Rear bumper totalled
- Thread starter Merlin5
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Soldato
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Lol this is not a scratch. The guy was clearly drunk. Throw the book at him. There could be more damage to the vehicle behind the bumper. Couple of hundred quid ain't going to fix that.
Yeah, going through insurance is my preference. I'm thinking, if it goes through insurance then repairs will be done to a good standard, but if we do it outside of insurance and some garage he's used before repairs it for cheaper, it just might not be as good and for all I know, they may not even check for extra mechanical or structural damage.
So, do it through insurers is the main recommendation here, yes?
So, do it through insurers is the main recommendation here, yes?
Thanks mate, good to know.
I'd take it to garage you know and trust. His garage might only fix the visible damage to save him money.
But also weigh up the any inconvenience cause, you'll be without the car for several days while it's examined and repaired. Will the neighbour be able to pay or will there be excuses about not having all the money right now?
Are they nice friendly neighbours though? His business would have been effected during the lock down. I know this isn't your problem but if being without a car for a few days isn't any trouble then I'd try and get the damage fixed outside insurance and save him the excess and a claim.
But also weigh up the any inconvenience cause, you'll be without the car for several days while it's examined and repaired. Will the neighbour be able to pay or will there be excuses about not having all the money right now?
Are they nice friendly neighbours though? His business would have been effected during the lock down. I know this isn't your problem but if being without a car for a few days isn't any trouble then I'd try and get the damage fixed outside insurance and save him the excess and a claim.
Yes, as you say, his garage might cut corners to keep it cheap and not even look at or repair anything hidden. That's why I'd trust going through an insurance approved garage.
I'm sure I'd be without the car for a few days whether I go through insurance or not. I don't mind as I'm not driving anywhere much at the moment. I know of a couple of trustworthy garages local to me that I've used, but I've no idea if they do bodywork or if they're much good at it.
My gut feeling is to let the insurance deal with it.
I've had an argument with him now. He just told me he definitely doesn't want to go through insurance. I said I haven't made my mind up yet. He said it's just panel beating. I said "you don't know that, you're not a mechanic, there might be electrical or structural issues". He started getting funny with me saying how he's being reasonable and I'm not. I said well you shouldn't have hit my car then. Then a bit of muttering and swearing. I mean, he didn't even come and tell me that he'd hit my car, I had to find out. Why do I need to be reasonable with him?
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Soldato
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He's being a ****. He's trying his luck cos he clearly can't afford for his excess and policy to go up again. There must be a reason his excess is £600 cos I've never had an excess set at less than £300 ever.
Insurance and let them deal with him. It might stop him drink driving in future and not injuring a child or someone if he can do that to a car.
Insurance and let them deal with him. It might stop him drink driving in future and not injuring a child or someone if he can do that to a car.
Caporegime
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I would have rang the police and say he was drink driving. They would have soon come out then.
Yeah but I had no proof of drink driving.
As far as his excess, I just listened to my recording from this morning. He said "I only ever insured monthly so I never got any no claims". I don't know why that would make any difference to building a no claims. I think he was leasing his previous car (a white prius hybrid) and now he says he bought this car, a black prius hybrid. I didn't say to him I'm definitely going through insurance, I said I'd prefer to. Then he started getting funny with me. Basically trying to make me feel uncomfortable for something that he caused. I don't want to be an arse and am happy to avoid insurance, but I'm just not sure yet if it's the best route. Gues I'll go and speak to him again and reassure him that i'll at least go and get some quotes tomorrow to see if it will put my mind at rest. He says he'll pay cash for the repair.
Hmm, interesting, are you sure? If it costs say £1000, won't his insurers still expect him to cough up £600? If not, won't his insurance go up next year? Although, that would still be cheaper than him paying for my damage.
Also, he's got damage to his car. But I suppose he could get his car repaired outside of his insurers?
I just knocked on his door, made peace and we had another chat. I told him I'm going to go out tomorrow to get some quotes. He keeps saying to me "it's just a panel beating job, I can get it done for £200".
I said it might well be but we don't know if there's any hidden damage structurally or electrically. He wouldn't acknowledge that though, he obviously thinks he knows better or is trying to convince to me it's just cosmetic. I mean, he might be right, but no-one knows yet. Personally, if it is just the bumper, I think it'll cost more than £200 if it's going to be done to any good standard, surely? And I showed him the cracks in it and he's like "yeah, they can just fill it in and paint it". I mean, what? The whole bumper needs replacing.
I mentioned what Lopez said about it not costing him his excess and he said it doesn't matter, he doesn't want to go through the insurance. He says he's paying £2,300 taxi insurance and he reckons if he goes through insurance it might go up to about £3000. I asked him why he didn't come and tell me he'd hit my car and he said he'd seen the bumper and didn't think it looked bad. I said you're having a laugh and showed him the photos from before the start rescue man had pulled it slightly back into shape. He said he'd hit my car around 7pm on his way back from work. The damage was obvious and he never came to tell me.
I asked him about payment and if he's really ok with paying once the damage is repaired. He said "yes, don't worry at all, I'll pay for it". I guess I have to trust him. He's been a pretty decent neighbour over the years I've known him.
Caporegime
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Do not even go down this route. I would get the quote then demand cash at least. He sounds like a player. I would just go through insurance.
Soldato
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Y
Are you serious....
i would just let the insurance deal with it , as said looking at the bumper damage there will be reinforcing panels and possible back panel damage, sorry i havent checked but have you had the carpet up and checked the floor for compression /ripples?.
was on the opposite end once son passed his test insured, and less than a week later misjudged oncoming car and ran into the back of a parked v/w polo old shape (was 20 years plus ago) despite being in the trade and able to call upon quite a few bodyshops , pricing parts etc even offering a courtesy car as well the old gal that owned the polo insisted her garage did the work, (which was totally her choice). i got the repair to about 400 pounds. her garage which was the local main dealer quoted nearly 2000 pounds and i saw the estimate , right down to every nut and bolt being replaced, needless to say the car was written off,.
was on the opposite end once son passed his test insured, and less than a week later misjudged oncoming car and ran into the back of a parked v/w polo old shape (was 20 years plus ago) despite being in the trade and able to call upon quite a few bodyshops , pricing parts etc even offering a courtesy car as well the old gal that owned the polo insisted her garage did the work, (which was totally her choice). i got the repair to about 400 pounds. her garage which was the local main dealer quoted nearly 2000 pounds and i saw the estimate , right down to every nut and bolt being replaced, needless to say the car was written off,.
After I get a quote and I'm happy with what the garage says, I'll ask him for the cash first, yes. But what if he pays me based on the quote, then they start the work and tell me there's more damage and cost? I've then got to hope he'll pay the extra. Or should a quote include everything that will need to be done, i.e, will they know if there's more than just the bumper and be able to give me the exact price just from looking at it?
Way to much damage to go off the books tbh. For minor cosmetic stuff it's fine but that looks more than cosmetic.
Here's my bumper as it looks since the rescue guy did a temp fix to lock the tailgate.
Do you guys think I should at least inform my insurers of the incident?
According to this article I should:
https://www.yourmoney.com/insurance/go-private-rather-make-insurance-claim/
'However, the first and most important point to note is that even if you decide not to claim through your insurer, it is a condition of the car insurance that you tell your provider if you’re involved in an accident – whether it is your fault or not. Kevin Pratt, consumer affairs expert at MoneySuperMarket, says: “It boils down to this: if you don’t tell your insurer about an accident, you run the risk of voiding your cover and not having a future claim paid out.”
Crowder gives this example: “When an insurer organises repair of your car, you know it will be done properly using new parts, it will be guaranteed and it will cover any unseen damage.
“If someone goes into the back of you, a look at your car shows a broken number plate and a scratch on the paintwork so your local garage says they can have it fixed for a hundred quid. But they may not notice or may ignore that the bumper mounting bracket was broken.
“If two years later you happen to be involved in another collision and the bumper comes off and causes significant damage to the other car, and it turns out that the original damage is spotted, you could end up having to answer awkward questions from your insurer.”
Do you guys think I should at least inform my insurers of the incident?
According to this article I should:
https://www.yourmoney.com/insurance/go-private-rather-make-insurance-claim/
'However, the first and most important point to note is that even if you decide not to claim through your insurer, it is a condition of the car insurance that you tell your provider if you’re involved in an accident – whether it is your fault or not. Kevin Pratt, consumer affairs expert at MoneySuperMarket, says: “It boils down to this: if you don’t tell your insurer about an accident, you run the risk of voiding your cover and not having a future claim paid out.”
Crowder gives this example: “When an insurer organises repair of your car, you know it will be done properly using new parts, it will be guaranteed and it will cover any unseen damage.
“If someone goes into the back of you, a look at your car shows a broken number plate and a scratch on the paintwork so your local garage says they can have it fixed for a hundred quid. But they may not notice or may ignore that the bumper mounting bracket was broken.
“If two years later you happen to be involved in another collision and the bumper comes off and causes significant damage to the other car, and it turns out that the original damage is spotted, you could end up having to answer awkward questions from your insurer.”
I really want to do that, and if things don't pan out with private quotes, I may still. At the moment though, the reality is that he's made me kind of feel that I'd be a right **** for going through the insurance.