Extensive hail damage

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Originally Posted by nicandlance

I really don't want the repairs.... I'm hoping they write it off and replace it like they keep spouting on their ads. I'm of the firm belief that a car is never the same once panels are replaced etc... Who wants a month old car with 4 replacement panels? Not me....
The roof is bombarded with pelt marks and so is the bonnet.

Guess I'll just have to wait and see....

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Shame to hear about your car. Hopefully they give you a new car, but IMHO I wouldn't be too worried about little more than panel damage if they don't do new for old. While you may not like the idea of new panels, at least they're purely cosmetic and not structural. I'd be more concerned about getting new for old on a small fender bender where the cosmetic damage may be insignificant, but chassis rails and structural integrity have almost inevitably been compromised in some way..

The shine has defiantly been taken off the excitement of getting my new Golf... I feel really flat.
5 panels have been affected.... one month old and it looks like a wreck.
It will never be the same... I don't have a lot of faith in the whole idea of getting repairs done.

I guess AAMI are pretty safe in saying they will replace a new car that has been written off, because the car is worth around $32 thousand and it would have to be pretty bad to cost that much in repairs.

I'm sure they will do just about anything to avoid replacing it...
Hoping for a replacement but not high hopes. Don't think AAMI will really care too much if I'm not happy...

The point is the rest of the car is perfectly fine, companies will repair a fair bit before replacing it.

Make sure you are 100% happy with the repairs if that is the outcome, and you may be surprised it is as good as new (just the mental thing knowing)!

Otherwise sell it if you're not happy.

Don't think I could afford to sell it although it's a nice idea. I struggled enough to find the money for this one... :-(

I was sitting in the Netball/Hockey stadium in Melbourne (the Cage) for the WNBL grand final and the noise was so loud it sounded like you were standing next to a jet engine - couldn't hear a thing for about 5 minutes - then a few skylights got punctured and the roof started leaking...

A guy at my work got his car hail damaged and it was a brand new turbo Astra worth 40k (this was years ago). They didn't right it off. Instead they replaced all the panels that could be replaced and on the roof they drilled holes through the centre of each dent them pulled the dent up a bit then put a rivet in the hole and bogged over. The result was actually pretty damn good and you couldn't tell the car had been repainted as I think they pretty much painted the whole thing. Personally I would have sold it they day I got it back but the reality is if you had the choice between accident damage and hail damage I'd take hail damage - its non structural and you don't have to worry about panel alignment - the repair is asthetic and done right should be hard to spot.

Although I only know you from these forums I feel deeply sorry for you... I remember reading in your posts how excited you were to get the new Golf...

For what it's worth, I know what you're going through - my then 2 y.o. Toyota Corolla copped it in Sydney's 1999 hail storm... The car was insured for $20k and there was $15k damage - the insurance company wouldn't write it off and although there was no glass breakage just about all the panels were replaced (even had a new roof welded on)... Needless to say it was never the same - had it for another year before trading it in...

On the bright side I have had paintess dent repairs done on other vehicles since and that is definitely the way to go if the car is not written off...

Regards,
- Anthony.

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Originally Posted by nicandlance

The shine has defiantly been taken off the excitement of getting my new Golf... I feel really flat.
5 panels have been affected.... one month old and it looks like a wreck.
It will never be the same... I don't have a lot of faith in the whole idea of getting repairs done.

I guess AAMI are pretty safe in saying they will replace a new car that has been written off, because the car is worth around $32 thousand and it would have to be pretty bad to cost that much in repairs.

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It doesn't have to cost $32,000 in repairs to write the car off. I'm not sure of the formulas they use but it only has to cost a certain percentage to be written off (maybe 80%) taking into account the disposal value.

What they take into account is the cost of repairs, the likely hood of repairs running over that cost and the resale value of the car as it is before repair.

Assuming you have $10,000 worth of damage to your car but the car will fetch $18,000 at auction they will write it off and a panel beater will buy the car, fix it up cheaply and sell it off. If there are many cars affected by hail there will be a backlog of repairs and they will take this into account along with the cars age.

In the case of your damage the roof is where the repair becomes very expensive as this is laser welded down the right and left side of the roof and they may write it off because of this even if the damage is less.

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I'm sure they will do just about anything to avoid replacing it...
Hoping for a replacement but not high hopes. Don't think AAMI will really care too much if I'm not happy...

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AAMI are a rubbish insurance company, do a search on here for the many problems that people have had. You can also do one on golfmkv.com where a guy crashed his car into a small ditch on the side of the road and damaged mainly the front wheel. The estimate for repair was around $10,000 but the repairer managed to screw up every panel on the car including underneath and the interior. The car spent three months going back and forth before AAMI decided to write the car off as it was going to cost at least $32,000 to repair the damage caused by the original repairer.

I hope that they do replace the car and don't repair it for your sake as you will spend a lot of time going back and forth if you have an eye for detail.

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Originally Posted by nicandlance

My TSI...has been extensively damaged by yesterdays hail storm in Melbourne.

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Aaaargh!!! I know I would be very sad if I were in your shoes! I'm very sorry to hear that however, unfortunately, I am unable to help with insurance matters. That said, I am glad you posted this "new car tragedy" story as it's made me re-think my insurance cover as I too have just purchased a new Golf (albeit the 103TDI model).

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Originally Posted by Dermot

...I can honestly recommend Volkswagen's branded Allianz insurance. ...3 years new for old. Your choice of repairer and Genuine parts and labour only.

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I must admit I had not given my new car's insurance much thought. I will now! Thanks for the tip.

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Originally Posted by nicandlance

...I struggled enough to find the money for this one... :-(

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I feel your pain. Let us all know if the insurance company does the right thing by you, i.e. give you a new car! I agree with you, even if it's all fixed up, good as new, just knowing it was damaged is enough to spoil the joy. :(

Sorryto hear about your ride. I was lucky to be home when the hail came and we never experienced hail that intense in our life. luckily, we only suffered minor damage to our house though my mate up the road at napoleon had all the windows smashed on the one side and leaks in the ceiling. his driveway looked like a tornado went thru