New car gets damaged at Renault dealership while defective part is being fixed and they say they arent insured

Happythoughts11qq on 14/11/2016 - 18:22
Last edited 14/11/2016 - 18:23

If you're living in Adelaide you have probably heard a few horrow stories about the recent hail storms.

My friend from work purchased a new Renault for his daughter earlier this year (she is paying it back) and something in the engine bay broke that caused a petrol leak in the engine bay. Renault picked it up and took it to their workshop as it was under warrenty but the part that broke is very uncommon ( he was told by Renault) so they have had to keep the car there and order it in and provided a rental car.

While the car was in their possession the recent hail storm absolutely battered her car and it is now covered in dents. The Renault dealership called her up today and in a (probably nervous) joking voice said hey I hope you have insurance because we dont and have pretty much said that its not their problem.

Her dad is going to call them up tonight and blast them to see where he gets with that.I think they have seen that its a young girl and are just trying it on.

Just wondering what their rights are?

Hes angry because there will be an excess, its also insured through youi which dont have a flash hot reputation when it comes to paying claims and just the nerve of the dealership.

Automotive

Comments

  • spackbace on 14/11/2016 - 18:39
    +2

    All dealerships have service, just a matter of what is covered under it, but hail should be covered.

    And yeah unfortunately there will be an excess.

  • holdenmg on 14/11/2016 - 18:43
    +4

    Call RAA Legal and ask for advice…

  • PVA on 14/11/2016 - 18:48
    +4

    and even if it gets repaired , the car is marked as Hail damaged so when you sell in the future peopleknow and it wont be worth any where near what an non-hail car is worth.

    • Happythoughts11qq on 14/11/2016 - 20:16
      +2

      Oh wow i didnt know that. I wont tell him because his wife car was also damaged and they only purchased it 2 weeks ago. Not having much luck.

      • PVA on 14/11/2016 - 20:18
        +2

        Maybe you should say, as the dealer didn't look after the car very well, they may push for something ( free services, pay the excess, something)

      • shadowarrior on 14/11/2016 - 20:49
        +2

        In a lot of cases, excessive hail damage warrants a repairable write off.

  • chumlee on 14/11/2016 - 20:26
    +1

    This will be a protracted saga. Can a dealership be held responsible for hail damage?

    • Happythoughts11qq on 14/11/2016 - 20:55
      +1

      Im not sure. I mean if you rent a car and it gets slammed by hail im sure you would have to pay some sort of excess and im sure it wouldnt be cheap.

  • Gronk on 14/11/2016 - 21:01
    +1

    I know it's hail damage, but wouldn't this fall into the same category as if one of their mechanics totalled your vehicle doing a test drive?

  • [Deactivated] on 14/11/2016 - 21:16
    -2

    Take of of their new cars for a test drive … keep it … bet their insurance starts working quick smart.

    On second though, since you can clearly identify the dealership as at 'fault', just make a claim and let your insurance pursue the dealership for the costs.

  • [Deactivated] on 14/11/2016 - 21:24
    +3

    Anything that falls under the description 'act of god' can get legally ugly. I can see both sides' cases and the lawyers would lick their lips.

    First question…would the car have been parked under cover at the time ordinarily?

    • Happythoughts11qq on 14/11/2016 - 21:39
      +1

      I think it would have. They have a two car garage and he doesnt have a car himself but thats a good point.

  • [Deactivated] on 14/11/2016 - 21:39
    +2

    If they are insured by Swann insurance they should have Hail cover.
    They are responsible for the vehicle's condition when it's under their care.

    • goodcopbadcop on 15/11/2016 - 15:34

      And what about all the other cars that they are either working on/doing repairs for? I've never signed any disclaimer when I've left my car for a part to be fixed or replaced that I have to use my insurance to cover "storms or other acts of God"- surely they would have to have some sort of insurance cover. And being on their property, doesn't responsibility extend to "they should have moved your car inside to safety" so that it wouldn't have been hit. So I'd think they are responsible for the cost of repair and for the excess as well.

      If it is as bad as you say - it will be too expensive to have fixed and will be a repairable write off. Given that it is a brand new car - I'd be pushing for a brand new car. Or I guess you do have the option to buy an almost new car for whatever the amount they value it at in its hail damaged state and take the difference in cash. And hopefully get that part to get it fixed!

  • Euphemistic on 15/11/2016 - 07:12
    -1

    It's not like they caused the damage though.

  • r2160 on 15/11/2016 - 07:40

    I would have thought that any damage done by the dealer would be covered, but you cannot hold the dealer responsible for a hail storm.
    They didnt damage the car, the storm did, so just put a claim in and move on.

    • Happythoughts11qq on 15/11/2016 - 08:31
      +2

      I can see both sides of the arguement. I would have just assumed that they would have had cover for those sorts of things. I mean they would definantly have that cover for their cars on the yard.

      • Gershom on 15/11/2016 - 08:51
        -1

        Their cars, not yours.

      • r2160 on 16/11/2016 - 07:30

        I appreciate what you are saying, but they own those cars.

        • Happythoughts11qq on 16/11/2016 - 08:24

          If this were some small business auto repair on the corner I would expect that you would have these issues but its not, Renault is a massive international enterprise. But what rubs salt into the wound more is that the only reason the car was there is because there was a major fault, covered under warrently and they took possession of it to repair it. The courtesy car that she was driving was not damaged by the storm because she wasnt near the storm.

  • Gershom on 15/11/2016 - 08:50
    +4

    My friend from work purchased a new Renault

    Well, there's you're problem, right there.

  • kaos on 15/11/2016 - 12:21
    +3

    if the damage occurred when they have possession of your asset, it's pretty clear that they are responsible of getting it fixed. However, as they've already tried to weasel out of it, you really need to pay close attention to what happens. i.e. don't let them send the car to their cousin to get fixed…..

  • [Deactivated] on 15/11/2016 - 20:34
    +1

    By the way I would also ask for a cash settlement and get away from the Renault ASAP. It will be worth $5K in 3 or 4 years time.
    Just awful, awful cars. In all seriousness, if he gets cash or a new car, ask them for a different car of the same value and dump the Renault.
    Fiat, Renault, Alfa Romeo are about the worst cars you in buy in Australia for mechanical/electrical problems and the parts take FOREVER to come from whichever European country they stock them in.

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