Yep, 9 year old Merc, what looks like previous damage perhaps not that terribly well repaired.
obviously it would be in the interests of the owner to get some patsy to pay for the repair to be done properly
Car "accident"
- Thread starter android-fan
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Yep, 9 year old Merc, what looks like previous damage perhaps not that terribly well repaired.
obviously it would be in the interests of the owner to get some patsy to pay for the repair to be done properly
Is there any photo evidence of the actual crack in the bumper behind the number plate?
The 'crack' in the lacquer on the bottom of the bumper doesn't look to me as a new crack, that's been there sometime. And this is surely backed up by the owner of the Merc not actually mentioning it to you when he rang you back after taking the car to a garage....
The 'crack' in the lacquer on the bottom of the bumper doesn't look to me as a new crack, that's been there sometime. And this is surely backed up by the owner of the Merc not actually mentioning it to you when he rang you back after taking the car to a garage....
Yep, 9 year old Merc, what looks like previous damage perhaps not that terribly well repaired.
obviously it would be in the interests of the owner to get some patsy to pay for the repair to be done properly
If that "patsy" reversed into him then it's hardly some devious plan he's been plotting for weeks!
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Bottom line is I have obviously no issue paying for damage caused by my stupidity. But, similarly, I don't want to be taken for a ride for something not caused by me.
I did offer to pay for the number plate at the scene, but that offer was refused.
Will ask for photos of damage and see what comes back.
I did offer to pay for the number plate at the scene, but that offer was refused.
Will ask for photos of damage and see what comes back.
Those big bits of plastic are often bolted on via various lugs and mounting points. The plastic flexes and all the pressure is put into the mounting points and they often break. You then can't see it as the plastic springs mostly back into shape. If it's a significant hit, things behind the bumper can be damaged, and the bumper looks relatively okay because it's bounced back.
1) Why was he so close behind OP that OP hit him when reversing back a couple of feet? (You can get a good idea if somebody is slowing and pulling over because they are wanting to park by the side of the road. I wont go within a car length of anybody who looks as if they are doing so)
2) Why didnt he hoot when he saw OP reversing towards him?
3) Do we "Know" that he wasn't moving forward at same time as OP was reversing?
4) In any case, It doesn't have to be a devious plan, simply taking fraudulent opportunity of a random unplanned event.
Just for starters
Whatever the facts of the case, the bottom line is that this is precisely why you have insurance. Even if he is padding his claim, that's no skin off your nose; the insurance company takes the hit, not you.
1) Why was he so close behind OP that OP hit him when reversing back a couple of feet? (You can get a good idea if somebody is slowing and pulling over because they are wanting to park by the side of the road. I wont go within a car length of anybody who looks as if they are doing so)
2) Why didnt he hoot when he saw OP reversing towards him?
3) Do we "Know" that he wasn't moving forward at same time as OP was reversing?
4) In any case, It doesn't have to be a devious plan, simply taking fraudulent opportunity of a random unplanned event.
Just for starters
If you read the op you'd know they were parked and op reversed into their parked car...
obviously it would be in the interests of the owner to get some patsy to pay for the repair to be done properly
This always annoys me a lot - as I've mentioned before had a colleague who had a minor bump in the car park outside work - several of us saw it and it was just a minor scrape - offered to pay instead of going through insurance later the other person tried to lump them with basically rectifying years of issues with the car so my colleague says they won't leave a note/own up in future :s last I heard its still going round and around rather than just passed over to insurance and my colleague is now making it as difficult for them as possible.
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Passed the details of the claim onto my insurance company. Let's see what the other party claims for...
In these types of threads we can only give opinions, so here's mine.
You offered to pay for his plate but it has now escalated, so going through your insurance is the best bet.
I'd be surprised if the bumper was actually cracked underneath the plate. The plinth is still intact and I know from personal experience how brittle these are. I'd put money on that breaking if the impact was severe enough to crack the bumper.
If there is indeed extra damage under the plate (and he isn't just trying to pull a fast one) it is more than likely to be stress cracks in the paint. It has clearly had a less than great paint job in the past, as evidenced by the flaking paint around the lower grille, wrongly identified by some as a crack. Whilst OEM paint will generally flex with the plastic in a low speed collision to leave no visible damage, refinished paint most often doesn't and so leaves stress cracks in the paint layer itself. I'd bet a small bag of Haribo that's the extent of the cracking, and the actual bumper itself is fine. It would still need repairing and painting, but not replacing, which would be first choice if it had cracked.
You offered to pay for his plate but it has now escalated, so going through your insurance is the best bet.
I'd be surprised if the bumper was actually cracked underneath the plate. The plinth is still intact and I know from personal experience how brittle these are. I'd put money on that breaking if the impact was severe enough to crack the bumper.
If there is indeed extra damage under the plate (and he isn't just trying to pull a fast one) it is more than likely to be stress cracks in the paint. It has clearly had a less than great paint job in the past, as evidenced by the flaking paint around the lower grille, wrongly identified by some as a crack. Whilst OEM paint will generally flex with the plastic in a low speed collision to leave no visible damage, refinished paint most often doesn't and so leaves stress cracks in the paint layer itself. I'd bet a small bag of Haribo that's the extent of the cracking, and the actual bumper itself is fine. It would still need repairing and painting, but not replacing, which would be first choice if it had cracked.
Years ago I stopped at a red light in Pelham Street SW7, facing Sloane Ave SW3 in Chelsea, in my Black Cab, I had no job in the back.
A woman driving a 5 series BMW ran into my rear bumper, and when we looked, my bumper was intact, as was her front bumper, my number plate was higher up, on the boot lid, also untouched.
Not unnaturally, she was full of, "No big deal, neither of us has sustained damage, forget it eh, sorry and all that."
I wouldn't have it, I said, "You did hit me rather hard, let me have it checked out under the boot, and I'll call you."
She wasn't happy, but she could hardly argue, so we exchanged details, she gave me her phone number, and we drove away.
When the guy who did my servicing put the taxi up on the lift, the impact had pushed some strut under the boot, into the fuel tank, not rupturing it, but causing a fair sized indentation.
Andy, the garage proprietor, said, "While that's nothing to worry about it now, when it has its annual TFL inspection, to be plated as a London taxi, they will not pass it in that condition, it means a new tank, plus struts."
To say the woman was not happy was an understatement, she started by accusing me of lying, and taking advantage of the situation and her, because she was a woman, and ended by demanding a letter proving that what I'd said was true.
I had Andy's office girl type the letter up for her, and enclosed it with the estimate, which I said I said that I'd be happy to accept cash for, or go through insurance, whatever she was happy with, and I'd provide her with a copy of the bill, to prove that I'd had the work done, she opted for the cash route, and Andy added £25 to his invoice to cover the letter his girl had typed, naturally I hadn't paid for the letter, he'd done that under the old pals act.
Soldato
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God people are fussy these days, lol, stick a new plate on and get on with life....it's impossible the bumper is weakened significantly in any way......so yeah he's taking you for a ride.
Why people are precious about tiny barely noticeable things on vehicles i don't understand.....it's a tool......chips n stuff off roads when you drive bouncing up will cause more damage to paint work etc
Why people are precious about tiny barely noticeable things on vehicles i don't understand.....it's a tool......chips n stuff off roads when you drive bouncing up will cause more damage to paint work etc
In the grand scheme of things you are 100% right. First world problems and all that jazz.
However when I owned a lovely AMG Merc I was fastidious about its condition and its servicing. To the point that it did hamper my enjoyment of the car.
Over here (India) you have to have a different mentality altogether. The amount of times my SUV has been dented, scuffed etc.....I have had to turn a blind eye to it! My OCD has had a real trial of fire!
I was parking up outside a shop at the weekend. To make room for the car in front to leave, I reserved and bumped into the car behind me, smashing his number plate.
I interpreted this as "preparing to park but still in the road and making room for another car to leave and backing into another car that had stopped behind him while he was waiting to park"
Perhaps OP can clarify.
Had he given you a quote for the works?
There's an easy way to tell if they're trying it on, and that's by telling them you'll pay the repairer directly.
If it is genuine, then they'd have no problems with that.
Quite possible mate, I remember being parked up at uni waiting in a queue to leave the car park, some girl bumped into the back of me and just cracked my number plate so I just said leave it don't worry about it. 3 weeks later realised my entire bumper was warped and the boot never closed right after that. I would just man up and let insurance sort it out, pay the excess or whatever.
But see what you mean about the driver taking the ****, can you not demand to see the damage?
But see what you mean about the driver taking the ****, can you not demand to see the damage?
Soldato
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I still don't get the debate here @Combat squirrel , OP @android-fan damaged it, admitted liability which effectively accepts liability for any damage potentially associated with this type of impact and it's been passed to the insurance, so they mitigate the damage/loss.
There are plenty of members on here/piston heads etc that would expect full repair back to the condition before the accident.
OP is not claiming for his car so it costs him nothing. Whether the claim is £100 or £1000 the future insurance costs resulting from a third party claim still rise.
There are plenty of members on here/piston heads etc that would expect full repair back to the condition before the accident.
OP is not claiming for his car so it costs him nothing. Whether the claim is £100 or £1000 the future insurance costs resulting from a third party claim still rise.