Has anyone on the forum heard of or more importantly had any direct experience with this company? My bike is soon to go to them after repatriation back to the UK, for assessment and repairs and having looked online at reviews on TrustPilot, they do not come up that well in numerous respects. Rather concerned to say the least......
Spookily I have just read a thread on Facebook about them (unless it was yours?), and it didn't make good reading. When my car was repaired by the insurance company I had a choice about where it was done, so i assume the same will be true for your bike
To say I had a nightmare with them is an understatement!! Non fault accident back in November 22, they collected my bike ( 2015 Multistrada ) December 22, they returned it July 23!! I was constantly chasing them for updates, being passed from department to department Refitted my radiator guards , full exhaust system, which id removed incase the bike was written off, to find the repairer had used an mis mash of bolts to hold panels on etc.
My mate had a claim involving them in Scotland. The accessor told him that if you sent the bike to them you would not get it back as they tend to write most bikes off . It was a new GS with 5K of damage. He was told that you do not have to accept them as your repairer and can take it to one of your choice, which he did
To echo all the above, you need to intercede and obstruct the bike going to them. They are notoriously bad, and as others have said you are not obliged to accept your insurer's preference for using them. When white van man rearranged my SS some years ago, Ducati Insurance wanted FD to handle things, which I vetoed. (I also left DI for that reason; I thought with their emphasis on Ducati-approved repairs etc that they were therefore different from other insurers in this regard, but it made me realise that there was no advantage to being with them.)
I realise that I am not obliged to accept 4thD as the designated repairer and fully intend to become totally engaged with the process, making clear to them my concerns, based on the reviews I have read, and to be fair to them, which let's all understand here, are NOT necessarily all that they appear to be! I have already had a conversation or two with people who have had decent experiences, notwithstanding those that undoubtedly appear to not have. I will speak with them and insist I am made aware of all steps in the process and as I've already been advised by my insurers, I can always step away from them, as I prefer and to allocate the repair task to another accredited repairer. Early days, as the bike still isn't back in the UK from France, 6 weeks after 'the event'......... Thanks for all of the 'observations' given to date, all relevant and appreciated.
Just reading a separate FB post on these chaps & I would only suggest you submit if a) you don’t want your bike back as they tend to write off & rebuild/sell later to others B) are happy with offer lowball valuations
An update on my experience with 4th Dimension to date, after the somewhat negative feedback here and elsewhere, which I've reviewed. Well, on the basis of my full on engagement with these guys, I can only say I've been very pleasantly surprised, indeed impressed with just about every stage of the process. I was fully up front with them about the market place opinions of their performance and negative accreditation, which they did acknowledge, albeit they clarified that the vast majority of opinions expressed, were often not entirely accurate and honest. That said: To date in my experience - Good, clear communication, always responding to my emails promptly and when I've had any conversations, of which there have been several, they have been concise, detailed and never evasive. They provided me with a fully detailed break-down of the bike assessment, together with costings and the insurers approval. I've spoken at least 3-times with the repair estimate assessor, who has been incredibly candid and helpful, on every occasion, expressing that their entire motivation is to fully satisfy the customer, during and after the repairs process. My bike is in-progress with respect to warranted repairs, using Ducati parts as required, supplied by Snells and replacing any extras, in fact anything that might have suffered any defects, however minor. I've been given an ECD and if the bike comes back looking anything like what has been described to me, it will be pristine, precisely as it was prior to my minor incident. So far, nothing but praise..........
Well the bike is back and looking exactly like it was, which is pretty much pristine I haven't as yet given any direct feedback via Trust Pilot or suchlike, however, my thoughts are pretty much nothing less than positive. The 4th Dimension team have been very connected throughout, interested in being responsive, clear and assured. They have regularly updated me on the parts situation, which has been and is very much largely beyond their control. They have also advised me when anything else changed along the way, for example, if when working on the bike they identified something, however minor, which required attention. At one point they even contacted me about the tri-colour flag decal adjacent to the tank filler cap, which hadn't arrived and which if I wanted to get the bike back sooner, whilst they waited for the part, would I be prepared to attach it myself, whereupon they would get it sent out to me. As it happened, having already declined that option to ensure the warranty remained entirely intact, it didn't matter anyway, as it arrived 2-days later and was subsequently fitted. One negative was the time it has taken to get the bike sorted out, which to be honest, did at times become an issue for me, but bearing in mind all of the impacting events that simply 'got in the way' for them as well as myself, not genuinely too worrying.......... The bike was delivered back to me by a fellow biker, an IAM Observer status guy, who was chatty, careful and acknowledged the capability and scale of 4th Dimension, himself being one of the numerous biking fraternity people who worked for and with them. To summarise: absolutely no hesitation whatsoever with recommending 4th Dimension, a professional, engaged organisation, who categorically understood the importance of setting up and maintaining an interested and relevant relationship with their client.
My 848 went to them many years ago and they did an amazing job. The only hold up was a Carbon Termi heat shield, however they informed me of this and gave me the option to wait or to collect anyway and get the part later. I took the bike and they sent the shield on a few weeks later when they received it. I think with everything in life, it depends on the specific person you end up dealing with. You get good and bad and we will all have examples of that from our own working environments.
Glad to hear that your bike was eventually returned to you Tony and that you're happy with their service. A result, although it means that you missed half the biking season.
My zed went to them after a head on....they incorrectly wrote it off but that didnt bother me (they wrote it off for the forks being 0.02mm out of spec but that was the marchesini spacers). It stayed there for 3 months - i bought it back so they returned it in the same condition but with a fucked lithium battery as they left the key on....so a neutral review...luckily the assessor who i spoke to had a zed so i got enough dosh back to rebuild it in better condition than before it was crashed and...get a set of Nitron pro fork catridges with some cash left over...lovely.
