My Car's been hit. Need some advice

Lethagized

Lethagized

Lethagized

Soldato
Joined
23 Nov 2007
Posts
3,017
Location
Midlands
We had a knock on the front door of our house today to which an elderly woman in her 07 plate fiesta told us that she has hit our car. The car was parked on a dual carriageway. She has knocked the drivers door mirror off, but there is also a pretty big dent in the rear quarter panel. She hasn't admitted to causing the damage at the back, but she said she will pay for a new mirror.

Now i've never claimed off insurance since i've started driving 12 years ago, so i'm not sure how to approach this. If she won't admit liability to the damage on the back of the car, will the insurance side with me?

The car was only parked there for an hour, so it's highly unlikely it was hit by her and then another vehicle. The reason it was parked on the main road in the first place is because there were 3 or 4 big lorries blocking our driveway, so my partner parked it on the pavement until she could get it on the drive later.

The car is an old Mazda323F
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spoogle said:
Did she definitely damage both parts of the car?
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In all honesty, i don't know just yet. I want to see her car up close and take some pics. I wasn't around when it happened, so didn't have chance to look at her car at the time.

monkeyspank said:
rear arch looks rusty ?
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It was a little patch of rust bubbling away under the paint. The collision has took the loose bubbled paint off revealing the bare metal.
 
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Does the height of the damage look doable with her car side by side to it?

What colour is her car
 
Just went to see the woman at her home and it confirms that she has caused the damage to the quarter panel on my car. She was in denial that she could have caused the damage and just because there is a little spot of rust, she tried to fob me off saying the damage on my car must have been like that for a long time.

When speaking to her on the phone before the visit, she even had the cheek to say she doesn't think she knocked the mirror off in the first place because she couldn't find the mirror glass. I simply said "well, if you didn't knock it off, then why the bloody hell have you given me your details you idiot. It's bad enough hitting a parked car on a wide road, but to admit to hitting it, then changing your mind is just ridiculous

I appreciate the honesty and good will that she showed by knocking on the door etc etc, but to then turn round and say "I don't think i did it, it must have been like that already" winds me up to the extent that all the respect i had for her has gone down the drain.

My car will probably end up getting written off for this. I know it's only a banger to most people, and i only paid £150 for the car but i've put a lot of time and effort into it to make it a decent looking and reliable car. What are the ins and outs of buying it back off the insurance company once they write it off?
 
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I would just see if she will pay up in cash for the mirror and the bodywork to the best extent you can. The insurance implications could be a nightmare. It should be her insurance paying so no need to involve yours but you could end up in a position where she won't admit liability ad your cars already being repaired, leaving you out of pocket. Plus if it is repaired you will be declaring a non-fault claim for 3-5 years which can still ramp up your premiums and on a car that old it doesn't seem worth it.
 
This is quite a predicament.

She's knocked on your door to let you know she hit the car, which is very very VERY nice of her. Then she's changing the story from no I didn't touch it, to no I caused more damage than I originally stated.

If her car is yellow then it's definitely her (there's yellow paint on the back end). It sounds to me like her kids have been calling her a fool for admitting it and being an honest good hearted person, so she's getting told to say different things.
 
RobRX-7 said:
Just went to see the woman at her home and it confirms that she has caused the damage to the quarter panel on my car. She was in denial that she could have caused the damage and just because there is a little spot of rust, she tried to fob me off saying the damage on my car must have been like that for a long time.

When speaking to her on the phone before the visit, she even had the cheek to say she doesn't think she knocked the mirror off in the first place because she couldn't find the mirror glass. I simply said "well, if you didn't knock it off, then why the bloody hell have you given me your details you idiot. It's bad enough hitting a parked car on a wide road, but to admit to hitting it, then changing your mind is just ridiculous

I appreciate the honesty and good will that she showed by knocking on the door etc etc, but to then turn round and say "I don't think i did it, it must have been like that already" winds me up to the extent that all the respect i had for her has gone down the drain.

My car will probably end up getting written off for this. I know it's only a banger to most people, and i only paid £150 for the car but i've put a lot of time and effort into it to make it a decent looking and reliable car. What are the ins and outs of buying it back off the insurance company once they write it off?
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if the car only costs £150

will they even pay you enough to make buying the car back and repairing it worth while ?

Its going to cost more than £150 to buy it back and repair it surely ?
 
The reason it was parked on the main road in the first place is because there were 3 or 4 big lorries blocking our driveway, so my partner parked it on the pavement until she could get it on the drive later

If the car was illegally parked on a public pavement i wouldnt tell the insurance.
 
MrLOL said:
if the car only costs £150

will they even pay you enough to make buying the car back and repairing it worth while ?

Its going to cost more than £150 to buy it back and repair it surely ?
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Car is valued at £700. i have no idea what they will let me buy it back for. Any ideas?

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Its usually its value to a repairer who will pay to buy it and repair

Given the value non cat c/d will be £700, its going to very hard to make a profit on it for somebody which should drive the cost of the buy back down.

If you're lucky, you might be able to buy the car back for no more than £200, and then spend another £200 or so getting the quarter panel pulled and filled and resprayed and source a new wing mirror yourself.
 
Dup said:
I would just see if she will pay up in cash for the mirror and the bodywork to the best extent you can. The insurance implications could be a nightmare. It should be her insurance paying so no need to involve yours but you could end up in a position where she won't admit liability ad your cars already being repaired, leaving you out of pocket. Plus if it is repaired you will be declaring a non-fault claim for 3-5 years which can still ramp up your premiums and on a car that old it doesn't seem worth it.
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How much would it ramp up the price if i did make a claim? Anyone?
 
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