Argh! Car park accident

[MooMoo444]

Not in places like Asda/Tesco as how do load the car up. I have seen too many idiots trying to get a trolly between two cars because they reversed in.

+1 to this. I'll actually make special effort to park away from the store, and not near anyone who is facing forwards, just incase they try to drag the trolley between the cars to get to the back.

I'd prefer to walk an extra minute than come back to a scratched door.

 

[DXP55]

That's why I have a camera in back window as well as front - it is always on till I turn it off and it stays on in car parks.

Dave

 

[Felix]

+1 to this. I'll actually make special effort to park away from the store, and not near anyone who is facing forwards, just incase they try to drag the trolley between the cars to get to the back.

I do this and then come back and find my car has turned into a magnet and even though there are plenty of other spaces, someone has parked right next to me.

 

[Mr. Peri Peri]

That's why I have a camera in back window as well as front - it is always on till I turn it off and it stays on in car parks.

Dave

What cameras do you use?

Seriously considering getting some due to the sheer number of morons on the roads and in car parks..

 

[Sasso]

was in the taxi rank for tesco before waiting to pick up my mum (was at checkouts). some woman had a trolley of shopping and got into the taxi infront of me then just shoved the empty trolley away, got in the taxi and went away. literally pushed it from next to the taxi towards the trolley holding areas but ofc, there's a railing so wasn't going to hook up to anything. it hit the railing and then slowly started heading back towards my car. watched it for a few secs then jumped out and stopped it before it hit me and put it away properly.

hate stupid bints like that! "I'll just get it out of the way" well no love.... you didn't really did you as the ******* thing rolled back!

I'll quite openly admit the damage that I have caused to the car which is basically some curbing of the wheel covers and a few scuffs along the bumper. but I've acquired a few scratches down the side of the car which usually appear after parking in a supermarket carpark. whether it be trolleys or slightly larger people squeezing between cars and inadvertently catching bit of their clothing (e.g. metal tabs/rivets on jeans)

also interested in camera choice.

hopefully you'll hear back from the guy and he'll just pay his own.

 

[£15]

I thought the idea was to go 50:50 on the entire incident.

All you're doing is going 50:50 on his repair! Get a quote for your bumper (i'd suggest to a body shop that it would probably come in at around the £300 mark...) then tell him that you'll pay for yours and he'll pay for his.

This.

On the subject of the phone call - if it came to it, surely you could deny it? What are the odds of him having recorded it?

You've made him an offer and the ball is now in his court. There is nothing more to be said on the matter. I think I would have hung up as well.

If I were you and he calls again, then I would probably repeat the offer and then say nothing. Maybe remind him that it was 100% her fault and if he insists on going through the insurance, that you'll instruct your insurance provider (for what it's worth, as they'll probably ignore the request) that you accept no responsibility and will be pushing for 0% fault on your part. Then wait for his response.

Resist the urge to fill the silence. It's like negotiating a discount on a new car - the first person to talk again, loses.

 

[Hades]

Being silent on the phone is a well known tactic to get the other side to agree to something they would otherwise not do. Most people hate silence and feel obliged to say something to fill it. Someone tried it on me once so I just stayed silent until they broke first.

 

[BYTEr]

Just an update for anyone who cares.

Firstly, Zenith are a complete pain to deal with. My girlfriend rang them up just to inform them of the accident as were obliged to do within 24 hours, explained everything and that were simply 'informing' them and not wishing to pursue a claim. When she finished that, it turns out she rang the claims department and is now informed she has to inform someone else, got a phone number and was transferred, but the phone cut off and the number was dead. It took her literally several hours, numerous different (all dead) phone numbers to eventually successfully being transferred to the people she had to inform and had to explain everything again. Apparently they've got 'intermittent faults' on the phonelines, which isn't helpful when your desperately trying to inform them, she almost gave up trying after being transferred about 8 times, every time but the last cutting off.

Up until a week ago, myself and her have been contacted every day by someone, legal teams, medical people, approved garages, hire car companies, everyone, and every time having to inform them were not actually bloody claiming!

What's interesting though after receiving a phone call today was that it appears the other party haven't informed there insurance company, or at least our insurance company haven't been contacted by anyone associated with them so it doesn't appear that there going to be putting a claim in so that's good. Even if they did, surely they can't do anything now?

 

[stoke1863]

Ive never used yourkey but people recommend them

http://www.yourkey.info/yourkey-accident-management/

Make YourKey your first call

This is vital. If someone else was to blame, it’s really important that you phone YourKey first and not your own insurance company.

Your insurer has to follow the wording of your policy, even if this isn’t in your best interests. Since the accident wasn’t your fault, it’s not fair for you to make a claim on your own insurance.

If you phone your insurer, this will start their claims process. You could needlessly lose out in lots of ways!

​Pay insurance excess
Increased insurance premiums
Loss of no claims bonus
Out of pocket expenses difficult to reclaim

 

[BYTEr]

Problem with any claim, if instigated from us or them is the likelyhood it will go 50/50 due to the nature of the accident and thus us having a record of a fault claim for 5 years, loss of NCB etc. I kept telling the people on the phone this and they kept stating we wouldn't lose anything as they'd claim from the 3rd party, obviously they couldn't guarantee this so we refused everything we've been offered.

From the start we didn't want a claim going through unless the other party admitted it was 100% their fault as there is literally no damage to our car and I have no injuries despite some of these people on the phone claiming I've ''probably go whiplash'' and getting me to do some neck exercises everyday (I didn't, just said I was to appease the person on the phone) and telling them I'm completely fine.

 

[Surveyor]

What's interesting though after receiving a phone call today was that it appears the other party haven't informed there insurance company, or at least our insurance company haven't been contacted by anyone associated with them so it doesn't appear that there going to be putting a claim in so that's good. Even if they did, surely they can't do anything now?

I didn't make a claim but reported an incident to my insurance company.

They told me the other party have 3 years in which to make a claim. There's still about 10 months left.

The best part was that my insurer wrote to tell me that my NCB would be affected as I had a potential claim pending.

Fortunately I have a guaranteed NCB.

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

That is my favoured choice!

Drive thru parking *nods*

Hows it panned out then OP has he phoned back?

So essentially he wanted to go 50/50 on only his repairs and do nowt about your car?
so maybe what 80/20?

To hell with that tbh, if he calls again just repeat what you already told him, jog on and pay yourself. If he gets stroppy then just tell him to call his insurer? Wonder if the driver was actually on the insurance.

 

[Orionaut]

Of course, the real problem is that cars dont have "Bumpers" any more!

Instead they have delicate (And frequently inordinately expensive) plastic structures that will be wrecked if even a butterfly lands on them!

Absurd!

The "Ends" of a vehicle should be capable of withstanding low speed contact without damage!

Not being able to do so is simply not fit for purpose!

 

[MooMoo444]

Of course, the real problem is that cars dont have "Bumpers" any more!

Instead they have delicate (And frequently inordinately expensive) plastic structures that will be wrecked if even a butterfly lands on them!

Absurd!

The "Ends" of a vehicle should be capable of withstanding low speed contact without damage!

Not being able to do so is simply not fit for purpose!

Not sure if you were joking or not, but the way they crumple is designed to absorb the force. If they didn't break then that force just goes straight through to you, the driver. Similarly to you hitting a stack of cardboard boxes and hitting a brick wall.

 

[Orionaut]

Not sure if you were joking or not, but the way they crumple is designed to absorb the force. If they didn't break then that force just goes straight through to you, the driver. Similarly to you hitting a stack of cardboard boxes and hitting a brick wall.

No, Im not joking.

In the 70's bumpers were made of fairly heavy gauge chromed steel. Of course they were designed to deform in a higher speed accident (EG The XJ Jaguar series had collapseable cartridges behind the bumpers).

But at "Parking" speeds (Say, less than 6"/s) one could make contact without causing any significant damage.

Parking by "Feel" was perfectly normal. Indeed, My French teacher at the time explained that it was common practice in Paris to park bumper to bumper by the side of the road and to get out one would "enlarge" the space by driving backward and forward until one had enough room to pull out!

A practice that would reduce a modern vehicle to expensive scrap within seconds!

It should be perfectly possible to combine higher speed safety with the ability to make "Contact" without causing expensive damage.

 

[alx]

No, Im not joking.

In the 70's bumpers were made of fairly heavy gauge chromed steel. Of course they were designed to deform in a higher speed accident (EG The XJ Jaguar series had collapseable cartridges behind the bumpers).

But at "Parking" speeds (Say, less than 6"/s) one could make contact without causing any significant damage.

Parking by "Feel" was perfectly normal. Indeed, My French teacher at the time explained that it was common practice in Paris to park bumper to bumper by the side of the road and to get out one would "enlarge" the space by driving backward and forward until one had enough room to pull out!

A practice that would reduce a modern vehicle to expensive scrap within seconds!

It should be perfectly possible to combine higher speed safety with the ability to make "Contact" without causing expensive damage.

It's probably due to looks - soft, flexible bumpers that protrude from the bodywork/general shape of the car tend to look rubbish. Also regardless of whether a bumper is rigid or soft/flexible you're doing to damage any paintwork on it if you make contact.

 

[MORE SPEED]

I believe BMW have some sort of tech which means it can absorb impacts up to 9mph without being damaged or something.

 

[Orionaut]

It's probably due to looks - soft, flexible bumpers that protrude from the bodywork/general shape of the car tend to look rubbish. Also regardless of whether a bumper is rigid or soft/flexible you're doing to damage any paintwork on it if you make contact.

Thats why they were chromed rather than painted!

You had to hit chrome pretty hard to cause any damage. Minor scuffs could just be polished off.

I believe BMW have some sort of tech which means it can absorb impacts up to 9mph without being damaged or something.

ISTR that the XJ cartridges mentioned earlier were designed to absorb impacts up to 5MPH without any damage being transferred to the rest of the car.

Mounting on a shock absorber with a spring to return the bumper to is original position after impact would work just fine I would have thought!

(Think of the forces generated when one hits a pothole at speed! A parking speed nudge is nothing compared to that! Should be well within the body shells capacity to absorb without damage if the bumper is mounted on a shock!)

 

[matt_fsr]

Of course, the real problem is that cars dont have "Bumpers" any more!

Instead they have delicate (And frequently inordinately expensive) plastic structures that will be wrecked if even a butterfly lands on them!

Absurd!

The "Ends" of a vehicle should be capable of withstanding low speed contact without damage!

Not being able to do so is simply not fit for purpose!

Not sure if you were joking or not, but the way they crumple is designed to absorb the force. If they didn't break then that force just goes straight through to you, the driver. Similarly to you hitting a stack of cardboard boxes and hitting a brick wall.

No, Im not joking.

In the 70's bumpers were made of fairly heavy gauge chromed steel. Of course they were designed to deform in a higher speed accident (EG The XJ Jaguar series had collapseable cartridges behind the bumpers).

But at "Parking" speeds (Say, less than 6"/s) one could make contact without causing any significant damage.

Parking by "Feel" was perfectly normal. Indeed, My French teacher at the time explained that it was common practice in Paris to park bumper to bumper by the side of the road and to get out one would "enlarge" the space by driving backward and forward until one had enough room to pull out!

A practice that would reduce a modern vehicle to expensive scrap within seconds!

It should be perfectly possible to combine higher speed safety with the ability to make "Contact" without causing expensive damage.

Do I really have to explain on a motoring forum, the reasons for soft flexible incredibly weak plastic front ends on modern cars?

Think about the legs of the pedestrian you're hitting, and what the damage will be between a 1970's lump of solid chromed steel, and a modern plastic crumple zone which deforms around the object its' hit...