Good and Bad "day in the life of my broken down Chimaera
Discussion
Well, knew it had to happen some time, but I had my first offical break down in the Chimaera 
Its only the starter motor thank god and nothing too drastic.
Thought I would let you know of the excellent service I got from the AA,. We have roadside recovery, homestart and another new thing my wife got for our 3 cars whereby they take the car to any garage of your choice and pay upto 500 pounds towards repairs mechanical or electrical. For our 3 cars it was 119 pounds and you can make 5 claims a year. If you only do a 1 car policy for the TVR you do pay a premimum and that was 119 pounds on its own so made sence to do the 3 for 119 !!!
They diagnoised problem, put it on the trailer and took the car to Fernhurst for me, all within 2 hours of my call. Fernhurst confirmed the dead starter motor, quoted and the AA promtly signed off the quote for the work to be done - all by Monday morning - well done AA
Here lie where the problems started. Was a bit disappointed with Fernhurst as I had called and told them the car was being dropped off by the AA and the situation, then once the AA had signed off Fernhurst said we don't accept the AA payment within 10 days, you have to pay and claim back. Now this deal with the AA is not a warranty its a recover parts and labour thing and AA have to pay a VAT registered garage.
SO I had to arrange then at my cost to get the car taken to David Batty (who unfortuantley was closed saturday otherwise it would have gone there in the first place) as he does accept AA payments
SO BOYS AND GIRLS IF YOU HAVE THIS AA cover, don't arrange for it to be taken to Fernie as they don't take AA payments and the AA have to pay a VAT registered garage so you are stuffed.
Yeah I could have paid for it to be done myself but defeats the object of having that deal with the AA...!!!
So big cheer for the AA and David Batty
and a little boo for Fernies
Its only the starter motor thank god and nothing too drastic.
Thought I would let you know of the excellent service I got from the AA,. We have roadside recovery, homestart and another new thing my wife got for our 3 cars whereby they take the car to any garage of your choice and pay upto 500 pounds towards repairs mechanical or electrical. For our 3 cars it was 119 pounds and you can make 5 claims a year. If you only do a 1 car policy for the TVR you do pay a premimum and that was 119 pounds on its own so made sence to do the 3 for 119 !!!
They diagnoised problem, put it on the trailer and took the car to Fernhurst for me, all within 2 hours of my call. Fernhurst confirmed the dead starter motor, quoted and the AA promtly signed off the quote for the work to be done - all by Monday morning - well done AA
Here lie where the problems started. Was a bit disappointed with Fernhurst as I had called and told them the car was being dropped off by the AA and the situation, then once the AA had signed off Fernhurst said we don't accept the AA payment within 10 days, you have to pay and claim back. Now this deal with the AA is not a warranty its a recover parts and labour thing and AA have to pay a VAT registered garage.
SO I had to arrange then at my cost to get the car taken to David Batty (who unfortuantley was closed saturday otherwise it would have gone there in the first place) as he does accept AA payments
SO BOYS AND GIRLS IF YOU HAVE THIS AA cover, don't arrange for it to be taken to Fernie as they don't take AA payments and the AA have to pay a VAT registered garage so you are stuffed.
Yeah I could have paid for it to be done myself but defeats the object of having that deal with the AA...!!!
So big cheer for the AA and David Batty
and a little boo for Fernies
If I can equal this up a bit.
I've never dealt with the above dealers
I've had a couple of AA claims, neither of which have been paid directly to the garage.
The garage has got authorisation from AA & charged me for the work.
I've then sent the AA a copy of the invoice, and on receipt, they've sent my cheque back, less the excess (£25)
Excellent service from the AA & dealer, may I add.
I've no doubt there's warranty companies out there that take months to settle claims, and the car owner gets upset seeing their vehicle fixed but not being released for long periods. So the named dealer above has probably learnt from this.
I can't see your problem really.
I've never dealt with the above dealers
I've had a couple of AA claims, neither of which have been paid directly to the garage.
The garage has got authorisation from AA & charged me for the work.
I've then sent the AA a copy of the invoice, and on receipt, they've sent my cheque back, less the excess (£25)
Excellent service from the AA & dealer, may I add.
I've no doubt there's warranty companies out there that take months to settle claims, and the car owner gets upset seeing their vehicle fixed but not being released for long periods. So the named dealer above has probably learnt from this.
I can't see your problem really.
The problem is that the AA are telling me they have to pay the garage direct so i didn't have the option of paying them first 
Perhaps a little short sighted of the dealer seeing as the AA had already signed off and approved their quote, payment is made within 10 ten days which is not unreasonable, but it did leave me with an immobile car that could only be trailered to another garage if i wanted it fixing.
I totally agree with any apprehension if it were a costly Speed Six engine claim, it was a starter motor that had already been confirmed dead by the AA and where they had agreed payment to Fernhursts.
As this has now cost time and money to get the car moved i would be less inclined to send it to them for future maintenance.
Perhaps a little short sighted of the dealer seeing as the AA had already signed off and approved their quote, payment is made within 10 ten days which is not unreasonable, but it did leave me with an immobile car that could only be trailered to another garage if i wanted it fixing.I totally agree with any apprehension if it were a costly Speed Six engine claim, it was a starter motor that had already been confirmed dead by the AA and where they had agreed payment to Fernhursts.
As this has now cost time and money to get the car moved i would be less inclined to send it to them for future maintenance.
Might be worth starting a list of garages that will accept AA payments direct.
Where it gets awkward for some dealers, is where...... AA "depending on the nature of the breakdown, the claims department may require evidence of the vehicle service history(for example invoices) from the start date of your cover, so it is advisable to ensure that this information is readily accessible"
This must be a pain in the arse for the repairer, unless they're also the servicing dealer.
Either way, I can understand why some dealers can't be bothered.
Don't get me wrong, I'm normally the first to complain
Where it gets awkward for some dealers, is where...... AA "depending on the nature of the breakdown, the claims department may require evidence of the vehicle service history(for example invoices) from the start date of your cover, so it is advisable to ensure that this information is readily accessible"
This must be a pain in the arse for the repairer, unless they're also the servicing dealer.
Either way, I can understand why some dealers can't be bothered.
Don't get me wrong, I'm normally the first to complain
We have been dealing with the AA for a number of years now and never had any problems with payment, although there have been issues with some parts not being covered, I guess the same as all warranty policies (which again were happy to deal with). If service history is required, all we have to do is fax it to them, easy. It is in my opinion a very good poilcy for the price. HTH
Toby
Toby
Yes some parts are not covered. You get a booklet but also if its at the garage and part is covered and part is not , you just pay for the part that is not covered. But once its been authorised from the quote given the AA pay the authorised VAT registered garage within 10 days. Agree with above poster definately a good deal.
....and in the present economic climate need to try harder.I bought the Chim as a stop gap whilst forking out a small national debt in nursery fees. Once both our kids are at school i'll have a nice budget of 20-25000 to buy a much newer TVR probably a Tuscan.
Guess where i wont be buying from. This repair job may only be a small thing to a dealer but there is always the bigger picture especially when your talking about future custom.
Guess where i wont be buying from. This repair job may only be a small thing to a dealer but there is always the bigger picture especially when your talking about future custom.
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