insurance approved garage not following manufacture' repair
Discussion
Wife has a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV , whilst reversing over a bit of rough ground , car went into limp mode , drove the car slowly home , and Warning lights illuminated for regenerative braking system
phoned the RAC , who recovered the car to the main dealership , they had the car for 3 days and did a full diagnostic test, and engineers report ,
outcome was , crushed cooler pipes to the EV and the EV battery box cracked , with water ingress into two of the battery cells causing the fault codes , the recommendation to replace pipes and the EV battery estimate was £8k . As this was accident damage it was not covered under the warranty ...the lead time for a new battery being 2 weeks . Mitsubishi were very good and advised only they could fit the EV battery and once fitted it would require a 24hr diagnostic check.
So i contacted my insurance company who said yes you are covered and qualify for a courtesy car ...which i needed , the trouble was they said to get the courtesy car the car must go to their approved body shop ....even though the damage was mechanical. and once there ... The bodyshop will assess the damage and estimate repairs.. and will go back to Mitsubishi for the battery replacement , all well and good .
So two weeks ago the bodyshop recover the car to their premises ,, and they drop off the courtesy car , then i get a telephone call from the approved bodyshop ..."Hello I've got some good news ..your car doesn't need a battery !" , so I asked who had inspected the car to make that decision when Mitsubishi were very clear of the data from the diagnostic report ... they admitted the car was currently at a third party garage who deal with battery analysis and their engineer had assessed the car doesn't need a battery , When i pointed out the vehicle was unsafe due to water ingress into the cells..and why hadn't they taken the car to the main dealer
the response was ...."well main dealers are more expensive and we have to save money! ! ,
So I contacted the insurance company and i expressed my concern , i also sent them the full engineers report from Mitsubishi , its clear from the manufacturer the car needs a replacement battery , i have no confidence in a third party garage repairing the car , so i have sent a letter to the insurance company requesting once the car is repaired by the third party ., it goes straight to the dealer to have a full diagnostic check and an engineers report , , i also asked what happens if the diagnostic check reveals the car still needs a replacement battery ,
where do i stand legally can insist this repair is carried out by the dealership ,
thanks
Worth ringing around a few Mitsubishi approved repairers within a wider radius to check if any of them are approved by the insurance company you are with. I was surprised to find that my 3rd nearest Audi dealer was approved by one of the larger insurance companies not renowned for allowing you to use garages with anything over the wafer thin labour rates they'll agree to.
In this case, I suspect you will need to pay from your own pocket for any assessment of the quality of repair, and only stand a chance of getting your money back from the insurer if they accept that report as indicating the repair was sub-standard. They'll probably still want it to go back to the initial repairer for them to have another go at it......
I've once had such a poor quality repair on a car that it was entirely obvious the garage had cut corners. Wrote up a report with photos of all the issues, and asked it to go somewhere else, and the insurance assessor who came out agreed with me that it was a comedy quality job.
Do bear in mind that the manufacturer may state one thing, but an independent repairer may be able to do things differently and achieve a similar outcome. It just might not be the way the manufacturer thinks it should be done. If it's still under a new car warranty then I would've given it to the main dealer and coughed up for a hire car/snotter.....
In this case, I suspect you will need to pay from your own pocket for any assessment of the quality of repair, and only stand a chance of getting your money back from the insurer if they accept that report as indicating the repair was sub-standard. They'll probably still want it to go back to the initial repairer for them to have another go at it......
I've once had such a poor quality repair on a car that it was entirely obvious the garage had cut corners. Wrote up a report with photos of all the issues, and asked it to go somewhere else, and the insurance assessor who came out agreed with me that it was a comedy quality job.
Do bear in mind that the manufacturer may state one thing, but an independent repairer may be able to do things differently and achieve a similar outcome. It just might not be the way the manufacturer thinks it should be done. If it's still under a new car warranty then I would've given it to the main dealer and coughed up for a hire car/snotter.....
Adrian E said:
Worth ringing around a few Mitsubishi approved repairers within a wider radius to check if any of them are approved by the insurance company you are with.
I already tried this unfortunately they are not unless the approved vendor cant fix the car ....which in this case they are going to try and use sub contractor garages who will make a bloody mess of it ...i'm not impressed after speaking with the engineer Adrian E said:
I was surprised to find that my 3rd nearest Audi dealer was approved by one of the larger insurance companies not renowned for allowing you to use garages with anything over the wafer thin labour rates they'll agree to.
In this case, I suspect you will need to pay from your own pocket for any assessment of the quality of repair, and only stand a chance of getting your money back from the insurer if they accept that report as indicating the repair was sub-standard. They'll probably still want it to go back to the initial repairer for them to have another go at it......
I've once had such a poor quality repair on a car that it was entirely obvious the garage had cut corners. Wrote up a report with photos of all the issues, and asked it to go somewhere else, and the insurance assessor who came out agreed with me that it was a comedy quality job.
Do bear in mind that the manufacturer may state one thing, but an independent repairer may be able to do things differently and achieve a similar outcome. It just might not be the way the manufacturer thinks it should be done. If it's still under a new car warranty then I would've given it to the main dealer and coughed up for a hire car/snotter.....
The trouble is the battery box is cracked and water has leaked into the cells , As the Mitsubishi Mechanic said , there is no way the battery is going to perform normally and the car will be plagued with fault codes ,In this case, I suspect you will need to pay from your own pocket for any assessment of the quality of repair, and only stand a chance of getting your money back from the insurer if they accept that report as indicating the repair was sub-standard. They'll probably still want it to go back to the initial repairer for them to have another go at it......
I've once had such a poor quality repair on a car that it was entirely obvious the garage had cut corners. Wrote up a report with photos of all the issues, and asked it to go somewhere else, and the insurance assessor who came out agreed with me that it was a comedy quality job.
Do bear in mind that the manufacturer may state one thing, but an independent repairer may be able to do things differently and achieve a similar outcome. It just might not be the way the manufacturer thinks it should be done. If it's still under a new car warranty then I would've given it to the main dealer and coughed up for a hire car/snotter.....
Replacement batteries can only come via Mitsubishi the lead time is 14 days..... I cant see how an independent is going to be able to replace unless they try and buy a second hand battery of Ebay ??
In any case Iive told the Insurance company car must go direct to Mitsubishi following any repair , its £150 for the engineers report ,...........its been an eye opener not a big bill £8k ...........god knows what would have happened if it had been the Aston , its on a multicar policy , im going to have to re think this cover in future , because there is no way I'm letting this bunch of f
kwits any where near the car after this experience.Edited by DBSV8 on Sunday 15th November 22:06
Jakg said:
Devils advocate - Mitsubishi will only sell you a new battery.
But a battery specialist is able to open the battery, replace the damaged cells and repair for a fraction of the cost?
not according to Mitsubishi ..the whole casing needs replacing , to do that would mean stripping out all the cells , these are sealed units ,, and the lead time is still 14 days ...But a battery specialist is able to open the battery, replace the damaged cells and repair for a fraction of the cost?
mattyprice4004 said:
Yes, but if the repairer reckons the casing can be repaired and cells replaced individually then this may well be possible.
The Mitsubishi dealer aren’t the be all and end all of knowledge, most dealers can only replace full units rather than actually repair things.
i cant see how the casing can be repaired ,its certainly not going to be as strong as a new battery casing on an EV battery any amount of moisture getting in is going to lead to all kinds of potential faults , and more importantly could invalidate the warranty on the battery The Mitsubishi dealer aren’t the be all and end all of knowledge, most dealers can only replace full units rather than actually repair things.
What ever the repairers do to the car on completion Its going back to the main dealers for an engineers report .
DBSV8 said:
What ever the repairers do to the car on completion Its going back to the main dealers for an engineers report .
But you already know what that report is going to say, so you will be right back to square one.You have already been told, above, that you can insist it goes to the main dealer but you won't get a courtesy car. Assuming that info is correct then surely that is the way to go?
NGee said:
But you already know what that report is going to say, so you will be right back to square one.
You have already been told, above, that you can insist it goes to the main dealer but you won't get a courtesy car. Assuming that info is correct then surely that is the way to go?
thanks its what i intend to do ,You have already been told, above, that you can insist it goes to the main dealer but you won't get a courtesy car. Assuming that info is correct then surely that is the way to go?
DBSV8 said:
Jakg said:
Devils advocate - Mitsubishi will only sell you a new battery.
But a battery specialist is able to open the battery, replace the damaged cells and repair for a fraction of the cost?
not according to Mitsubishi ..the whole casing needs replacing , to do that would mean stripping out all the cells , these are sealed units ,, and the lead time is still 14 days ...But a battery specialist is able to open the battery, replace the damaged cells and repair for a fraction of the cost?
There's plenty of parts that can be be repaired at a lower level, when the manufacturer simply sells the whole assembly only.
Silly example - the front hubs on a RenaultSport Megane - Renault sell the whole assembly (£500?), but the only part that actually wears is a £10 bearing which is easily sourced from a bearing manufacturer and replaced.
Again - I'm not saying that this is a proper fix, or addresses all the issues etc. Just that there are more options - and I can see why a £8k part would be something to avoid buying if possible.
Did the insurance company cheerfully accept "rough ground"? I'm surprised they haven't kicked off about being off road.
As others have said, the individual cells can be replaced - if you haven't already, have a Google. A cell is in its own case and fits into a module. The whole battery is made up of multiple modules. The outer case could be plastic welded.
Dealers use guided repair systems - it'll say 'battery fault" = "replace battery".
It's a bit like the mis-fueling issues you see - petrol in a diesel. Take the car to a dealer and they insist the entire fuel system is replaced, even the tank. Typcially at around £6K.
As others have said, the individual cells can be replaced - if you haven't already, have a Google. A cell is in its own case and fits into a module. The whole battery is made up of multiple modules. The outer case could be plastic welded.
Dealers use guided repair systems - it'll say 'battery fault" = "replace battery".
It's a bit like the mis-fueling issues you see - petrol in a diesel. Take the car to a dealer and they insist the entire fuel system is replaced, even the tank. Typcially at around £6K.
Your post says the repair is not covered under the warranty. Which means you have a warranty. I would bet the warranty will no longer be valid on the battery if it is repaired by someone not authorised by mitsubishi.
So tell the insurance company that and you cannot therefore allow any one not approved to carry out the repair.
So tell the insurance company that and you cannot therefore allow any one not approved to carry out the repair.
There is a series on tv called Vintage Voltage on Quest channel. A company in Newtown, Mid Wales convert cars to EV. Classics, Ferrari, you name it. They use Tesla systems as one option. The cars are basically stripped, rebuilt, upgraded brakes etc. They buy in battery packs, motors, controllers, build battery cases themselves to fit the car concerned. I am not sure how they source the components though. So unknown if Tesla supply or they get recycled. Impressive work but not cheap!
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff