A1 Body Repairs

If you have your own insurance, use it! Don’t be persuaded by anyone to go with a personal repair option, no matter how convincing they seem. My experience was a hard lesson learned.



In June 2019, on a Saturday morning, my husband was driving our kids to swimming lessons when our Honda CRV was rear-ended at a traffic light by a Toyota Landcruiser Prado. The back of our car was damaged, and an older gentleman who hit us convinced my husband not to file a claim with our insurance. He assured us he’d take responsibility and referred us to a repair shop he knew, A1 Body Repairs Peakhurst. They promised us the repair quality would match what we’d get through insurance, so we agreed to help him out by going with his repair shop instead.



The repair was completed, but after 2 years in end 2021 or early 2022, rust started showing in the same spot where the dent was. We contacted A1 Body Repairs Peakhurst, and they agreed to fix it again, which seemed fine at first. However, about 2.5 years later October 2024, the rust and dent reappeared in the same area.



When I reached out to A1 Body Repairs Peakhurst this time, I was told to bring the car in for inspection. The owner, Sam, wasn’t there, so I spoke with his son, who saw the damage and asked us to return later that day. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make it at the specified time due to work commitments. When we called back to reschedule, they asked us to send photos instead. The next day, Sam called my husband and refused to take responsibility for the repair, telling us to contact the man who originally hit our car. When we did, he refused as well, leaving us in a loop.



I spoke to Sam again, and he was dismissive, even aggressive, yelling on the phone and refusing to fix the issue. This entire experience was incredibly frustrating and disappointing.



Lesson learned: if you have insurance, use it. This experience was nothing like the quality repairs we've had when going through insurance directly. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise, never trust third-party promises. Save yourself the stress and potential costs!