Marguerite
Active Member
I am seething right now. I posted on this in the Good Morning thread - maybe it was a bit too long, but this is going to be an ongoing story for a few days, so I'm putting it here. (FYI - "shonky" = crooked, rip-off merchant, shady dealer, suspect, wouldn't want to meet him down a dark alley at night)
To update - easy child 2/difficult child 2 crashed BF2's car on Monday night. They were driving home. Damp night, car spun out and went into a ditch. Car got towed because two tyres were blown out, along with one headlight. Front air spoiler hanging loose.
Cops visited - no charges, just one of those things. No other cars involved. We were happy that at least easy child 2/difficult child 2 & BF2 weren't injured (beyond scrapes and bruises).
Next afternoon - she & I visit car yard. Tow truck holding area is right next to smash repairer (surprise, surprise). We speak to apprentice who lets us in then goes to fetch his boss. This was the mechanic's apprentice. He came back out and said, "Joe will be with you in a few minutes, he's with another customer at the moment."
easy child 2/difficult child 2 & I went in to holding area to look at the car in dry daylight. OK, two tyres on passenger side are pancaked. Apparently the sideways spin into the ditch just ripped them off the rims. The hubcaps are in the car on the back seat - easy child 2/difficult child 2 actually fished one out of the bushes, so they're both there. The front headlight - the covering plastic is broken on the corner but the lamps seems OK. The plastic air spoiler underneath the bumper is a bit loose on once side and has some small broken pieces on the other corner, but otherwise looks OK. It's been pushed back in position and seems to be holding. No other dents or scratches. Apart from the tyres we've seen worse on the roads. It's even been hosed down - a lot of the usual dirt is gone, easy child 2/difficult child 2 says. easy child 2/difficult child 2 is feeling glad that the repairs shouldn't cost her too much. Put on two new tyres and we could drive it out of there.
This car carries only minimum insurance - third party personal and property. This means that any damage to the car itself caused by driver fault is not covered. When a car is only worth a few thousand, why worry? Only we were worrying because easy child 2/difficult child 2 is not well-off.
We spoke to the apprentice, he didn't know what the damage was, he's too new. However, now I recall I think I heard him mutter something about a write-off, but looking at this car I felt I must have misheard. But Joe still hadn't come out of the office. "He's still with a customer," the apprentice said. "Do you want me to get him to call you?"
"Yes please," I told him. "We can't wait any longer."
I watched as the apprentice wrote down our home number and easy child 2/difficult child 2's mobile number. "I'll get him to ring you," he told me. I asked him to get Joe to ring us with an estimate of repair costs, and added, "These kids may want to fix it themselves, but I'd rather see the job done properly and quickly. If it's too expensive though, the kids will have to do it themselves."
I was trying to make it clear that a padded quote would mean no job.
We waited for the phone call. Nothing. easy child 2/difficult child 2 was concerned but I pointed out that it would take Joe some time to check the car out and write up a quote. He would probably ring the next day.
Meanwhile, time is ticking. This car can be held for 72 hours before it starts to get even more expensive ($100 a day). And no call the next day which was today (24 of those hours wasted, waiting). easy child 2/difficult child 2 had to head off to college for her evening class so I rang the number the apprentice had given us for Joe. I finally got Joe, who told me that the car had been written off. And he knew nothing about any message. But he could see the car now, gave me the license number to be sure and that one had been written off. I asked why. he just kept saying, "It's been written off, that's all there is to it." I expressed my doubts, he started to get abrupt and angry. I passed the phone to husband (he's a bloke - mechanics talk to blokes, not to sheilas) who asked the same question and was told, "There's too much damage. It's not immediately obvious but we've gone over it. The suspension's been too badly damaged, the frame's bent, the steering is shot, the bonnet's twisted - that's on top of the wheels and the headlight. Cost too much to fix, not worth it."
I had asked why they had not rung and been told that they didn't know we'd asked them to, "that blasted apprentice - you can't leave messages with him."
I asked him why he hadn't rung easy child 2/difficult child 2, Joe said, "How could I? I never got the message. I don't have her number."
This was at 5 pm. easy child 2/difficult child 2 had only just left. We thought we'd talk to her at home later, let her enjoy her class without worrying about having to pay thousands to BF2 to replace his car.
Meanwhile, BF2 arrived home. husband told him all about it and BF2 rang his father, whose name is on the paperwork. BF2's dad was unimpressed with description of car - "No way is that written off - not from what the kids said. That model of car is built like a tank - a bump in a ditch wouldn't hurt the frame."
husband looks at paperwork and sees address - right next to shonky car yard of our previous acquaintance. Hmm, picture is rapidly changing. We got our heads together over the phone - seems like the bonnet they reckon is bent had simply not been put on properly by BF2's dad, no big deal. There's a new motor, only done a few hundred miles. New other things too. It's an old car but a popular model in the parts market.
But thanks to Joe's 24 hour delay in not getting back to us, we've run out of time.
boyfriend's dad now reckons the mechanic is trying a scam. The paperwork shows easy child 2/difficult child 2's childish handwriting listed as owner (she isn't, but had simply written where she was told to write). A very feminine name - a pigeon ripe for plucking.
boyfriend's dad happens to know the business. he also did the car up with a mate, who happens to be a qualified mechanic with his own tow-truck business. He also has a vendetta against shonky operators. He knows the rules. Lots have been broken here, it seems. We're talking fraud.
easy child 2/difficult child 2 got home from class while we were still talking to boyfriend's dad. An hour after we rang the mechanic, got told the car had been written off and husband finally said, "I will tell the owner, it was son's girlfriend driving the car," easy child 2/difficult child 2 got the long-awaited phone call from Joe the mechanic. Now remember, he had told me he didn't have her number. In the call to her, Joe had suddenly revised his description of the damage. "It's got a broken front light, the suspension will need to be checked... " (this is as simple as re-doing the wheel alignment - no big deal, it gets done when you put new tyres on). "...Two new tyres, and the air spoiler needs to be checked, may need replacing."
In other words, NOT written off. But he thinks he's got easy child 2/difficult child 2 over a barrel because she can't go elsewhere - without tyres, the car is not drivable. And time runs out tomorrow. After that - $100 a day, just to park it there.
The outcome of the phone call with boyfriend's dad - Joe doesn't know it yet, but tomorrow boyfriend's dad is turning up there with his mechanic mate, with a tow truck (owned by mechanic mate) and both of them (who worked on the car and therefore know each scratch, groove and serial number) are going over that car with a fine-tooth comb to make sure no parts have been swapped, before they take it away and work on it themselves. Any funny business and the cops are being called. We've also told boyfriend's dad what's in the car (the two missing hubcaps, for a start).
Unfortunately we have nothing in writing from Joe to say the car was written off. However, he did give us the licence number of the car he said was written off and I wrote it down (we didn't know the number, because it's not our car and it had only been at our house for a few days before the accident). I also wrote the words "written off" on the card next to the licence number, when Joe told me.
We also have all the paperwork - none of it has easy child 2/difficult child 2 mobile phone number. The only way Joe could have rung her (after sweating for an hour over husband saying he was notifying the owner) was if he had the message all along and was stalling so we would run out of time.
Under normal circumstances a written off uninsured car would be swapped for the towing fees and maybe a bit of money if the mechanic reckoned he could maybe get something for salvage. He might even have still charged the driver for the tow and for disposing of the car. Parts alone in this car are new enough to get the mechanic several thousand dollars. It had been cleaned down roughly, so they would have had a good look at it to know what it had. Its dirty outward appearance maybe implied an owner who didn't have a clue what they had.
I'm looking forward to hearing how they get on tomorrow. I wish I could be a fly on the wall for this one - if this works out there could be one less shonky operator in business in our area.
I will keep you posted. By tomorrow we'll have a better idea how much money easy child 2/difficult child 2 is out for, to fix the car. But it's looking like the bloke tried to claim the car was written off when all it needs is two new tyres and a headlight.
Naughty, naughty!
Marg
To update - easy child 2/difficult child 2 crashed BF2's car on Monday night. They were driving home. Damp night, car spun out and went into a ditch. Car got towed because two tyres were blown out, along with one headlight. Front air spoiler hanging loose.
Cops visited - no charges, just one of those things. No other cars involved. We were happy that at least easy child 2/difficult child 2 & BF2 weren't injured (beyond scrapes and bruises).
Next afternoon - she & I visit car yard. Tow truck holding area is right next to smash repairer (surprise, surprise). We speak to apprentice who lets us in then goes to fetch his boss. This was the mechanic's apprentice. He came back out and said, "Joe will be with you in a few minutes, he's with another customer at the moment."
easy child 2/difficult child 2 & I went in to holding area to look at the car in dry daylight. OK, two tyres on passenger side are pancaked. Apparently the sideways spin into the ditch just ripped them off the rims. The hubcaps are in the car on the back seat - easy child 2/difficult child 2 actually fished one out of the bushes, so they're both there. The front headlight - the covering plastic is broken on the corner but the lamps seems OK. The plastic air spoiler underneath the bumper is a bit loose on once side and has some small broken pieces on the other corner, but otherwise looks OK. It's been pushed back in position and seems to be holding. No other dents or scratches. Apart from the tyres we've seen worse on the roads. It's even been hosed down - a lot of the usual dirt is gone, easy child 2/difficult child 2 says. easy child 2/difficult child 2 is feeling glad that the repairs shouldn't cost her too much. Put on two new tyres and we could drive it out of there.
This car carries only minimum insurance - third party personal and property. This means that any damage to the car itself caused by driver fault is not covered. When a car is only worth a few thousand, why worry? Only we were worrying because easy child 2/difficult child 2 is not well-off.
We spoke to the apprentice, he didn't know what the damage was, he's too new. However, now I recall I think I heard him mutter something about a write-off, but looking at this car I felt I must have misheard. But Joe still hadn't come out of the office. "He's still with a customer," the apprentice said. "Do you want me to get him to call you?"
"Yes please," I told him. "We can't wait any longer."
I watched as the apprentice wrote down our home number and easy child 2/difficult child 2's mobile number. "I'll get him to ring you," he told me. I asked him to get Joe to ring us with an estimate of repair costs, and added, "These kids may want to fix it themselves, but I'd rather see the job done properly and quickly. If it's too expensive though, the kids will have to do it themselves."
I was trying to make it clear that a padded quote would mean no job.
We waited for the phone call. Nothing. easy child 2/difficult child 2 was concerned but I pointed out that it would take Joe some time to check the car out and write up a quote. He would probably ring the next day.
Meanwhile, time is ticking. This car can be held for 72 hours before it starts to get even more expensive ($100 a day). And no call the next day which was today (24 of those hours wasted, waiting). easy child 2/difficult child 2 had to head off to college for her evening class so I rang the number the apprentice had given us for Joe. I finally got Joe, who told me that the car had been written off. And he knew nothing about any message. But he could see the car now, gave me the license number to be sure and that one had been written off. I asked why. he just kept saying, "It's been written off, that's all there is to it." I expressed my doubts, he started to get abrupt and angry. I passed the phone to husband (he's a bloke - mechanics talk to blokes, not to sheilas) who asked the same question and was told, "There's too much damage. It's not immediately obvious but we've gone over it. The suspension's been too badly damaged, the frame's bent, the steering is shot, the bonnet's twisted - that's on top of the wheels and the headlight. Cost too much to fix, not worth it."
I had asked why they had not rung and been told that they didn't know we'd asked them to, "that blasted apprentice - you can't leave messages with him."
I asked him why he hadn't rung easy child 2/difficult child 2, Joe said, "How could I? I never got the message. I don't have her number."
This was at 5 pm. easy child 2/difficult child 2 had only just left. We thought we'd talk to her at home later, let her enjoy her class without worrying about having to pay thousands to BF2 to replace his car.
Meanwhile, BF2 arrived home. husband told him all about it and BF2 rang his father, whose name is on the paperwork. BF2's dad was unimpressed with description of car - "No way is that written off - not from what the kids said. That model of car is built like a tank - a bump in a ditch wouldn't hurt the frame."
husband looks at paperwork and sees address - right next to shonky car yard of our previous acquaintance. Hmm, picture is rapidly changing. We got our heads together over the phone - seems like the bonnet they reckon is bent had simply not been put on properly by BF2's dad, no big deal. There's a new motor, only done a few hundred miles. New other things too. It's an old car but a popular model in the parts market.
But thanks to Joe's 24 hour delay in not getting back to us, we've run out of time.
boyfriend's dad now reckons the mechanic is trying a scam. The paperwork shows easy child 2/difficult child 2's childish handwriting listed as owner (she isn't, but had simply written where she was told to write). A very feminine name - a pigeon ripe for plucking.
boyfriend's dad happens to know the business. he also did the car up with a mate, who happens to be a qualified mechanic with his own tow-truck business. He also has a vendetta against shonky operators. He knows the rules. Lots have been broken here, it seems. We're talking fraud.
easy child 2/difficult child 2 got home from class while we were still talking to boyfriend's dad. An hour after we rang the mechanic, got told the car had been written off and husband finally said, "I will tell the owner, it was son's girlfriend driving the car," easy child 2/difficult child 2 got the long-awaited phone call from Joe the mechanic. Now remember, he had told me he didn't have her number. In the call to her, Joe had suddenly revised his description of the damage. "It's got a broken front light, the suspension will need to be checked... " (this is as simple as re-doing the wheel alignment - no big deal, it gets done when you put new tyres on). "...Two new tyres, and the air spoiler needs to be checked, may need replacing."
In other words, NOT written off. But he thinks he's got easy child 2/difficult child 2 over a barrel because she can't go elsewhere - without tyres, the car is not drivable. And time runs out tomorrow. After that - $100 a day, just to park it there.
The outcome of the phone call with boyfriend's dad - Joe doesn't know it yet, but tomorrow boyfriend's dad is turning up there with his mechanic mate, with a tow truck (owned by mechanic mate) and both of them (who worked on the car and therefore know each scratch, groove and serial number) are going over that car with a fine-tooth comb to make sure no parts have been swapped, before they take it away and work on it themselves. Any funny business and the cops are being called. We've also told boyfriend's dad what's in the car (the two missing hubcaps, for a start).
Unfortunately we have nothing in writing from Joe to say the car was written off. However, he did give us the licence number of the car he said was written off and I wrote it down (we didn't know the number, because it's not our car and it had only been at our house for a few days before the accident). I also wrote the words "written off" on the card next to the licence number, when Joe told me.
We also have all the paperwork - none of it has easy child 2/difficult child 2 mobile phone number. The only way Joe could have rung her (after sweating for an hour over husband saying he was notifying the owner) was if he had the message all along and was stalling so we would run out of time.
Under normal circumstances a written off uninsured car would be swapped for the towing fees and maybe a bit of money if the mechanic reckoned he could maybe get something for salvage. He might even have still charged the driver for the tow and for disposing of the car. Parts alone in this car are new enough to get the mechanic several thousand dollars. It had been cleaned down roughly, so they would have had a good look at it to know what it had. Its dirty outward appearance maybe implied an owner who didn't have a clue what they had.
I'm looking forward to hearing how they get on tomorrow. I wish I could be a fly on the wall for this one - if this works out there could be one less shonky operator in business in our area.
I will keep you posted. By tomorrow we'll have a better idea how much money easy child 2/difficult child 2 is out for, to fix the car. But it's looking like the bloke tried to claim the car was written off when all it needs is two new tyres and a headlight.
Naughty, naughty!
Marg
from the damaged tyres. No glass, no metal. Maybe a damaged bush right on the edge. The car must have lost most of its energy before its headlight hit the tree, because I couldn't see a damaged tree and the headlight is only partly broken.
