Insurance or not?

DanD · December 1, 2016

Someone left a nasty dent and scratch in the corner of the front bumper of our RX450h (pics to follow). Sigh. This is a week after someone left a scratch on the corner of the rear bumper and along the rear wing. Double sigh.

I am wondering whether or not to get it fixed at my own cost... or claim on my insurance which currently has maximum no claims and protected bonus.

Is there a threshold above which an insurance claim becomes the more cost effective option?

Also, I am tempted to go to Lexus as, in my experience, their standards are pretty high.

Should it matter, our RX450h is velvet black, i.e. non metallic.

Would appreciate any advice.

Malc1 · December 1, 2016

I would only claim if the likely sensible and cheapest method, repair cost was significantly higher than the excess ....... notwithstanding Full NCD etc they WILL hold it against you personally for ever and you WILL be penalised by them at some stage, somehow.

They always get it back in the end, they are Users and Thieves without exception

I doubt there's a Lexus Main Dealer in the land that has it's own bodyshop, they will farm it out to someone else; maybe just find that other " someone " and use them yourself, saving the Lexus 200% mark-up.

Malc1

doog442 · December 1, 2016

Whatever you do don't contact your Insurance company unless you have made your mind up to go through them as they will record it as an 'incident' irrespective of blame / claim or anything else. Even if you simply enquire about the cost and don't proceed they will hold it on record and it will effect future premiums.

I fully appreciate someone will be along to castigate me and tell me that 'You must inform them blah blah blah...read the small print etc / terms and conditions but hey ho..'

That aside my father in law had a similar issue with his new Skoda recently. He used a reputable bodyshop and I was amazed at the job they did and the price wasn't much more than the excess - he didn't go through the Insurance.

rayaans · December 1, 2016

3 hours ago, DanD said:

Someone left a nasty dent and scratch in the corner of the front bumper of our RX450h (pics to follow). Sigh. This is a week after someone left a scratch on the corner of the rear bumper and along the rear wing. Double sigh.

I am wondering whether or not to get it fixed at my own cost... or claim on my insurance which currently has maximum no claims and protected bonus.

Is there a threshold above which an insurance claim becomes the more cost effective option?

Also, I am tempted to go to Lexus as, in my experience, their standards are pretty high.

Should it matter, our RX450h is velvet black, i.e. non metallic.

Would appreciate any advice.

The general rule I go by is never call the insurance company for scratches and dents. Even if you simply say it to them they'll write it on the database.

Generally, if the price of repair is £1k+ i'd choose insurance.

Now this isn't very scientific but I worked out that my insurance price went up by £200 because of my wife's incident with the garage door costing £2.3k.

You have to tell most insurance companies of claims in past 5 years so you'd break even if the cost was £1000

DanD · December 2, 2016

rayaans · December 2, 2016

4 hours ago, DanD said:

Certainly not an insurance job thats for sure!

Top end would be £500 and Id be accepting nothing less than a PERFECT job for that price. Damage doesn't look that bad at all.

ISJason · December 2, 2016

The thing is that you get what you pay for. Might be worth the cost of the extra insurance for a job well done through Lexus.

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sorcerer · December 2, 2016

4 minutes ago, ISJason said:

The thing is that you get what you pay for. Might be worth the cost of the extra insurance for a job well done through Lexus.

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As mentioned above, Lexus won't have their own body shops. In fact, I've never seen ANY main dealer have their own body shop and I've been in a lot during my 20-odd years as a telephone engineer for BT.

sorcerer · December 2, 2016

@DanD It may (or of course, may not) help for comparison purposes, if I say that I've just been quoted £150 at one place and £180 at another for sorting out the dent and scratch on my front wing:

steve2006 · December 2, 2016

Just had the front and rear bumpers repaired on my LS in 2 tone paint, rear cost me £70.00 front £150.00 paid by the third party.

Front picture is post repair and rear pre repair.

Wouldn't have thought yours would be more than £450.00 even in Hampshire where beer is around £5.00 a pint

plastic orange · December 3, 2016

I'd wait till winter is over before getting it repaired - sods law and all that. I'd also try T cut or similar to reduce the visuals (wd40 can do a masking job too), and then get it repaired at a reputable body shop and not go through insurance.

Around £300 would have it repaired in my location.

Pete

DanD · December 5, 2016

On ‎02‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 4:52 PM, rayaans said:

Certainly not an insurance job thats for sure!

Top end would be £500 and Id be accepting nothing less than a PERFECT job for that price. Damage doesn't look that bad at all.

Rayaan, you are not far off: Lexus have quoted me £175 for the rear and £350 for the front.

rayaans · December 5, 2016

3 hours ago, DanD said:

Rayaan, you are not far off: Lexus have quoted me £175 for the rear and £350 for the front.

Might be worth getting a few smart repairers out as well to get an idea of cost.

Im sure you could haggle Lexus down a bit if you want them to do it,

DanD · January 20, 2017

Update:

Between Christmas and foreign business trips, I have only just managed to get the car to the dealer for a closer look at my car (and a scheduled service).

The car was taken to the body shop they normally use, and said body shop called me earlier this afternoon advising that the front bumper could not be repaired as it was distorted in places and in particular where it meets the wing. It would need to be replaced at a cost of £1,000. *Gulp*. Should I phone the insurance or not? Do I want to spend £1,000 of my own money on a 6 yo bumper?

Thankfully, their call was soon followed by one from the dealer who said that they were not convinced that the bumper needed replacing and that they would get quotes from at least one other workshop.

I'll wait for the next call and in the meantime continue to enjoy the Azure Blue courtesy NX I have been driving all week. Very comfortable, but I have to admit that the NX 300h feels rather noisy and slow in comparison with my RX and I continue to wonder whether the 200T will make a more suitable replacement....

DanD · February 14, 2017

Update:

Local dealer got a quote from a local workshop and the work was completed two weeks ago for... £400+VAT. The quality of the work is excellent, and I am very pleased with the result. I was going to say it was £400 well spent... although I would have preferred not to have to spend it in the first place.

So, for the past two weeks our Lexus has looked like new again - just about - until yesterday... when my wife got back to the car after a shopping trip and found that, once again, someone had misjudged going into / reversing out of the parking space next to hers. And left a nice dent all along the driver's door. Of course the culprit did not leave any contact detail. It is now the 4th time in 18 months. Makes my blood boil.

Farqui · February 14, 2017

Oh gawd, not again!

I feel for ya, some folks just don't seem to care anymore.

ChrisM · February 14, 2017

Sounds like you need a dash cam, having lost my LS400 as was written off by insurance company, and replaced it with a used RX450H, I have invested in a dash cam that will also record if the car is nudged when parked, in the hope if that ever happens I can catch the culprit.

DanD · February 14, 2017

You may be right. I take it I would need one for the front and one for the back?

Which have you got and how easy was it to install?

ChrisM · February 14, 2017

I Bought a Vantrue N2 Dual Dash Cam from amazon, £149.99, plus you will need a memory card, and if you want to use it when parked an alternative Battery source as the internal one does not last long enough.

Have only just started using it so cannot recommend yet, but it does have a forward facing 1020p camera and a 720p rear facing camera and attaches via a suction cup nearly behind the interior mirror. Cabling is not sorted yet so look a little tatty until I get an extension cable.

it has a setting for being left and actions if bumped when parked. Whether it captures the culprit depends on where hit.

DanD · February 14, 2017

Thanks for the info. I look forward to hearing how you get on with it. I recall there are other threads dedicated to dashcams... I'll take a look at these also.

rayaans · February 14, 2017

1 hour ago, DanD said:

Thanks for the info. I look forward to hearing how you get on with it. I recall there are other threads dedicated to dashcams... I'll take a look at these also.

Im unsure about what a dash cam would achieve in situations like these.

The footage is next to useless. Hand it to the police and they'll stick their hands up and won't do anything.

Instead, I guess its a good tool for getting some subscribers and views on Youtube. Seems to be a recurring theme of car owners with dash cams to comment/use vulgar language towards other people's driving and upload it onto the internet.

Bluesman · February 14, 2017

2 hours ago, rayaans said:

Im unsure about what a dash cam would achieve in situations like these.

The footage is next to useless. Hand it to the police and they'll stick their hands up and won't do anything.

Instead, I guess its a good tool for getting some subscribers and views on Youtube. Seems to be a recurring theme of car owners with dash cams to comment/use vulgar language towards other people's driving and upload it onto the internet.

Insurance companies love them and its a cast iron guarantee if its not your fault you have the recorded accident which shows it wasn't your fault. Some insurance companies will pay you should your dash cam pick up someone else's accident. As for Youtube seen one seen them all.

Chosen One · February 14, 2017

7 hours ago, DanD said:

You may be right. I take it I would need one for the front and one for the back?

Which have you got and how easy was it to install?

Chosen One · February 14, 2017

I've used the suction type dashcam for a few years both back and front just in case. I have recently installed a different type from amazon called 'Hidden Dashcam' it's located behind the rearview mirror so I don't have to worry too much about it bein nicked if I leave it when away for some time. It doesnt have a screen, but how ofter do you need to look at the screen anyway? A micro card is used and the recording can be viewed on your mobile.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01HO24KPM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1P2AFSCM3WVVR&coliid=I34DB0ABZJEOOC&psc=1

rayaans · February 14, 2017

2 hours ago, Bluesman said:

Insurance companies love them and its a cast iron guarantee if its not your fault you have the recorded accident which shows it wasn't your fault. Some insurance companies will pay you should your dash cam pick up someone else's accident. As for Youtube seen one seen them all.

In an accident situation they are perfect if you're not at fault.

However, the problem arises when you are at fault. They can, and will implicate the driver and the victim's insurance company will ask for dashcam footage if you have declared it to your insurance company.

But going onto hit and run incidents, unless someone is seriously injured, the footage is of no relevance other than a memoir