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On Friday we had a stone hit the windscreen on our Kodiaq. It's cracked, so will need replacing at a cost of £115. It also chipped the paint on the roof just above where it hit.
The cost of making a claim (with protected no claims) is £250. Is it worth paying the extra and letting a garage spray in the chip. Or just don't worry about it and touch it in with a repair pen to make it water tight. Have to admit it feels a little silly asking the garage to repair it. The chip it about 12mm long and 2mm wide down to the metal.
Our insurer said as it'll be a low cost repair it'll barely make affect next years premium.
You might find it would cost less than your excess charge to get a local mobile paint repair service out to "properly" fix the chip on the roof.
I was recently quoted about £150 to repaint a wing mirror with some deep gouges in the paint after someone drove into the car (while I was in it). In the end I just left it but that is a replaceable plastic part on a car that already has more than its fair share of scrapes and scratches.
Decent touchup pen and a bit of time won't cost much.
Sure, but this would be £250 including the replacement windscreen - and it's on protected no claims so I wouldn't lose my no claims bonus. I need to get the windscreen done anyway for £115.
Are you sure that's how protected NCB works? Mine is a phased step down to 0 NCB depending on how many claims are made, e.g. if I make a claim I lose 3 years but don't go back to 0
Your premium would still rise for following years and you have to declare it when shopping around.
Are you sure that’s how protected NCB works? Mine is a phased step down to 0 NCB depending on how many claims are made, e.g. if I make a claim I lose 3 years but don’t go back to 0
My insurer told me I can make one claim per year which won't impact it.
Aye, protected NCB is not the same as no increase in base premium after a claim. It's almost a racing certainty, the premium will increase upon renewal even if the % NCB doesn't change. Even if the OP changes insurer, he'll have to declare the claim which may rule out some insurers and/or result in a higher base premium.
12mm long and 2mm wide down to the metal
Doesnt sound like a chip to me!
Skoda Kodiaq so preuambly still quite new and probably under manufacturers anti corrosion warranty. A dollop of touch up pen is not going to be enough to maintain that either.
Never thought this would be so complex 😀
The car is on a 21 plate.
The car is on a 21 plate.
Aaah ya shoulda said. Different rules apply to 2021 cars... 🙂
Oh, and it looks like you've already told them so 'they' know and will almost have recorded the incident... Bend over, time to lube up...
It's important to be aware of the process for repairing small stone chips:
- Obtain a colour-matched repair pen.
- Clean and prepare the area according to the instructions
- Achieve a crappy result
- Try again cleaning and preparing a slightly larger area
- Wonder if the results are because the pen is shit, then go to the manufacturer and pay twice as much.
- Clean and prepare an even larger area to get rid of the shit results
- It's now too big for the pen so you need some spray paint. Google yourself to insanity for recommendations and find a local paint factors and buy a big can.
- Spray 10x the area of the chip because spray cans have a big spray
- The middle looks ok but the edges don't because they didn't get enough spray because they are the edges.
- Try and figure out how to get around this with masking techniques. Wonder if it'll come good when you apply lacquer, if using metallic paint
- Realise that the colour isn't quite right - especially if your car is white.
- Try more paint from somewhere else.
- Repeat steps 8-12 several times.
- Decide to spray the entire panel. If it is removable i.e. door, bonnet, boot - remove and do it in the garage; if not, go to step 17
- Realise that the lighting in the garage makes it impossible to tell if you've done it right but only after you've refitted it.
- Buy whole new panel for £20 off eBay and realise how much easier it would have been.
- Cry.
Chips away or local spray shop. I've done both
First thing spray shop asked was "is it on insurance?"
I was paying, and got a lovely wing respray and dent pulled plus various tidying up for 200 notes
Chips away was 60 for a 50p sized ding in the rear quarter. Was immaculate afterwards
Yeah - chipsaway. Convenient and cheap. Possibly not 'absolutely' perfect if you're the type that washes the car every week or is in to detailing, but no-one else will ever notice.