Commercial / Rideshare Car Insurance - Accident Damage Repaired but Hybrid Car Now Has Battery Issues

Lzobi89 on 28/05/2021 - 12:25
Last edited 28/05/2021 - 14:48 by 1 other user

Hi All

Wanted to put a case here. If someone can suggest something.

I have a car that my friend drives for uber. It had an accident. Other person at fault, all details exchanged. It was only hit from behind and had no mechanical issues, was taken by drive only to the my insurance company. My Insurance (commercial insurance) company got that done and repaired the damage.

Now in doing this they have badly messed the mechanical part of the car (not sure why), they kept it for 4 weeks and then told me having some battery issues (HYBRID battery). Then they told it may need replacement and its not related to the accident. I had the car moved to my local mechanic as was not trusting their judgement. Now my mechanic is able to start the car and feels that number of things have been messed up on engine side, probably stole the coil and put some old coils on there and so on. Car still not fixed by my mechanic but that's the early report.

It's a private insurance company (local) so what to do? I checked with AFCA but they are not members of them. Where should I go?

Please help

Automotive Car Insurance Insurance

Comments

  • Muzeeb on 28/05/2021 - 12:48
    +9

    Ok

    • djones145 on 28/05/2021 - 12:59

      didnt ask for ms paint pic?

  • Xistn on 28/05/2021 - 12:56
    +10

    Member Since
    52 min ago

    Seeing a common pattern here…

  • screensaver on 28/05/2021 - 13:07
    +1

    is there an innsurace council of australia? call them for advice. The NRMA used to have a legal advice service for members, not sure if they still do. You did the right thing by having the right insurance for this vehicle. They should have just fixed the damage, not touched the mechanics.

  • Drakesy on 28/05/2021 - 13:12
    +1

    Hey, if you can squeeze a free battery out of the insurance company then why not? It is the insurance company's responsibility to get it back to prior to the accident condition, however if you've already signed that you've received the car and all is acceptable you may be sweet out of luck.

    Firstly how old is the car, if it's a prius with say 150-200,000k's the battery is probably on its last legs anyway.
    The car would still function without the hybrid battery and/or engine working

    • zobi89 on 28/05/2021 - 13:22

      Not free battery. They would have charged for it as not related to accident

      • Drakesy on 28/05/2021 - 13:25
        +1

        They're just probably trying to be helpful then if the battery really is nearing the end of it's life.
        Not everyone's out to get you.

        But if the mechanical issues are in the area of impact then you may have some recourse.

    • zobi89 on 28/05/2021 - 13:25

      The car is 2011 toyota camry. Battery usually last for 300k on those models. Only have around 200 K atm And now its not even battery the car starts and its going crazy shaking.

      • Drakesy on 28/05/2021 - 13:27
        +5

        Sounds like your car hasn't been returned to pre-crash conditions then
        Chase up the insurance company.

      • brad1-8tsi on 28/05/2021 - 16:13

        So it isn't a battery issue, it's an engine issue.

        You say coils have been swapped out. That's like a $50 item and nothing to do with the rear of the car.

        • zobi89 on 28/05/2021 - 16:47
          -2

          yes but there was no issue before the hit. it was running perfect and maintained. out of nowhere the issues have come since going to the insurance for rear accident repair

          • brad1-8tsi on 29/05/2021 - 15:25
            +1

            @zobi89: Parts fail without warning.

            The battery on my Octavia was starting like a champ in the morning and died that afternoon.

            My Golf started, ran beautifully, I drove 1km to the school and the car failed to start. Dead coil.

            I'm an ex-motor mechanic and have seen it many times.

      • bobbified on 28/05/2021 - 17:50

        The car is 2011 toyota camry.

        Well, an uber vehicle has to be less than 10 years old, so your friend wouldn't have been driving this car much longer anyway. Woudn't it be great to get an insurance payout around now?

        • zobi89 on 28/05/2021 - 17:53

          sorry what is insurance payout? the car is valid till oct this year.

  • Hithere on 28/05/2021 - 13:20
    +5

    Welcome to OzCarRepairs

    probably stole the coil and put some old coils on there and so on

    Sure. /s

    As if the repairer is going to risk their reputation and licence swapping over old parts for your newer ones.

    I call shenanigans on this.

    • zobi89 on 28/05/2021 - 13:23

      Yes i never even had a thought untill the car looks like coming out of mess. The physical damage is gone but just standing in a garage now with mechanical faults

    • Presence on 28/05/2021 - 14:18
      +3

      Coils from an 10 year old car too lol

    • bdl on 28/05/2021 - 15:16

      As if the repairer is going to risk their reputation and licence swapping over old parts for your newer ones.

      Nekminnit in Ozb forums: "FS: Coils from 2011 Camry. Only one accident. Don't ask where they're from but it's a good deal. Cash only, no receipt."

  • tsunamisurfer on 28/05/2021 - 13:26
    +3

    I have a car that my friend rides for uber.

    Dafuq does this mean?

    • zobi89 on 28/05/2021 - 13:27

      Sorry i meant my friend is using my car to drive uber

      • tsunamisurfer on 28/05/2021 - 13:29
        +10

        That is one of the most horrible ideas I have ever seen on this website.

        • CrowReally on 28/05/2021 - 13:33

          Yeah, it's potentially getting close to the edge of insurance fraud (e.g. is the friend covered by the insurance policy? is the business use of the car disclosed on the insurance policy?). Not something you'd want to be caught up on if there's a "mis-understanding".

          • zobi89 on 28/05/2021 - 13:38
            +1

            @CrowReally: yes its a rideshare insurance. my friend was listed as driver. so no confusions on it

            • CrowReally on 28/05/2021 - 13:40
              +1

              @zobi89: That's alright then.
              I've seen people not think about either of those steps and end up paying for an insurance policy they didn't end up getting to claim on.

          • terrys on 29/05/2021 - 11:07
            +1

            @CrowReally: I was always annoyed by job adverts for support workers where " Must have vehicle with comprehensive vehicle insurance". were part of the listed conditions. It was a minimum wage job you did because you wanted to [ or were an overseas student] and the employer was expecting you to be paying out for an insurance that would be invalid in the conditions in which you would be using the vehicle.

            I wondered if the organisations' systems at some point had a "Yes, all vehicles are insured" box to tick before the page could be turned and a next step in a vital script could run, with the I.D. of any volunteers and their vehicles who transport clients as part of that database.

            • CrowReally on 29/05/2021 - 11:33
              +1

              @terrys: I agree with what you're saying, though it may not be as sinister as that, it might just be a way of weeding out the maniacs with no insurance from applying. Ultimately the responsibility for ensuring the insurance is appropriate is the drivers', so it could come down to 'how much hand holding do I need to do for potential contractors/employees'?

              But I'm cynical and I agree with your comments - my gut instinct is it was a "oh, we confirmed (some) insurance existed" box ticking exercise.

        • Archi on 28/05/2021 - 13:34

          not if the friend was paying him to do so…

        • bdl on 28/05/2021 - 15:14

          You obviously have never participated in a Ben and Jerry's cashback :)

        • bobbified on 28/05/2021 - 17:44

          I'm sure he means "I have a car that my friend pays me to use so he can drive uber…."

  • netjock on 28/05/2021 - 13:31
    +1

    4 weeks and your hybrid battery may have drained. Plenty in the forums saying you shouldn't leave it not driven for too long.

  • brendanm on 28/05/2021 - 17:21

    probably stole the coil and put some old coils on there and so on.

    This seems very unlikely, and has nothing to do with the hybrid battery.

    What did your insurer say when you contacted them about it?

    • zobi89 on 28/05/2021 - 17:28
      -4

      have not got back to them yet. My mechanic still diagnosing the whole issue. He has been servicing the car for years but never had any such issue on this car. waiting for him to get back on it so i can get back to insurer.

      • brendanm on 28/05/2021 - 19:01
        +2

        First step is to contact the insurer, why would you add another person into the mix for them to blame?

        • zobi89 on 28/05/2021 - 20:51

          You are right :( as stated by insurer it was a battery problem i hot it to mechanic for that. Turns out its something different

          • [Deactivated] on 29/05/2021 - 00:22
            +1

            @zobi89: @zobi89: Pretty much your saying is you want a new battery because your car has only done 200k and apparently it should last 300k.

            • zobi89 on 29/05/2021 - 10:11

              @[Deactivated]: Car starts and shakes like hell. Thats not battery as stated by insurer. Even without that battery it should stay normal after switch on isnt it

  • HelpMeiCantSee on 29/05/2021 - 08:05

    Wow. Just wow.

  • subydooby on 29/05/2021 - 08:06

    Does Toyota guarantee their batteries?

  • gmdarts on 29/05/2021 - 08:28

    better of ringing toyota and asking them I know that id it was fully electric om most vehicles there is a special procedure to repair them and there are very few smash repairs acredittd to do that

    • zobi89 on 29/05/2021 - 10:11

      But battery was never hit. Do you mean to discuss this issue with toyota?

  • azonki on 29/05/2021 - 10:37
    +2

    Your friend was driving the car.
    It is his/her responsibility to return it to you in the condition it was pre-accident.

    • zobi89 on 29/05/2021 - 22:18

      He was running it smoothly. Car had no issues. Went to insurer and all gone like this

  • mrcheap1984 on 29/05/2021 - 11:00
    +3

    The hybrid batteries lives in the boot for most Toyota Hybrids. Have the batteries been inspected to ensure no cracks or ruptures?

    You should be able to get a battery life report from a mechanic with Toyota software to interrogate the battery life, in terms of drainage and ability to hold charge. If the battery life is reported failed then you will need replacement batteries but if the battery is damaged then insurance must cover this.

    Toyota provides 8 year warranty on hybrid batteries unfortunately you have passed this.

    • zobi89 on 29/05/2021 - 22:19

      Thanks for this suggestion. The car doesnt even start for more than 2-3 min now :(

  • OzHunterNSW on 29/05/2021 - 19:28
    -3

    They have possibly stollen your battery…. have the issue fully investigated by an independent assessor… look for tampering of original battery.

    Then have this scam mob fully explain….. then lodge a complaint to the insurer informing the vehicle is not fit properly

    • zobi89 on 29/05/2021 - 22:20

      They have definitely played on something. Its hard as its standing at local mechanic atm. Waiting for monday to speak to insurer. Not even sure where to see an independent assessor.

  • zobi89 on 31/05/2021 - 10:47

    Update: They did change the coils to fix the issue apparently but it did not turn out to be coil issue. i was never told about it. just got back to them about it and they said yea we changed it and still have your old coils if you want you can have them. asked them to fix the car as its not in the condition as it was left to them. They ll call me soon

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