Advanced Driving Hub

Is a damaged car that has been repaired prior to delivery valued less than one that hasn't? If not, absent a term in the contract stating the vehicle cannot have been repaired prior to delivery, I can't see the problem other than preference.

I suppose the real question is, "Who is repairing it?" and "What happens regarding my manufacturer's original paint/rust warranty".

Most franchise dealers don't have their own paint shops. It doesn't sound like it's just replacing parts.

Can of worms.

When Filly's new car got graunched, the local SEAT garage and her insuerers recommended a particular repairer and said that bodywork warranty would be maintained.

I'd certainly be a bit miffed if that happened to me...

Presumably, if your colleague had arrived to pick it up, he hadn't yet 'signed on the dotted line' for it so he wasn't compelled to take/accept it... I'd be inclined to to say, 'No worries, tell me when you've got a replacement. I'm not having a repaired new car' ...or I may have accepted some £££'s to compensate for taking the repaired one.

It depends on the extent of the damage, because at the end of the day, cars are just a collection of plastic and metal bits screwed together. If I were to punch a hole in my bumper (where nothing vital is actually behind it), rather than repairing said hole, I could easily just source a replacement plastic bumper which was painted with the same colour, and just undo the bolts holding my bumper on, unplug the front fog lights, and place the new one in its place and do up the bolts again, and frankly nobody would be any the wiser.

So if it's just a case of they've punched a hole through the bumper due to having driven into the wall and there's nothing behind the bumper damaged, then I don't see why they couldn't just swap bumpers - which may account for the 3 week wait as they'll surely be sourcing the replacement bumper directly from the factory. Most bumpers on modern cars are designed to give very easily when you've driven it into a solid object at low speed - for the purpose of making it unnecessary to have to replace the whole bumper due to a crack caused by you driving into a wall.

I was offered a new car.
Or an upgrade.
Or money off.
Or replacement.
I took the £500 rather than wait 8 weeks for another.

There are huge industries down at Portbury Docks near Bristol. FCA had a factory as did Proton all fixing and repairing defects and damage as they came of the boats 'No one ever knew' !!
You could even buy refurbed new or as new Protons cheap from the 'wharehouse'