Rear ended..... eye watering repair costs

[Brian k]

As I was on my way to work last week I stopped at a roundabout to give way to traffic from the right. Unfortunately the lady behind me in her BMW 1 series didn’t stop and rear ended me. There was a pretty big thump and I feared the worst, but thankfully no one was hurt.

Having inspected the damage I was surprised to see just half a dozen scuffs and a very tiny dent about 20mm long. The bumper hasn’t moved and all the panel joints look right. The lady’s insurance were on the phone the same morning confirming that they would cover the full cost of repair. They invited me to take it to one of their garages, but I declined and said it would be going to MB to get sorted. No nonsense from direct line, they agreed.

I’ve had the quote back from MB and I kinda thought it would be £600 - £800 ish. I’m astonished that it’s come back at £2,100..... and that’s before they take it off. They’ve told me that if there’s anything amiss when they strip it the cost could double.

Here’s a couple of pics

 

[Deleted member 6183]

Jeez, dealers know how to play on punter's fears.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

I got rear ended in a SAAB. The car that hit me was totalled and had to be removed by a wrecker. I drove home. However there was expensive structural damage although visually, my car looked as if it only had minor damage (and being the honest person I am - I didn't claim for whiplash) . The plastic bumpers are intended to deform and pop back. Insurance adjusters are not stupid and will spot if MB is ripping them off.

 

[Vick N]

What's listed on their damage report?

 

[E53AMG]

Lol insurer is Direct Line, you just hit the jackpot!

Tell them you urgently need a "like for like" hire car, they will oblige. Invite their assessor to deal with the MB dealership and repairs can be agreed.

My Lexus GS450H hybrid was rear ended rear 1/4 panel by a Direct Line insured driver (my wife stopped to give way to a lady with a push chair on a zebra crossing) and their driver came out of a side road straight into our car. Took it to Lexus and repairs assessed at £360.00.

I told DL I wanted a like for like rental, they made some calls and came back to me and said they were having difficulties locating a GS450h for hire but they had a "prestige hire company who should be able to assist" and they gave me their number, said liaise with them and they would pick up the bill.

Prestige hire company told me they did not have any Lexus GS450H available but they did have a 2 year old Jaguar XJL Supersport if that was of interest! I took their arm off and they arranged for it to be delivered (with picnic tables and TVs in the back)!

I then called Lexus, told them what happened and that there was absolutely no rush with my repairs, the longer they take the better.

I did not hear anything from DL or Lexus for 5 weeks until I called Lexus and said the £120 week fuel bill was beginning to hurt so they completed the works. The car rentals must have exceeded £7k!

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

 

[Justintyme]

For sure, there is more damage underneath the bumper but to see the full extent the bumper needs to be removed. Just open the tailgate. remove the boot carpet and see if the spare wheel well is any way distorted ( the wheel may be a tight fit, for example) Even if ( and it' a big IF" ) it only need's new a new bumper, Removing and replacing the bumper would be the simplest part of the operation. Because it's plastic and flexible, the primer, paint and lacquer basically have to be "flexible " too. So not so straight forward as it might seem at first. The fact that the other car had to be transported away tells it's own story. Health -wise, wait a few days and see if any aches or pains develop. Sometimes, these kind of injuries can take a bit of time to show.

 

[c63chris]

I got rear ended on the motorway and car looked ok, much like yours but it was the structural damage that cost. Couldn’t see it and I drove home fine. Was don on insurance but think it was couple of grand or something. As others have said the bumpers just bend when hit it’s what’s behind them that gets damaged. Also the car is designed to deform to absorb the impact and protect the passengers so a relatively low impact can still be very expensive to repair.

 

[PXW]

Mrs PXW had a Lexus go into the back of her mini clubman a few months back. All had to go through insurance, as the Lexus was a company vehicle, but again only superficial bumper damage (and no underlying damage). No injuries, no car hire as we didn't need it, and we even dropped the car off for repairs and picked it up again afterward. £1300.

 

[markjay]

This is exactly why you should always take your car to the dealer when claiming off the other party's policy.

Most likely they will have offered you the hire car already anyway (they are concerned to you might contact an accident management firm, and their costs will double).

You are also entitled to any other demonstrable reasonable expenses incurred, e.g. cab back from the dealer after dropping the car off (if the car wasn't recovered to the garage). And if your car is written-off, also for the 'gap' in VED and Insurance cover when cancelling, etc.

They should put you back exactly where you where (financially speaking) before the accident occurred.

 

[ExMercTech]

Are there any Mercedes Dealers that have Accident Repair on site?.

Not smart repair for a scratch.

 

[Deleted member 139143]

Same here I was rear ended on a roundabout in my 12plate w169. only thought cosmetic at first, bumper scuff and a few clips broke. had it taken to body shop for repair only to find that the reinforcing bar at the back of the bumper looked like a boomerang and the bumper was cracked the full length on the inside. the cost of the repair was more than the battered old Focus that run in to me.

 

[liamt]

Someone rear ended my Dad's W205 at only a few weeks old, the rear bumper was in a similar state to yours. I think the total cost came to around 3k because the reinforcing bar was damaged behind the bumper which also needed to be replaced in addtition to a new bumper/ paint matching etc. The other party admitted liability straightaway, luckily it all went through our local dealer's accident management service, just passed the other party's insurance details onto them and they took care of everything, collected the car from the dealer, provided a courtesy car etc.

 

[Trickythemerc]

I had some clown in a Focus run into the back of my XJS, it all looked pretty minor until the bumper cover came off. The beam behind the bumper sits on energy absorbing shockers, the cost being astronomical and very hard to source.

 

[liamt]

Are there any Mercedes Dealers that have Accident Repair on site?.

Not smart repair for a scratch.

I know my local dealer (MB Sunderland) has Accident Repair on site The last time I was there I was speaking to the Bodyshop Manager who said they used to only do small scratch/scuff repairs on site. The bigger jobs (such as my Dad's car mentioned above) would be taken to their bodyshop facility in Teesside which serves all three local dealerships. However, I believe that has very recently changed, they've now got more bodyshop guys on site at the dealership to do larger repairs.

 

[tron]

I should think they have at those prices!

 

[Brian k]

So just for clarity, the vehicle that hit me wasn’t towed away, she drove it and it seemed to have as little damage as mine.
I’ve attached a pic of the parts and the tentative costs. It appears that as suggested on the forum that the C-member et al will be checked when they have it in bits.
Direct Line have offered me a 5 series whilst mine is in for the repairs.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Lol insurer is Direct Line, you just hit the jackpot!

................

I had a similar experience with them (DL). Couldn't find me a SAAB 95 and gave me a BMW 525i Sport instead.

 

[Rory]

Lol insurer is Direct Line, you just hit the jackpot!

Tell them you urgently need a "like for like" hire car, they will oblige. Invite their assessor to deal with the MB dealership and repairs can be agreed.

My Lexus GS450H hybrid was rear ended rear 1/4 panel by a Direct Line insured driver (my wife stopped to give way to a lady with a push chair on a zebra crossing) and their driver came out of a side road straight into our car. Took it to Lexus and repairs assessed at £360.00.

I told DL I wanted a like for like rental, they made some calls and came back to me and said they were having difficulties locating a GS450h for hire but they had a "prestige hire company who should be able to assist" and they gave me their number, said liaise with them and they would pick up the bill.

Prestige hire company told me they did not have any Lexus GS450H available but they did have a 2 year old Jaguar XJL Supersport if that was of interest! I took their arm off and they arranged for it to be delivered (with picnic tables and TVs in the back)!

I then called Lexus, told them what happened and that there was absolutely no rush with my repairs, the longer they take the better.

I did not hear anything from DL or Lexus for 5 weeks until I called Lexus and said the £120 week fuel bill was beginning to hurt so they completed the works. The car rentals must have exceeded £7k!

Hmmm...I hope you've never complained about premiums increasing. Did you really need to turn a £360 incident into a £7K+ claim?

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Hmmm...I hope you've never complained about premiums increasing. Did you really need to turn a £360 incident into a £7K+ claim?

I've spent 45 years paying car insurance premiums (subsidising others) - in that time I've been in 2 accidents, both of which, were not my fault and damage was paid for by the other party. Sometimes, I wish I could get some of my money back.

 

[Justintyme]

This is exactly why you should always take your car to the dealer when claiming off the other party's policy.

Most likely they will have offered you the hire car already anyway (they are concerned to you might contact an accident management firm, and their costs will double).

You are also entitled to any other demonstrable reasonable expenses incurred, e.g. cab back from the dealer after dropping the car off (if the car wasn't recovered to the garage). And if your car is written-off, also for the 'gap' in VED and Insurance cover when cancelling, etc.

They should put you back exactly where you where (financially speaking) before the accident occurred.

You can also claim for depreciation, generally work's out at 10%, but this figure can vary case by case. Because it has been damaged, and as such, is no longer "Original Condition".