Who needs insurance companies?
Well I'm afraid we all do, at some time in our lives we will need to make a claim for something. It could be for any one of a number of things, in my case it revolves quite understandably around a claim made under my policy for vandal damage to my Porsche. Someone once said that you don't know how good your insurance or insurance company is until you make a claim.
In the February issue of Porsche Post I told the story of how I came about to own NX1542, a stunning 944 in Ocean Blue metallic paint. Like many owners I lavished much care, attention, time, effort and a not inconsiderable amount of money to maintain my car to the standards that it deserved. On January 12th 2000 an incident happened that would try my patience and test my resolve to the limits for the next 12 months. I was working late at the office on an important presentation with my secretary (I know what you're all thinking) when we heard a noise from outside, a quick investigation revealed a number of youngsters having a stone fight, not so concerning on face value but a lot more serious when I discovered they were using my car as a shield. After a few expletive ridden comments I was out of the office, down the stairs and vainly trying to catch up with the little blighters. (You will note the restrained language - given that PP is a family publication) After what seemed like a mile of running but was probably nearer 100 yards, I wheezed my way back to the car to inspect the damage, initial impressions were inconclusive, a few stones were resident on the bonnet, tailgate and roof but I couldn't see any major damage. A thorough inspection the following morning told a completely different story, the whole car was covered in small but extremely noticeable marks where the stones had impacted with the vehicle. Although obviously very disappointed that my pride and joy had been damaged, I consoled myself with the thought that I was fully covered with a major insurance company and their main concern would be to get my vehicle back on the road with the least amount of fuss and inconvenience. (Big, no huge assumption)
Sorry sir, Porsche are not an approved repairer! I am quite fortunate in that my employer pays my insurance, as such any claims are handled for us by a Management Company. One call to a very efficient Freephone number later and I was assured that I had a valid claim and they would send out a representative to assess the damage. It was at this point that I requested the work should be carried out by a bodyshop of my choosing, namely, Arlington OPC in Northampton. I still remember the following incredulous reply " sorry Mr Mendel but they are not an authorised repairer, but don't worry we have one of our authorised repairers quite local to you, their quality of work is first class, you will not be disappointed " not knowing that I could legitimately have the car repaired wherever I wanted, I capitulated and waited.
A couple of days later an engineer from the aforementioned company inspected the vehicle and concluded that a full respray would be required and they would need the vehicle for 3 weeks. He arranged to pick the car up 2 days later and furnish me with an appropriate courtesy car. So far, so good, 2 days later good to his word the engineer dropped off a courtesy car (Corsa 1.2L) and commented that at least the courtesy car had the option of rear wash wipe, why did I need rear wash wipe? Everyone else on the road is going to be in front of me! Of CORS(A) it'll be all right! 3 weeks of driving a Corsa really makes you appreciate the merits of Stuttgart's finest, so as you can imagine I was quite keen to rediscover the mystical experience of driving a Porsche.
I called the Management Company and asked them to check on progress, about 20 minutes later I was informed that my vehicle would not be ready as the new paint (coat of paint number 1) had corrupted. As the bodyshop was local to my workplace I decided to have a look for myself, the bodyshop were absolutely right the paint was fine from the windows up but had reacted below. Closer inspection revealed that they had neglected to remove the clear stone guards around the wheelarches. I pointed out to them the error of their ways, to be fair they apologised profusely and promised that my car would take priority over all others, but unfortunately I would have to wait another couple of weeks so they could apply coat of paint number 2. The 2 weeks passed, very slowly I might add, and lo and behold a call confirmed that the car was ready for collection. Elated I immediately drove up to the bodyshop for the (sorry Toyota) handing over of the keys ceremony. Given my first experience of their workmanship a thorough inspection was called for, I was astounded at what I found, the following list details just some of the problems.
1. They had painted over all the rubber gaskets that extend along the roof.
2. They had fitted my wheels that have directional tyres and as such are "sided" the wrong way round, this is extremely dangerous, as the tyres would unwind when driven on.
3. They had smashed a driving light lens.
4. They had dented the drivers' door.
5. They had not bothered to paint the underneath of my new (£1100) rear valance.
6. They had not painted the edges of the bonnet.
7. There were dust spots, flattening marks and dual action sander blemishes on every panel. ( coat of paint number 3 required then )
These are just a few, there were 28 faults in all. I immediately rejected the car and requested that an independent engineer should visit and inspect the work carried out to date. About a week later I met with the bodyshop proprietor and an independent engineer appointed by the insurance company, once again the bodyshop proprietor was extremely apologetic and agreed that the work was substandard and that all 28 faults would be rectified to my satisfaction. It is worth noting at this point that my emotions were still very much under control and I truly believed, as did the engineer that the car would be perfect when next presented.
Here we go again! 6 weeks later, yes 6 weeks, I received notification that the vehicle was once again ready for collection. I had by now convinced myself that everything would be fine and I would once again be sampling German engineering at its very best. As soon as I saw the car I was overwhelmed with apathy, as far as I could tell the majority of the original list of faults had not been rectified, in addition to this the interior was the stuff that nightmares are made of. Broken trim, scuffed leather seats, ripped carpet, broken switches, ripped headlining, oily footprints, flattening dust everywhere. Worse was to come, I just wanted to get my car out of there so I jumped in and used my spare keys to depart at utmost haste. Disaster, the car handled worse than the Corsa, I tentatively drove it the couple of miles back to work and deposited it in our warehouse. Once again I complained to the management company who sent out the same engineer to re-inspect the vehicle, the list of faults was now up to 64, as previously the bodyshop in question did not dispute any of the problems and once again offered to rectify them. Now I'm not an impatient man but enough is enough, so no I was not going to let them touch my car again. By the way the cause of the erratic handling was discovered, the vehicle had "slipped" of a ramp all on its own accord, the resulting damage was a snapped anti-roll bar drop link. Stalemate What to do next? 4 months, hundreds of telephone calls, 16 faxes and numerous emails failed to illicit a way forward. I was stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. The insurance company was taking the stance that if I had an issue with the quality of workmanship then I should personally sue the bodyshop. My contraview was that I was their customer and they were the bodyshops, as such my dispute was with them and not with the bodyshop Notwithstanding the fact that if they had let me take the car to my preferred supplier in the first place then none of this would have happened.
Salvation came via my companies Human Resources Director, who incidentally is responsible placing all of the companies' insurance policies. (Spooky) I don't know how he did it but I received a call from the insurance company in early September giving me permission to contact Arlington's OPC and arrange a quotation to effect repairs. 8 big ones! Of to Arlington's I went and immediately felt at home with the reception I received from Terry Mabbutt the bodyshop manager. In an extremely polite way they told me that all the paintwork on my vehicle was, how shall I put it, not up to the usual standard? A complete bare metal respray was required along with a large interior refurbishment. The quote was the best part of £8000.00. Decisions, decisions Not much happened for the next couple of weeks, the insurance company were considering their options. A telephone call confirmed the options they had been considering, I could either take the car to Arlington's and have it repaired or take a cash settlement. Some readers are maybe thinking "he should take the money and start again". However my car was before this debacle considered to be one of the best. It has a virtually full main dealer service history, all the desirable options in a 944, namely leather, sports seats, front fogs, only 65,000 miles, club sport steering wheel, Kenwood 10CD mask system, a folder of receipts from 1992, full closure alarm and 17" split rim cup wheels. Couple this with the fact when Arlington's had finished with the car. It would be as it was when it came out of the showroom 12 years ago, the decision was easy. A respray to Porsches exacting standards it would be. Service at last! The vehicle was taken into Arlington's in September of 2000, never once did I broach the subject of a completion date with Terry. He made it very clear that until they had nitromorsed of all the previous coats of paint and inspected the bodywork underneath he would not be in a position to provide a definitive completion date. I personally believe that honesty is the most admirable attribute that any person can possess, I felt at ease with the information I was being given and trusted Terry and his team implicitly. Over the next couple of months I was given carte blanche by Terry to visit whenever I wanted, on these visits I was always treated with courtesy and respect, it didn't seem possible but they seemed to care about my car as much as I did. Deep joy! Friday 26th January, what a day, a call from Terry out of the blue telling me that the car was ready and did I want to pick it up. (Silly question!)
The car was immaculately presented, resplendent in its new coat of paint, just the one this time. It had been given a complete Zymol treatment which is all part of the service, thoroughly valeted inside and they had even checked that all the fluid levels and tyre pressures were correct. Am I happy? Yes and no really, I am truly impressed with the service I received from all at Arlington's but deeply disturbed by the attitude and laxidasiacal approach of my insurance company. I may just have suffered a one in a million bad experience, but I now have a deep distrust of all bodyshops and service centres that are not attached to the dealer network or are specialist independents. In hindsight I should have stuck to my guns and insisted that my car was taken to my preferred repairer. To Terry at Arlington's - many thanks, you can be justifiably proud of your team and the quality of service you fulfil. To my insurance company and the " approved" bodyshop ……... I did say this was a family magazine didn't I. - Nik M - 22nd March, 2001