RRH

She's fine, and so's her car. Not a mark, in fact.

The car she ran in to was parked on a corner- she slid on the ice- so she went straight to the house it was parked outside and told them what had happened.

There was some mention by the lady that answered the door that this was the third time this had happened, although its not clear if it was this car or not. I'd certainly refrain from parking my car on a corner if it kept getting crashed in to.

What's niggling me slightly is that its an old Rover 200, N plate, probs not worth a great deal. The rear bumper is cracked and one of the mountings has snapped off- I'm not going to argue whether it was my daughters impact that caused it.

The chap is telling me that its going to be £125 for a new bumper and £125 to paint said bumper and fit it. I'd have thought for such an age of car a second hand bumper off ebay ought to suffice.

Anyway, regardless, it was my daughters fault so we'll pay for it. I haven't agreed to the 'estimate' of £250 yet and am mulling it over, hence my post.

Any thoughts?

r32

Perhaps you could offer to source a bumber for them??????

darts_aint_sport

If it was my car that was damaged I would not accept some dodgy bumper from eBay.

stilover

Me neither. Yes the car is old, but it's still someone car, and maybe their pride & joy.

Best to bite the bullet and pay for the damage. Or better still, get your Daughter to pay for her own accident.

subaruturbo_18

Whats the value of the car? An old rover 200 may not even be worth £250 especially if its been crashed into a few times already. Offer them £150 and await reply.

STI Mav

To be honest no matter what the age or vehicle if you've been told £250 will cover it and most importantly keep it away from the insurance company I think that's an absolute steal.

Obviously dependant on your daughters age and insurance circumstances but if he was to put it through insurance, you'd more than likely be looking at a bigger incrase than £250 for a fault accident.

Pay it, get a recepit and don't question it in my opinion !!

Dedrater

My Impreza was 15 years old when I had it, probably not worth anything to someone in a 20k+ motor, but I would still want a brand new bumper for it if someone had crashed into it, why should anyone have to accept a used bumper and/or a filler job.

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

If it has been hit 3 times already how do they know it was your daughter who caused the damage? they could be asking for 250 quid each from the other 3 aswell!!

Hysteria1983

I totally agree. My classic isn't worth as much as the Fr and it's a fair few years older, but I would not accept a bumper off anyone, I would expect a new one.

Actually, I just keep a spare one in the garage.

Dedrater

The risk is, if you start missing this guy round, he might just take it up with your insurance company anyway and get his car wrote off, then buy it back off them for a bigger profit.

Allan

iTrader: (1)

I'd certainly try and approach him with an offer, your daughter did the right thing, he should at least be thankful you were honest enough to do that.

I have a similar scenario at the entrance to my road, the owners park a couple of decent cars right on the bend, when they have a perfectly adequate driveway. Their not doing anything wrong, but you'd think they would exercise a little caution in the bad weather.

Good luck

Dr.No

I'd argue that whilst a quote for a new bumper, fitted, sprayed etc. is £250 there is a significant element of "betterment" included in that, especially for an N reg Rover 200 - it's going to be much better than his original bumper. Hence, if that's the way he wants to go there should be some contribution from him to cover the betterment.

Offer £150 and see what happens - and leave it to him to then source another bumper from a scrappy / eBay for £50 and pocket the change.

DN

my94wrx

iTrader: (4)

i think the price for the bumper+paint and fit is fair, as others have said the other party could easily go through insurance, claim loss or earnings etc, your daughter would also suffer with future increase in insurance premiums, for the next few years, either way your daughter did the right thing by informing the owner of the accident.

Klaatu

Advanced driver training for adverse conditions. Skidpan driver training etc etc...

Hysteria1983

Also, tell them to get a few more more quotes. Chances are someone will beat that price.

fitzscoob

Personally I'd have said £250 isnt a bad price to pay.

Fair enough there is probably an element of the other party taking you on slightly, but not stupidly so.

If the other party decided to go through the insurance I'd be surprised if the increase in her premium wasnt more than £250.

The good news is your daughter wasnt hurt, and this experience should benefit her in the long run when it comes to driving in icy conditions again.

She did the honest and decent thing, which is what society needs more of, credit where credits due.

+Doc+

Sébastien Loeb would skid on ice in a car without studded tyres, it doesn't matter how good a driver you are, if it's black ice and your skidding there's only one way your going to go, with the skid.

There is a car on our estate that does exactly the same, parks on a corner, completely inconsiderate and I'm sure against the law? Most of the time the neighbours opposite double park leaving no room, lets hope there is not a fire or they will both lose their front ends.
Maybe check with the insurance company first, she may not be entirely at fault.

fitzscoob

I'm not sure on the exact distances, but from memory you cannot park closer than 5 metres to a junction.

Klaatu

So wrong on so many levels. Sorry, if you know how to drive in these conditions, ice, black ice, and snow, you know how to get out of a potential issue, or you should not drive at all.

When driving on black ice, the sound the tyres make on ice is different to normal tarmac and snow. You need to be tranined to listen for that, and recognise the road conditions before setting out.

David Lock

These guys are quite good?

FindaPart.co.uk - Parts Request

I got my old banger clobbered in the back but it was a decent guy and I got some second hand bits from a pal which were at least as good as the pre-bashed bits. Guy paid me cash, job done. dl

JDM_Stig

iTrader: (3)

Im not really sure what Klaatu is trying to get at as we all have accidents/bumps when we are inexperienced, her driving isnt up for discussion here its the cost of the repairs,
Im sure she will have learnt from this experience,
Back to topic,
The cost of repair isnt that bad, I dont suppose you have anyone in the trade who you could recommend he try that might be able to do it a bit cheaper?

+Doc+

We will have to agree to disagree.

stilover

True, he would skid. The difference is, Loeb would react accordingly, thus probably avoiding an accident. Most inexperience drivers would just hit the brake and hope it stops before an accident.


No, No, No. Even a mention of this to her insurance company, and it'll go down as she's had an accident. Next 5 years paying an inflated premuim.

paulwrxboro

id pay the money and be glad your rid of it

alloy

I like the title of the thread, her "first" accident, as if you expect more!!! Classic

paulwrxboro

she could also get done for driving without due care and attention

fitzscoob

How so under the nature of the accident as mentioned?

TopBanana

Seems reasonable

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Im agreeing with doc, if you have no grip then your stuffed, you go where the car takes you, doesnt matter what the surface is, if its all ice/snow etc then the outcome will be the same.

Tony

paulwrxboro

yeah sorry forgot about the skid on ice bit,