Repair Delay Compensation in NSW: What You Can Claim

Why a repair runs past its estimate

Panel shops quote from what they can see on the day. Once the car is stripped, hidden damage shows up: a bent subframe, a cracked wheel, a wiring loom that needs replacing rather than repairing. On a prestige car, parts are often not stocked in Australia. A bumper for a Range Rover Sport or a front guard for a BMW M3 may have to come from the UK or Germany, and that alone can add two to four weeks.

Other delays are homegrown. Your repairer might be waiting on a specialist alignment or calibration that only one shop in Sydney can do. Insurer-authorised repairers sometimes prioritise drive-in work over stripped jobs. And if the car is booked into a prestige specialist in Alexandria or Artarmon, their queue might be six weeks deep before your car even gets on the hoist.

Whatever the cause, the clock on your loss of use does not stop just because the repairer is busy. The at-fault insurer's obligation is to put you back in the position you were in before the accident, and that includes having a comparable car to drive while yours is off the road. If the repair takes longer than expected, the hire period should extend with it, provided the delay is reasonable and you can show it.

Read more about how long prestige car repairs take in Sydney and parts delays in NSW.

Loss of use is not the same as a courtesy car

A courtesy car is whatever the insurer or repairer happens to have on the lot: often a small hatch or a base model sedan. Loss of use is the legal principle that you should not be out of pocket because you cannot use your own car. In NSW, the case of Arsalan v Rixon confirmed that a not-at-fault driver can recover the reasonable cost of hiring a comparable replacement vehicle, even if they did not actually hire one.

That distinction matters. If you accept a courtesy car, you are not automatically giving up your right to claim loss of use for the period you are without your own car. But if the courtesy car is not like-for-like, you may still be entitled to the difference between what you drove and what you were given. For example, if your BMW M3 Competition is in for six weeks and you are given a Corolla, the loss of use is the cost of hiring a comparable performance sedan for that period, not the cost of the Corolla.

Credit hire is the mechanism that makes this work. A credit hire company provides you with a like-for-like car on credit, and later recovers the cost from the at-fault insurer. You do not pay upfront. The hire agreement is between you and the credit hire provider, and the insurer is asked to pay the reasonable rate. If the insurer disputes the rate or the duration, the credit hire company typically handles that dispute.

For a deeper explanation, see how credit hire works and like-for-like replacement.

What a reasonable daily rate looks like for a prestige car

Insurers often push back on prestige hire rates by comparing them to mainstream rental rates. That comparison fails because a Toyota Camry is not a like-for-like replacement for a Range Rover Sport. The reasonable rate is what it would cost to hire a comparable car in the same market, at the same time, with the same features.

In Sydney, a prestige replacement car might be a BMW M3 Competition, a Range Rover Sport, or a similar vehicle. The daily rate for these cars is higher than a standard rental because the cars themselves are more expensive to own, insure and maintain. That is not gouging; it is the market rate for the class of vehicle.

When you claim loss of use, you do not need to quote a specific dollar figure in your demand letter. You need to show that the rate you are claiming is reasonable for the car you drive. A hire invoice from a reputable provider, or a quote from a prestige hire company, does that. If the insurer argues the rate is too high, they need to show that a comparable car was available at a lower rate at the time. In practice, they rarely can.

If you are booking a replacement car while your own is being repaired, the rate, the bond and any fees are shown on the car's page before payment. You can see examples of the kind of cars that qualify as like-for-like below.

Performance / Sedan / Self-drive

BMW M3 Competition G80 2021

Feel the rush of true sports performance. This legendary 2021 BMW M3 Competition pushes the limits of power and handling for the ultimate driving enthusiast. Cruise through Sydney...

375 kW Power3.9s 0-100RWD Drive5 seats SeatsPetrol FuelDrivers from 25Base Parramatta

See rate and availability

Luxury / SUV / 4WD / Self-drive or chauffeured

Range Rover Sport 2023

Step into the future of luxury with the 2023 Land Rover Range Rover Sport. Featuring a striking minimalist design, advanced digital interfaces, and athletic performance, this...

250 kW Power6.6s 0-100AWD Drive5 seats SeatsPetrol FuelDrivers from 20Base Mascot

See rate and availability

Documenting the delay: texts, invoices, photos

When a repair runs long, the insurer will ask for evidence. Start a folder on your phone or computer and add to it as things happen. The best evidence is contemporaneous: created at the time, not reconstructed later.

• Texts and emails with the repairer. Screenshot the message where they tell you the car is waiting on a part, or that the panel beater is booked out. Note the date and time.
• Photos of the car in the shop. A photo of your car on the hoist, or with the front end stripped, dated, helps show the repair is genuinely in progress.
• Parts invoices or order confirmations. If the repairer can give you a copy of the parts order showing the expected delivery date, that is gold.
• Your hire invoices. If you are in a credit hire car, the provider will have invoices. Keep every one, even if you are not paying them yourself.
• A timeline. Write a simple list: date of accident, date car went to repairer, original estimate, revised estimate, date parts ordered, date parts arrived, date repair completed. This becomes the backbone of your claim.

If the insurer asks why the hire went beyond the original estimate, you can point to the timeline and the messages. You do not need to prove the repairer was perfect; you need to show the delay was reasonable and not caused by you sitting on your hands.

More on dealing with insurers and the first 24 hours.

Asking the insurer to extend the hire authority

Most hire authorities are issued for a set period, often seven to fourteen days. When the repair runs past that, you or your credit hire provider need to ask the at-fault insurer to extend it. Do this in writing, by email, so there is a record.

Your email should be short and factual. Include:

1. Your claim number and the car's registration.
2. The original hire authority end date.
3. The reason for the extension: parts delay, additional damage found, repairer backlog.
4. The new expected completion date, based on what the repairer has told you.
5. A request to confirm the extension in writing.

If the insurer does not respond within a few business days, follow up. If they refuse, ask for the refusal in writing and the reason. A refusal to extend a hire authority when the repair is genuinely delayed is the kind of conduct AFCA takes an interest in.

Keep in mind that the insurer may try to move your car to their preferred repairer to speed things up. You are not obliged to agree, especially if your car is at a prestige specialist. The other side does not get to choose who repairs your car.

If you need a replacement car while the extension is sorted, you can book one and the rate, bond and fees are shown on the car's page before payment. Bookings are fulfilled by Drive Tribe (drivetribe.com.au), and this site is part of that group. See accident replacement car Sydney.

Luxury / SUV / 4WD / Self-drive or chauffeured

Range Rover Sport D300 SE Dynamic 2024

The current Range Rover Sport in D300 SE Dynamic trim pairs a smooth mild-hybrid six-cylinder diesel with air suspension and a beautifully minimal cabin. It is refined enough for...

221 kW Power6.2s 0-100AWD Drive5 seats SeatsDiesel FuelDrivers from 30Base Merrylands

See rate and availability

When the delay is the repairer's fault, not the insurer's

Not every delay is the insurer's problem. If your repairer took three weeks to order a part because they forgot, or if they left your car outside for a fortnight, the at-fault insurer may argue they should not have to pay for that extra hire. That does not mean you are stuck with the bill, but it changes who you chase.

Your first step is to get the repairer to commit to a completion date in writing. If they cannot, ask why. If the delay is their fault, you can ask them to cover the extra hire cost, or at least to reduce their labour charge to offset it. Many prestige repairers will do this rather than risk a complaint.

If the repairer is an insurer-preferred shop, the insurer has more leverage over them. You can ask the insurer to pressure the repairer to finish. If the repairer is your choice, the insurer may say the delay is your responsibility. In that case, you may need to weigh up whether to move the car to a shop that can finish sooner, or to accept a shorter hire period and claim the rest from the repairer.

Document everything. If the repairer promised a date and missed it, get that in writing. If they admit fault, keep the email. This is the evidence you need if the insurer disputes the extension.

Read more about prestige repairer vs insurer-preferred repairer.

Escalating to a solicitor or AFCA

If the at-fault insurer refuses to extend the hire authority and the delay is clearly reasonable, you have two main options: a solicitor or the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).

A solicitor who handles credit hire or motor accident claims can write a letter of demand. Sometimes that is enough to get the insurer to move. If not, they can issue proceedings in the Local Court or District Court, depending on the amount. For most prestige hire claims, the amount is within the Local Court's jurisdiction.

AFCA is free for consumers. You can lodge a complaint online. AFCA will usually require you to have tried to resolve the dispute with the insurer first, so keep your emails. AFCA can make a binding decision on the insurer, but it cannot order the repairer to do anything. If the delay is the repairer's fault, AFCA may not be the right forum.

Before you escalate, check whether your credit hire provider is already handling the dispute. Many will. If they are, let them run it. If you are claiming loss of use yourself, without a credit hire company, you can still use AFCA, but you will need to show the insurer what you are claiming and why.

For more on the dispute process, see insurer disputes hire car claim and not at fault explained.

What you cannot claim

Loss of use is not a blank cheque. There are limits.

• You cannot claim for a period longer than the repair reasonably takes. If the repairer finishes in three weeks, you cannot claim six weeks of hire because you liked the replacement car.
• You cannot claim for betterment. If your car was a 2015 model with 150,000 km and you hire a brand new car for months, the insurer may argue the hire is excessive. The replacement should be comparable, not an upgrade.
• You cannot claim for personal inconvenience or stress in NSW for a property damage claim. That is different from loss of use. (In some cases, you can claim physical inconvenience, but that is a separate head of damage and usually needs legal advice.)
• You cannot claim for fuel, tolls or parking as part of loss of use unless they are part of the hire agreement. If you pay for fuel in the replacement car, that is generally your cost, just as it would be in your own car.
• You cannot claim for lost wages unless you are self-employed and can show the car was essential to your income. Even then, it is a separate claim and you should talk to your accountant or solicitor.

If you are unsure whether something is claimable, ask the credit hire provider or a solicitor before you include it. Overreaching can weaken your whole claim.

See also what not at fault means in NSW and how long you can keep a replacement car.

If your car is written off, the delay claim changes

Sometimes a repair delay turns into a write-off. If the insurer decides the car is a total loss, the repair never happens, and your loss of use claim is for the period between the accident and the date the insurer settles, plus a reasonable time to find a replacement car. That is usually shorter than a repair delay claim, but the same documentation applies.

If your car is declared a statutory write-off, you cannot re-register it in NSW. If it is a repairable write-off, you can, but there are inspections and paperwork. In either case, your hire car period should extend until the settlement is paid and you have had a chance to buy a new car. Insurers often try to cut the hire off on the day they make an offer, but that is not reasonable if you need time to find a comparable vehicle.

For more, see statutory write-off NSW: what happens next and cash settlement vs repair.

If you are a fleet manager, the same principles apply, but you may have multiple vehicles off the road. Keep a spreadsheet with dates and hire costs. See fleet vehicle repair and write-off delays and business and fleet.

When you are ready to book a replacement, the rate, bond and fees are shown on the car's page before payment. You can also read more about loss of use and physical inconvenience.