Car gearbox issues following rear end collision

[Iwanttobreakfree2]

I had the misfortune of having my car rear-ended about a month ago. There was fairly significant rear end damage, but fortunately no injuries. The third party driver admitted full liability and my car came back from being repaired yesterday. I am completely satisfied with the bodywork repairs, but I drove a few miles in the car yesterday and gear changes were very stiff. I tried to drive the car this morning, but I was unable to get it off the driveway as I couldn't get it into gear at all. I have reported the problem to my insurance company and the garage which repaired my car. The garage which repaired my car are now stating that I need to get my car inspected at a local garage to verify whether the gearbox problem is collision-related or due to general wear and tear. Does anyone have any advice for me in respect of my consumer rights, please?

Had similar with a car that was off the road for a while needing/receiving major repairs. On return it had a similar issue to yours.

Turned out the gear changes were effected, at least in part, by cables and they had corroded. Short term cure was a bit of lube but replacement cables were the real answer; bloomin costly.

@Bromptotoo Thank you for your reply and sorry to hear that it proved costly for you.

What they are saying is reasonable. If it turns out that they failed to repair your car properly, they should pay for the cost of the inspection.

Is it front, rear or all wheel drive?

What do you mean by "fairly significant" damage?

A few broken lights, dented boot and scratched paintwork?

Or do you mean structural deformation?

@Chiseltip The damage was a broken rear reflector, a dented boot lid, obvious distortion between the nearside rear light and the rear bumper, serious damage to the nearside of the rear bumper, cracking of the rear bumper on the nearside up to the rear wheel arch and the nearside rear passenger door not opening and closing normally due to panel distortion. My insurance company have now agreed to send an engineer to my home to verify whether or not the mechanical problems are collision-related.

What about the drivetrain layout?

Wow!

They repaired that!

I'm surprised they didn't write it off considering the damage. I think the entire chassis/body has been twisted out of alignment. The alignment may have been fixed but the resulting damage to your gearbox and other stuff seems to have been ignored.