accident repair

Insurance Claims

Following an accident, five main criteria apply which will determine which direction you choose to have the repairs carried out:

1. Was the accident my fault?  (known as own-fault accident)
2. Was I the victim of somebody else's negligence? (Non-fault accident)
3. Was the damage the result of malicious damage or act of God?
4. Does the cost of repair exceed my agreed excess contribution?
5. Do I have a protected no-claims policy? (this allows you to make a pre-agreed number of claims without losing some, or all, of your no-claims discount).

Should you choose to continue down the route of insurance repair, you will need to contact your insurance company to report the incident. They should then create a claim reference number which you should make a note of. At this stage, your insurance company will quite likely try to direct you to one of their own approved bodyshops as this may be their brief to do so. It is important that you are aware that you are under no obligation to follow this advice, in fact it is your right by law to choose the repairer best suited to repair your vehicle. There have been cases of front-facing insurance claims staff distorting facts or employing illegal restrictive practices, which are being investigated. Remember to ask them, can your own approved repairer re-instate my Manufacturers' warranty (30 years from date of registration for Mercedes Benz vehicles built after 2000)? Are the materials and equipment used the only ones approved by the vehicle manufacturers to prevent in-validation of warranty and are you prepared to put that in writing if the answer to any of these questions is "yes"?

If your vehicle is still legally driveable, you will need to obtain a free estimate from Triangle Sprays Ltd. To arrange this, you may phone us on 023 8081 3301 or simply drop in on Monday to Friday between 08.30 and 17.00 (excluding Public Holidays). Alternatively, please email us on estimate@trianglesprays.co.uk if out of work hours and we shall contact you on our return. We can also work from images e-mailed to us.

If your car is not roadworthy or is immobile, you will need to arrange to have it collected and brought to Triangle Sprays Ltd. We can arrange this for you by phoning us on 023 8081 3301 but, if outside of working hours, then we ask you to telephone our sub-contract recovery agent, Spacagna Recovery, on 02380 236999 (24 hours) who have the ability to recover your car from any location, however badly damaged it may be and bring it to Triangle Sprays Ltd. You may need to make a payment but these costs should ultimately be met by the insurance company involved who should reimburse you once the claim is accepted. Alternatively, you could contact Mondial Assistance if you have Mobilo Life cover on 008 001 777 777 7. Please email us on emergency@trianglesprays.co.uk with your contact details and send any further supporting information on info@trianglesprays.co.uk and we will get back to you on our return. We can also work from good images e-mailed to us if you prefer to use this facility.

The urgency now will be to keep you driving. We can provide a category 'A' courtesy car after insurance authority has been granted if the accident was your fault, or a like-for-like vehicle immediately if not (subject to you having all insurance details from the at-fault party*). You may decide to rent a vehicle for the short-term until things have been sorted-out and we would recommend Enterprise rent-a-car for the best possible rates on 0800 800 227 with National coverage. If the accident was not your fault, then please contact Bristol & London PLC for a replacement vehicle* on 01275 841111 or visit their website by clicking on their link on our contacts page.

We can liaise with any other party on your behalf, as we have years of experience in dealing with insurance companies. For smaller repairs, it may be wise to evaluate the costs involved. For instance, if your voluntary excess that you agreed with your insurance company exceeds the cost of repair then you may

decide it is more prudent to pay for the repairs rather than make a claim. You should also check to see if you have a protected policy. If not, then making a claim could increase your premium payments for the next few years as you build up your no-claims discount again. All relevant information should be in your insurance policy or schedule sent to you at the time of insurance renewal. Please read our 'Non-Insurance Claim' details if you decide not to claim.

On completion of repair, you will need to pay any excess charges to us as we effectively collect it on behalf of your insurance company. Additionally, if you are personally registered for VAT, then you will be liable for the VAT content of the entire repair cost which is recoverable on your next quarterly return. This is because insurance companies in the UK are unable to recover VAT themselves and so pass the onus on whenever they can. You will also be asked to sign a collection note which is sent to the insurance company to show that you have your Mercedes Benz back and that we have finished the job as estimated. Collection or delivery are arranged according to circumstances, such as whether you have one of our cars, a non-fault car or neither.

*Exclusions apply

Non-Insurance Claims

You may decide, for  whatever reason, not to go through your insurance company and opt to pay for the repairs yourself directly.

This is not a problem for us as we estimate all repairs in a 'menu' fashion so that the repair times are the same whichever way you choose to go. Don't forget that all Triangle Sprays estimates are free of charge, so why not come in for an idea of the price before making your decision, with no obligation on your part to have the work done.

As a rough rule of thumb, the average repair cost is between £300 - £400 per panel, if this helps you to calculate.

Should you choose to settle the payment personally then you can rest assured that you will have the same guarantee applied to the repair as if you elected to use your insurance company because we are Mercedes Benz approved, not insurance company approved. We believe that there is a huge difference. In the event of your Mercedes Benz being built after 2000, then your vehicle will have a 30 year anti-perforation warranty. By choosing to use a Mercedes Benz approved bodycare centre, this warranty (or remainder thereof depending on expiry date) will be re-instated.

Please do not hesitate to ring for advice on 023 8081 3301 during our opening hours of Monday to Friday, 08.30 to 17.00 (excluding Public Holidays). If outside of these hours, please email estimate@trianglesprays.co.uk and we will get back to you on our return.