Using a garage recommended by the Insurance company

Hi there,

Had a bit of an accident this week and crashed into the back of another car (they braked hard and i didnt brake enough in time). Other car wasn't so badly damaged (it seems) but mine is a bit worse (bonet pushed up, front light pushed in, brakes locked and car won't start). Guards were called and we exchanged insurance details.

Called the insurance company who said this claim would not affect my no claims bonus (1 accident allowed in 3 yrs) and excess would be €200 so we'll probably go this route. As a 3rd party was involved, I'm guessing injuries or more serious chassis issues with the other car could pop up later so it's prob better to go the insurance route. Not sure if there is a downside if I won't loose my no claims (or is there??).

We've only had the car 2 years and usually get it serviced down the country where I'm from. Have no local garage in Dublin so not sure who to go to. Insurance company said they'd get Windsor Motors to collect the car and get an estimate. As I don't know any garages in our area (southside dublin) I went with this for the moment. We still have the option to pay ourselves or specify a different garage (if we knew one! although I'm guessing we'd have to pay the 2nd tow charge).

Has anyone used Windsor Motors (Tallaght) before? Are they good? Also, is it a bad idea to use a Garage the insurance company recommend? Are they going to do a "lower quality" job because they are linked to the insurance company?

Windsor motors are a main Nissan Dealer in Dublin.

Insurance companies will have deals set up with reputable firms to repair damage done to cars. You should not worry about this

Thanks for the tip Ronan. First time using the insurance so not sure what to expect.

You will still have to declare the claim to any insurers who quote you in the future. And they may choose to step back your bonus even though 123.ie didnt.

Really? Wow, I just presumed that you passed on the letter that stated how many years you had your "no claims bonus" for. Crap. So that means we'd most likely be better off staying with our current insurance (AA) to keep insurance costs down in the future?

Megan24 said:

Really? Wow, I just presumed that you passed on the letter that stated how many years you had your "no claims bonus" for. Crap. So that means we'd most likely be better off staying with our current insurance (AA) to keep insurance costs down in the future?

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Chances are the letter will indicate you had a claim but your NCB was protected by the policy you had rather than declaring you have X number of years of no claims.