OcUK brigade: What would you do? (Hit someone else, do I pay, or take it through insurance?)

growse

growse

growse

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Back on 1st feb I hit another car with my motorbike. It was a low speed shunt, entirely my fault. Essentially we'd both pulled in on the Holloway road to let an ambulance through, person in front then moved off, I started to roll, checked mirror and shoulder for traffic behind. As I was doing a shoulder check, person in front had stopped, I noticed too late and hit them around 4-5 mph. I dropped the bike, but no/little damage to that (hurray for crash bungs!)

We swapped details, I took a few pictures of the lower bumper, and it didn't look like there was much damage. But it was dark, I was ill (incidentally) and a bit shaken, so I didn't do a full reccy.

Anyway, had a call from third party recently to say that the damage was a little bit more extensive, and required a respray to the rear bumper and tailgate, + a new rear light cluster - I believe the front of the bike may have scratched it as it went down.

Quote for repair is 8 hrs @ £45 labour and £80 paint, near rear light cluster (£90 for a generic, or £160 for an OEM part) + VAT = around £700.

Picture - red mark tells me damage was probably caused by me, as the bike's red. I should probably check the bike for scratches, but I'm not that fussed about that right now:

p1050821p.jpg


Questions:

1) £700? Yikes. Reasonable?
2) Would you pony up the cash, or take it through insurance?

Reasons to take it through insurance:

a) I don't have to give a garage £700. I don't have that in cash, so it'd have to go on a CC @6%.
b) I (maybe) don't have to do anything else

Reasons not to take it through insurance.

a) That's a little local independent quote. Main dealer will be a *lot* more.
b) I'm under 30. This is going to hit both my bike insurance renewal and my car insurance renewal fairly hard.
c) I hate insurance companies. They're evil.
d) Quick resolution.
e) No claims.

Helps :(
 
That quote is quite excessive - £45 an hour for labour is more than most main dealer bodyshops charge insurers (and most private work provided you dont look gullible).

However you are probably better off going through insurance - especially as you have limited ability to challenge the price. Claiming at the age of 30 is not a big deal, I doubt very much if it will cost you £700 more..
 
Always go through insurance as a general rule.
First of all, I sincerely doubt doing so will hit you for as much as £700. Insurance companies raise your premium based on how much they have to pay out and how long the case goes on for etc but lets put it this way. I last had an accident at 22 years old, there was a long dispute, almost 12 months as to whose fault it was, eventually it was decided to be mine because the witness couldn't make a decision and my road positioning went against me... but thats another story. Said person also claimed for injury and both cars were badly damaged and needed repair. Even then my premium the next year only went up by about £500. I think you are worrying a bit too much.

Secondly it covers you should the person try and claim for injury... unlikely in this case but I have known it happen.
 
Despite my initial leanings, I think you guys make some decent points. My insurance company is going to be in a better position to dispute labour charges, parts prices etc. as well as cover any issues that might arise further down the line.

Bah, now I have to phone my insurance company :(
 
£700 for this!? Goodness:eek:
All I see is a red mark that would probably go away after rubbing it with alcohol, and some tiny scratches that could be ignored completely or touched up with paint at some body shop for £30 max...
I dont believe these people... What were they like- age, manners, etc?
 
45 quid an hour :p Do Doctors get paid that to save lives ??? Surgeons ??? Police ??? Firemen ???
Where do they come up with there prices. :confused:
 
cm1179 said:
what's the going rate for a vehicle 'technician' these days to change oil and a filter?
Click to expand...

I don't know but I know a bike mechanic who also charges 45 quid an hour. To me it's a What the **** & Do One reaction every time. :p

I'd pay someone 45 quid an hour to save lives but Not to mend some paintwork or fix a bike that's just taking the ****.
 
I would dispute this, and the quote is very high for what actual damage you may have caused is to his car. Sounds like the other person is getting a few extra bits done and your paying for it.

Did the driver tell you why he stopped, when it seemed like he was driving off?
 
4T5 said:
45 quid an hour :p Do Doctors get paid that to save lives ??? Surgeons ??? Police ??? Firemen ???
Where do they come up with there prices. :confused:
Click to expand...

On this occasion I agree that the rate seems high but don't forget that £45 an hour isn't the rate the guy fixing the car gets - its what the business wants to charge for the service. It's this money which has to go towards the running costs of the entire business - the actual wage element will be sub £10 an hour.

You can guarantee that Bupa charge out surgeons at a tad more than £45 an hour!
 
mysticsniper said:
I would dispute this, and the quote is very high for what actual damage you may have caused is to his car. Sounds like the other person is getting a few extra bits done and your paying for it.

Did the driver tell you why he stopped, when it seemed like he was driving off?
Click to expand...

I've got the invoice from the garage. They've quoted 8 hours @£45 +VAT for labour, which makes up the bulk of the cost.

If there's going to be a dispute, I'd rather it be between my insurance company and someone else. I really don't have the time or inclination to get into an argument with this person about it. The only thing that'll happen is that they'll suddenly "develop" whiplash and cause agro.

Reason they stopped: there was someone approaching behind, but in my judgement they were far enough back for us to move off. They thought differently and stopped.
 
offer them a cash figure to live with it? £500 cash or go through the insurance.
these days i cant see anyone not living with a small scratch like that and having 500 notes in their pocket
 
[TW]Fox;21337151 said:
On this occasion I agree that the rate seems high but don't forget that £45 an hour isn't the rate the guy fixing the car gets - its what the business wants to charge for the service. It's this money which has to go towards the running costs of the entire business - the actual wage element will be sub £10 an hour.

You can guarantee that Bupa charge out surgeons at a tad more than £45 an hour!
Click to expand...

Saved me typing the same thing. The number of times I get "What?! I want your job!" type remarks when I have to tell people that my fee is £250 a day. How they don't realise that I personally get no where near that in my pay packet is beyond me!
 
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