to finish. He said he could have it done inside a week, and he didn't believe there would be any delay on the supply of the parts that were required. My daughter had decided to trust RACV....never again she says.

Good luck which ever way you decide to go.

dude i can show some actual racv job sheets with r&r, repair and paint times. repaints always get the **** end of the stick too because they cost so much money. RA accessors will beat the times down to nothing or the shop wont get the job, it will go to the next guy that will do it almost breaking even. we had a 2012 bright pearl red peugeot a couple months back that was vandal scratched all over minus the roof and plastic bumpers (racv job). it had 6 hours on the repairs (sand out the scratches and prime, and fix 2 dents) and 12 hours on the repaint. so were talking 18 hours for a spray painter to sand out scratches, prime, rub the whole job, mask, prep wash, repaint, and polish out any dust in the clear. after my work mate spent 2 full days doing the job (contract painter) he only got $550 total. thats not counting 3 hours to polish, and thats before tax too. the times on all jobs are set by racv and the repairer cant go over that. so it dosent matter if you send it to your choice of repairer or not, they have to be an racv approved repairer to begin with and they're going to be playing by the same times and prices set by the company.
 

Wheatley098

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That's discussing! To know we share the same air as those low life scum who would stoop so low as to wreck and majorly damage one vehicle but not stop there as they have also scared the family!

This outrages me and I hate people that vandalise cars, no respect, no guilt, no common sense, no brains, no guts to take up with you maturely whatever the problem may be

Hope they get what's coming to them, Cowards..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Bitpharked

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I just bought a VE sv6 commodore ute that was considered a repariable write off from a reputable panel beater. He showed me the photos of it before where it looked like someone had slightly kicked in each panel. (which he thinks was done on purpose for a write-off) It was a bit of a joke. All panels were replaced and car professionally resprayed. Brought for $15000 with 90K on the clock and a brand new voodoo blue paint job. :) insured for $26k
 

Bitpharked

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Sorry, but also my car didn't nearly look as bad as that either when it was classed as a repairable write off. The rules for repairable write off and non repairable are crazy. The same panel beater had a 2013 VE Commodore Sedan written off because fresh water entered just over the bottom door trim. The car had only done 3K. No damage at all, it smelt like a new car, drove and ran perfectly but was classed as a non-repairable write off. ]He sold the car to a guy in Fiji who will get it on the road. I really question the insurance companies who raise their insurance premiums while making these decisions on whats repairable and whats not. Seems its easier to just tick the box rather than actually assess.
Sorry about your car too dude.....that was one crazy piece of white trash that went to town on it
 

Drakul

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your scratches could have been hard enough to dent the panel as well as scratch the paint, this could change the quote significantly. means the panels will have to be physically repaired with dent pullers and filler, not just sanding out scratches. without seeing the panels in person id guesstimate its an 8k give or take. racv goes second hand parts on any car thats more than 2 years old (if you need any panels replaced do to dent damage).

Thanks mate.

Insurers seem to be very touch and go..my sister had some minor hail damage last year and it was apparently $4k to fix just the roof and she has a Holden cruze...

After thinking about the safety aspect of it (they obviously know my car and where I work so changing the plates won't help) I'm thinking even if it gets repaired I will probably sell and buy something else. It's very unfortunate as I love my car but it's for the best.

Does anyone know if you can compromise with insurance companies?

Say for example if the damage is $15k to repair (it's a stretch but possible), obviously it wouldn't be a write off because the payout is agreed value of 22k. But if I was to say that I would accept market value (which I think is about 18k) that would be more financially viable for he insurance as they could pay me out 18k then sell parts for a few grand and have spent less than 15 all up..do they negotiate in this way or is it very black and white?
 

Mk2

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Someone has an angry ex-girlfriend.
 

hi_ryder

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Thanks mate.

Insurers seem to be very touch and go..my sister had some minor hail damage last year and it was apparently $4k to fix just the roof and she has a Holden cruze...

After thinking about the safety aspect of it (they obviously know my car and where I work so changing the plates won't help) I'm thinking even if it gets repaired I will probably sell and buy something else. It's very unfortunate as I love my car but it's for the best.

Does anyone know if you can compromise with insurance companies?

Say for example if the damage is $15k to repair (it's a stretch but possible), obviously it wouldn't be a write off because the payout is agreed value of 22k. But if I was to say that I would accept market value (which I think is about 18k) that would be more financially viable for he insurance as they could pay me out 18k then sell parts for a few grand and have spent less than 15 all up..do they negotiate in this way or is it very black and white?

do what you can to push for it to get written off but dont hold your breath. its up to the accessor what happens to your car. best thing is to start the process let them know whats up. im seeing more and more heavily damaged late model cars being saved at my work, id say yours has a very good chance of being repaired (but again i havent seen it in person so i could be wrong). they will send your car to the auctions as a last resort...
 
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