My car had a respray after an accident - but the new paint looks out of place with the rest of the car?
A Local Authority vehicle bumped into my eight year old Ford Focus. Their insurer, Zurich, arranged repairs via a Nationwide Repair Centre. The repairs were all to the near-side. While the actual repairs are fine, the difference in the high gloss polish of the new paintwork compared to the remainder of the car is very obvious. The car looks really silly when it has been washed and in my opinion has lost value due to the repairs carried out. I have asked Nationwide and Zurich to buff/polish the remainder of the car so that the paintwork looks similar all round. They totally refused and the Zurich engineer stated that they would only consider the damaged areas. I feel I am worse off than before the accident. If I had been told beforehand that the paintwork polish would not match up, I would have gone to my independent bodyshop and not the recommended repairer. Do I have any redress at all?
Asked on 1 August 2018 by Neil Sheridan
Answered by
Honest John
Unfortunately, Zurich is not responsible for your vehicle's paint being in poor condition. You also have no redress with the Financial Ombudsman Service. Had you gone through your own insurer, ironically the FOS would have challenged the insurer and could have forced them to paint the rest of the car. I would suggest it highly unlikely the car has lost value as a result of the repairs being carried out, as it is the other areas of the car that are already devaluing it. They have technically put you in a better situation. You can raise a complaint with the bodyshop though. What Zurich should have done was suggested a cash in lieu settlement rather than repair the car.
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