Yup, crashed my scoob [2003 sti] last year, body/panel damage right down passenger side, because of the sheer expense of panel parts for 2003 sti [ie 700+ for rear spoiler!] the bill is heafty.
liverpool victoria insurance [good cheap quote], THEIR APPROVED mechanics near me are cd bramells.
Car went in for repairs [around 8ks worth of body damage, nothing mechanical wrong at all] on 20/11/2003..
Car still in today!!!
So far the garage have said it will be ready for pick up on;
06/01/2004 - 12/01/2004 - 16/01/2004 - 21/01/2004 - 23/01/2004 - 23/01/2004 - 28/-1/2004 - 30/01/2004 - and now its going to be ready on 04/02/2004 !!!!
Seems along long time to take to replace and spray panels/bumpers an spoiler EVEN with 'delivery times'
ANYONE elese had similar experiences ???
paul

 

Only 3 days with Gilesgate Subaru in Hexham for front and rear bumper realignment + respray. Respray bootlid and nearside wing where some ****** nicked my badge's and sratched the bodywork down to bare metal[img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

 

Forgot to add the rear bumper needed repairing due to an idiot driving it the back of me

 

complain to LV and ask them to chase the bodyshop up!
putting it in writing always helps

 

could almost be as bad as a mates had crash early september still hasn't got car back yet almost5 mounth's now so think how he fell's.

 

telephones lv a few times and cos its a subaru they think this is ok, due to delays with deliveries of parts lol
i can only imagine ur mate with the 5 month job is psycho by now lol

 

my cars been in the garage since the last week of october....................and still there!!

after been told 8/9 times that it "shuld b ready this weekend", i am told it will b out next sat (07/02)

well heres hopin.................

Mo

 

Mines now been almost 8 weeks, and i get the same rubish. Oh its Subaru that has let us down with the parts or they sent the wrong ones. Very quick to take my £1200 insurance but dont seem so keen on pushing it through. Its the local Tescos approved garage.
It will be ready or expecting parts almost everyday now. Tried telling me its because its an import, I was very quick to correct that its actaully a UK car. Not that the body panels differ.

The whole insurance thing is a complete rip off, were all paying to keep the uninsured cars on the road, not paying to cover ours by the look of it!

 

Had a Corrado that needed some extensive bodywork repais (bonnet, bumper, passenger door sill and rear panel) last year. Car was with VW for 1 week only.

Suggest that you go and visit the garage and (1) make sure that your car is still there, (2) check the mileage to be sure that they haven't been driving it and (3) inspect it for any other damage as something could have happened to it whilst it's in their care. If everything's okay, then the garage is probably useless.

 

Here's a tale of woe then...

A work colleague has a Lotus Elise which he uses every day - has had it for about two years, done only 9000 miles or so. Every day he brings it the short distance to work and leaves it parked in the same marked bay in the office car park. About three weeks ago, I arrive at work to find that my regular space, next to the Elise, had been taken by someone in desperate need of a free parking bay (in my very expensive, paid-for space!). Having assessed the poor unfortunate's situation (probably couldn't pay for a ticket 'cos that takes up valuable 'down-the-bookies' time), I blocked the bugger in by parking behind him.

Later in the day I look out of my window to see said illegal parker trying to get out of the space. Quite how he thought he would without the aid of a crane, or indeed a complicated array of tractor beams, the technology for which would be some years away yet, beggars belief to this day. Anyway, the inevitable happened and as we all watched tentatively, contact was made and the car knocked into the Elise, triggering the alarm.

Down we all rushed and angry scenes ensued (an exaggeration of "insurance details were exchanged"). The damage was a scuff to the paintwork on the rear passenger-side wing, with a dent barely visible to the human eye. Responsibility was accepted, an assessor came to view the 'damage' and the car was duly sent away to be repaired. This was nearly a month ago...

The cost of such a small bump has been staggering! The bodywork alone came in at about £1700! That was to completely remove the rear clam of the body, cure it, paint it, ensure no structural damage occurred. Not only that but when the car was put back together again, the thing wouldn't start. All diagnostic checks drew a blank as to the cause of it and when the experts who fitted the engine coversion were called in, it was deemed that the bump damaged one of the interceptor chips in the ECU which caused a massive short. New ECU £1500, labour charges so far £1000+!

Not only that, but the insurance company were very quick to point out that it is a legal entitlement that you have a like-for-like hire car for the duration of the period the car is off the road. Enter a nice new shiny silver Elise S as £220 per day (a month's rental - £6000+)!!!

So matey is now looking at an insurance claim for about £10000! He can think himself lucky that my colleague didn't try to swing for having the stone chip on the nosecone done at the same time - with all the extra hassle of removing that from the car as well, that would have added another £1500+ to the bill.

So there is a moral to this tale - don't ever park in my parking space!!! More importantly, never park next to an Elise - you have been warned!!!

 

This is a busy time of year for bodyshops.

I would ask them why it is taking so long, is it down to part supply, if not and they have the parts then why is it taking so long after their initial estimate, did they book other work infront of yours and if so, why.

The side of my MY99 was taken off by a blind pensioner in a Saab, some internal panel damage as well as a new wing, doors, glass, rear quarter and bumper!!!, ,The repairs took a week to complete, it took 8 weeks to get the genuine panels from FHI in Japan!

Remember that most 'approved' bodyshops get to be 'approved' by supplying the cheapest quote not necessarily the best service or quality. It may be the exception in some cases but not im my experience!

[Edited by Paul Habgood - 2/2/2004 10:36:05 AM]

 

The body shop I used to work in had an Impreza Sport in for around 10 months - it had, had a big front end hit (bonnet, front panel, wings, bumper, both rads, windscreen, front doors blending etc...) Engine and gearbox came out aswell to repair inner wings and re-paint engine bay! The one thing that held us up was Subaru supplying the parts a few bits and pieces would turn up every month so the car was on a low priority as you cant fix it without the parts. We also had a classic turbo come in for a new o/s front wing and blend - it was only in for a day. It may be Subaru that are holding your car up - not the body shop - they will want it out of the workshop asap so they can get another job in and hit their targets.

 

Why not pop down the body shop with someone(as a witness),take a note pad and camera.Ask loads of questions and take some pictures so you have evidence to the state of repairs.
If they are indeed waiting for certain parts then ask them what parts are needed...then ask your local Subaru dealer for availability dates.

It could be that they are holding the job out (unlikley) or as others have stated...waiting for parts!!

 

The saga continues, was meant to get my car back today, all finished, the hold up last week was the garage needed the three sets of brackets that attatch the front bumper to the chasis and the spoiler to the bumper. Anyway, these parts were ordered over a week ago, they arived today, however, one of the brackets was not there, and when contacted it appears it is now on back order from japan.....seems odd that subaru dont seem to stock sweet f*ck all for a uk type sti 2003 ??? i also had to wait six weeks for a new clutch...
so now im trying to find out if i can hurry this along.....can i pay extra money to get part dispatch delivered in 48hrs sort of thing, i mean stuff gets ordered off the net from usa etc all the time and it doesnt seem a big deal to do this.... subaru expect bracket to arrive on the 20/02/04 so another three weeks ish ontop of my 11 weeks ive already waited... now i admit that subaru have let down liverpool victorias 'approved mechanics' with delivery times, BUT, if the mechanics had done a decent recky of the job they would of ordered brackets when they first got the car instead of waiting until the bloody thing was nearly finished before it occurred to them to order parts!!
any way, any one got any suggestions
part number is 57743FE050 a set of brackets...this is all i need to get my beloved car back... car is 2003 mica black subaru sti uk type
hope there is some help out there cos according to subaru "my shelves are empty" factory, there are none at all in uk!?!?!?!?