My daughter picked up her long awaited volare blue 500c on Saturday afternoon. Like I did 18 months earlier when I picked up my lounge, we listened to the spiel about Fiat assist and how they will sort everything if you are unlucky to have an accident. Now I have never needed to use the service but 24 hours after taking delivery some idiot in a range rover cut a corner and smashed into my daughter's little car buckling a wheel and damaging the door and side panel.

We called Fiat assist who have been totally useless and will not get involved as the other party have not admitted liability and there is a chance they will not recover the claim!

To cut a long story short her insurance have accepted she was not at fault - she was lucky that the person driving behind the range rover was prepared to be a witness and have completely confirmed that the stupid woman driving the range rover cut the corner and smashed into my daughter's car so they have authorised repairs etc.

the problem is that the garages we can use for the repairs are not Fiat approved. The legal team working for her insurance company have said that the car can be taken for a quote to the Fiat approved garage but there is no guarantee they will agree to pay these costs and my daughter will also need to pay the insurance excess of £300 and then fight to get it back. If we accept their approved repairer she will not have to pay her excess. Does anyone have any thoughts on how important it is to stick with the Fiat approved garage or would it be ok to go for one of the insurance approved garages?

Sorry for the long post but we just want to get her little car back to how it was when she picked it up. She is only 21 and decided to spend some money she got for her birthday on the deposit for the car and she was so pleased and proud of it and loved it so much. We just want to make the right decision and advise her on the best thing to do.

I am no expert, but as I understand it you can choose where your car is repaired and you don't have to use the insurers recommended repairer. I read a article in a paper a couple of months ago about this.

Also you can deal with the third parties insurer direct as well if you wish to, have they accepted liability yet ?

I have had a couple of repairs done by the insurers chosen repairer and they have been terrible and had to be re done. I would look for a decent bodyshop with a good reputation.

Also your daughter claims her excess from the other party,i think that's one of the reasons you have "legal cover".The other option is to use a claims handling company,these are frowned upon as they cost the party at fault a lot more,but as long as they agree to handle the claim they do everything for you and normally you'll get a choice of repairer.

ovalbeanie said:

... 24 hours after taking delivery some idiot in a range rover cut a corner and smashed into my daughter's little car buckling a wheel and damaging the door and side panel.

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I would be absolutely gutted if this had happened to me and I can only imagine how upset both you and your daughter must be.

You have my sincere condolences.

Absolute bummer - people driving large 4x4s with no idea how to do so are one of my motoring nightmares.

I think you need to check how using a non-Fiat approved repairer will affect your bodywork warranty.

I would be slightly less worried about the Fiat warranty and be more concerned about the quality of the repair and reputation of the repairers. Normally you get quite long warranties from body shops on their repairs anyway.

poggy said:

I would be slightly less worried about the Fiat warranty and be more concerned about the quality of the repair and reputation of the repairers.

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I'd second that. I'd also suggest pursuing the claim through the third party's insurers directly, ignoring the legal cover that comes with your daughters policy - that way, you shouldn't have to pay a penny out of your own pocket providing they don't contest liability.

poggy said:

Normally you get quite long warranties from body shops on their repairs anyway.

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Sometimes these warranties last much longer than the bodyshops .

What they usually won't give a warranty on is that the paint will still match when the time comes to sell the car on - and if it doesn't, its trade in value will be marked down by at least the cost of respraying the affected areas . That, IMO, is the biggest risk, since even if the car looks like new when the repair is finished, there's no guarantee it's going to stay that way in the long term.

Thank you all for your replies and advice. I think our concern is that we know nothing about the 4 garages we have been told to choose from by Albany who are handling the claim for my daughter's insurance company. Albany have suggested speaking to the insurance company tomorrow to see if there is anyone else we can use. We have rung Fiat assist again to get the name of Fiat approved garages and there is only one in our area it seems.


It's a very valid point about the long term effectiveness of the repair. The whole situation is so frustrating and time consuming plus trying to console one very angry and upset daughter. Her views on the other driver are not printable!

The main thing is that she wasn't hurt. At least the car can be fixed.

If your daughters insurance company have opened the claim and started it, unless you but back any of the costs they've already incoured, claiming directly through the 3rd party's insurne company, which is always the best method when it comes to getting what you want, won't now be possible.

Get the car repaired by Fiat an claim the excess back when done. This will probably be an unapproved repairer excess you'll be paying.

poggy The main thing is that she wasn't hurt. At least the car can be fixed.

Absolutely Poggy. That was the most important thing. My brother was killed in a car crash nearly 3 years ago now so I know only too well what could have happened

A non Fiat approved repair place isn't the end of days. Plenty of Rolls Royce and Lamborghini owners get their cars repaired at non Fiat approved body shops.

Be involved with the repair. Drop by and ask to see how it's going. Ask them questions about the parts they use, ask if you can speak to the person doing your repair, ask questions about how the repair is done. Understand the process and the people involved. Write down the name of any equipment you see. Google it to understand how repairs are done. Be an informed customer.

Almost all accident repairs are done without the repair company really knowing the owner. They're just a number or a claim processed. Get in their face in a nice way and they have a person attached to the car. That customer relationship is established. They know where you're coming from and know you're involved emotionally and practically. You'll be less likely to be treated as a number.

Customer service in some industries is a two way street, you sometimes need to make a company politely aware that you need it.

Wow! You're very mellow today, Jason...

snes said:

Wow! You're very mellow today, Jason...

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I'm in the midst of a valuable and entertaining (to me at least) drive to change thinking at work. I'm pushing my army of 20 Infosec gurus to understand and embrace the reasons why the customer is important and why customer service matters. In some cases more so than the tech or the product.

The psychology of a commercial interaction is a complex mix of factors and the easiest way to influence the outcome is the correct application of human factors.

Getting customer service right is a strange mix of psychology, ability, expectation and product. In this context, seeing things from others perspective is an enormously powerful tool.

Same if you flip it around and apply it to the OP's dilemma. Some factors you can't control. Some factors you can. Some you can influence but the parties involved don't encourage it. ******** to that. It's her car. Influence those working on it to get the result she wants.

jnoiles said:

I'm in the midst of a valuable and entertaining (to me at least) drive to change thinking at work. I'm pushing my army of 20 Infosec gurus to understand and embrace the reasons why the customer is important and why customer service matters. In some cases more so than the tech or product

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If you can achieve that you should get a medal. It is the exact opposite of most companies approach to CS, which is viewed as a disturbance reducer rather than a solution provider.

jnoiles said:

I'm in the midst of a valuable and entertaining (to me at least) drive to change thinking at work. I'm pushing my army of 20 Infosec gurus to understand and embrace the reasons why the customer is important and why customer service matters. In some cases more so than the tech or the product.

The psychology of a commercial interaction is a complex mix of factors and the easiest way to influence the outcome is the correct application of human factors.

Getting customer service right is a strange mix of psychology, ability, expectation and product. In this context, seeing things from others perspective is an enormously powerful tool.

Same if you flip it around and apply it to the OP's dilemma. Some factors you can't control. Some factors you can. Some you can influence but the parties involved don't encourage it. ******** to that. It's her car. Influence those working on it to get the result she wants.

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You reminded me of my marketing courses at Royal Holloway!