No one wants to get into a car accident and if you do it can be frustrating trying to get your vehicle repaired.
Depending on how new your car is, there can be long delays in getting the parts needed to fix it due to ongoing supply chain issues.
One Ontario woman bought a brand new electric car in late 2023 and was in a serious car accident two months later. Her vehicle has since been in the shop for the past eleven months and she has no idea when she’ll get it back.
“There is no date when it is going to be ready and we are nearing almost one year since the accident,” said Manmeet Madahar, of Pickering.
Madahar previously worked as a producer for CTV News four years ago but no longer works in the industry.
She told CTV News Toronto that she wanted to go green with her next vehicle and in December of 2023 she bought a brand new Audi Q4 e-tron fully electric car, but unfortunately, two months later she was in a serious car accident.
“All the airbags deployed, and it was a pretty scary hit. I had my daughter with me and I was very concerned but thankful that we were alright,” said Madahar.
Madahar said the car, which was worth about $72,000, sustained around $35,000 in damages and her insurance company decided to repair it. However, she supplied invoices that showed the total cost to repair the vehicle ballooned to over $61,000.
She said there have been countless delays waiting for approximately 35 different parts with many on back order.
“My car is still not ready and it’s still not repaired,” said Madahar.
After the accident, Madahar was allowed to have a rental vehicle supplied by her insurance company, but after a few months she was told she would have to return the car. Now Madahar has to borrow her mother’s car to get to work.
Madahar also said she still has to pay insurance and expensive lease payments on the electric car even though she hasn’t been able to drive it.
“[The lease payments] are about $900 a month and I’m still paying insurance premiums,” said Madahar.
“I’m paying for gas [for the rental car] when I budgeted for no gas when I bought the electric vehicle.”
‘I still don’t know when my car will be ready'
Madahar said she is frustrated she can’t get a clear answer on when her car will be repaired.
“It’s been almost a year and they are still telling me there are more parts that Audi is waiting on. Now it’s been another two weeks and there is no deadline and I still don’t know when my car will be ready,” said Madahar.
When CTV News reached out to TD Insurance on Madahar’s behalf a spokesperson said, “TD Insurance is committed to supporting its customers and understands the frustrations that may be caused by extended repair timelines due to car part shortages. We are working with the customer to resolve this claim as quickly and as safely as possible.”
After CTV News contacted TD Insurance, Madahar said she received an apology, her $1,000 deductible was waived and she got her car back after almost one year of waiting.
“I am so happy to get my car back – it’s a huge relief,” said Madahar.
