Damaged vehicle they had for repair, refused to accept responsibility despite proof, terrible communication & very slow
Unfortunately I have to leave a poor review for Elite Motors Bodyshop Ltd.
1. The bodyshop used their own transportation to collect the car after an incident. In doing so, they did not secure the vehicle on the flat bed appropriately and damaged all four wheels.
Having seen other vehicles on their transporter, this appears to be standard for them.
A senior accident repair engineer was able to identify the issue immediately upon reviewing pictures of the wheels, showing symmetrical damage on all four. Having seen their transport methodology, this only confirmed his statement; also affirming that such transport method would damage even brand new wheels and that it is particularly unsafe to transport a vehicle in such a way.
Elite Motors Bodyshop Ltd denied all responsibility, stating the damage was present when they received the vehicle despite being presented with photos taken the morning following the incident clearly showing the damage was not there.
Thankfully for me, following the independent engineer's inspection report, the insurance company have upheld the complaint and approved for the wheels to be refurbished.
As a side note, only a month prior to the incident the car was collected and dropped off by Porsche following a warranty claim for an engine check light (it was an engine sensor). They were able to transport the vehicle 3x the distance Elite did with no marks to the wheels and returned it in better condition than they received it.
2. I was told the repair would take approximately 2-3 weeks to complete. In reality Elite Motors Bodyshop Ltd took 10 weeks to have my car offered back to me. Upon seeing the state of the wheels, I was forced to reject the vehicle and it took another 2 weeks for my complaint to be rejected and the insurance company asked me to commission an independent inspection. Following the report, the insurance company approved the refurbishment in 3 days.
I have requested an explanation for the delay on more than one occasion and so far Elite Motors Bodyshop Ltd have not responded. I also requested a detailed inventory of the work carried out and this has also not been completed.
3. Through aural inspection, there appears to have been quite a bit of filler used to flatten the impact zone. On initial inspection, that repair is aesthetically pleasing - so I should give them some credit for that - however it has been pointed out to me by the same engineer that the true test of that will be after the cars next wash and how it looks in direct sunlight which would highlight any imperfections in the respray. I am hopeful this will be fine, but after the issues above I am somewhat concerned.
16/06/17 EDIT:
Following Elite Motor's response on this date I am adding a response.
First Elite's response in case they edit or remove it:
"Mr MacRae
You were advised 31st March 2017 that the insurance company did not uphold your complaint.
We are not prepared to tolerate the defamatory statements made in your review. In the circumstances therefore, you are required to remove your review from the website. If you do not remove the review immediately we will instruct solicitors."
My response:
Hello,
Thank you for your speedy response, it is nice to see that this is possible - despite the many times I called you, was promised a call back and never received one. I constantly had to chase you for the 3 months you were in possession of my vehicle.
The statements I have made in my review are truthful. Truth is a complete defense to a claim of defamation and as such I will not be removing my review.
The insurance company upheld my complaint and made a payout for the wheels to be repaired by a company of my own choosing and I have documented evidence of this - along with the report and other supporting documentation to prove the validity of my comments.
Your service and behaviour was unacceptable and people need to know about it, which is the purpose of websites like Trustpilot and I am glad they exist.
As a note; I have spent many years working in a customer service industry. When dealing with a complaint or bad review, the appropriate response is to acknowledge, apologise and note the steps you have taken to prevent re-occurrence of a similar issue. Going on the offensive and giving misleading information in the process only reinforces the bad review and hurts your customer base.
16 June 2017
Unprompted review