My Range Rover's fate will be decided on Monday

Let down again by my insurance company, The promise of a decision did not happen. Instead, they decided that the car is going to be taken to a main dealer for an inspection before being returned to the current repairers before they decide the fate of Oscar

But on the plus side, it not being here has been great with the roadworks that are going on as parking is hell at the moment.

I also made some more progress with the Kahn grill, and the new grill I plan on chopping up arrived as yesterday, Not 100% about the design plan now. May end up fitting new wire mesh to it. We shall see.

Also as I was bored waiting around for the courier today, I cracked on and started sanding down 1 of the 8 wheels I am refurbishing, I have sanded wheels down to the bare metal in the past and never come across one with this many layers of paint from a lazy person or company, I found out through the sanding that it started life as factory silver, then was painted black, then silver was painted again on top of the black and then black again on top of that silver So all layers are coming off and starting again from bare metal is the plan.

I also started some experimental jobs with spare parts I had, so 1 door handle trim and door car wood trim have been sanded down so far, I plan on painting them gloss black. Want to see how they will come out.

On Sunday I was taken to A&E thinking I had broken my foot, but something else has been found on my bone so awaiting an emergency appointment at hospital, but this has apart from Monday, forced me to stop and rest up this week, so tinkering a lot with multiple projects.

Click image to enlarge

My partner was later than normal leaving for work this morning thanks to something I needed help with, this actually worked out well for me as it meant my partner after parking his car and starting the walk from the car park to his office was passed by MY Range Rover V8 being driven with the front drivers suspension on its bump stop. It was being taken from the accident to repair centre to a main dealer to have the suspension inspected. But wasn't going to a local one. Instead this approved accident repair centre drove my car up the A21, M25, M26, M20 at motorway speeds like this with the dangerous sidestep for about 19 miles! My partner sent me a photo of my car being driven.

Well I hit the roof. I am now the definition of No Filter Friday! Police called, Insurance Company dealt with, and I am devastated that this has happened.

The insurance company told me that they were advised by the accident repair centre that this would have not damaged or affected anything on the car and that the car was safe to drive. Anyone reading this should be in stitches with laughing at the moronicness of this statement! Well that was when my verbal filter disintigrated and I flipped on the phone.

Needless to say, I have sought a report from a reputable garage in Dartford to say what damage could be done and how a car can be affected by being driven on bump stops, especially when it is just 1 at motorway speeds for any distance, and will be also be seeking the same from the main dealer it is now at to be sent to the insurance company as any assessment as to whether the original damage to the suspension would now not be accurate as further damage will have been done, and have now made it that the accident repair centre no longer are allowed near my car, the insurance company reluctantly agreed.

I swear common sense is a thing left distantly in the past.

I am still fuming from this.

And it upsets me even more that I knew something would go wrong even more so due to the company I was strong armed into using and have protested about to the insurance company even before they got my car.

I won't name names in case I break any rules on here. But has helped to vent. It has stopped me going down to that certain company and doing something bad.

I will be going to Maidstone hopefully later today or tomorrow and talking to the dealer in person as the insurance company have ignore the fact the car was driven on its bump stop and want a report on the damage done by the accident which will no longer be able to be assessed. I can't believe that if my partner had left 5 minutes earlier, I would have been none the wiser and conned.

The photo shows North Farm Road which my car is on in the queue to go under the bridge with my partner on the side road next to it.

I was half asleep until that photo came through.

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lucky he was quick with the photo
i think the lady was in the wrong lane too RR 2005 4.4 petrol
Any spelling mistakes are the fault of spellchecker
Previous MG J2, CITROEN light 15 x 2 gone unfortunately
Present MERC 180e, RANGE ROVER L322, JAGUAR XJS, MERC 280SE, MG F, JAGUAR S-Type 6v 2003, jaguar s-type 8v 2004, Ford Cougar

Cheers.

That time of morning, it is almost standstill with traffic but yeah, I am lucky he was quick with the camera.
I am still fuming. Already given a few people reality checks today without meaning to although don't regret it

When my front drivers side air burst and it dropped on to the bump stop I limped it home fearing that it would cause damage to the tyre or the shock. That happened only 1 mile from house, I wouldn’t have dreamt of doing motorway speeds in that condition. I’d be fuming also.
Why the didn’t they get it recovered on a flatbed to the dealer as the insurance should’ve paid for it. 2004 Autobiography TD6 Java Black

The reason it wasn't recovered was because the accident repair centre told my insurer that it was fine to drive, and they were gullible or should say penny pinching tight enough to choose to believe that to save some money in my opinion. Good old Admiral Direct. Can't wait for renewal, will be going elsewhere. I am actually looking at potentially replacing my V8 with a van now, as I am starting to do more and more stuff that a medium van would be more suitable for. But that is only if I can bring myself to part with this beast.

Compressor would have been going like the clappers trying to inflate that strut for the entire journey.

I took the opportunity to get a written official statement from a well known garage who knows his stuff to hand to the insurance company, it was stating what damage could be done by driving a Range Rover L322 with 1 deflated shock, the garage owner who did it was amazing, and I am so grateful that he did this for me, no lies, nothing made up, just facts, and emailed that over to the insurance today.

I have decided what I want as the outcome. I want my baby repaired properly by a competent garage and the car to be returned in a roadworthy condition. I hate being stuck in limbo.

But Monday I have a lot to do, and this is going to include stopping at the garage it is at to make sure that they know that the assessment is now only going to show the damage done with it being driven to the garage.

Paul thornton wrote:

Compressor would have been going like the clappers trying to inflate that strut for the entire journey.

Sadly for some strange reason, the suspension inactive did not happen, I went to the dealer where it is at today and no suspension messages were displaying, so maybe the company who drove it like that cleared it before handing the keys over, but either way it was driven as it was. The main dealer managed to finally get the compressor to pump air in to the suspension bag today, but the car was starting to sing very slowly afterwards, I don't have the outcome of the assessment that was being carried out, but they agreed that they would not have driven the vehicle but would have transported it for 2 reasons, suspension and the dangerous sidestep! And have said that they are going to repeat that to the insurance company. Seeing my car in person again was actually quite upsetting as I really just want it back now.
But Oscar may be being delivered back to my home in its current condition this week before whatever happens next.

I am planning on buying it back if it is written off, then repairing it properly. Already have a garage in mind to do whatever is wrong with the suspension, and the rest I can do with my partner and possibly neighbour.

I have already got a compressor rebuild kit just in case. And yes, I know, I am jumping the gun, but this part was the only part I am doing this with as it would also fit the compressor in my other Range Rover. So not wasted either way.

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Last edited by ur20v on 4th Oct 2021 3:34pm. Edited 1 time in total

Sounds like you've had a terrible experience, sorry to hear that.

If you haven't already, I'd raise a formal complaint about the actions of the garage. It won't help you now, but you don't have to use their approved repairers just because they insist. Go out and get a couple of quotes from garages you trust to do the work and provide them to the insurer, more often than not they'll just pick the lower of the two, worst case scenario you'll have to pay the difference between yours and theirs.

Contrary to the above, you can't open a case with the ombudsman at this point, as you haven't made a complaint and the insurer hasn't issued a final response, so the ombudsman will just turn you away. Best thing to do is raise a formal complaint, the claim will get passed to a new team who are usually better, and all being well they'll do the right thing.

Finally, if you have any issues at all with mobility etc, I would make that perfectly clear to the insurer. The FCA are incredibly hot on issues of any 'vulnerability' at present, and the insurer will deal with you appropriately.

As I said above, sorry to hear you're having a crappy time, but if you need any advice on the insurance side of things I'd be happy to help if I can

Cheers for the advice, I am on it like a fat person getting fresh cake. (Talking about myself)

Sadly things have gotten much worse and the complaint I originally made has now got massive.

I am reading this as I am writing it, and even I can't believe that it would happen to anyone.

My car vanished at PK Motors, they told us it was in there storage yard and it really wasn't. Turns out that they have had at least 2 more accidents in my car! Damaged rear bumper and killed the parking sensors that I not long replaced, damaged front bumper and killed the front sensors, and the door on the drivers side has damage where it has been hit with it open now meaning it no longer opens and closes normally, it has dropped. This was not done at the time of the accident that I had, in addition to white paint splashed up the rear mud guard and about 40 miles added and driving it so hard that they near enough emptied my fuel tank.

Absolutely FUMING.

That company tried to retrieve my car from the main dealer today, thankfully the dealer refused and waited for me to attend to collect it. I was raring for a fight in all honesty. The other company are damned lucky that they had left by the time I had arrived or I may have done something that would have gotten me in a lot of trouble!

Anyway, the main dealer somehow got my suspension to inflate, so I was able to drive it properly, rather than on the bump stop like the accident repair centre did, and I put 3 layers of duct tape on the side step to cover up the dangerous jagged edges.

I put plenty of fuel in and then got it home.

Complaint sent to the insurance company. Now have to wait for there response.

This totally complicated my day as I had other things to get done which were important but no such luck. Now the V8 is in the way

And the Saga continues

Enough is enough of this rubbish with muppets being contracted by my muppet of an insurance company, I have just invested in a tracker. £5 a month which includes live data, instant notifications every time my doors are opened or the car is started. Now I can keep a much closer eye on the car as soon as it is fitted which should be this weekend. And best of all, I can remove it and fit it to any car I want and is a hard installed device. Wish I had done this sooner.