I went against my own intuition

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

Goes to show that you should listen to that little voice in your head or that feeling of caution - which I ignored. I was after some new flywheel bolts for my Series 3 with a Holden 202 motor. Despite the bolt kit being available from eBay I took down the part number and drove my daily driver to Supercheap Auto. The part was listed online on their catalogue so I figured I would just go and check if they had the bolts available in their store. It would save some time and I could work on the car today. Nope - the bolts had to be ordered in ... due to the public holiday ... blah ... blah.

I then went to Repco - no the parts are not listed. So off to Autobarn I go. As I was driving there I thought maybe I should just keep going and drive home. A little while later, when I was about to turn into the Autobarn entrance that is off a side street, I thought maybe I should park in the street and not in their car park... Nope two strikes of not following the wee little voice - thought.

No the part was not available and when I came out of the front doors I noticed someone hanging around my car. There was one car park space between my Commodore wagon and a Toyota Landcruiser V8. The bloke was wearing an eye patch. Once I unlocked my car the bloke walked up to me and apologies for hitting the side of my car. He must have been parked in the opposite side and reversed into the empty space next to my car and side-swiped the rear passenger door and the front passenger door. With only one eye functional it would have been difficult to use the mirrors.

Insurance details were exchanged claims have been lodged and I lose my car from the 9th of January until whenever. Due to the floods up in North Queensland I was put on hold for a very long time. Luckily I have comprehensive insurance which means I get a hire car. I do have to secure $200 on my card though until the hire vehicle is returned and I get my car back.

While I have been declared "not a fault" it means I am not out-of-pocket and do not have to cough-up the excess fee. It is still a pain in the arse. Just goes to show that one should listen to the little voice.

BTW I just ordered the bolts from eBay... like I should have done in the first place.

Kind regards
Lionel

[Saitch]

I'm sorry for your predicament Lionel but, there is some dark humour in this narrative, isn't there? :rolleyes:

[Lionelgee]

Hello Saitch,

Yes there is some dark humour involved. As I said to the Insurance Agent on the phone, "My car was side-swiped by a pirate".

Kind regards
Lionel

[4bee]

Should he in fact have been driving at all?

Peripheral vision etc???

[Grumbles]

I know a number of people who each have one glass eye and they drive quite well.

[ATH]

There's a lot of one eyed people driving Tojos.....
AlanH.

[ramblingboy42]

....and none driving Land Rovers?[bigwhistle]

[RobMichelle]

Was he flying the jolly roger at yhe time ?[emoji311][emoji1021]️*[emoji304][emoji572]

[4bee]

Maybe he was playing with his Roger at the time?[smilebigeye]

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

I dropped off the car at the insurance company's recommended panel-beater this afternoon. They are going to replace the rear passenger door and respray it. The passenger side front door which was also side-swiped is going to be bogged up and resprayed.

I am not happy about this at all as my car is not filled with bog. I will be getting a second rate repair. Before accident no bog - after accident nice shiny coat of paint over a couple of tins of bog. If the car was not comprehensively insured I would have gone to the wreckers and chosen the best two doors available. I would have then replaced the two damaged doors. The replacement doors would be sanded down and resprayed to match the rest of the car. Alternatively, I would have put the two replacement doors in the back of the car - a station wagon and asked the panel-beaters to fit and spray the replacement doors.

Oh I am going to be without my car for two weeks and after that I will be expected to accept a second rate repair. A nice shiny coat of paint over a couple of tins of bog.

The amount of time it would take to unbolt the old door and bolt on the replacement door and prepare it for a respray would take less time and cost less money; than the amount of time it will take to prepare the door to accept the thick layer of bog to cover the dent and then prepare the door for painting.

I have sent a message to the insurer stating my displeasure about the current approach to the repair.

Am I wrong to think that a car should be returned in a similar condition than it was before the "at no fault" accident? Not happy Jan!

Kind regards
Lionel

[V8Ian]

Lionel, you have the right to choose the repairer, regardless of cost. The fellow who hit your car has to make good, it's well within your rights to demand the car be repaired to the standard it was befor being hit.

[incisor]

X2!

[cuppabillytea]

Where's the switch that turns these little voices on?
I could really do with some help like that.[bighmmm]


Oh and X3. You have to have a quality repair done.
My font passenger door were damaged in December. I told the Insurance company where I was taking the car and They would have to send their assessor there. No no argument from them. Job done. Good as Gold.

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

I received an unexpected telephone call this afternoon. It was the panel beaters who said that my car was ready to pick up. I was previously told it would be ready at 4:30 pm Friday. This coincided with the time the hire car was booked for too.

Anyway the hire car was dropped off and I was dropped off at the panel beater. Two doors were replaced and resprayed. Not one door and the other door filled with bog. Emailing the insurer stating my displeasure of getting a second rate repair done must of worked. My car did not have big blobs of filler in any of the panels before the pirate side-swiped my car. Having a door with a kilogram of bog as a repair was not my version of returning the car to the condition it was in before the accident.

Gee it is so good to have the Commodore wagon back. I can step into it and when I apply the accelerator the car gets up and moves. I can fully stretch out and not have my knees up near my ears.

The spray finish is excellent; the gaps around the doors are perfect and all the electronics such as remote locks and power windows work well.

So one happy camper here!

Kind regards
Lionel

[grey_ghost]

Good news Lionel! I can’t believe that you drive a Commodore as a daily when you have a few Series [emoji6]

[Lionelgee]

Good news Lionel! I can’t believe that you drive a Commodore as a daily when you have a few Series [emoji6]


Hello Grey Ghost,

When I bought the Commodore it was road-worthy, registered and reliable. None of my Series vehicles yet match the three previously mentioned criteria.

Kind regards
Lionel

[p38arover]

Dad lost an eye when he was 10 and wore a black eye patch for as long as I can remember (he died last month aged 98)

If anyone called him a pirate, they'd be soon aware that it wasn't a term he liked.

[DeeJay]

Will your insurance premiums be affected ? Might be worth enquiring as I've heard they increase at renewal, even when you are not at fault.

[d2dave]

Hello Grey Ghost,

When I bought the Commodore it was road-worthy,
Kind regards
Lionel

Never new such a thing existed.[bigwhistle]

[grey_ghost]

Dad lost an eye when he was 10 and wore a black eye patch for as long as I can remember (he died last month aged 98)

If anyone called him a pirate, they'd be soon aware that it wasn't a term he liked.

Hi Ron,

Just curious - I'm lost on the above reply? :o

[67hardtop]

Hi Ron,

Just curious - I'm lost on the above reply? :oHi Gg, i think on lionels 14th post he called the person who hit his car a "pirate".

[Lionelgee]

Never new such a thing existed.[bigwhistle]

Hello Dave,

When I wrote that I knew I would get some bites...

Kind regards
Lionel

[Lionelgee]

Hi Ron,

Just curious - I'm lost on the above reply? :o


Hello Grey Ghost,

The person who side-swiped my car while it was parked with a vacant space next to it had a black eye patch covering one eye. Hence the reference to "Pirate".

Kind regards
Lionel

[Lionelgee]

Dad lost an eye when he was 10 and wore a black eye patch for as long as I can remember (he died last month aged 98)

If anyone called him a pirate, they'd be soon aware that it wasn't a term he liked.

Hello Ron,

My father was blind in one eye from an early age. However it was not something that was readily observed by others.

Dad was an excellent driver. The person who reversed into my car apparently was still coming to terms with working out the vagaries of driving with one eye. As my car bore witness to.

I am twice the legal requirement to be legally blind in both eyes. To be able to see properly I am totally dependent on a set of very specialist Gas Permeable Rigid contact lenses. However, I would not consider driving without both lenses in.

Kind regards
Lionel

[p38arover]

References made earlier calling the other driver with an eye patch a pirate. Not everyone would appreciate being called that.

Dad got unslaked lime in his eye and the neighbour tried washing it out. It burned out the eye and socket so they couldn't put in a glass eye. He had many, many operations as a child and, I bet, a lot of awful comments from other kids.