Young lad crashed into my car, exchanged contact details and wondering what to do next?

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Young lad last night misjudged a gap between parked cars and on coming traffic thinking both he and the on coming driver could pass each other. Outcome was he hit the on coming driver and careered into my car that was parked legally. Cannot tell extent of the damage on my car in the dark, rear bumper is scratched, rear alloy wheel is scratched and rear quarter panel is deformed and scratched. Also, the car has been pushed onto the kerb where before it was next to the kerb so was more than a glancing blow.

The lad stopped and exchanged details with myself and the other driver but now wondering what to do next? Contacted police who said that because no one was hurt they are not interested in the matter any further and to either handle matter through insurance or privately. The lad said he was going to talk to his dad who was responsible for the car. Never had an incident like this and wondering what to do if the dad wants to handle the repairs privately instead of through insurance. Or should I just notify my insurance company anyway and let the other party decide what they want to do based on the cost of the damage. Would appreciate any advice on how to proceed if the other party wants to resolve the matter outside the insurance companies.

TIA.
 
I'd be inclined to go through insurance, partly because that's what it's for and partly because there could be unseen damage that's tricky to put right.

Also, getting a rear quarter panel repaired properly is going to cost a fair amount.
 
I'd be inclined to go through insurance, partly because that's what it's for and partly because there could be unseen damage that's tricky to put right.

Also, getting a rear quarter panel repaired properly is going to cost a fair amount.

Note that you should be claiming from HIS insurance though, not your own.
 
Thanks for the reply Lashout, waiting at the moment for the light to assess the damage and see if the car is driveable before taking to garage to assess the damage. Failing that will call out breakdown recovery.

Agree with the comments on the rear quarter damage where this youthful inexperience accident could be quite costly. Having thoughts of an angry/upset father on the doorstep which at the moment is another thing to worry about as not having a good time at the moment as my mother died the other week.
 
Note that you should be claiming from HIS insurance though, not your own.

Will do where awaiting further contact about lad's/dad's insurance details. Lad did not have the details on him at the time as he said his dad had the documents so have exchanged full contact details. Also have got the license number of the car. Lad seemed genuine enough but don't envy him when he tells his dad.
 
As said, you need to be contacting his insurers to get it sorted.

That's if you ever get the details ;)
 
Thanks for the advice, much appreciated

Good luck mate, hopes theres no underlying damage from the impact :(

Don't know the damage yet, the repairers have been out and taken photos, will get back to me later with an estimate. Still don't know if the car is safe to drive. Have noticed that the rear right door is sticking when opened.

As said, you need to be contacting his insurers to get it sorted.

That's if you ever get the details ;)

Phoned my insurance who have been good at handling this. Gave them all of the owners details and confirmed that the lad's car had insurance and they will handle the rest from here. So far so good.


Am I the only one who, after reading the thread title, had the words "FINISH HIM" echo in his head?

Lol:D
 
Damaged rear quarter panel and sticking door does not bode well for the future of your car unless it's particularly valuable.

It's not a particularly exclusive car, plain old 2010 Citroen C4. That said, the sticking door does make me wonder about any underlying chassis damage that may result in the car being a write off:confused:. Hopefully not and just that the rear panel can be replaced. Problem with C4's is that the read panel runs the length of the doors so not going to be an easy or cheap job.
 
I ran into a friend a few years back, only tapped him but it knocked his rear quarter out of shape - car was written off and he got £4.5k for it, so I'm guessing it's a pretty costly repair.

In this situation I'd keep the pressure on, call him every day and ask for details of his insurance
 
itno said:
Phoned my insurance who have been good at handling this. Gave them all of the owners details and confirmed that the lad's car had insurance and they will handle the rest from here. So far so good.
Lol:D

The only contact you should have with your insurance is letting them know you've been involved in a non-fault accident and will be contacting the third parties insurance to get your car repaired. Try and deal directly with the lads insurance company :).
 
Phoned my insurance who have been good at handling this. Gave them all of the owners details and confirmed that the lad's car had insurance and they will handle the rest from here. So far so good.

Well done, you just lost a few years NCB and will have to wait ages for the insurance companies to sort their **** out and put you back to "normal".
 
You wont lose your no claims bonus as this is a no fault accident.

A similar thing happened to me last year. A young girl ran in to the back of my car. She was driving an old 206 on her dads insurance. Not caused much damage but knocked some paint off and caused a dent in the bumper. I was concened as my car had pearlecent paint which is a nightmare to spray.

It took forever to get sorted out. Almost 8 months before my car was repaired properly. I had to complain as it took four months for my car to be booked in and when it came back they had sprayed the rear bumber a different colour. It didn't match in the slightest.

Four months later I was booked in again for the paint to be matched and blended. Final bill to the insurance was just under £900 for what was essentially a large scratch and small dent on my 03 megane.

Moral of the story is dont expect it to be done in a hurry and dont accept shody work.
 
Dont believe the insurance company when they say a no fault claim on his insurance wont affect your premiums next year.
I would get two quotes and see if he wants to avoid going through his insurance and pay cash.
 
Yes your no claims might not be lost but your premium will go up, almost certainly! Heck, insurance goes up even if you have gained another year of NCB these days!
 
You won't lose your NCB but it is very likely your premium will go up. My insurance price increases by 100 pound when I declare my non-fault accident.
 
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