Insurance claim (silly driving)

[exronin]

Hi guys,

This morning on my way to the train station I managed to understeer myself on a wet road into a 30cm tall kerb at a junction - I think I hit at about 20-25mph, with wheels at full lock to the right.

BMW Service had already identified some 'slight' play in my ball joint or control arm (don't remember which) about 4 months ago, so whatever that was is now definitely broken completely I think. Car is driving ok, but I do have quite a strong pull to the left and my steering wheel is now off-centre - need to hold at about 30 degrees angle to stay straight. I also got a strange grinding noise with wheels fully locked to the right in a fairly sharp turn, but it hasn't returned since and it may have been just road noise.

Car is also a bit more bouncy I think, so possibly new shocks needed too?

Either way, it is probably going to be expensive (BMW 650i) and I may need to claim on insurance. My questions are:

1)Do I need to tell insurance today that I had this incident?
2) Or can I wait until I get BMW's assessment of the damage (no free slot before 17th April!)?
3) In either case, can I continue to drive the car, at least to get home?
4) What else could I have broken?

Many thanks in advance!

[Snowboy]

2 options really.

1 call the insurer right now and get it inspected by an insurance agent.

2 never tell the insurer.

Insurers only cover crash damage not maintenance, so there's something to consider there.
They tend to want to use their assessors not BMW's.
Your premiums will go up.

Most people would probably advise you to keep it to yourself and not claim.
Chances are the increased premiums will be much more than the repair costs.

[Tonto]

Don't drive the car, sounds like you may have significant suspension damage (at very least, you've probably bent a track rod). You'll also wear your front tyres pretty quickly.

[GadgeS3C]

Tonto said:

Don't drive the car, sounds like you may have significant suspension damage (at very least, you've probably bent a track rod). You'll also wear your front tyres pretty quickly.

[Dark Thought]

Tonto said:

Don't drive the car, sounds like you may have significant suspension damage (at very least, you've probably bent a track rod). You'll also wear your front tyres pretty quickly.

This, unless you want a repeat tommorow!

[Nigel Worc's]

GadgeS3C said:

Tonto said:

Don't drive the car, sounds like you may have significant suspension damage (at very least, you've probably bent a track rod). You'll also wear your front tyres pretty quickly.

At least get it checked, pronto, that is quite a heavy impact on some important components, you wouldn't want anything failing that may cause you to lose control.

[Driver101]

I'd wait and see what the bill is. Maybe try an indie garage rather than a BMW main dealer for prices though.

Then you'll have to weigh it up against the cost of your excess and losing NCB and having a at fault claim all of which will increase your premium.

As long as the cost isn't too high, I'd likely pay out of my own pocket and not tell the insurance company.

[exronin]

Just did the maths, and if I had a claim against me I'd have to pay £150 more than if I didn't (this includes less NCB and declared claim on moneysupermarket).

In my simple world that means 5 years @ £150 difference = £750 I'd pay more if I claimed.

I need to trade this off against a claim that can be anything between £300 to £2000.

Is it likely that the insurance company might say they are not paying because the accident may have been caused by me not replacing the part BMW flagged up at the last service? Or at least skimp on paying out for the flagged part?

No choice on BMW/no-BMW, due to BMW Insured Warranty unfortunately

[Durzel]

exronin said:

Just did the maths, and if I had a claim against me I'd have to pay £150 more than if I didn't (this includes less NCB and declared claim on moneysupermarket).

In my simple world that means 5 years @ £150 difference = £750 I'd pay more if I claimed.

I need to trade this off against a claim that can be anything between £300 to £2000.

Is it likely that the insurance company might say they are not paying because the accident may have been caused by me not replacing the part BMW flagged up at the last service? Or at least skimp on paying out for the flagged part?

No choice on BMW/no-BMW, due to BMW Insured Warranty unfortunately

It wouldn't be £150 over 5 years as your NCD would (hopefully!) rise each year, and you could always play one insurance company off against another come renewal time.

If you have to go through a main dealer to get the work done then finger-in-the-air maths I'd say you'd be looking at several hundred quid repair once you factor in alignment costs, etc.

[Snowboy]

exronin said:

No choice on BMW/no-BMW, due to BMW Insured Warranty unfortunately

This is where it might get tricky.
AFAIK insurance companies use their own assessors and mechanics.
You don't get to choose.

But, so long as the garage is vat registered and competent BMW can't void your warranty.
It's something to do with block exemption / monopoly laws.

If you are planning to claim you should call the insurer asap.

[Devil2575]

Snowboy said:

exronin said:

No choice on BMW/no-BMW, due to BMW Insured Warranty unfortunately

This is where it might get tricky.
AFAIK insurance companies use their own assessors and mechanics.
You don't get to choose.

But, so long as the garage is vat registered and competent BMW can't void your warranty.
It's something to do with block exemption / monopoly laws.

If you are planning to claim you should call the insurer asap.

Isn't this only for the manufacturers new car warranty?

BMW offer warranties that extend beyond the manufacturers normal 3 years for a price and I believe they can impose whatever stipulations on those they wish.

[exronin]

Just spoke to BMW and they said for an impact at those speeds, they will probably have to replace the Steering Rack as well, which on its own can be £800-£900.

Then we have all the other stuff on top...looks like an insurance job

[wildoliver]

Just to point out the obvious, if the car doesn't go to BMW but the Parts fitted are genuine parts and are fitted correctly how will they know?

[Devil2575]

wildoliver said:

Just to point out the obvious, if the car doesn't go to BMW but the Parts fitted are genuine parts and are fitted correctly how will they know?

Because BMW dealers are all on a computer system that records everytime you visit a main agent for a service/warranty work.

[Snowboy]

Devil2575 said:

Snowboy said:

exronin said:

No choice on BMW/no-BMW, due to BMW Insured Warranty unfortunately

This is where it might get tricky.
AFAIK insurance companies use their own assessors and mechanics.
You don't get to choose.

But, so long as the garage is vat registered and competent BMW can't void your warranty.
It's something to do with block exemption / monopoly laws.

If you are planning to claim you should call the insurer asap.

Isn't this only for the manufacturers new car warranty?

BMW offer warranties that extend beyond the manufacturers normal 3 years for a price and I believe they can impose whatever stipulations on those they wish.

Honestly I don't know.
I was working for BMW when the EU block exception laws came into play and was slightly involved with working out how to track work on cars when they were dropping in and out of the system.
So I know it's the case on new cars.

For used cars I'd assume the same block exemption laws are relevant - but I may well be wrong.

[Durzel]

Devil2575 said:

Isn't this only for the manufacturers new car warranty?

BMW offer warranties that extend beyond the manufacturers normal 3 years for a price and I believe they can impose whatever stipulations on those they wish.

What this guy said.

Block exemption rules apply to new car warranties, not extended warranties. The extended warranty on Porsches for example is essentially just an insurance policy and isn't even underwritten by Porsche AG themselves, and has a number of strict restrictions for compliance. The key difference is that you choose to be bound by this when you take out the policy, unlike as with a new car warranty.

Edited by Durzel on Tuesday 1st April 11:53

[Liquid Tuna]

Devil2575 said:

wildoliver said:

Just to point out the obvious, if the car doesn't go to BMW but the Parts fitted are genuine parts and are fitted correctly how will they know?

Because BMW dealers are all on a computer system that records everytime you visit a main agent for a service/warranty work.

But if he doesn't visit a main dealer and uses an indi, there won't be a record of that, or parts being supplied for that car. Unless every new car has every serial number of every part recorded? (I'm not taking the piss here, I genuinely don't know if they do that).

[Planter]

Tonto said:

Don't drive the car, sounds like you may have significant suspension damage (at very least, you've probably bent a track rod). You'll also wear your front tyres pretty quickly.

Yep, ^^^ This ^^^

You are risking a lot more damage if you keep driving and then its a case of how dangerous the car is, not necessarily to you, but potentially others, and if youre pulled over etc, it can spiral badly out of control if its noticed.

[Devil2575]

Liquid Tuna said:

Devil2575 said:

wildoliver said:

Just to point out the obvious, if the car doesn't go to BMW but the Parts fitted are genuine parts and are fitted correctly how will they know?

Because BMW dealers are all on a computer system that records everytime you visit a main agent for a service/warranty work.

But if he doesn't visit a main dealer and uses an indi, there won't be a record of that, or parts being supplied for that car. Unless every new car has every serial number of every part recorded? (I'm not taking the piss here, I genuinely don't know if they do that).

But he has already vsisited a BMW dealer so now they know it needs work doing. I'd be amazed if this hasn't been recorded on the system.

[SHutchinson]

Would this even be an allowable claim under your insurance policy?