Learner driver’s minor prang on Audi A4 came with a staggering £75,000 repair bill

When Jo Alexander’s car was pranged by a learner driver, she expected the scratches and dents to take a couple of weeks to sort out.

But insurance company squabbles kept her Audi A4 off the road for more than a year – while the cost of replacement vehicles and garage storage sent the total bill spiralling to a staggering £75,000.

Delays caused by wrangling over who was to blame for the damage – and even where the repairs should be carried out – meant the final total reached £75,320, more than four times the value of 49-year-old Jo’s £17,000 second-hand car.

It was finally returned to her last week, 325 days after the accident.

The bookbinder and mother of one said: ‘Every time I phoned or emailed the insurance company, I was told there were hold-ups and that I would have to be patient.

‘The insurance companies didn’t seem to be speaking to each other. 

‘They just kept leaving messages and sending emails but not following them up for weeks on end. 

‘It was just a dent and a few scratches.

‘It was clearly the other driver’s fault, so I assumed it would take a couple of weeks, a month at most. 

‘I feel slightly guilty about the costs that were racked up.

‘But I dread to think how often this happens. 

‘I can’t be the only person, and it all makes premiums more expensive for everyone else.’

When her car was first taken to the garage, Jo was given a flash royal blue Jaguar XF as a courtesy car, costing insurers almost £145 a day. 

But she had it for so long that the hire bill exceeded £53,000 – way more than the £40,000 it would have cost to buy outright as new.

Last month, the Jaguar was recalled by the hire firm because it needed a new MoT, and Jo was handed a £42,000 Audi A4 S Line 35 TDI, costing £181 a day. 

That came to more than £2,600 in total.

Storage costs at the garage where Jo’s scratched car was lying idle came to £9,858. The repairs themselves, finally carried out at Pentagon Paint & Body in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, cost £9,040.

The company said it was ‘ludicrous’ how long Jo had to wait. 

A spokesman said: ‘We were all ready to do the work as soon as the insurance companies sorted things out, but they took almost a year.

‘It only took us a few days to get the car back looking good as new and Jo has been very patient.’

Insurers Vision Vehicles, which handled Jo’s case, said the other driver’s insurers often failed to reply to messages. 

That firm, Gallagher Bassett, did not respond to a request for comment yesterday.

Last year, car insurance costs went up by around 19 per cent, with the average annual premium rising by £100, to £629.