Insurance repair... well nearly...

[Stay Frosty]

Following an even older coffin dodger stuffing the nearside of my camper as he tried to squeeze through my van into my lane the van has been repaired apart from the two 18" Momo Revenge on that side.
The repair body shop called to say initially that their diamond polishing wizard couldn't re cut the wheels as they've been refurbished too many times already...I explained that this was utter bollix as I had bought the wheels brand new three years earlier as a wheel and tyre package from VanStyle.
With this in mind I asked how much their wheel refurbisher charged (£120+vat) per wheel and how much the repair work stood at which was £8,000.
I asked the body shop guy how he would feel if we reversed roles and I was offering him polished scratched wheels instead of pre accident tidy ones but apart from him squirming a bit I think they're going to come back and try to push me to make up any difference between two brand new Momos and the £240+vat of the refurb cost... I'm a bit pissed off at this and annoyed with myself that I didn't simply say that the wheels had come on the van as an option which would have removed a bit of this wiggle room.
Just looked on VanStyles page and 4 bare wheels come to £829 inc. vat so I can imagine a bit of to and fro to try and get me to fork out the difference... slightly off topic but that's Agnes our T6 camper modelling her new wheels on their web page.

 

[drinfinity]

Were the new wheels declared to the insurance company and included in an agreed value? If so, you would have some room to manoeuvre, otherwise you might be struggling.

 

[catfood12]

That sounds like begging from the repairer. The ultimate liability is of the insured; the old duffer that hit you. If they can't repair it, they'll have to replace it. You should be put back to the same position you were before the accident, regardless of what was standard or aftermarket bits you fitted. They will have to go back to the insurer to say they need to amend their scope to include new wheels as they can't refurbish them. If they can't do that, you simply tell the insurance company you will seek to recover the costs directly from their insured.

I had a broadly similar issue with the local VW dealer who scraped an alloy and damaged a tyre on my Golf R Performance Pack, to which I'd fitted Michelin PS Cup 4 tyres. They said they'd refurb the alloy and put a standard tyre on, but wouldn't guarantee the finish on the wheel. I insisted on new wheel, new tyre and alignment and threatened to serve proceedings to recover costs if I had to arrange this. After a slightly heated discussion with the DP, they replaced the wheel and gave me a new PS Cup 4 without further argument.

Keep on pushing OP, you're entitled to have this back as it was pre-accident.

 

[Stay Frosty]

Not sure if I could manage to deliver a reasoned and articulate argument like that without shooting myself in the foot by having a tantrum instead and looking like a numpty!
Should have got the van back by now so I'm hoping they're manning up and getting two new wheels, however getting in your Bournemouth mindset @catfood12 and now fired up a bit if this isn't the case.

 

[Bav]

How old were your wheels at the time of the accident? I ask, because, unfortunately, you aren't entitled to brand new wheels for used your ones (even if they were in mint condition) - it's called betterment. Having said that, if they were mint, the betterment value should be minimal.

 

[Stay Frosty]

They've had three years of batterment if that helps.

 

[Bav]

They've had three years of batterment if that helps.

My advice would be to try and minimise your contribution by emphasising their excellent condition prior to the accident. Any pre-accident pics of them looking pristine will help (especially soft copies with meta-data to show when and where they were taken). Lay it on thick with the insurers and keep pushing back on any offers they make. Suggest you aim for no more than £100 contribution per wheel, but that's just my gut-feel.

It goes without saying, but best of luck bud.